click above for more pics of the Tesla Roadster testing for the FMVSS
In order to legally be sold as a production vehicle in all 50 of these United States, a new car has to meet hundreds of requirements, some silly and some serious. Malcolm Powell, Tesla Motors VP of Vehicle Integration, reported on the company's blog recently that the Tesla Roadster has finished taking and passed every test of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
Perhaps the most important requirements to meet are the crash tests, and as you can see, a number of Tesla Roaster prototypes were sacrificed to ensure that drivers and passengers alike would be reasonably safe in the case of an accident. Emergency cutoff systems have also been put in place for those worried about what happens to those 1.21 gigawatts behind their head in case of an accident.
The Tesla Roadster also passed muster in other tests, like being able to defrost the front windshield quickly and adequately, using symbols on the instrument panel that adhere to federal standards, and having headlights that aren't positioned to blind oncoming traffic. That's one more hurdle jumped for the Tesla Roadster on its way from hyperbolic vaporware to actual production reality. With the FMVSS tests out of the way and a solution for the transmission issue in place, it doesn't seem like much can stop this revolutionary car from entering production on March 17th as promised.
Check out more pics of the Tesla Roadster undergoing federal testing in the gallery below.
[Source: Tesla via AutoblogGreen]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3seriesisking @ Jan 25th 2008 4:28PM
Good news...
vintage @ Jan 30th 2008 1:07PM
Not really. Again... lithium ion batteries are produced only in China (which has no regulations whatsoever) and Japan, and need to be shipped all the way around the world? And how they only last roughly 5 years, and we have no way to recycle them yet? And the fact that building a new car is one of the most 'ungreen' decisions you can make? Want to be green? Drive an older car. Old cars kept on the road as long as possible is the best way to save energy, reduce waste and pollution, and help the environment.
This is just a stupid attempt at making people feel more 'green', but being the complete opposite.
vintage @ Jan 25th 2008 5:37PM
Not really.
Lithium ion batteries are produced only in China (which has no regulations whatsoever) and Japan, and need to be shipped all the way around the world? And how they only last roughly 5 years, and we have no way to recycle them yet? And the fact that building a new car is one of the most 'ungreen' decisions you can make? Want to be green? Drive an older car. Old cars kept on the road as long as possible is the best way to save energy, reduce waste and pollution, and help the environment.
It's just an attempt to make people feel more 'green', but in reality it's actually doing more harm than good.
Scott @ Jan 25th 2008 6:15PM
Let's hold the alarmist theories until you provide a source.
vintage @ Jan 25th 2008 9:55PM
I've spoken no 'alarmist' theories, only conclusions I've made based on my research.
Fact: Lithium-ion batteries are ONLY produced in China and Japan.
Fact: They have an expected lifespan of 5 years.
Fact: Tesla claims they will get the used batteries recycled, but has no network setup for this yet.
Fact: Building a NEW car uses enormous amounts of energy and resources, while creating a lot of pollution. Google it. You will find a lot of research articles that support this.
Fact: The 1984 CRX achieved over 50mpg with a carbuerated 4 cylinder, and zero fancy technology.
Again, if you want to be green, buy a used car, and drive it until you can't fix it anymore. It will use FEWER resources and pollute LESS than the construction of a new 'environmentally friendly car''. The world is currently overproducing cars at an alarming rate, which is why cars that have relatively simple problems (a bad transmission) are sent to the scrapyard: their value drops because we have so many new cars being produced constantly, that it isn't a 'wise financial decision' to fix your old car with a bad transmission, because if you fix it, you won't get back what you paid for it.
HOWEVER, if you do fix it, you've saved a car from the scrap yard. Overproduction of new automobiles causes many MANY cars to be scrapped that have simple problems. This is a huge waste of resources and energy, not to mention all the pollution. It's disgusting.
Email me for more info@ wanker__@hotmail.com
JD @ Jan 25th 2008 10:37PM
I know that what he's saying is true. They are not good for the environment in any way, shape, or form. And yet.... I can't help but just say you're being a killjoy. :) The Tesla is a sexy electric car (never thought I'd say those words until this came along), and I hope that we can find a more environmentally friendly way to store power in ways that these batteries do. Ultra-capacitors are cool, but don't hold a charge long enough to be practical in this sort of vehicle if I understand correctly. Oh well- at least we're pointed in the right direction now (away from gas/oil).
Mindaugas @ Jan 26th 2008 9:54PM
I would not be surprised if the guy beyond these comments is the Detroit troll, driving 8MPG truck. Although there is some merit that current generation "green cars" have greater net poluting effect, it is just unavoidable for the transition technologies, until the economies of scale and full fledged infrastucture kick in.
jake @ Jan 26th 2008 9:57PM
@vintage
I have heard that argument many times. First off all, what you are saying applies to virtually any car (any product too) and any new lower emission technology. Making a new car expends a lot of energy, which is true. However, what your argument amounts to is that people should keep using their old cars and we should all stop manufacturing things. Even better is we should all bike and walk. However, that isn't realistic to expect at all. Following the same standards any new car follows today an EV will still have reduced emissions (though small) compared to a gasoline car factoring in all forms of pollution including manufacturing and battery and assuming all electric production comes from coal (which is not true as even places with the most coal (IE West Virginia) generation uses 73%); when it doesn't come from 100% coal the emissions fall drastically.
Link: http://www.ilea.org/lcas/taharaetal2001.html
Here's an article from slate that compares emissions from a corolla and the tesla roadster. Keep in mind they weight around the same (2600lbs vs 2700 lbs) and the roadster has almost twice the power output.
http://www.slate.com/id/2179609/fr/rss/
EVs lower emissions not only from CO2 but also from methane, nitrous oxide, and assorted other greenhouse gases. The exception is sulfur dioxide created by coal fired plants.
Another thing is the argument the Roadster is useless since it is so expensive/impractical. However, it has been stated from the start that the Roadster is to raise funds so Tesla can drive downmarket as quickly as possible. Not only that, it proves that an EV can be viable and compete, which has really jumpstarted the EV and PHEV market recently (ie Lutz said he was partly motivated to push the Volt because of the Tesla proving it was possible).
Seeing that the EV does improve on the ICE car, I don't see why we can't support it, esp if we are giving ethanol, hydrogen, biofuels all a try. Not to mention there are new technologies being invented that extend battery life (ie like the batteries that GM's Volt uses). What's to say Tesla can't adopt the new batteries for their next car when the time comes.
Also adopting EVs mean that the focus on pollution will shift to the powerplants and manufacturing (instead of just tailpipe emissions which is only a small part of pollution today), which also isn't a bad thing.
Luis @ Jan 25th 2008 4:31PM
SWEET!...now to the being able to afford one issue...
Russell @ Jan 25th 2008 4:39PM
Never have to visit gas station SWEET
Running out of power in the middle of nowhere PRICELESS
Jason Bird @ Jan 25th 2008 4:32PM
I still think the best hope for real success is to partner with an existing manufacturer. The infrastructure savings alone would be huge.
Bling Bling Boy @ Jan 25th 2008 4:32PM
Now I can sleep tonight...
Thank gawd
Level @ Jan 25th 2008 4:51PM
the Tesla Roadster is based on the Lotus Elise so why was there ever a doubt that it wouldn't pass Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. ? duh....
tankd0g @ Jan 25th 2008 5:27PM
Maybe because it's packed to the brim with incindiarys and a main structural element, the engine, is removed.
Udayan Tripathi @ Jan 25th 2008 5:16PM
Always a little unnerving to see a pretty or exotic car mauled in government safety tests. I wonder if rarities like the Enzo have to go through this once in each country.. sure would reduce that 400 produced figure.
Harrison @ Jan 25th 2008 6:18PM
Nope. There's certain exemptions, if I remember correctly.
John @ Jan 25th 2008 9:31PM
McLaren F1 Crash Test (amazing): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUPq760LC00
ckm @ Jan 25th 2008 6:37PM
Every chassis type has to go through it. Cars that go through it are often pre-production cars that are identical to production versions, so they don't count in the production numbers. It costs upto $100 million to go through crash testing and there are a number of engineering groups that manage the process. Typically, it's 8-15 cars that are crashed and the expensive bit is the iterative design process when problems are found. That's much less common with computer modeling, but still.
On top of all that, manufacturers are required to have $500 million of liability insurance and there are a whole other set of non-FMVSS standards set out by a variety of DoT and non-DoT agencies that you have to meet.
Luckily they are doing this with Lotus, which basically knows everything about this..
Chris.
RLQ @ Jan 25th 2008 5:23PM
Awesome.
Atropos @ Jan 25th 2008 5:34PM
Russell, it's good to know that gas powered cars simply cannot run out of fuel, I didn't know that.
Nice car, the Tesla. Stupidly priced, but still nice.