Article on the Tesla Roadster in Swedish technology paper

[Deddly]

Hi, I noticed an article in a weekly paper I get called "Ny Teknik" about the Tesla Roadster. It's all in Swedish so I quickly did a rough translation of the main article so that others can have a read. There are other smaller articles and a couple of information boxes as well which I haven't translated but I'm more than happy to do that if someone is interested, just let me know by replying to the thread. Enjoy the article:

Ny Teknik traveled to Denmark to try out the new status symbol - a battery-powered sports car.
The Tesla Roadster is never going to be a huge success amongst the boy racers on Sjöhagsvägen in Västerås.
The luggage compartment barely has enough space for a few beers, there are no back seats and the motor neither rumbles nor purrs.
Sport car fanatics who like to drive with one hand on the wheel and the other on the gear-stick will also be dissapointed.
The Tesla Roadster has no normal gear-box. The control in the centre console works more like an on-off switch: you click it on and the car pulls away.
And how it pulls away!
Unlike an internal combustion engine, the maximum torque of 380 Nm is availible right from the word "go!"

It gives you a sucking, soundless rush. The power from the accelleration is so great that you are pushed right back in your seat.
I release the accellerator a little, brake and take a sharp turn.
The steering lacks a servo and feels sluggish at low speeds.
This is a "café racer" on four wheels, most at home at speeds around 120-130km/h.
When braking, however, I notice other advantages. When I hit the brakes, the little screen to the right showes a positive charge.

The regenerative braking system transforms some of the energy lost in braking into electricity and is stored in the batteries.
Others who test-drive the Tesla Roadster complain that the car understeers because of the weight of the battery pack.
I noticed nothing of the sort during my short drive around Copenhagen docks.
The brakes, on the other hand, feel a little soft, and I miss the gear change.
But if you want to be able to safely overtake someone, have an environmentally friendly status symbol and meet lots of new people, the Tesla gets full marks.

You hardly have a chance to squirm out of the cramped driver's seat before a gang of happy Danes flocks around you and come to the same conclusion as I have: "That is sweet!"


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Ed