Archive for the ‘Auto Misc.’ Category
A lot has been written about Tesla’s Model 3. But those reports mostly come from EV enthusiasts and owners. By all accounts they love the car. But so far no one with deep experience in design, engineering and manufacturing has evaluated it, at least no publicly. That’s why we were excited to get an invitation from Sandy Munro to visit his shop and take a look at a Model 3 that he’s about to test and tear down for a competitive benchmarking study. And Sandy found a number of issues that he really doesn’t like about the car, which he pointed out to Autoline’s John McElroy. Take a look.
Tesla isn’t even present at this year’s Detroit show—typical for a company that shuns the traditions of the hidebound auto industry. But it’s a topic of conversation nonetheless, as industry insiders speculate over whether the company can iron out manufacturing snafus that have marred the launch of its first mainstream vehicle, the Model 3 sedan. Tesla desperately needs the cash flow from vigorous Model 3 sales, yet production has stalled due to problems with the big batteries that power all Tesla electrics.
“As somebody said about health care, production is complicated,” Rebecca Lindland of Cox Automotive said during a presentation for journalists at the Detroit show. “Tesla has got to get Model 3 production figured out.” … More
Iconic race driver, team owner and constructor Dan Gurney died Sunday at the age of 86. Gurney passed away due to complications from pneumonia.
“With one last smile on his handsome face, Dan drove off into the unknown just before noon today, January 14, 2018,” Gurney’s wife Evi and family said in a statement. “In deepest sorrow, with gratitude in our hearts for the love and joy you have given us during your time on this earth, we say ‘Godspeed.’”
Born in New York but raised in Southern California, which remained his home for the rest of his life, Gurney was renowned as one of the fastest and most versatile drivers in the sport’s history.
The two driving feats for which he is best remembered – the 24 Hours of Le Mans victory that he shared with A.J. Foyt in 1967, followed by a win (a week later) at the Belgian Grand Prix in an Eagle Formula 1 car of his own construction … More