After trying other cars in his search for the best electric option, Bill chose a Tesla Model Y despite his antipathy to Elon Musk. Our coffee, cake, and EV mornings always provide good stories of people making the transition from fossil fuels to electric vehicles. We give good experiential information to those who are looking to dip a toe into the future. Bill came to a coffee morning and went on to purchase a Model Y. Here is his story: Bill and Bluie. Photo courtesy of Majella Waterworth. “Basically, I have always been a supporter of the EV movement, but slow to get involved. With my unusual situation at present temporarily living on Brisbane Southside waiting for my new house to be built in a lifestyle village at Rothwell, I found myself doing huge kilometers each week attending social functions there. Given my vehicle is an old diesel 4WD, with poor economy, and the current price of diesel, it sorta pushed me over the edge to start seriously looking. “I started off with ChatGPT, and after establishing my age of 70 and my 188cm height, the difficulty I would have getting into a BYD Seal, the expected ease of getting into a BYD Sealion 7, expected kilometers I would be driving, my wish to be able to sleep in my car at a powered site in a caravan park on a trip, and other performance preferences, it was narrowed down to four. ChatGPT put them in this order: Hyundai IONIQ 5, BYD Sealion 7, Tesla Y, and Kia EV5. There was very little between them. “I deliberately left the Tesla to be the last to inspect/test drive, as I really did not want to buy anything tainted with the Musk brand. I was prepared to buy the Sealion 7. The Hyundai was overpriced for what you got, and I did not like the Kia. [Bill teamed up with Gary at a coffee morning on the Southside of Brisbane run by Carol and Robert Nichol (you met Robert here). Robert and his Model Y Scarlett have featured in several articles. On a personal note, we then ran into Gary and Bill at the Tesla showroom, where we were also checking out a Y since our Model 3 is getting quite difficult to access — the car is not the problem, it is our aging bodies.] “Gary convinced me to do myself a favour and test drive the Tesla. We went there together after our coffee and lunch meeting. So, it was like chalk and cheese. Nothing came close. I drove with the self-drive feature on, and also off. It was the main decider, but the Tesla won in almost every other feature as well. “For me, at 70, I have to figure in how long I may still have a license, and the Tesla Model Y already has the hardware to accommodate full autonomous driving, when/if it becomes legal in Australia. The others don’t, and even if there is a software update in their future models, there is no guarantee the model I buy now will be able to update to that feature. [Just to be clear, Bill is talking about BYD, Kia, and Hyundai here.] Couldn’t resist sharing another of Bill’s outback camping photos. Photo courtesy Bill Russell. “Then there is the full security monitoring and recording. All models have cameras, and the ability to log on to see what your car sees, but none apart from the Tesla record it. In this day and age with willful vandalism, it became important. The Tesla gave me a better range of colours to choose from as well. I don’t like white. I did not like the one-screen-does-everything approach with the Tesla, but as I am pretty good with technology, decided I could live with it. “So, that afternoon I put a deposit down on a red premium rear wheel drive Model Y, that only came off the boat the day before. Gary and I will pick it up this Friday. From the start of looking to placing a deposit took four weeks. I am keeping my old 4WD, as it does not owe me anything, and I still intend to do desert trips with it. It is pretty used to going through the Simpson Desert, etc. With the Tesla, it means I will dramatically reduce the kilometers put on the 4WD, and therefore considerably extend its life. Camping in the Australian outback. Photo courtesy Bill Russell. “So that’s it, pretty excited to be joining the clan.” Bill brought his new Model Y to the Northside coffee, cake, and EVs at the BRT yesterday and we were able to get a good look and take some photos. He has called his car Bluie — no, not named after the famous cartoon cattle dog, but more a nod to the Australian ironic custom of nicknaming people with red hair “Blue.” Opposite based nicknaming isn’t new. Apparently, “this custom dates back to the 19th and early 20th centuries in rural and outback bush culture. Drovers, shearers, and working-class communities loved dry, sarcastic humour. By calling a red-haired mate ‘Bluey,’ they used direct contradiction as a term of endearment or teasing.” Thank you, Google. Welcome to the clan, Bill. May your future be long, bright, and electric.
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