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posted by martyb on Sunday February 17 2019, @11:33AM   Printer-friendly
from the not-as-easy-as-it-looks dept.

https://electrek.co/2019/02/09/tesla-model-3-cost-surprise-porsche-audi-reverse-engineering/:

Tesla Model 3 is now entering the European market and it is making some automakers nervous. According to a new report, Porsche and Audi reverse-engineered Tesla’s new electric car and they were quite surprised by its cost.

[...] During the early production ramp up, it was difficult to get your hands on a Model 3, but some automakers paid a pretty penny to be amongst the first to be able to check out the new electric car.

About a year ago, two Model 3 vehicles were spotted on their way to Germany – presumably to be reverse-engineered.

Later, a report came out about a German automaker being impressed by Model 3 after reverse-engineering it.

Now a new report from Germany’s Manager Magazin [in German and paywalled] includes a deep dive into the state of Audi with comments from executives and insider sources.

It claims that Porsche and Audi, who are working together on a next-generation electric platform, had to change their approach because the cost was too high compared to what Tesla is achieving.


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by RandomFactor on Sunday February 17 2019, @05:19PM (5 children)

    by RandomFactor (3682) Subscriber Badge on Sunday February 17 2019, @05:19PM (#802542) Journal

    If you can change the headlight bulb without removing the damned bumper. [youtube.com]

    Screw you Ford.

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  • (Score: 2) by Whoever on Sunday February 17 2019, @05:33PM (3 children)

    by Whoever (4524) on Sunday February 17 2019, @05:33PM (#802546) Journal

    I doubt that you can change the bulb, irrespective of what it takes.

    The lights use LEDs, and are probably replaced only by replacing the whole headlamp unit.

    • (Score: 2) by Unixnut on Sunday February 17 2019, @10:53PM (2 children)

      by Unixnut (5779) on Sunday February 17 2019, @10:53PM (#802639)

      Indeed, it has become almost impossible to work on your own car.

      I remember Peugeot in the 90s had a similar trick. You had to remove the bumper to change a bulb. A right PITA that seemed to have been designed in such a way to maximise the amount of chargeable service, to the detriment of all else.

      I had to switch headlights on two of my cars recently. On the 90s one it was a quick 15 min job. Lift up the bonnet, three bolts on each headlamp. Out and in, then tighten again, and it was all done and aligned. On my 2005 model, it was a two day job to switch the headlamps, and involved removing both front wheels, the wheel well guards, the front bumper, the top panel across the engine bay, and the front grill, after which it was just three bolts, etc... I will have to do it again in a few days time, and I really don't look forward to doing it to the 2005. You basically have to dismantle the front end to get to them. It has gone from a 15 min job you can do on the road to something that requires you to have a proper garage to do it (especially if you have to leave the car in pieces overnight)

      Even more fun, is that you can't fit the fog lamp bulbs in without removing the headlight, so if a fog lamp bulb goes, I would have to take the bastards out and put them back in again.

      Seems car makers have gone out of their way to make cars as unfriendly as possible for you to do even basic tasks on them. It isn't a specific brand, they all do it. I first encountered it with the French, but it seems they all do it now. I guess it is an attempt at the "inkjet cartridge" business method, where you make the bulk of the profits by forcing people to pay you for basic maintenance, and the car is nothing but a locked down black box to the owner.

      • (Score: 3, Informative) by beckett on Sunday February 17 2019, @11:30PM (1 child)

        by beckett (1115) on Sunday February 17 2019, @11:30PM (#802659)

        It isn't a specific brand, they all do it

        Perhaps try the Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Tacoma, Honda Accord, Hyundai, Chevy Cruze? not all modern cars are impossible to service.

        • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 18 2019, @02:23AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 18 2019, @02:23AM (#802725)

          I have owned Hondas most of my life.
          The last Honda I owned that was simple to service was a Civic built in 1995.
          I have owned an Odyssey and a Pilot since then (family man now), and I can assure you that the ease and cheapness of repairs has disappeared in proportion to the adoption of new technology, just as the grandparent commenter said. Even replacing the goddamn windshield is no longer a simple "monkey" job now that there is a camera mounted in the mirror region of the windshield (windscreen to our UK friends). As a matter of fact, you can no longer use a simple effing parking tag hanging off the mirror because it messes with the camera. WTF?? There is no simple, cheap repair anymore.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 18 2019, @08:14PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 18 2019, @08:14PM (#803148)

    yeah, i worked on my mom's exploder and it has plastic timing components inside the engine! as you might imagine these might go bad a little earlier than you might like... if they want to ever sell me a vehicle they will have to show me blueprints or some shit. i'm not your victim, ford.