by After one of Electromobility’s fans posted a link to our article about the highlights of our winter trip from Detroit to Timisoara on Reddit, we were overwhelmed by comments and interest in long range electric travel.
One question was about the top three „not so funny” moments of our trip, and here they are.
„Not so funny” moment number 1 – Model 3 shipment delay
Probably the toughest one to swallow, was the long delay of our car’s shipment. Estimated arrival in Drammen, Norway, was January 21st, and this was the target date for our travel arrangements, for car insurance, for the entire schedule of the 4500 km European leg of our trip.
Arriving in Malmo, Sweden, on January 18th and our friend planning to see me for two days around, my stay became an involuntary „invasion” for two weeks. Thank you again Edith for your patience and kindness !
Lack of any information about the arrival of the car, was not helping at all, as did not seeing the cargo ship doing „doughnuts” in front of Bremerhaven, reading about a strike in Brugges or the long weekend without customer deliveries in Drammen, all locations having something in common with the delay.
„Not so funny” moment number 2 – charging Tesla Model 3 (US spec) in Europe
We knew it would be slow, but didn’t just comprehend how slow it will really be. Spoiled by the US Tesla SuperCharger network along the road from Detroit to Baltimore, with stops of 30 to 40 minutes for recharging, the many hours wait for slow AC charging in Europebecame quickly a „just don’t do it” reality.
Planning for maximum 450 km long drives every day and charging over night, was the best decision of our entire trip, allowing for plenty of time to visit friends and cities we did not see before, and for long walks and relaxed driving.
„Not so funny” moment number 3 – charging spots occupied by ICE cars in Hamburg hotel
As I mentioned in another article the entire stress about finding the „reserved” charging spots at our hotel in Hamburg occupied by ICE cars, I will only insist on the funny part of the entire mishap.
After plugging in our Model 3 at a public charging station, five minutes walk away from our hotel, I returned to the room, just to find a message from Drey Harper, our voluntary European Tesla tour adviser, stating that our car is raising already all kind of speculations in the German social media.
It took less time for somebody to take a picture of the Model 3 charging at a public station in Hamburg, to post it on some social network and for our friend to find and forward the message, than for me to walk the very short distance, back to my room.
Never underestimate the speed of light it takes to spread news over the internet !
db
My lifelong automotive career started with design and testing of ICEs, continued with service and sales, followed by 20 years of global seat design, requirements and knowledge management.
My recent passion for electric vehicles found its home at 24auto.ro and electromobilitate.
