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| Tesla's Model S blends the styling of a race car with the luxury and utility of a four-door hatchback. |
By VICTOR E. SASSONEDITOR"Quiet" doesn't begin to describe the experience of owning and driving an all-electric car, especially one with the heft of a Tesla Model S.
Wind noise, tire noise and the sound of hitting irregularities in the road are just about all you'll hear -- unless you're listening to your favorite jazz or public radio station.
The Model S has a one-speed transmission, so gathering speed is seamless and effortless.
The absence of mechanical noises is truly remarkable -- and just about everything else on the road seems so old fashioned.
Model S drivers are making a splash, not making noise.
Their cars don't smell like all those other vehicles that depend on the antiquated internal combustion engine for locomotion.
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| The store at Garden State Plaza, a shopping center in Paramus, N.J., can once again sell the Model S directly to the public. |
Laughable SUVs
If you want a good laugh when the light changes, put some distance between your Model S and that lead-footed driver in an elephantine SUV trying vainly and noisily to keep up with you.
When EVs rule the road, our cities and highways will be so much quieter than now, and the air will be so much cleaner.
Bad press
For such a revolutionary car, the Model S gets a surprising amount of bad press.
Much of it appears to be generated by media upset that California-based Tesla Motors doesn't advertise, denying them many millions of dollars in revenue.
Other automakers inflate the prices of their vehicles to cover their considerable marketing and advertising budgets, including all those dealer ads that appear in newspapers.
And every time gas falls below $3 a gallon, writers fall all over themselves warning consumers that gas-electric hybrids and EVs aren't worth the extra cost.
But what they always ignore is how green cars benefit the environment, and the pure pleasure of owning one.
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