Features, not conservation, explain Tesla popularity

In a recent letter to the editor, the writer asserts that the pre-production demand for the Model 3 Tesla shows that "preferences for clean over cheap energy may be growing." To substantiate that claim, the writer says "the unprecedented demand for a car still over a year away from production demonstrates that government incentives can render clean energy products more attractive to the general public."

Unprecedented? Does anyone remember the 2009 pre-production anticipation of the Camaro (hardly a clean energy vehicle) and the Chevy Volt?

The writer also deduces that "heavy demand for Tesla's all-electric Model 3, in spite of current low gasoline prices, demonstrates that a shift in consumer preferences may have occurred."

During that exact same time of low gasoline prices, the Kelly Blue Book reports that 2015 sales of hybrids and alternative energy cars in the U.S. were down 13.2 percent from 2014.

So what can explain the growing interest in the Tesla, while its clean-energy competitors decline? According to Road & Track, the Nissan Leaf does zero to 60 in 9.4 seconds; the Model 3 will go from zero to 60 in less than six seconds. Nissan claims the Leaf, with the extra size battery, has a range of 107 miles; Tesla says its base Model 3 will have a range of 215 miles.

The Leaf with the extra-size battery has a base MSRP of $34,200; the Model 3 is supposed to start at $35,000.

The days of driving a glorified golf cart to make a statement are coming to an end. I suspect that the long lines at the Tesla dealer are because an American company has finally developed a clean-energy vehicle that Americans want -- a solid car with guts and a decent cruising range.

Lou Eisenberg

Buffalo Grove