Jay Leno gives Tesla and Vectrix some love
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Green Culture, Tesla Motors, On Two Wheels, Vectrix

Anyone who knows even a little about Jay Leno knows that not only is he a car nut, but he's also environmentally aware. His large vehicle collection includes a 1909 Baker Electric and many of us know he has a biofueled super car project under way. It's not a surprise then, that on his video-centric website, Jay Leno's Garage, the Tesla Roadster is now being featured. Leno also, not so long ago, did a segment with the Vectrix two-wheel and three-wheeled maxi-scooters.
Leno starts the presentation by chatting with Tesla Big Cheese Elon Musk and goes over lots of basic information about the electric Roadster such as the origin of the chassis, the battery pack, the transmission situation and so on. The best part is when he hits the road. Because the car is so quiet, Jay can easily be heard by the camera in the chase car as he tells and shows us how much fun the thing is to drive. He quickly leaves the camera behind. Again and again.
In the Vectrix clip, Leno talks with chief marketing officer, Jeff Morrill while Dana (family name unknown), head of service, hangs out in the background ready to pounce into action should he be needed. He isn't. They cover everything from range and speed, to the starting procedure and then finally go for a drive on a couple of two-wheelers and the soon-to-be-released three wheeler. Jay admits, "I didn't want to like it but I do." He seems to have a good time but does voice a desire for a bit more speed and range. He doesn't try out the three-wheeler as he thinks it's a little dorky but allows it is fascinating engineering. I think he was just being nice.
[Source: Jay' Leno's Garage]











Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-21-2008 @ 6:34PM
why not the LS2LS7? said...
Jay is miked in that clip. Just like you hear him talk from the camera in the car, the audio is being captured in the car. If it were a boom mike in action, you'd hear more wind and such.
As to the pulling away, it looks good. It's relatively easy to pull away quickly from a car that isn't accelerating though, isn't it?
Finally, they say it can charge in 3.5 hours and also that it can charge from any outlet. But it can't charge in 3.5 hours from any outlet. It's a 53,000Wh battery, you can draw less than 2KW from a standard 110V outlet, thus it can't be charged from "any outlet" in less than 27 hours.
Reply
3-21-2008 @ 11:32PM
BillO said...
Well now, that's if the battery is fully discharged. Most of the time that won't be the case. If you drive say 50 miles (about 25% of pack capacity) it will take less than 7 hours to recharge from a standard wall socket.
Reply
3-22-2008 @ 2:02PM
Dad said...
"even a little about Jay Leno knows that not only is he a car nut, but he's also environmentally aware. "
Say what? What a bunch of BS. "environmentally aware. " is pure baloney. Guy burns enough fuel for a hundred people. He is just a rich celebrity with a voracious appetite for fuel.
Reply