Houston, no problems

For this 2nd leg of our coast to coast traversing of the USA we decided to start from where we finished last year, the superchargers at Houston.

A white Model S 70, supercharging in Houston, July 31

Owned by a young couple, this solid white Tesla Model S 70 has no power lift rear gate, and at the time of purchase it was a very smart choice for a “low” cost S ownership

Getting ready for the Tesla wife photos

To the left of the superchargers, in front of the Houston store, one S and one X, soon to be joined by the X we tested

Superchargers, chasing them

We take every opportunity to look for superchargers when we are abroad. I started it back in 2015 while considering ordering a Tesla (the X at that time), and started visiting superchargers in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Vacationing, last year – 2015, we did our 1st leg for crossing the USA from coast to coast, going from Miami, passing by Key West and along the coast of the gulf up to Houston, and at every supercharger we would stop for pictures. It so happens that it would have been possible to drive a Tesla Model S for the whole journey (including visiting the Keys) with free of charge consumption for the S using the superchargers USA network. But not the car rental: for the time being renting a Model S keeps being pretty pricy, in the order of $300 per day, plus tax, give or take, the S 70 @Exotic Enterprise.

This time our 2nd leg of the coast to coast USA trip started where we stopped last year, Houston, and all the way to Las Vegas. It was long, and we did a bunch of visiting, including chasing more superchargers. Returning home from Las Vegas was a bit painful, three flights, the second one from Los Angeles to London.

In every airport stop there’s always something funny happening, the wife being “stalked” as an “anonimous/disguised in transit movie star” 🙂 This time it happened at the LA airport.

C et 100 kWh

We will call him C. Here is the dialogue:

– Bonjour C! J’ai deux questions. Première: pour quand plus exactement la Model 3? Déjà une idée?
– Come vous êtes Tesla proprietaires, ça arrivera peut être dans les premiers 20 ou 30 k, entre moitié ou fin 2017. On ne sait pas plus que ça.
– Deuxième question: on a dejà entendu parler du pack de 100 kWh, pour quand le lancement officiel?
– Je ne peux pas confirmer ça.
– Pas de confirmation come ça (nodding the head vertically) ou pas de confirmation comme ça (nodding the head horizontally)?
– Je ne peux pas confirmer ça… (no nodding, neutral head position/motion).
– Ok, merci bien! À la prochaine!
– À la prochainne!

2nd Model X test drive – edited

1. Better door rangers, the S has none
2. Higher drive position, this time I really noticed
3. The big windshield, under high heat and light, might be problematic for some, I found it OK, almost unnoticeable – just use the AC
4. Temperature: outside air temperature was 42° Centigrade (yes, forty two degrees Centigrade), inside the X we were 5 people with AC at 20° Centigrade and it was fine, very fine
5. The tested version, 6 seats, P90D ludicrous: amazing
6. The ludicrous acceleration: well, ludicrous, and GREAT, even with 5 people on board
7. Consumption: way too high, the weight pays its toll
8. Doors: engineering, time will tell its reliability
9. Overall: you have to love it
10. Final: in Ludicrous it’s very loveable

Photo of the White Model X in the store, driver’s and passenger’s doors have ranging slots

The best test drive ever, so much fun with the right people 🙂

Santa Fe, NM, USA

You expect to see the local cars, plus some Japanese brands, and Kias, and Hyundais, and some European cars, we even saw some Smart cars. But…

Can you imagine that Santa Fe is the land of Subaru?! Loads and loads of Subarus EVERYWHERE… Amazing.

This is just a small selection of the photos taken portraying Subaru cars! And we saw two Tesla Model S cars 🙂

Santa Fe, the land of Subaru cars… And at least two Tesla Model S 🙂