Motor Trend's 2013 Car of the Year: Tesla Model S

[HybridSquirrel]

http://www.motortrend.com/oftheyear/car/1301_2013_motor_trend_car_of_the_year_tesla_model_s/?ti=v3



Nice

 

[Mutilator]

That car is going to just keep racking up the awards too. Dare I say it may have taken the top spot away from my beloved Porsche 911? Only time will tell if it stays there or not. I do wish them the best as a company though.

 

[PricklyPete]

I think the car is fantastic and hope to see more like it from Tesla.

 

[exar333]

This is winning awards while the Fisker Karma is burning-up, literally.

 

[punjabiplaya]

Saw my first one in the metal a month or so ago. It was chasing down a GTR on the freeway.

 

[Brovane]

Not bad considering Musk's other job is building rockets that go into space. :thumbsup:

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

In general I don't much like Motor Trend or respect their COTY choices (there have been some real clunkers over the years), but I do think the Tesla Model S is a special and significant new car and worthy of the title.

 

[bigi]

Go Tesla!

Tesla S is so ahead of its times that no wonder many just don't get it (yet?)

BTW, after seeing a bunch of interviews with Elon, he seems to think that 'Tesla Cars' are pretty much 'done deal'** Now, he seems to be more focused on SpaceX**

 

[PricklyPete]

Go Tesla!

Tesla S is so ahead of its times that no wonder many just don't get it (yet?)

BTW, after seeing a bunch of interviews with Elon, he seems to think that 'Tesla Cars' are pretty much 'done deal'** Now, he seems to be more focused on SpaceX**

Really? I've gotten the opposite impression**

In my humble opinion** The car business is ultimately much more difficult than the space business** Not from a tech perspective, but from a margins/customers/speed of business/manufacturing** I ***mend SpaceX for what they have ac***plished, but I am even more impressed with Tesla for creating a car from the ground up, properly setting up a mass manufacturing plant, and producing a car of such quality** I really hope they are able to keep this up and produce a more middle class level of car**

If I was in need of a car and could live with the inherent limitations of a electric car, I would seriously consider stretching my budget for this car**

 

[phucheneh]

So does the car still break every five minutes like it did on Top Gear?

I know that was exaggerated, but I never saw anything about if reliability had gotten better@#@#@#@#@#@#I mean, if it's the 'electric sportscar,' it should be able to be driven hard@#@#

 

[JTsyo]

So does the car still break every five minutes like it did on Top Gear?

I know that was exaggerated, but I never saw anything about if reliability had gotten better@#@#@#@#@#@#I mean, if it's the 'electric sportscar,' it should be able to be driven hard@#@#

The Model S is not the roadster they had on Top Gear, it's the 4 door sedan@#@# I would think electric cars would be more mechanically reliable though overall reliability might be brought down with electronic issues@#@#

 

[thedarkwolf]

The Top Gear thing was staged if you are talking about what I think you are.

 

[HybridSquirrel]

So does the car still break every five minutes like it did on Top Gear?

I know that was exaggerated, but I never saw anything about if reliability had gotten better@#@#@#@#@#@#I mean, if it's the 'electric sportscar,' it should be able to be driven hard@#@#

The car didn't break on top gear. They over dramatized it, and Tesla has proven that based off the vehicle logs...They sued Top Gear but lost, but Top Gear publicly apologized for it.

 

[Brovane]

Go Tesla!

Tesla S is so ahead of its times that no wonder many just don't get it (yet?)

BTW, after seeing a bunch of interviews with Elon, he seems to think that 'Tesla Cars' are pretty much 'done deal'** Now, he seems to be more focused on SpaceX**

I think Musk's #1 passion is Space X not Tesla.

 

[SilthDraeth]

I am all for tech in cars, but that center console looks terrible to me. I would have much rather had it in landscape mode. But I suppose it works. Maybe if I had one, or the desire for one, I would enjoy the look.

 

[phucheneh]

Ha. I didn't even know there was a four-door...I was thinking the S was just a model of the roadster...'sport package' or something.

Didn't know the Top Gear thing with the roadster was totally faked. I thought it had legit failures (that they then exaggerated).

Still don't see why this is 'COTY,' though. But I guess it's kind of ambiguous like 'person of the year.' Didn't Hitler win that in like 1935 or something? Heh.

 

[Brovane]

Ha. I didn't even know there was a four-door...I was thinking the S was just a model of the roadster...'sport package' or something.

Didn't know the Top Gear thing with the roadster was totally faked. I thought it had legit failures (that they then exaggerated).

Still don't see why this is 'COTY,' though. But I guess it's kind of ambiguous like 'person of the year.' Didn't Hitler win that in like 1935 or something? Heh.

Yeah Musk wasn't happy at all. After the Top Gear episode aired , Musk had to answer a bunch of questions about it from his investors during the IPO roadshow, he wasn't really amused. As if Top Gear was a serious journalism show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKpKE0FWph4

 

[lghost]

Car looks great, if only I could get it with a gasoline engine, and without the stupid ipad center stack, for a reasonable price...

But then it would be a different car. Good job Motor Trend.

 

[Imported]

The car didn't break on top gear. They over dramatized it, and Tesla has proven that based off the vehicle logs...They sued Top Gear but lost, but Top Gear publicly apologized for it.

Top Gear didn't apologize; and the judge tossed Tesla's lawsuit out.

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/02/tesla-vs-top-gear/

My prediction of the Model S being vaporware never came true. I still wouldn't buy one (can't actually, nowhere to charge it while I'm in an apartment) as I'd prefer a different car in that price range but I can see the merits on why someone would.

 

[Pariah]

Do you we all get a trophy from Motor Trend, since we all paid for the development of this car to the tune of about 1/2 billion dollars?

 

[Pulsar]

Tesla is great. Their product is neat. I hope it works.

However, as I've post in the past, I'll clap when the angel investor money and government gifts disappear, and they make a profit and continue to bring out new models. Until then, their products aren't vaporware: their whole company is.

 

[Brovane]

Do you we all get a trophy from Motor Trend, since we all paid for the development of this car to the tune of about 1/2 billion dollars?

The government loaned them money, to be paid back with interest. I guess we could say the same thing about GM cars.

 

[Ferzerp]

I guess we could say the same thing about GM cars.

I see you're new to the internet

You can't look at any generic website (ATF is really a technical forum at heart, even the garage) and see a GM story without a fleet of posts saying just that.

 

[Pariah]

The government loaned them money, to be paid back with interest. I guess we could say the same thing about GM cars.

Agreed. But everyone bitches about GM's loans and sarcastically calls them Gov't motors. I don't hear anyone bitching about Tesla's loans despite them getting an extention to pay them later while GM claims they paid theirs back early. At least GM is producing cars that the general public can buy.

 

[Pariah]

The car didn't break on top gear. They over dramatized it, and Tesla has proven that based off the vehicle logs...They sued Top Gear but lost, but Top Gear publicly apologized for it.

Top Gear never claimed the cars broke down. They said the brakes failed on one of them though they didn't elaborate what that meant. They showed a clip of people pushing the car while talking about how the range claim was optimisitic and how they calculated that on their track it would have only made it 55 miles, not 200. Top Gear never apologized because anyone who isn't a retard could see it was done for dramatic effect.