When Senior Marketing Coordinator, David Waxman contacted the So Cal Viper Club

and invited us to visit and test drive their electric cars, Dan and Cathy said SURE !

We had a date set and unfortunately Mother Nature rained on our day.  David

contacted us again and a new date was set.   We had perfect So Cal weather and

our Club Members were treated to a really cool event.  

We gathered in Irvine and made the short drive over to Newport Beach where Tesla

just finished their Showroom.

On our way to Newport, we met up with Erin in her Tesla Roadster.

We were invited into their beautiful new showroom and were treated to drinks, fruit and pastries.

Ben came in and gave us an introduction to Tesla Motors, and then a great description of

the Car.  The Tesla Roadster is an extremely well thought out car that is engineered to perform.

Believe it or not.....this is their Service Garage.   Think about it, no need for oil changes or

any of the many other items that conventional cars require.

After our introduction to the car, we excitedly went for our test drives.

It was extremely quick off the line and planted you in the seat with it's INSTANT acceleration.

Pretty cool.  Obviously void of any big HP engine noise, it was really cool to "hear" it's

power in the form of whistling wind and feeling the G forces.  Steering was the biggest surprise.

No power steering, just direct rack and pinion  which initially felt hard and heavy.  But once

you got used to it, you felt very connected to the road since the steering feel was raw and

un-damped.     Very much like a giant Go Kart.

Driving the car was the focus of the day, but a day could be spent just checking out all the

cool electronics in the car.  The car is set up with it's own WiFi and software updates are automatically

sent and downloaded to the car WITHOUT even leaving your own garage.   With minimal

moving parts, maintenance is practically zero.

Richard and Charlene's new Copperhead !