Grungle

If anyone is interested in reading more on this issue, have a look at the link below (I'm guessing some of you might have already seen it). It's only one person's opinion, but it's backed up with facts and is easy to read. http://autospeed.com/cms/A_111205/article.html I'm skeptical of the 45 minute charge time too, but if anyone has the technology and expertise to back that claim up it's Tesla. Their whole business relies on these claims being accurate and while it may not be possible now, with the way battery technology is progressing it seems quite likely that it will be possible in 3 or 4 years when this car is released. I can't really comment on the materials used in batteries, but I can't see it being a whole lot worse than oil/petroleum production. The materials used in these things are quite expensive so I assume manufacturers will be looking at recycling old batteries to offset costs - they certainly won't be "disposable". As for charging - I read an article somewhere recently about Adelaide introducing a "smart" type of controller into peoples homes that would turn off/on certain appliances during times of high power demand to help prevent total blackouts (ie, it would shut off the A/C but leave fans on etc). This technology could easily be adapted to charging an electric car as described in the article above. If Telsa's claimed range of 300 miles is correct, that's more than enough range for me between charges. I can count on one hand the number of times I have driven more than 300 miles without at least a 45 minute stop - and I've driven all the way around North America! Hydrogen is promising, but needs a massive amount of work and $$ to get the infrastructure in place. If these electric cars can be charged using existing power infrastructure it seems like a much more logical approach IMO. Hydrogen production is quite power-hungry, but as with electric cars at least it serves to localise the emissions.

i'm all for the vroom vroom, but with power and acceleration figures like that I'm happy to sacrifice the noise. If I miss it that much i'll just get a CD with some ferrari/aston martin sounds and play that wherever i go. with the amount of power on board you could sure make a decent stereo system! I've been getting into some fairly heated discussions with people on other forums about the new electric dirtbikes, and it amazes me how many people are saying they will "give up" riding dirt bikes if they have to go electric. if people enjoy driving and riding i cant see how making the whole thing quieter will really detract that much from the experience - especially if the electric stuff will outperform their Internal Combustion equivalents! It gets even better with dirtbikes, with so many riding areas being shut downdue to noise concerns. I think (without knowing much about the exact layout of these cars) that the extra cargo space comes from the lack of transmission, exhaust, fuel tank, diffs etc. take away all that stuff from under the car (admittedly you have to add a large battery pack) and you end up with a lot more room. from the specs it sounds like you'll get 300 miles (480km) from a single charge (with a choice of smaller range battery packs), and that charging is possible from any outlet - 120V, 240V or 480V. also claims a 5-minute battery swap.

Tesla Model S "With a range up to 300 miles and 45-minute QuickCharge, the Model S can carry five adults and two children in quiet comfort – and you can charge it from any outlet, without ever stopping for gas. World's first mass-produced electric vehicle offers performance, efficiency and unrivaled utility for a base price of $49,900*, making it the only car you'll ever need." - 0-60 mph in 5.6 seconds - 120 mph top speed - Sport sedan dynamics - All-wheel-drive available No idea when they would be available in Oz, but based on those specs... I like it!

Saw a silver one with "It's NOT a VOLVO" written on the back window in Modbury (Adelaide) today. My silver M35 was a couple of spaces down...and sadly I think mine looks closer to a volvo!

when i bought my ARX the fuel flap release solenoid was sticky - sometimes it would unlock, sometimes it wouldnt. The guy I bought it from got another one sent over from Japan, I changed it over and it's been fine ever since. as bis-e said, lock the car and see if you can still open it. you sould be able to hear it click as you lock/unlock the doors. if it's not working, you can get in there from the boot - there's a little hatch on the right-hand side. With a bit of maneuvering you can get the plastic out and then you're in the rear guard. There is a simple plastic "circlip" sort of thing holding the solenoid on - if you can get that off you should just be able to pull it out, disconnect the wires and swap it over. I can probably get you the part number if you need a new one... and welcome to the M35 family

Audi A4T? AWD turbo wagon...thats what I was looking at before I discovered my M35. (that and the liberty GTs). hehe...V70?

I just drove 1500km over the last 2 days in my new 2001 ARX and it averaged 10.8 L/100km, however during the first 200km it was going through 12.4 L/100km while I was "learning" all about the new car A/C on all the way - it's been hot in NSW/VIC this week! My impressions: Very comfortable - I did the whole trip by myself and didn't once get out of the car sore or overly tired. The leather was fine, although I haven't tried the cloth seats. The tiptronic system seems to be a waste of time for the most part EXCEPT when cruising at 110km/h. I found that if I left it in "D", I just needed to flex my big toe and the revs would flare and it would take off - I often found myself doing 130 without even realising it. By putting it in tiptronic mode and leaving it in 5th I found the revs didn't rise as easily (torque converter locked up?) and it was much easier to maintain 110km/h. Tiptronic mode for driving hard? It just seemed too slow...too soft. It can sometimes take a few seconds to move up a gear, and I often found myself changing AGAIN because I thought the first change hadn't worked... The ride - in my opinion - is fine. Sure, it moves around a little bit on big undulations, but I haven't come from a highly modified ride (like I expect many of you would have), so I found it to be comfortable but very sure-footed. I had originally planned on fitting some bilsteins after reading some info on here, but I really don't think it's worth it now. I love it, and I'm sure the wife will enjoy driving it (when she gets a chance!).

1 day after picking up my new ARX (and driving it from Dubbo to Adelaide) I got my first "that's a nice volvo" from the motel owner at Mildura. The fruit fly inspector at the SA border loved it too - he asked if I got it from the Nissan dealer in Mildura. He didn't really have time for me to explain the whole Stagea story!

Anyone see the white stagea on TodayTonight (adelaide) during the story about the kiwi car rental guy? A rental stagea

I'm flying out to Dubbo to pick up my new M35 AR-X tomorrow! I'll let you know if there's any problems with that road...

damn, looks like at least a couple of us got done... I've got a similar story to DJCouGaRs. unless he speaks up real quick with a good explanation i'll begin the hunt to track him down. I take this kind of thing very personally, as I'm sure most people would.

Pm sent.