Got a sneak peek inside the Chicago dealership today...

[rob13572468]

Met with the owners today who are really cool people and are in charge of Tesla sales for the midwest. I can say that the dealership build out is definitely progressing as there has been more activity since last time I looked.
The word is that its going to be open in the next month or so and its going to be a more 'organic' look than the shiny west coast showrooms. (think brick with huge loft ceilings with beautiful old wooden beams... it should look pretty cool.)

I also got to take a quick look at a roadster up close and was impressed. From an engineering perspective the roadster actually has alot of really interesting stuff going on that in my opinion shoud probably be promoted more. For instance I was surprised to see alot of locking mil-spec connectors used throughout the vehicle which you dont normally see outside of race cars. Those kinds of things should be related to prospective buyers so they understand what level of sophistication they are buying... At any rate it wa just a quick look so Ill write up a more detailed assessment of the roadster when I can get more time with one.

[smicker]

Originally Posted by rob13572468

The word is that its going to be open in the next month or so and its going to be a more 'organic' look than the shiny west coast showrooms. (think brick with huge loft ceilings with beautiful old wooden beams... it should look pretty cool.)

Let me know if you find the MPOE the demo people ripped out

Seattle will have the same look, I'll try and post some pix from next week's open house.

[Uncle Sam]

Originally Posted by rob13572468

The word is that its going to be open in the next month or so and its going to be a more 'organic' look than the shiny west coast showrooms. (think brick with huge loft ceilings with beautiful old wooden beams... it should look pretty cool.)
.

Thank god! I am so tired of non-organic showrooms. This is why GM failed. I am so glad my tax dollars are finally going to support forward thinking company like this. I wouldn't buy a car if the architectural concept of the dealership wasn't apropos.

[rob13572468]

Originally Posted by smicker

Let me know if you find the MPOE the demo people ripped out

Seattle will have the same look, I'll try and post some pix from next week's open house.

buildings here that are more than 10 years old usually have like 3-4:

1. the super old 70's "zip-cord" wiring and screw terminals
2. then the 80's cat-3 with 4 terminals
3. The NIC box with connections for 6 lines
4. The fiber break out box (these are just going in over the past few years.)

Half the time, the newer service is in some totally different place depending on what changed so you also get wires criss-crossing the place. usually when you do a gut and rebuild its better to just start new with all new service to the building (maybe bring in a nice T1 for your VPN back to HQ and phones.

[vfx]

Considering the site will have many 90Amp chargers about, I'd say the entire electrical system at an Electric car dealership will be repalced.

[rob13572468]

Originally Posted by vfx

Considering the site will have many 90Amp chargers about, I'd say the entire electrical system at an Electric car dealership will be repalced.

MPOE refers to phone/data/internet wiring but yes you're correct that they are probably going to need to have three phase 277/480v service installed to cover the chargers plus the service equipment... (those buildings typically had 3 phase 120 at 200-400 amps when they were built...)

[vfx]

I was talking with a Tech at the LA store the other day. (after my last post)

When they built the store they had one charger in the shop. (and a few other half-speed 220 plugs)

Later they put one in the show room, then three more in the storage garage.

I think any further stores will be peppered with chargers everywhere.

They also all have high-speed back to headquarters in the bay area.