Buying a new car is a major decision for most people – including myself. After much consideration and taking climate change into account, I went off to Chadstone in 2020 to test drive the Model 3 Tesla. An electric vehicle is the way of the future – right? Great for the planet and this car was winning rave reviews.
It’s a beautiful looking machine and absolutely YES – it drives like a dream. The idea of never having to visit a petrol station again and deal with the increasing price of fuel was also very appealing. Not to mention the comfort features, touchscreen controls, an automatic phone charging console and no car-keys required – it’s all run through an App on your I-phone.
After one test drive, I was sold. Three months later, my dream car arrived. It’s been everything I had hoped for and more. I was starting to sound like a car salesperson when chatting with friends and should have earned a commission from TESLA for all the glowing reviews I delivered.
Then less than a year later – a horrific out-of-the-blue accident that’s turned into an ongoing nightmare. I was driving home from a shopping trip (ironically at Chadstone) with my daughter in a straight line down North Road this happened:
The most important outcome from the accident was that Veronica, myself and the other driver survived without any major injuries. I largely credit the strength of the Tesla’s inner frame for protecting us. The inner cabin was unscathed but the car itself was almost a write-off. Still, it was deemed salvageable and sent off for repairs.
BUT it’s coming up to FIVE months since the accident and I still don’t have my car back. I’m not blaming the car repairer – they are doing their best – but there’s a global problem with the supply of vehicle parts (and actual vehicles) causing major headaches for the entire industry. It seems TESLA is one of the worst hit.
So while I would still thoroughly recommend buying a TESLA – do keep in mind that IF you have an accident (and God-willing, you don’t) you could lose your car for up to six months or more.
And if you want to BUY a new TESLA – which was listed last year as Australia’s BEST-SELLING electric vehicle – the wait time is now between nine and 12 months.
Which leads me to my advice to Elon Musk. Given these ridiculous delays, why not start a TESLA manufacturing plant HERE in Australia – instead of investing in TWITTER?
More than TWELVE THOUSAND Teslas were sold in Australia last year. Given the statistics are still on an upward trend, we’re going to need a LOT more Teslas AND plenty more spare parts for any of them that are involved in accidents.
The body and chassis the TESLA are made of bauxite aluminium, titanium, and boron steel – all of which are produced here in Australia. How good would that be for sales – if car buyers knew they no longer had to wait an eternity – not only for their vehicle to arrive – but also to get their cars back after an accident? It would also be great for employment in the technology and car industries in Australia. Not to mention the benefits for climate change with a bigger uptake of electric vehicles.
So, Elon, what do you think?
And if not a new plant in Australia – could you at least fast-track the ONE remaining part required to fix my car (a sub-fame or front-cross-member: part number 10444531-00-B) so I can get back on the road again?
Lastly, thank you for making such a strong vehicle that means Veronica and I are still alive and happy.
NOTE: I tried putting various questions about Tesla sales and manufacturing statistics as well as the wait on parts for my vehicle to the Tesla PR company at [email protected] but all three of my emails remain unanswered.
So now I’m into DAY THREE of my Juice Cleanse and I’ve stuck to it solidly. Here’s how yesterday panned out and what’s happening today:
DAY TWO
Day Two started off swimmingly, but my enthusiasm started to wane by late afternoon. It wasn’t that I was getting tired of juice – I was starting to feel rag-doll tired.
I really should have listened to the advice from the Pressed Juices staff who recommend taking it easy on the days you’re ‘cleansing’. I thought I was doing well skipping a spin class at the gym and going for a power walk instead, but in the afternoon, I had quite a bit of running around to do with appointments and errands in the city and Chadstone shopping centre, so by day’s end, I felt completely drained.
I still enjoyed the juices with a fantastic selection of flavours. My favourite was the Zest Juice in the afternoon made up of pineapple, ginger, mint and pear – yum.
Challenges included watching my daughter eat sushi at Chadstone from our favourite store and suddenly missing the action of ‘chewing’ myself. Then she baked some delicious smelling biscuits when we got home which was horribly tempting, but I stuck to my guns.
DAY THREE SO FAR…
You might think I’m a piker, but I’ve decided to eat a ‘proper’ meal tonight, cutting back my 3-day JUICE CLEANSE to two and three-quarter days. I can justify this quite admirably though. You see, I REALLY want to get back to the gym tomorrow morning and without a bit of protein in the tummy tonight, that just won’t be possible.
Plus we’re going to a family dinner tonight and how can you say NO to your Mum’s home-cooked roast??? I won’t have potatoes though. Or dessert. And maybe I’ll have to ditch the gravy as well. NOOoooo. I’ve changed my mind. I’m having gravy.
But I have stuck to the Juice Cleanse for all of today so far and I’m feeling fine. In fact, most of the time (apart from yesterday, late afternoon) you feel fabulous! For exercise, I put in a good forty minutes on the treadmill, walking at a fast pace, so I can tick my exercise box too.
Now it’s time to get down to the RULES of the diet I’m going to design for myself. Let’s call it the FIT FIX DIET for the sake of having a reference name.
FIT FIX DIET RULES:
1. Things you can’t eat: potato, rice, bread and products with more than 5% sugar content. (the sugar rule doesn’t apply to wine or the one day you are allowed chocolate!)
2. You must write down everything you eat and count calories. (sounds boring but I have an easy solution for this!)
3. You must exercise every day for a minimum of between 45 minutes and an hour. I am going to aim for spin classes four days a week, plus two lots of abdominal classes and two sessions of body toning or weights workouts. If you don’t go to a gym, you can ride a bike, run and do toning exercises at home.
4. You must weigh yourself every day.
5. You must have three alcohol-free days a week. I calculate my week starting on a Sunday.
6. You can have one day off the regime per week where you eat what you like and ditch the calorie counting.
3. An I-phone or device that can use the My Net Diary App. This is my secret weapon in the fight against flab!
It means you can easily put in all your measurements and target weight and it will calculate how much you should safely eat per day in order to lose weight.
You might think it sounds terribly boring to type in everything you eat, but the bonus here is that once you pop the food item into the system, the App will recall all the details and the information will come up automatically. Given I don’t vary my food intake THAT much, it isn’t too hard. And believe me, I’m no tech-genius, so if I can do it, you can!
I start with My Net Diary tomorrow and eating a regime of more regular food. Which I’ll detail in a food plan later.
The other aspect of this App I love is that by storing your weight every day, it produces a little chart to show how you’re progressing. It’s great when you finally see the line on the graph start to head south!
I was contemplating which fashion label to focus on next, when Rochelle, who often kindly models for this Blog, suggested we take a look at accessories instead. A brilliant idea, I thought, so we headed off to Chadstone to see what Tilkah has in store for the coming season. A timely decision too, given the Aussie brand is celebrating a milestone ten year birthday.
To survive in the highly competitive world of bags and accessories is no mean feat. I think Tilkah’s success comes from targeting a mid-range market – somewhere in-between the uber high-end labels and the cheaper, fast-turnover chain stores like Diva and Colette.
Heading into the winter season, the jewellery designs lean towards a glamourous olde-world Hollywood theme, with lots of sparkle and bling. The bags, meanwhile, come in earthy tones in lush suede with studding and leather.
Here’s a sample of some of our favourite picks in store right now:
After buying my new baby yesterday, I’m on a strict budget… But if I could, I would LOVE to snap up Tilkah’s signature Veruka bag. (below) So versatile – either over-the-shoulder or a short-handle bag. But seriously, which colour? Black or yellow?
