Nope, I think they are the worst, by far. To wit:

I get a call from them saying that my card was compromised, used at Walmart.com for some big screen TVs or whatever INCLUDING the proper CVV code. Mind you this is my UA Visa, which sits in my locked desk unless I'm flying that airline and only for that airline... and I haven't flown in several months. But OK, whatever, bad things happen once and awhile. They send me out a new card.

I get my new card, and my first purchase is to get a cell phone from an overseas merchant (yay, unlocked phones for no surcharge!). I activate the card, and even expecting this to go south, put in the travel plans section the UK. Place my order, and... denied. OK, still not too bad, I'd agree the transaction LOOKS suspicious. Call them up, give all my secret details (so now, hope the NSA is taking care to encrypt their notes, as they've skimmed everything someone needs for identity theft from my cell phone conversation) , and they reassure me my security permissions have been adjusted and to go ahead and retry the purchase.

Fine, no big deal other than... grr... merchant killed my account so I have to spend 5 min re-typing in all my information. Then... bam! Denied again! Call them back up, livid... same game again "oh sorry sir, we've adjusted your security settings..." and retype everything and boom... still denied.

Kept the Chase droid on the line this time, and he talked with his supervisor, and whatever, same game... and finally got the card to go through.

Unfortunately the merchant flagged it this time as suspicious (which, now, it was... no fault of theirs) and wanted me to fax my credit history over... politely told them it wasn't worth the effort and sorry to bother them.

---

I've also had Chase reject multiple large transactions from the same store, with card present... like when you are at a closeout appliance sale and want to purchase more than one item, but want to put each one in your vehicle to figure out how full you are...

I guess the most insulting thing, as a former merchant, is that the MERCHANT gets screwed if fraud is passed on, not the bank... so the bank is just making my life difficult... I did not ask for high-risk treatment. At 1-3% of the transactions, they make a LOT of money on me each year, even after the rewards are paid out... so my love for this terrorist treatment is unwelcome, and the new card (from another bank) is in the mail...

Here's the deal: From 0-~30MPH, the car (a P85D) is limited by friction grip on the road. Note that they have decent size wide tires as a stock item, and the car weighs about 4700 lbs, so the grip is pretty solid. You *WILL* feel the slightest road imperfection- gravel, potholes, water, anything that causes any slip on a high acceleration "launch". The car does a great job of recovering and keeping the other wheels moving you forward (rather than careening into a ditch).

The existing 3.05s time has been verified many times over. (3.2s is for the original models; there was a software upgrade to take off 1.5 s).

Above 30, the car is software limited to save the hardware- it can't dissipate heat safely enough to keep up the max current draw that opening it up all the way would do. What this update does is replace the contactors and safety hardware to allow a higher draw so that the car can keep the limit very close to frictional limit all the way up to 60 without burning up any of the electric drivetrain. (400V/1200A -> 1500A)

Although I have not seen the 2.8s 0-60, I assure you the performance is real. It is an incredible piece of engineering. (source:I own a P85D). Search Y/T for videos of "P85D insane mode" and watch the dashcam to see people's reactions- unless you are a fighter pilot or something, it is a feeling like nothing else.

Also note that since the car is silent, you can often launch right in front of a cop while he eats his doughnut, and if you lay off the throttle by the time you hit the speed limit the radar gun won't catch how fast you accelerated.

Work for the NSA?

Pffft. LOL. "Sweet" = Tesla Superchargers, at ~120KW. Do it right. The masses will compare filling up at the dead-dinosaur-juice pump to filling up at the electric station, it should at least be a fair battle. The fact that it is *FREE* at the superchargers seals it.

Her answer of 3.3KW nearly made me spray my screen in laughter... I have a single induction burner with 3.8KW capacity.

Wow... Mr AC, you are missing so many aspects of Tesla. I don't disagree... they DO have style... but there are other aspects...

The P85D has a 3.2s 0-60. The "launch" as it is called is, literally, breathtaking... there are no jumps as you'd grind through gears on a standard transmission, and the only noise is a quiet hum. You are smashed into your seat with about 0.9 - 1.3G acceleration (depending on whose equipment you are using) for nearly the whole time. Yes, there are ICE vehicles that destroy that, but they cost ~$800+K. Please... someone show me a mass manufactured ICE for $140 that does that.

The car gets software updates for new features and functionality- most for FREE. Some for safety... a small concern with an isolated battery fire, and they retrofitted the fleet with titanium armor on parts of the battery pack. Yes, it is an armored car.

If you get the "tech package" option you can adjust suspension automatically. Bottom out on a parking ramp? Fix it once, the car will remember to raise itself via GPS the next time you are there.

The high end cars are all racing for autopilot... take a look at what Tesla has done. The street vehicles don't have all the parts, but the hardware is there, and they are getting closer each day.

See my comment above on the Supercharger network. Free power, at an obnoxiously high charge rate (up to ~120KW), at hundreds of places around the world. Road trips are no problem, without ever setting foot in a gas station.

And to your point the Model S qualifies for the highest end "Luxury" category of Uber in cities that do it (like LA).

Meh. Tesla sells every single car it makes and has a waitlist backlog months (or years for the M/X) long. That is with NO advertising. Whoopdy do, more eyes.

Additionally, Tesla has the (current) checkmate of the supercharger network. I know that likely won't be free to the M/3, but I assure you it does a great job of squelching range anxiety... something the other guys remain hobbled by.

And for the commuters... I welcome *ANY* (safe) electrical vehicle at any price range. We will fix the coal/gas power plants later, and it will be transparent. Lets get these ICE cars out of here. WAAAY too much energy lost in the ICE reaction. Especially for city driving, regenerative braking is a lifesaver... think of not only individual vehicles, but city busses... large vehicles ideally suited for high torque electrical motors, where regenerative braking can recover a lot of that.

I have a Tesla, and I assure you I paid my share of state AND city taxes.

Just out of curiosity, what were you driving?

It makes the point that some cars are safer at 120MPH+ than others are at 50. Even driving on the... uh... high end of US limits in my car (A4 3.2) was night and day in feel and road handling from driving my wife's car (embarrassing Honda) at half the speed. I would shudder to drive something like a Cadillac where everything is hidden from you in handling; I'd be dead in a ditch before I broke 75.

That's one of the changes our new Gov is putting in place now that crybaby Quinn is done. It passed either the house or the senate and is headed to the other.

Soon. >:)

In the days of no [Montana] speed limit, it was enforced... a $5 "excess fuel consumption" ticket. You could only get one a day, and you'd tape it to your window to let the other fine law enforcement folks know you'd paid your tax for the day.

But to answer your question, yes, there is a buffer. The amount varies by jurisdiction, and of course, you can spend time fighting any ticket if you want. One famous example was a person busted by Laser radar, and they took it to court... the device was not calibrated. They had them point it at a wall, and it read "3 MPH". The defense attorney asked the prosecuting attorney to go touch the wall and verify that it was indeed, not moving. Case dismissed.

And that works so well for the War On Drugs, I'm sure we'd never let "Illegal" stuff into the country like that...

LOL. You must not live here, or be really obtuse.

First... the three seconds thing... nope, they aren't actually 3s. "somehow" they are slightly shorter:

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago...

Next... the "majority" of situations are, technically, illegal... but I'd take a lot more reservation than you do about "dangerous and inconsiderate". Nearly all the violations are right-hand-turn-on-red. It is .... uh... coincidental how many of the RLC-protected intersections have NTOR signs... and very seldom ever do they not. I suppose you could argue this is for "safety", but it is still very coincidental. Most of them are VERY easy intersections, where you can clearly see traffic coming with no complications whatsoever.

The whole RLC deal stinks. The speed cameras are worse. Yes, they may improve safety in some situations. But in the majority, it is a revenue grab.

If only you didn't have to power (feed) the people running it...

(Ex Navy Nuke here)

Wow, I thought /. was finally getting around to posting about Amazon Yesterday Shipping:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA_gwzx39LQ

Guess it was slightly different...

Have you seen https://www.simple.tv/ ? Not free, yes, but breaks the bonds of Tivo, and a great start to commercializing the concept of a custom DVR. Easy enough for my mom to understand.

(And I have no ownership interest in the company nor do I get any commissions from saying this. Just want to help nail the lid on cable TV)