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AUTO REVIEW

You’re at a cocktail party – nice company, delicious finger food, quick, so zipping around town is lots of fun. I didn’t spend much
good drinks – and the topic of cars comes up in conversation. time on the highway with the model 3, but I’m told long trips are
The person you’re talking with has bought a new vehicle, and they quiet and pleasant (assuming you know where charging stations
want to talk about it, describing the features and ownership expe- are located).
rience with phrases like, “it’s so cool,” “I just love looking at it,” Which, as it turns out, is a lot of places. The friend who
and “I’m so glad I got it.” loaned me his Model 3 recently drove it from Boise, Idaho to
Which vehicle brand is it likely to be? In the 1990s, those con- Ann Arbor, Mich. and had no trouble charging his car every 200
versations frequently were about Lexus, in the 2000s, Mercedes, miles or so. He also told me that he could get plenty of juice in
BMW, or Audi, and now, Tesla. Isn’t it something that the only about 20 minutes.
American automotive brand that people at upscale gatherings As electric car charging points continue to proliferate around
seem to talk about now is Tesla? the country, and as battery technology improves, longer trips will
Regrettably, Tesla press vehicles are much less available than be easier than they are now and will approach what they are in in-
they are from other manufacturers, so I had to borrow one from ternal combustion engine vehicles – which is to say very easy. Until
a friend in order to write a review. It was quite an experience. that day arrives, and I’d say it’s at least five to 10 years away despite
For starters, the Model 3, while good looking from some angles, massive ongoing investments, most people will take the Suburban,
is not nearly as handsome as its Model S big brother. More narrow Escape, or Highlander on the trip to Kansas to see the in-laws for
and upright than the S, the Model 3 looks less sleek, and from di- Christmas.
rectly behind or in front of the car, the 3 looks too thin and too OK the elephant in the room. Will Tesla even be around in
tall for its size. If the model S is the jock of the Tesla family, the five to 10 years? In five years, I’d say yes, but in 10 I’m leaning
3 is the nerd. no. As cool as their cars are, the company remains stubbornly
That same feeling extends to the interior, where, from the dri- unprofitable, and that’s before they’ve ever had to grapple with
ver’s seat, you’re faced with the steering wheel, a big central screen, the unsexy realities of fixing cars under warranty and covering
and, umm, not much else, really. It’s very strange. But it works be- legacy costs.
cause the screen is AWESOME. Intuitive like an iPad, the Tesla Since Tesla has closed most of its showrooms, buying one of
screen is a breeze to navigate, configurable, and oh so cool. Every- its vehicles is an online affair: you configure it, arrange or confirm
thing you need is there, and I was surprised at how not distracting the financials, and click “place order.” A week or two later the car
it was. If I were in charge of the user interface division at Audi, arrives by truck, and that’s it. No test drives are possible, so Tesla
Lexus, or Cadillac, I’d be embarrassed that a new company with allows you to return your new car after seven days with no penalty
no automotive history could come up with a screen that is so su- (there’s fine print, of course).
perior to what the big budget OEMs could manage. After driving a Tesla, I now understand why so many successful
And Tesla offers over-the-air software updates too. OMG thank people (including lots of BCMS members) are excited enough
you! Why doesn’t every manufacturer do this? I have been so frus- about these cars to brag about them at cocktail parties. While Tes-
trated over the years to send my car to the dealership for a soft- las are not my cup of tea, I now get it.
ware update, which I know my phone could do by itself while I To get your best deal on a new Tesla, call Phil Hornbeak at
sleep. The next step is buying software upgrades from the screen, BCMS at 210-301-4367.
and I understand Tesla will be launching that feature soon (think
buying the autopilot feature with a few clicks on the screen with- Stephen Schutz, MD, is a board-certified gastroen-
out taking your car anywhere). terologist who lived in San Antonio in the 1990s
Driving the Model 3 is similarly impressive. Since there’s so when he was stationed here in the U.S. Air Force.
much regenerative braking (to charge the battery) every time you He has been writing auto reviews for San Antonio
lift off the accelerator, you actually don’t use the brake pedal Medicine since 1995.
much. As you’d expect from an electric car, acceleration is very

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