According to the person who posted the video, the Tango crossed the quarter mile in 14.48 seconds at a speed of 92.15 mph, besting the Tesla's 14.666 seconds at 101.23 miles. As a point of reference, the Tango has approximately the same quarter-mile time as a Mazda RX-8 while the Tesla is on par with an Infiniti G35 sedan. More interesting than this information is the novelty of watching a quiet drag race. Just listen to those motors quietly whir. Report from the videographer below.

On Nov 30th, the fastest production electric vehicles in the U.S. went head-to-head. While their first meeting had a number of issues, most notably the underfilled Tango battery pack, and the Tesla's non-upgraded drivetrain, the 1/4 mile time is quite close and indicative of races to come.

In this race, the Tango got 92.15mph in 14.480 seconds, beating its 14.7 "dial" handicap and thus losing the competition; the Tesla got 101.23mph in 14.666 seconds, slower than its 14.5 "dial" handicap and allowing it to proceed to the next round. (Two rounds later, the Tango's driver got behind the wheel of the Tesla and also beat its "dial" handicap... and thus lost!)

Thanks to Jerry for the tip

[Source: YouTube]

take down more rotgut in an evening than the Baldwin Brothers. Although a Prius may take fewer stops at the pump, you'd have to ride it to the moon to make up for the 11,000 gallons of jet fuel, say, Pitt scarfed on his flight to Namibia to pick up Brangelina's latest little bundle of joy. Thank goodness daddy's doing his part to save the world. [Hat tip to kevinmckenna!] – Ray Wert

Celebs Who Claim They're Green but Guzzle Gas [TMZ.com]

Related:
Tango and Clooney [internal]

Three years ago, we were living in the former California state capital of Benicia and left the house two hours early one morning to make a photographers' meeting at Sears Point prior to the Dodge/Save Mart/Polska Ciabatta/Sharper Razor/Faster Pussycat 350 Presented by Thurston Howell III and Hank Chinaski. Eighteen miles? No probalo, right? Probalo. It took us three-and-a-half hours just to travel the 18 miles to the track. Meanwhile, folks on motorcycles were passing us on the shoulder of Highway 37 and we were thinking, "That's the only way to travel to this race. We were also thinking that our bladder was about to burst.

Finally, in distended agony (and still nearly an hour from our destination, despite the fact that it was actually visible to us), we pulled over to the side of the road to relieve ourselves, thinking, "Okay, there's enough space for any bike to get by except a Gold Wing. And sure enough, in mid-stream, what should pull up, unable to pass? Yes, a freaking Gold Wing. At 44 inches wide, it punches a thicker hole through the air than a Tango, possibly making the Tango the best way to travel to the place heathens refer to as Infineon Raceway. As long as your round trip is under 80 miles, at least. Still, if we were dropping 100k on an electric car, we think we'd rather have a Tesla. Over twice the range, and let's face it, it's just sexier. Of course, in a Tesla, we still wouldn't have made that meeting.

An Electric Car Unlike Any Other [ForbesAutos]

Related:
What Would George Clooney Drive? Tango und Cash [Internal]

Here's a good reason to hate beautiful Marin County. Besides exorbitant housing prices, people there give not a whit for fact and follow their own agenda. It's like Malibu, only at least in Malibu, the self-righteous nimrods tend to be transparent film-industry types, and that's somewhat forgivable. Don't ask us why, but having lived in proximity to both places, we're more amused by Malibu and more annoyed by Marin. The Point Reyes Light turned what could've been an interesting piece on electric charging stations in a national park into a propaganda piece about the brilliance of electric motoring. Now and then, we read things that make us want to punch the dumbass writer. This is one of those pieces. "No manufacturer currently makes [an electric car]." Seriously, Jonah Owen Lamb, do your due dilligence. Otherwise, you're gonna look like an asshole. Oh wait — you already do. What's sad is that most Marininites won't care.

Park gets electric cars, but you cant [sic] [Point Reyes Light]

Related:
Tango and Clooney [Internal]

Remember that time that our west coast celebrity-blogging sibling Defamer got some news on George Clooney's electric car, and we were all like "Defamer got some car news before us, wow." And then remember we were like, totally jealous and stuff? Hell, even big brother/sister/poppa/momma bear Gawker was impressed. "Who are they to be stalkin' our man!" we remember them cryin' while strikin' their best baby-momma pose. Yeah, that was totally an awesome night. But this is more awesome...

because we've got more news on the super-narrow electric car called the Tango T600. And we've got it before Defamer. Nyah! Yep, Clooney's got one, because that's how he rolls. But just cause the perpetual stalkee rolls that way, don't expect we'll be writing checks just yet. We're still cynically skeptical about the Tango, despite some videographic evidence of some pretty awesome tire-smoking burnouts because, well, that's how we roll. Continue reading our in-depth analysis, or just watch the video and go back to your game of Sudoku or you know — however it is you roll.

You have to admit, the Tango can do a sweet burnout for an earth-loving hippie car. But that's about where our fascination ends. Aternative energy car builders still haven't got the cost/performance/design formula quite right, and the Tango is no exception. First, it looks dorkier than the dorkiest of dorkmobiles. And your passenger sits behind you — jump jet style — when you're not carrying any cargo. And then there's the price. It's not in production yet and the ordering page says it'll take $108,000 to get a Tango T600 (the model in the video) kit, no word on how much assembly is required. Excuse us, but we don't love mother nature that much. Try Treehugger.

Read the Commuter Cars website a little deeper, and you'll see that the claimed 0-60 time of "about 4 seconds" is totally theoretical and not yet tested. And if you've watched the video you've heard the best two quotes, one calling the Tango a "chick magnet" and the other one where creator Rick Woodbury says "crashworthiness is better than any production car that I know of." Our belief is these two quotes are themselves equally theoretical and untested.

But the really disturbing thing about the Tango is that it's only 39 inches wide. Great for parking, not so good for not rolling over. Of course the Tango people claim it's perfectly stable, and they've put the batteries under the floor to help stability. But Scotty was pretty damn clear with us; "Ye canna change the laws of physics," and 3000 pounds plus 39-inch track equals not very stable.

3000 pounds? Yes, and 1000 of those pounds are batteries. Which means without batteries the Tango weighs as much as a Lotus Elise with an engine. In other words, you could pack an Elise with an electric motor and batteries and it would probably weigh less than the Tango. And potentially cost less as well. And you would actually look cool. Best of luck to Mr. Woodbury — but we won't be lining up to dance with the Tango any time soon — Clooney be damned.

[Hat tip to Jerry]

Video - Zero Emission Entertainment [Streetfire.net]
Commuter Cars Corporation [commutercars.com]

Related:
Clooney Tangos Through Hollywood [internal]
George Clooney's Tiny Ride, Part II: Chicks Don't Care About Size [Defamer]

We were just tipped to these shots of George Clooney with the Tango he's reportedly been seen doing electric-powered burnouts around Hollywood in (we made that up). (Word is Clooney bought the car sight unseen for $80,000.) Now, Commuter Cars Corp. is reportedly working on a custom Tango for Clooney that will feature an airbrushed mural of Edward R. Murrow wielding the Broadsword of Journalism over his head as it's struck by the Lightning of Justice, which also happens to light the Lucky Strike cigarette between his lips. It's gonna be awesome. [Thanks to Paul for the tip.]

Clooney's Tango! WoW!!! [Electrifying Times]

Related:
Clooney Tangos Through Hollywood [internal]

Man-oh-man...now that we're in California, we've gots to do some edumacatin' here to our brilliant-but-automotively-challenged brother Defamer. He's sorta like the inverse of Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man. Or something. We've totally forgotten the plot of that movie, except that it had something to do with Lambos coming off a ship. And DH was autistic and Tom Cruise was slimy. That's about it. Well, we can fake it. It's LA, right?

Of course, because he's more popular than us, he gets all the fresh celeb-auto-spotting tips the latest being George Clooney cruising Greater LA near some secret makeout spot in his fast, ugly, electric Tango. But yo, Mark, we know this hand-wringing about the spelling of nicknames for Bavarian automobiles is all geeky of us and stuff, but a Beemer is a BMW motorcycle. A Bimmer is a car manufactured by the selfsame Bayrische Motoren Werke. Yes, we know that's lame. And no, we don't get it either. Any propeller-roundel-heads care to explain the discrepancy to us?

George Clooney's Tiny Ride Part II: Chicks Don't Care About Size. [Defamer]

Related:
What Would George Clooney Drive? Tango und Cash [Internal]