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Tesla Model S named Car of the Year by Automobile Magazine, Yahoo

Performance, elegance and its success in elevating the status of electric cars help the Model S win top honors.

By Claire_Martin Nov 2, 2012 8:34AM
Tesla Model S photo by Tesla MotorsPlucked from a particularly competitive field, the Tesla Model S snagged the 2013 Car of the Year award from the editors of Automobile Magazine and Yahoo Autos.

Automobile's editors were wowed by the car's torque and speed. "It's the performance that won us over," Editor-in-Chief Jean Jennings said. "The crazy speed builds silently and then pulls back the edges of your face. It had all of us endangering our licenses."

The Yahoo team praised it for single-handedly boosting the image of electric cars. "Tesla has erased long-perceived limitations of electric cars (poor range, small size, spartan interiors) and, going where no established automaker has yet to tread, [created] an uncompromised yet practical object of desire," Marco della Cava wrote. 

The car's ability to pamper and perform didn't go unnoticed, either. Trimmed in leather and wood and bestowed with the nifty ability to start not with a key or button but simply by having the driver take a seat behind the wheel, the Model S has no shortage of whiz-bang features. A 17-inch touch-screen in the dash lets drivers control the radio, surf the Internet and open the panoramic sunroof. 

Adding to the list of accolades, the Model S has a spacious cabin, which can't be said for all electric cars. Many are crowded with battery packs, but the Tesla's batteries are bundled into the floor, which helps lower its center of gravity -- another boon to performance.

The one rub with the the Model S? Availability. Thirteen thousand anxious customers are awaiting delivery of their car after having plunked down a $5,000 deposit. So far, just 250 of the Teslas are prowling the roads.

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8Comments
TRUTH7007
Nov 2, 2012 10:40AM
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Tesla as car of the year. Hey Romney, haven't you constantly been throwing Tesla under the buss when mentioning Obama's failures?
Sarduci1
Nov 4, 2012 11:09AM
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Tesla is what America needs to get off the oil addiction we have.  I am all in favor of supporting American industry and small businesses  with tax incentives/tax breaks.  But actually giving cash is another story, I don't support.  Other countries like Japan, Korea, China, and even European countries give tax incentives and breaks to up and coming companies that will cause huge changes in their industrial base of the country.  Now,  if Tesla can just make an electric car for about  $25,000-30,000..  
Sangaboy
Nov 5, 2012 2:01AM
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 now it's time to outsource it to China, to cut cost, another chunk of US taxpayer heading going to cina.

xquzit98
Nov 2, 2012 12:29PM
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The fact that Tesla won COTY has nothing to do with politics. It's a fantastic car that I happen to like a lot, but that still doesn't change the fact that these tax incentives for buying electric cars need to be killed.  Who should the tax payer offset the cost of some righ guys Tesla or Fisker?  Or even a lesser expensive Leaf and Volt?  If there is a demand, they will sell.

 

(On the bright side, so far the Model S won't turn you into BBQ, so that's a plus.)

John Trotta (GiovanniAlbertoMD)
Nov 3, 2012 9:47AM
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Oil barons will never let any alternative fuel survive.

xpert1
Nov 2, 2012 2:09PM
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Hopefully they don't ignite and burn like the Karma Fiskers
Cyc297
Nov 2, 2012 12:07PM
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Too bad Tesla is going off the cliff when/if ROMNEY becomes president.
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