NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Motor Trend magazine has named the Tesla Model S its Car of the Year. The magazine's staff selected the all-electric plug-in luxury car out of a field of 11 finalists that included models such as the Ford Fusion, Porsche 911 and Hyundai Azera. It is the first time the magazine's Car of the Year award has ever gone to an all-electric car. Just being electric wasn't enough to earn the Model S the prize, though. Ed Loh, Motor Trend's editor-in-chief on Monday said that, with eleven finalists, it was a strong field this year. But in the end there was no question about who the winner was. "The vehicles that placed second and third didn't get more than three votes. But it was a unanimous decision for the Tesla Model S." "At its core, the Tesla Model S is simply a damned good car you happen to plug in to refuel," editor-at-large Angus MacKenzie wrote in an article about the award. Motor Trend calls the Model S "as smoothly effortless as a Rolls-Royce" to drive fast while having the cargo and passenger capacity of an SUV. The Model S was one of the most efficient cars the magazine has ever tested, averaging 74.5 miles per gallon equivalent -- a measure of how far the car goes on an amount of electricity equivalent to the energy in a gallon of gasoline -- during ordinary street driving. Still, the big car can bolt from a standstill to 60 miles an hour in just four seconds, according to Motor Trend's tests. At the New York City announcement ceremony Tesla CEO Elon Musk said, "This is a point at which the gears of history moved," adding, "I hope that other automakers will copy us and follow through and do electric cars with more vigor." To be eligible for Motor Trend's Car of the Year award a vehicle must be, first of all, a car rather than an SUV or truck. The magazine gives separate truck and SUV awards. It also must be either completely new or substantially redesigned for the new model year. In all there were 25 models competing for the award this year. After testing all the models at the Hyundai/Kia proving grounds in the southwest California desert, the magazine's staffers narrowed the list to just 11 finalists. Those cars were then tested on roads and highways around the town of Tehachapi, Calif. After further debate, the writers and editors selected the winner through a secret ballot. It's impossible to say if the Model S would have won had it been a standard gasoline-powered luxury car, said McKenzie. That's because it would have been a different car in nearly every respect. It's strong, quiet performance is attributable to its electric motors while its roomy interior is thanks to the design flexibility they provide. The Model S can hold up to seven people when equipped with an optional pair of rear-facing child seats. Since there is no engine, both the back and front of the car can be used for cargo, giving it functionality very similar to an SUV. The Model S ranges from $50,000 for a car that can go 160 miles on a charge to almost $100,000 for a richly equipped model that can go 300 miles. It went into production this summer, and by the beginning of October Tesla said it had sold about 250 Model S sedans. It expects to sell about 3,200 by end of this year. Tesla Model S - Motor Trend Car of the Year - Nov. 12, 2012
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has had quite a year. Don't forget he is the founder of SpaceX and is the first private company to haul cargo to the International Space Station. He is also the founder of PayPal in 1999.
I suggest you watch the movie Revenge of the Electric Car. It in part follows the lanuch of Tesla and the camera follows Elon Musk. It also follows the Chev Volt and Nissan Leaf launch. Excellent movie. I watched it on Netflix but the movie is on the internet. Revenge of the Electric Car | It's Alive
You can find it in some Public Libraries and/or some EAA (Electric Automobile Association) groups in DVD format.
it is interesting, as Tesla has around 25,000 preorders... which is a lot and isnt at the same time. Hopefully they actually make more than 20k next year.
well MT is crap... it is much better to read: 2012 Tesla Model S Full Test Porsche Panamera GTS vs. Tesla Model S Track Test
Impressive what Tesla has been able to accomplish. I thought the company would be dead by now for sure, glad I was wrong.
I believe you are incorrect, unless you are talking about both Model S and Model X reservations? I am not sure how many Model X reservations there are. Last I heard there were about 12,000 Model S reservations. If they were taking reservations for their 3rd gen sedan, I would place the reservation today For a start up company I find 20,000 a year a very significant number. I still find it funny that the big guys haven't jumped all over this. They have the huge R&D budgets and the capacity to build in high numbers.
I went to a Green event at UCSD last year and spoke to a guy who owned the original car that looks like a Lotus. He loves the car. He cannot say enough about the company, the service is miles better than anybody. He is an older guy and owned a number of cars in his life and he says this is the best. I think Tesla will make it as a company. There is the fear they may run out of cash but they just need to build and deliver the cars to the orders and they will be fine.
Consumer Reports weighs in with its first Tesla Model S review Consumer Reports weighs in with its first Tesla Model S review
We don't really know after the first 6 months of next year how many cars they will be selling. I do hope that they are able to profitably sell 10K cars in the second half. If you look at dollar volume that is significantly better than the volt, leaf, or prius phv is likely to sell in the first half of next year. Tesla's management is performing well, and they appear to be targeting a good segment. They may take many luxury sports sedan sales, which appears to be a better segment than nissan has hit with the leaf, and renault has hit with the zoe. IMHO phev is a larger segment for bev for plug-ins, but tesla is also executing its business plan here better than gm, toyota, and ford.
