First Ride: 2012 Tesla Model S

As a handful of journalists snapped pictures, poked at touch screens, and flipped open the charging ports on the trio of preproduction (Betas, they call them) Model S's parked outside the Tesla (ex-NUMMI) factory in Fremont, California, I had one solitary thought:

None of this can be said about the Model S. In its base version, it'll cost $57,400 (add about $1950 for destination) and be eligible for a federal $7500 tax credit (and depending on where you live, additional local ones). Here in California, for instance, that means the price will be about $49,350 (after including our state $2500 tax credit as well). Not cheap, but there's a whole lot of vastly less interesting sedans out there that regularly sell for $49,350. (Don't make me name names.) Moreover, unlike the Volt and Leaf, the Model S's charger is part of the deal, built right into car.

While the Tesla Roadster has been unfairly labeled an electric Lotus (derived, perhaps), that won't happen with the Model S as virtually every spec of it is original. Overall, its presence struck me as something like a more organic Audi A7, meaning it's a stylishly windswept four-door fastback with a clear accent on performance. Parked side-by-side with the Audi, they're just about the same length, with the Tesla measuring an inch taller and wider. And like the Audi, the Model S is almost entirely aluminum, with bolding via adhesives, rivets, and welds, depending on the circumstance.

In fact, they're removable, five-belt child affairs, so their occupants' size is literally restricted by law. I actually climbed back there, but being considerably past child-seat age (when I was a kid, I used to stand on a front bench seat, for heaven's sake) all I could judge is that they're definitely close to the rear bumper. But no more so than the third row of many minivans. Would I put a kid there? Well, the seats do provide some flexibility in a pinch...and that's about it.

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F-150 Raptor Gets Upgrades, BMW 5-Series Hybrid, Tesla: Car News Headlines

2012 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

Newsletter Stay up to date on car reviews, buying guides, articles and more

Hyundai is working on a 10-speed automatic and is bringing a rally-ready Veloster to SEMA. A camera-based collision detection system debuts on the 2012 GMC Terrain, and GM introduces the first front center air bag. All this and more in today's car news, right here on TheCarConnection.

Hyundai, the little automaker that could, is upping the ante with 10-speed automatic transmissions.

Ford introduces new features and upgrades for the 2012 F-150 SVT Raptor.

What do you want to know about the 2012 Tesla Model S electric sedan?

IBM and Streetline have inked a deal that will attempt to ease America's parking woes.

BMW is preparing a hybrid version of its 5-Series.

The 2012 GMC Terrain will offer a camera-based collision alert system.

Do you think Tesla will be the next Apple or Altair?

Are tire-tread scanners coming to a road near you?

General Motors introduces the front center airbag to keep you safer.

Hyundai is bringing a rally-ready 2012 Veloster to SEMA.

View the original article here

F-150 Raptor Gets Upgrades, BMW 5-Series Hybrid, Tesla: Car News Headlines

2012 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

Newsletter Stay up to date on car reviews, buying guides, articles and more

Hyundai is working on a 10-speed automatic and is bringing a rally-ready Veloster to SEMA. A camera-based collision detection system debuts on the 2012 GMC Terrain, and GM introduces the first front center air bag. All this and more in today's car news, right here on TheCarConnection.

Hyundai, the little automaker that could, is upping the ante with 10-speed automatic transmissions.

Ford introduces new features and upgrades for the 2012 F-150 SVT Raptor.

What do you want to know about the 2012 Tesla Model S electric sedan?

IBM and Streetline have inked a deal that will attempt to ease America's parking woes.

BMW is preparing a hybrid version of its 5-Series.

The 2012 GMC Terrain will offer a camera-based collision alert system.

Do you think Tesla will be the next Apple or Altair?

Are tire-tread scanners coming to a road near you?

General Motors introduces the front center airbag to keep you safer.

Hyundai is bringing a rally-ready 2012 Veloster to SEMA.

View the original article here

F-150 Raptor Gets Upgrades, BMW 5-Series Hybrid, Tesla: Car News Headlines

2012 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

Newsletter Stay up to date on car reviews, buying guides, articles and more

Hyundai is working on a 10-speed automatic and is bringing a rally-ready Veloster to SEMA. A camera-based collision detection system debuts on the 2012 GMC Terrain, and GM introduces the first front center air bag. All this and more in today's car news, right here on TheCarConnection.

Hyundai, the little automaker that could, is upping the ante with 10-speed automatic transmissions.

Ford introduces new features and upgrades for the 2012 F-150 SVT Raptor.

What do you want to know about the 2012 Tesla Model S electric sedan?

IBM and Streetline have inked a deal that will attempt to ease America's parking woes.

BMW is preparing a hybrid version of its 5-Series.

The 2012 GMC Terrain will offer a camera-based collision alert system.

Do you think Tesla will be the next Apple or Altair?

Are tire-tread scanners coming to a road near you?

General Motors introduces the front center airbag to keep you safer.

Hyundai is bringing a rally-ready 2012 Veloster to SEMA.

View the original article here

Kimi to NASCAR and Tesla Sues Top Gear: Is It April 1 Already?

Has April Fools come early? Top Gear says Kimi Raikkonen is planning to race in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup. Meanwhile, Tesla Motors is suing BBC’s Top Gear for libel over a two-year-old television review of its electric Roadster sports car.

If you need catching up, Raikkonen won the 2007 World Driver’s Championship in a Ferrari and switched to the World Rally Championship last year, driving a Citroen. Kimi was most entertaining when he got a podium and sat in on the post-race interviews, where he answered everything with one long run-on, mumbled sentence. He came off sounding like he had sampled a bit of his sponsor’s product, Johnny Walker.

If Kimi starts winning Sprint Cup races in his Jim Beam/Nokian Hakkapeliitta/Valvoline Volvo S60, I might have to start watching the WWF of motorsports.

It would be easier to dismiss Tesla vs. Top Gear, except that when it comes to libel suits, British law is tougher than American law on media. If you need catching up on this one, you can find the full 10-and-a-half-minute Top Gear video clip on YouTube. That’s Tesla’s problem with it. Public relations chief Ricardo Reyes writes at teslavstopgear.com that “If the episode had been broadcast in 2008, and not rebroadcast repeatedly to hundreds of millions of new viewers all over the globe, Tesla would not have sued.”

There’s the slightly early April Fool’s joke; that the fledgling electric automaker wasn’t hurt the first time Jeremy Clarkson & Co. slammed its chief product. Now it is. And we’re going to tell you about it, so you can find it on YouTube and watch it again.

Reyes writes, “Tesla Roadsters in over 30 countries have driven more than 10 million real-world miles. That’s 500,000 gallons of fuel that didn’t burn and over 5.3 million pounds of averted carbon dioxide emissions.”

I’ll give them the 500,000 gallons of fuel, assuming “10 million real-world miles” is anywhere near accurate, but 5.3 million pounds of averted carbon dioxide? Did Tesla subtract upstream emissions, and if so, how did it do the count? As the proud owners of a long-term Chevrolet Volt, Motor Trend would like to know.

Ten million real world miles comes to 3,300+ miles per Tesla Roadster, assuming all 1,500+ have been on the road since 2008, which they have not. Okay, I guess that’s possible, if the owners don’t drive these sports cars the way Clarkson and The Stig tested them.

Tesla alleges Top Gear “misrepresented” that the Roadster ran out of charge and that four men had to push it into the Top Gear hangar, that its true range is 55 miles rather than the advertised 211 miles, that one of the test Roadster’s motor overheated and was immobilized, that the second Roadster’s brakes broke and that neither car was available for test-driving because of these problems.

I guess that means Top Gear wasn’t able to drive either Tesla Roadster on the road, because both broke before they got them off the test track. If you haven’t watched the video by now, be aware that these problems occurred after full track testing. Clarkson in the Tesla handily beat a conventional Lotus Elise in a drag race, and The Stig got some good lap times in it, despite the weight of the batteries and low rolling-resistance tires affecting its handling qualities.

Tesla alleges Top Gear staged the breakdowns, and its suit simply calls for the BBC to stop airing the rerun, “but they’ve repeatedly ignored Tesla’s requests.” It’s kind of like The Detroit News’ recent loss of car reviewer Scott Burgess, when its editors cut his most damning criticisms of the Chrysler 200. Not because of pressure from local employer Chrysler LLC, which had nothing to do with the editing, but because a local dealer pressured the newspaper. (Newspaper management has apologized, and Burgess has returned.)

A real, grown-up automaker wouldn’t try to control the news and criticism like that. (Yes, I know other “grown up” car companies sometimes try, but Chrysler’s not one of them.) A potential Tesla customer, especially one rabidly interested in electric cars, wouldn’t confuse published range with real-world driving range, which Top Gear would admit was severely limited because of the strenuous track testing at high speeds.

The difference, Clarkson noted on TV, is in the refueling. Run a Bugatti Veyron or a Lotus Elise dry on the track? Fill it up in a few minutes. Run a Tesla Roadster dry, and you’re waiting hours – Clarkson said it was 16 – before you can drive it again.

The good news is that Tesla vs. Top Gear, by definition, will be far more entertaining than any April 1 prank, maybe even more entertaining than Kimi in the Sprint Cup winner’s circle. How does Tesla know Top Gear staged the Roadster’s drivability problems? I don’t know. That’s going to be very hard to prove, I hope, at least two years after the show’s production. I do know the suit will lose its entertainment value if it’s allowed to go too far, and puts a chilling effect on Top Gear’s ability to review and criticize new cars.

View the original article here

Kimi to NASCAR and Tesla Sues Top Gear: Is It April 1 Already?

Has April Fools come early? Top Gear says Kimi Raikkonen is planning to race in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup. Meanwhile, Tesla Motors is suing BBC’s Top Gear for libel over a two-year-old television review of its electric Roadster sports car.

If you need catching up, Raikkonen won the 2007 World Driver’s Championship in a Ferrari and switched to the World Rally Championship last year, driving a Citroen. Kimi was most entertaining when he got a podium and sat in on the post-race interviews, where he answered everything with one long run-on, mumbled sentence. He came off sounding like he had sampled a bit of his sponsor’s product, Johnny Walker.

If Kimi starts winning Sprint Cup races in his Jim Beam/Nokian Hakkapeliitta/Valvoline Volvo S60, I might have to start watching the WWF of motorsports.

It would be easier to dismiss Tesla vs. Top Gear, except that when it comes to libel suits, British law is tougher than American law on media. If you need catching up on this one, you can find the full 10-and-a-half-minute Top Gear video clip on YouTube. That’s Tesla’s problem with it. Public relations chief Ricardo Reyes writes at teslavstopgear.com that “If the episode had been broadcast in 2008, and not rebroadcast repeatedly to hundreds of millions of new viewers all over the globe, Tesla would not have sued.”

There’s the slightly early April Fool’s joke; that the fledgling electric automaker wasn’t hurt the first time Jeremy Clarkson & Co. slammed its chief product. Now it is. And we’re going to tell you about it, so you can find it on YouTube and watch it again.

Reyes writes, “Tesla Roadsters in over 30 countries have driven more than 10 million real-world miles. That’s 500,000 gallons of fuel that didn’t burn and over 5.3 million pounds of averted carbon dioxide emissions.”

I’ll give them the 500,000 gallons of fuel, assuming “10 million real-world miles” is anywhere near accurate, but 5.3 million pounds of averted carbon dioxide? Did Tesla subtract upstream emissions, and if so, how did it do the count? As the proud owners of a long-term Chevrolet Volt, Motor Trend would like to know.

Ten million real world miles comes to 3,300+ miles per Tesla Roadster, assuming all 1,500+ have been on the road since 2008, which they have not. Okay, I guess that’s possible, if the owners don’t drive these sports cars the way Clarkson and The Stig tested them.

Tesla alleges Top Gear “misrepresented” that the Roadster ran out of charge and that four men had to push it into the Top Gear hangar, that its true range is 55 miles rather than the advertised 211 miles, that one of the test Roadster’s motor overheated and was immobilized, that the second Roadster’s brakes broke and that neither car was available for test-driving because of these problems.

I guess that means Top Gear wasn’t able to drive either Tesla Roadster on the road, because both broke before they got them off the test track. If you haven’t watched the video by now, be aware that these problems occurred after full track testing. Clarkson in the Tesla handily beat a conventional Lotus Elise in a drag race, and The Stig got some good lap times in it, despite the weight of the batteries and low rolling-resistance tires affecting its handling qualities.

Tesla alleges Top Gear staged the breakdowns, and its suit simply calls for the BBC to stop airing the rerun, “but they’ve repeatedly ignored Tesla’s requests.” It’s kind of like The Detroit News’ recent loss of car reviewer Scott Burgess, when its editors cut his most damning criticisms of the Chrysler 200. Not because of pressure from local employer Chrysler LLC, which had nothing to do with the editing, but because a local dealer pressured the newspaper. (Newspaper management has apologized, and Burgess has returned.)

A real, grown-up automaker wouldn’t try to control the news and criticism like that. (Yes, I know other “grown up” car companies sometimes try, but Chrysler’s not one of them.) A potential Tesla customer, especially one rabidly interested in electric cars, wouldn’t confuse published range with real-world driving range, which Top Gear would admit was severely limited because of the strenuous track testing at high speeds.

The difference, Clarkson noted on TV, is in the refueling. Run a Bugatti Veyron or a Lotus Elise dry on the track? Fill it up in a few minutes. Run a Tesla Roadster dry, and you’re waiting hours – Clarkson said it was 16 – before you can drive it again.

The good news is that Tesla vs. Top Gear, by definition, will be far more entertaining than any April 1 prank, maybe even more entertaining than Kimi in the Sprint Cup winner’s circle. How does Tesla know Top Gear staged the Roadster’s drivability problems? I don’t know. That’s going to be very hard to prove, I hope, at least two years after the show’s production. I do know the suit will lose its entertainment value if it’s allowed to go too far, and puts a chilling effect on Top Gear’s ability to review and criticize new cars.

View the original article here

Breaking: Tesla Sues BBC's Top Gear For Libel And Malicious Falsehood

Source: MotorAuthority.com

Tesla versus Top Gear

Tesla is no stranger to lawsuits, having been on both the receiving end and acting as instigator in several nasty cases in the recent past. The Californian electric car startup is now at it again, this time taking on the formidable forces of the BBC, more specifically the network’s Top Gear program, for libel and malicious falsehood.

Tesla served Top Gear with a lawsuit yesterday, claiming that it had no other recourse. The company claims that it reluctantly took legal action after its repeated attempts to contact the BBC, over the course of months, were ignored.

The issue in concern stems from an episode of the popular television show that aired almost two years ago.

According to Tesla, Top Gear’s on air review of its electric Roadster “contained lies and misinformation about the Roadster’s performance, behaviour and reliability”. In the episode, Tesla Roadsters are depicted as suffering several critical “breakdowns” during track driving. Host Jeremy Clarkson concludes the episode by saying that in the real world the Roadster "doesn’t seem to work"

Tesla claims that Top Gear misrepresented the company along these following points:

   1. The Roadster ran out of charge and had to be pushed into the Top Gear hangar by four men.

   2. The Roadster’s true range is only 55 miles per charge (not 211).

   3. One Roadster’s motor overheated and was completely immobilized as a result.

   4. The other Roadster’s brakes were broken, rendering the car undriveable.

   5. That neither of the two Roadsters provided to Top Gear was available for test driving due to these problems.

According to Tesla, the breakdowns were staged, making most of Top Gear’s claims about the Roadster untrue. Tesla states that it can prove Top Gear’s tests were falsified due to the recordings of its cars' onboard data-loggers. Allegedly, neither Roadster ran out of charge during Top Gear's tests, or even came close.

Remember, Top Gear is one of the most popular automotive shows on the planet, reaching an audience of more than 350 million viewers, so there’s certainly some clout in Tesla’s claims. In fact, to this day, Tesla continues to field questions and explain what it claims are misconceptions created by the show.

Tesla simply wants Top Gear to stop rebroadcasting the particular episode and to correct the record.

You can rest assure, the MotorAuthority team will keep you updated on the topic. In the meantime, here's a link to a video of the review in question.

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Tesla Vs BBC: Top Gear Planned Dead Electric Car Shot Before Test

Source: AllCarsElectric.com

Believe it or not, most of what you watch on television is scripted. 

What you may not know is that some shows which appear unscripted, like the BBC’s infamous Top Gear, are also scripted word for word. Everything from the banter between its three middle-aged hosts to its madcap challenges and car reviews has been meticulously planned, before any filming takes place. 

Two years ago, Tesla Motors found out what that really meant when its duo of 2008 Tesla Roadsters were doomed to a biased and unrealistic depiction on screen before the film crew even unpacked their equipment or TopGear presenter Jeremy Clarkson had stepped on set. 

In documents released as part of Tesla Motor’s libel claim filed against the publicly owned British Broadcasting Corporation earlier this week, the Californian automaker detailed the negative script delivered by Clarkson while reviewing its Roadster, alleging that the infamous scene showing four members of the TopGear crew pushing a supposedly drained Roadster into a hangar was completely staged. 

The court documents, filed in the U.K. detail how Tesla’s former U.K. Director of Sales and Marketing expressed concern to the producers of the show after seeing a script on the day of the shoot before filming had even begun. 

Describing everything from the car being filmed ‘running out of charge’ to the host’s conclusions of “It’s just a shame that in the real world, it absolutely doesn’t work.”, the Tesla employee reportedly confronted the show’s researcher who agreed that filming the $109,000 sportscar being pushed into a hangar having run out of charge was not acceptable, noting “We don’t want to be sued”.

Without Tesla's knowledge the shoot went on regardless with the script being stuck to rigorously. It wasn’t apparent until after the initial airing of the show in December 2008 just how many false accusations had been made by the motoring entertainment show about the car's performance and reliability.

In addition, the show is alleged to have made false claims about both cars loaned to them for the shoot, including the implication that both cars were rendered unusable after spirited driving.  These claims are refuted in the court documents, detailing testimony from a Tesla engineer present on set on the day of filming. 

Since the initial screening of the episode on U.K. television, the episode in question has been screened worldwide, placed on Internet video sharing sites such as YouTube and even sold in TopGear DVD Box Sets.

It is this continued disregard for Tesla and its cars which has caused the automaker to sue, 2 years after the initial show aired. 

If successful, Tesla will win a court injunction preventing the BBC from airing the show in future on its own or syndicated networks as well as preventing the broadcaster from ever repeating such allegations. 

Tesla should note however, that scripted or not the multinational, multimillion-dollar Top Gear franchise has a reputation for homophobic, nationalistic, xenophobic stereotyping, many of which it has dodged in the past by claiming it nothing more than an entertainment show. 

Will such a claim work this time? We hope for Tesla’s sake that it won’t. After all, since Top Gear's former Stig Ben Collins came out of the electric car closet as a fan of the electric sportscar we think Tesla may just stand a chance of winning. 

[Tesla]

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