Well, that's not entirely true. If you wanted to speed while driving the Tesla, it would be so very, very easy. It accelerates so quickly, so effortlessly, so quietly; all you have to do is press the accelerator pedal, relax as you're slammed into the back of your seat and in literally a few seconds you'd be speeding.
But that brings in another type of force that I'm not really talking about here: acceleration. The car can accelerate like no car I've ever ridden in before. But it's not getting to fast speeds quickly that I'm talking about. This post is more about driving at speed versus getting to that speed.
You're on the highway in the left-most lane because you passed someone on the right. You're in a car that can go fast and fast cars may as well inhabit the fast lanes, right? Then, in a few minutes, you notice people passing you on the right. You look down only to realize you're going at or possibly even a bit below the speed limit.
That scenario has happened to me many times. It may be on a highway or a multi-laned road with a speed limit of forty-five miles per hour. I don't know the exact reason for this phenomenon, but I have some ideas.
First, the car doesn't have the whine of an engine. With an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) car, different speeds have an associated engine speed sound with them. Do we make a sub-consioius association with speed and sound as we get to know a particular car? The Tesla lacks that "feature" if so.
Second, you have to keep your foot on the accelerator pedal all the time, even if you're going down a hill due to the regenerative braking. The car will gladly try and recharge the battery if you let it drop off in speed by not paying attention.
Third, it's just so darned comfortable driving it. It is the most pleasant car to drive that I've ever had the pleasure of spending time with. You're at ease, you're relaxed. Even if you're in a hurry to get somewhere, it's like it's just not that pressing a thing when you're driving the Tesla.
I've spent many years in other cars discovering I was accidentally going well over the speed limit. It's a nice change to find out now that I'm going at the speed limit instead.
The Big Boy Update: Uncle Jonathan may be moving into a house close to us next month. I was telling my son about it and how maybe he could go and spend the night with Uncle Jonathan sometime. He asked about sleeping bags and then said, "yeah, we can have a camp over!" I hope you're ready for this, Uncle Jonathan.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter was mad this morning. She was inconsolable. She needed food. My husband gave her juice but she said that NOOOO, she wanted water added to it. He added a little water to the pineapple juice and handed it back to her. She looked in the cup and then broke down saying, "now it has bubbles in it!" We left the room. She started to drink the terrible, bubbled drink. Calories hit and she became normal child again.
Fitness Update: We had a lot of people at the gym today. We were doing things with partners and in threes and then in a big group again. When Uncle Brian was here he said there wasn't a lot of interest at his gym for group training but that he always signed up in case they had enough to hold sessions. I really like group work. We can commiserate and encourage each other equally. The motivation to do as well as your peers is a powerful thing too.
No comments:
Post a Comment