Miles per gallon finally matters on Main Street. And it couldn't have come at a better time for Tesla.
We've talked before about high mileage cars that were, for the most part, on the drawing board of lots of independent builders who were scrambling to out-engineer the Big Boys at GM, Ford, Chrysler, and elsewhere.
One of those was Tesla.
The latest government fuel economy ratings says that 2008 model cars and trucks sold in the US will average 26.8 mpg, a bare one tenth of a mile per gallon more than last year. While the big manufacturers cry out in their well-orchestrated chorus that they just can't get more mpg out of their cars and trucks, there's one big number in the report that stands out: 244 mpg. That's Tesla.
In California's silicon valley the gutsy upstart Tesla Motors has come out with an electric sports car that gets a 2008 corporate average fuel economy rating of 244 mpg in the midst of an annual report that sets a goal of only 27.5 mpg. And mpg isn't the only eye popping number Tesla has.
While the Big Three are struggling to get their electric cars to go 50 to 70 miles before having to recharge, Tesla doesn't run out of juice until it passes 200 miles on its way to 220.
And speed? This Lotus-like sports car will scream its way up to 60 mph in only 4 seconds but you may have to hold on for dear life if you don't get your foot off the pedal.
And the best part? It costs only 2 cents a mile to operate. Now with all this going for it, you just gotta know there's a downside, right? Right. It's the price.
All that speed, power and great mpg will set you back about a hundred grand and you have to plop half that down as a deposit on a car you won't see for probably a year, more or less. That sucks, even though it's probably worth it.
Meanwhile, you and me and Joe Average are stuck out here driving around in a Chevy or SUV and wondering how come Detroit can't make one of these for about 30 or 40 grand? A bunch of brainiacs in silicon valley figured it out and at their low production numbers the cost is up there, but why can't Detroit's mass production and purchasing scale knock that price down?
Until they get around to it, if you've got a lemon car or truck, don't put up with the run around. Email us right now or call us 1-888-331-6422 Toll Free. We get rid of lemons everyday. That's what we do.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Known nationwide as a leading Lemon Law attorney, Ronald L. Burdge has represented literally thousands of consumers in "lemon" lawsuits and actively co-counsels and coaches other Consumer Law attorneys. From 2005 through 2018, attorney Ronald L. Burdge has been named as the only Lemon Law Ohio Super Lawyer by Law and Politics magazine and Thomson Reuters Corp., Professional Division. Burdge restricts his practice to Lemon Law and Consumer Law cases. The Ohio Super Lawyer results are published annually in the January issue of Cincinnati Magazine. Ronald L. Burdge was named Consumer Law Trial Lawyer of the Year 2004 by the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the nation's largest organization of consumer law private and government attorneys. "Your impact on the auto industry has been magnified many times over because of the trail you blazed for others," stated NACA's Executive Director, Will Ogburn. Burdge has represented thousands of consumers in Ohio, Kentucky and elsewhere since 1978 and is a frequent lecturer to national, state and local Bar Associations and Judicial organizations. Burdge is admitted to Ohio's state and federal courts, Kentucky's state courts, and Indiana's federal courts. Other court admissions are on a "pro hac" temporary, case by cases basis.