I’m an adventure/travel junkie. There. I said it.
This doesn’t mean what you might think it means. I’m not a thrill seeker. I don’t love being TOO uncomfortable…but I love going to new places…with beaches and water. I designed my life so I could plan a mini-adventure/trip once a month or every other month. I usually try to fit in one BIG adventure a year.
The pandemic is REALLY cramping my style!
I’m not really complaining…I’m also a total homebody so there’s a pleasantness to being “stuck” at home too.
Part of pushing this comfort envelope for me has always been about keeping a youthful attitude about change…embracing change and adventure instead of getting too stuck in routine and habit, which is a natural tendency for me.
There is very little bonafide adventure in my life these days…these past five months. A plan to go to Finland evaporated with the pandemic. A routine escape to a coastal region or three evaporated with the pandemic. My plan to get on my motorcycle for adventure evaporated with my second frozen shoulder in a year.
I am adventure-starved, adventure-hungry, adventure-desperate!
So…today, we did an adventure in…Car Shopping!
We went on two socially distant test drives of the Performance Tesla Model 3 and Performance Tesla Model Y. It was an experience unlike any other I’ve had (qualifies as an Adventure for me!) and I’ll tell you why…
Socially Distant Test Drive
Tesla did a phenomenal job making the experience as contactless and streamlined as possible! We set up the test drives over the phone. Soon after, an email arrived with a link to complete a waiver and upload a copy of insurance and a driver’s license. We received detailed instructions on what to do when we arrived AND videos to have an overview of the vehicles well in advance of sitting down in them. The vehicles were waiting for us when we arrived, cleaned and sanitized between test drives. You could “see” the Tesla Advisor’s smile behind his mask. He did NOT accompany us on the test drives AND we got each vehicle for an hour of road testing.
Tesla Test Drive
If you own a Tesla, skip this post…you already know how amazing your vehicle is. If you have never driven a Tesla – let me say – Mind Blown!
I currently drive a gas-guzzling, 16 mpg, V-6, 4-door sport utility vehicle. I have never owned an electric car and the handful of times I’ve HAD to drive my father’s Toyota Prius freaked me out.
- Electric vehicles are nearly silent when they drive. Steal mode…it’s weird and cool. The Model Y had a bit more road noise than the Model 3 but still substantially less than a gas vehicle.
- There is no key, only a card that looks like a credit card and has to be laid on top of an ignition area in the center console.
- There is no start button. It blows my mind. When the card is in place, you put your foot on the brake and the “engine” turns on.
- There is no instrument cluster. Everything you need to do or need to know appears to the right of the steering wheel on a giant iPad looking screen.
- You can almost drive without braking. In an electric vehicle, removing your foot from the accelerator nearly stops the car. It takes a whole new way of thinking. Fortunately having an hour in the vehicle is plenty of time for it to start to feel more familiar and normal.
- The auto-pilot feature has gotten SO good, the car can literally drive itself. You have to maintain light feedback on the steering wheel, but the vehicle does the rest. It’s quite astonishing! (My father argues that self-driving cars will never be common in his lifetime. I argue that he’s wrong!)
- The acceleration. OMG. The acceleration. Electric vehicles have almost immediate acceleration available. It’s one of the huge bonuses of being an electric vehicle if you’re a car lover. There’s no need for a quick air:fuel explosion in your engine chamber to access power. It’s like hitting a light switch…the electricity is just…there. And in the performance vehicles, you can get from 0 to 60 in seconds…less than 3.5 seconds! You can creep close to G-factor pressure from acceleration…which will literally take your breath away!!
The Tesla Model Y is an excellent entry into the SUV, family-friendly vehicle race. It didn’t disappoint in the least. I think I’ll wait one more design year before I throw my hat in the Tesla ring…but I truly believe that electric vehicles are the future.
And I’m back to why embracing change, looking forward, and seeking adventure will keep us young. Electric vehicles will address the pollution, safety, and even noise issues brought by gas vehicles. Generation Z, if they ever even “own” a vehicle will likely regard those of us with gas-guzzling throwbacks as ancient as we once considered our grandparent’s car:boats. Being part of the adoption curve instead of being dragged behind it keeps us current and allows us to wander comfortably in the world of “the future is now”.
It may be hard for you to believe, but I actually love cars. I enjoy driving. Though less and less with ever more distracted drivers. I find it generally relaxing and freeing.
I mark passages in my life by cars – cars of boyfriend, cars of friends, cars I owed, cars I wanted…
My dream car is and will always be a classic Karmann Ghia. I love almost every version and color of it. Convertible or hard top, it makes no never mind.
Here’s my good news – you can actually have them converted to electric. There’s a company in California that exclusively handles electric VW conversions. I asked them about the timeframe and they are years out. If we are forced to NOT travel much longer, I may even try it myself!!
Do you have an electric car? Have you considered getting one? What’s YOUR dream car?
