If the Prius or the Honda Hybrids aren’t doing it for you, check out what the folks at Tesla Motors are building. Pretty amazing & impressive engineering. I saw a nice presentation from JB Straubel (Tesla’s CTO) and Bill Moggridge (IDEO, Tesla design consultant) where they outlined some of the decisions that went into the 100% electric, 0 to 60 in ~4 seconds Roadster. It’s true—you really can have a safe, environmentally conscious, efficient, fast and sexy electric car no matter what Toyota says. Even better, Tesla is planning a sedan and they’re gearing up to compete head to head with the name brands.

Now it’s one thing to hear the putt putt of a Prius sneaking up behind you. But when you think high performance, you think Italian or German right? I also have a pretty visceral reaction to the sound of those cars; a finely tuned engine can sound beautiful. What’s a Tesla Roadster sound like? I’ll miss that purr. Unless its replaced with something else, something emotional, primitive. Maybe the exhaust could smell like a steak cooking on the grill? That’s an even trade I think.

Thanks to Metacool for the lecture announcement!