Archive for November, 2008

In October, Stephen Casner and his wife Karen toured the Lotus factory in England as their Roadster rolled off the assembly line. They took delivery at the Menlo Park store three weeks later. Stephen, who has written several other blogs about Tesla, describes the tour and his first impressions with the car. Read more…

Ben Rosen, venture capitalist and former chairman of Compaq, is one of the most influential personalities in the technology industry. Under his leadership, Compaq Computer became one of the first companies to clone IBM’s PC design, enabling Compaq to become the world’s largest PC maker in the 1990s.

Less well known is Ben’s history as an automotive pioneer. More than 15 years ago, Ben and his brother Harold (father of the geostationary communications satellite) started a company to build a hybrid-electric powertrain for cars. Rosen Motors hoped to dramatically improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions – without compromising on performance and style. Despite the brothers’ enthusiasm and demonstrations to major automakers, their vehicle was never commercialized.

Ben is a prolific blogger and, having recently taken ownership of his Tesla Roadster, described the “exhilarating experience” in depth. We re-posted an excerpt below and you may view the entire post here. Read more…