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Editorial: Help Elect Cedar Key News` Board of Directors
April 13th, 2003

Editorial: Cedar Key News: A Progress Report
March 11th, 2003

Editorial: Mercedes Meets the Mud
February 28th, 2003

Editorial: Happy New Year to All
December 29th, 2002

Editorial: Letter to the Editor - Thank You C.K. Police for Doing Your Job
December 15th, 2002

Editorial: Poll Results: Fact, Fiction, or Propaganda?
December 4th, 2002

Editorial: WANTED
November 27th, 2002

Editorial: 1,2,3,4 What Are We Fighting For?
October 10th, 2002

Editorial: Do We Really Want Law Enforcement in Cedar Key?
August 15th, 2002

Editorial: Levy County Emergency Management
July 26th, 2002

Editorial: We Have Our Own Heroes
July 17th, 2002

Editorial: Take a Little Time!
July 3rd, 2002

Editorial: Water Management District Trying Its Best
June 26th, 2002

Editorial: Bribery and Misuse of Public Office
June 25th, 2002

Editorial: Police Officer`s Improper Conduct Case Fades Away
June 24th, 2002

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Automotive Turning Point

Automotive Turning Point

Editorial

In late July, Tesla Motors announced a high-performance sports car powered by batteries alone. Not a hybrid, but a fully electric two-seater designed in collaboration with the legendary Lotus engineers. The Tesla website displays sleek styling and promises 0 to 60 mph in FOUR seconds. That catches the eye of car enthusiasts and natural born skeptics with a technical bent. It also gives a clue that the price will be high.

The Tesla website explains the designers' philosophy and business plan. The philosophy is that electric cars get us away from oil as a fuel for passenger cars. The business plan is extraordinary: Start with and expensive ($89,000) performance car, then market a high-end all-electric sedan and follow up with a mass produced $25,000 family sedan. (This is the reverse of Henry Ford's business plan whereby millions of Model T's paved the way for luxury car products.) Note that very expensive main-frame computers prepared the public for inexpensive personal computers.

Readers of the Tesla website have been voluminously responsive with blog comments. Skeptics warn of economic doom at the hands of Big Oil and Washington bureaucrats. Others suggest that if General Motors and Ford could not do it, "How can Tesla Motors succeed in producing an electric car?" (Think Apple Computer.)

May we suggest Cedar Key as a test market. Tesla plans to begin marketing in California, Chicago and Miami. On the other hand, Cedar Key has an electric vehicle tradition. We love the quick acceleration of our golf carts. Most of us would be quite happy with recharging batteries after 250 miles. And being able to do 120 mph on emergency trips to Gainesville has a certain appeal. CKPD might even try out (or need) a blue and white Tesla.

Even if a Tesla convertible doesn't make you salivate, if you are interested in history, you may be witnessing Tesla Motors making automotive history, a turning point in automotive design.

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