The new AWD Tesla Model S

…“broke the scale” in Consumer Reports’ testing:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-27/tesla-with-insane-mode-busts-curve-on-consumer-reports-ratings-idu1hfk0?cmpid=BBD082615_BIZ

Hey, I can get 3 of those for the price of one Bentley Mulsanne! What a deal!

…and they would probably be more reliable, to boot!

My opinion is that the manufacturers are putting too much emphasis on factoring in sports car like features. I don’t need 0-60 times any less than 10 seconds, nor speeds higher than 80 MPH. I could sacrifice some of those features, as well as some of the luxury, for a lower initial price and perhaps more range.

In other words, smaller motors.

10 seconds is slow. Make that 7 and I’m with you.
My feeling is that manufacturers are putting too much emphasis on bells & whistles. I don’t need a car to do the multitude of web-based things that many can now do. And I don’t need my car to think for me. And I ESPECIALLY don’t need it overriding my inputs.

As regards the Tesla, EVs are innately fast, because they begin their torque curve immediately and carry it through high speeds in a straight line, without the need to shift.

I lost any respect for Consumer Reports years ago when they rated the Corolla-based Geo Prizm lower than its identical cousin the Corolla in their “unbiased” testing. Same car, same assembly plant, same suppliers, same everything except the badges.

CR has consumed too much of the Tesla Kool-Aid for me to take them seriously in this review.

Yeah, that story reminds me of the Motor Trend COTY too.

The Geo Prizm always had different sheet metal and lighting

It also had a different dash, hvac control head, switches, instrumentation, etc.

Perhaps it was those differences that caused it to score lower

The Prizm had the radio very low and harder to access, versus the Corolla

Perhaps they felt the Prizm’s HVAC rotary knobs were harder to use than the Corolla’s sliding knobs

Perhaps they felt it was more important to have the radio controls high and accessible, versus the HVAC control head

I suppose you could say the Corolla and Prizm were corporate cousins of a sort, but I don’t think it’s fair or accurate to say they were identical in every way except the badge

But I do agree that Motor Trend’s stamp of approval, or car of the year award is meaningless

For me, Consumer Reports still has high credibility . . . less than they used to, though . . . while Motor Trend has none

I don’t feel that they’re in the same boat

CR rated the ride on the Prism as worse than the Corolla and they used the very same struts, springs and mounts sourced from the same US plant in Ohio. The GM division I worked for made them. Same tires, too. The engines, transmissions and driveline components were exactly the same but CR thought the Chevy would be less reliable than the Toyota. I can’t imagine how they came to that conclusion.

Motor Trend is just a paid shill. Any manufacturer that will give them cars to drive around will be chosen COTY. Never read MT, still don’t.

@Mustangman

thanks for clarifying exactly what it was that CR rated worse

I literally haven’t read Motor Trend in decades. Even when I see it on the magazine rack at the supermarket, I’m not even tempted to flip through the pages

I seem to remember the 1990 Town Car was chosen car of the year. As far as I know, it was just a restyle. Newer looking interior and exterior, but mechanically nothing had changed. The modular engine wasn’t even around yet. It was still using the same old 5.0/302

Motor Trend aside, I always thought the early 90’s Town Cars were good looking vehicles

Back to the Tesla - here’s a question for everyone: If you had to accept one car (no backup for highway trips, etc.), would it be a $100,000 Tesla, Mercedes S class, BMW 7 series, or some other $100,000 vehicle? No getting a Corolla and pocketing the difference, you’re stuck with a $100k vehicle.

Me, I wouldn’t get the Tesla because of its limitations on long trips. Great car otherwise.

Seems like a lousy choice, and I’ll explain why

I don’t know about the Tesla, but I know the other vehicles mentioned have lousy value retention, compared to Lexus or Acura. Since we’re talking luxury cars, let’s compare apples to apples

I’ll definitely not go with a 100K hybrid or EV. Too much uncertainty, as far as I’m concerned.

And I’d never EVER go with a British luxury vehicle, be it car, SUV, etc., at least not a current model. I’m not THAT much of a glutton for punishment

I’d probably go with the S class. Simply because, as far as I remember, Benz emphasis has been more on luxury, while BMW has leaned more towards sporty. Those are clearly generalizations

If Acura or Lexus made a 100K luxury sedan, I’d probably choose it over an S class, or 7 series, because it may just be more reliable in the end. And Acura and Lexus make pretty nice vehicles.

The only problem I have with Lexus and Acura, is that, in my opinion, they aren’t very innovative. They let somebody else invent a technology, or at least bring it to market first. Then they’ll sit back and watch while the other guys work out all the bugs, details, software, etc. Then they’ll introduce their own model with that same technology. Except it will be reliable from the get go

The Tesla would work for Me,then 2nd choice would be the Mercedes

I would take anything but the Tesla; a car which I do not consider to be practical. The Tesla is nothing more than a pricy status symbol among the trendies IMO.

There’s some long distances between anything here and especially on out west a ways. Being 75 miles from the nearest one horse town which has nothing going on in it anyway about 11 at night in a Tesla is not where I would want to be.

My favorite example of Consumer Reports bunk is the 2013 Camry review. CR states that the body and the body hardware on the 6 cylinder versions is poor and the body and body hardware on the 4 cylinder cars is above average.
Who knew that an engine option choice would ruin the car bumper to bumper…

What’s ludicrous is that a team put together that bilge, reviewed it, and published it anyway without one person raising their hand and saying wait a minute guys…

@ok4450

“body and the body hardware on the 6 cylinder versions is poor and the body and body hardware on the 4 cylinder cars is above average.”

My V6 Camry . . . 2005, not 2013 . . . has a drooping headliner

Maybe I should have bought the 4 banger for higher quality

But the 4 banger of that time had its own problems . . .

So you either get a good engine or good body, not both . . . ?!

:relaxed:

S550 for me. Any of these cars will be very expensive to maintain. Might as well have the best.

The Lexus LS600h L costs about $120,000. Would you for for that @db4690?

@jtsanders

That sounds like a hybrid, so I wouldn’t go for that

How about an LS600 non-hybrid, if such a thing exists

Yep, it has a V8 tied to a hybrid drive train. You could have an LS460, but that’s only $71,000 to start, though. I’m not sure how much extra equipment, if any, would be required for it to equal the S550, A8, or 750i. All nice rides and I wouldn’t kick them out of the garage for eating crackers in there. ; )

I lost any respect for Consumer Reports years ago when they rated the Corolla-based Geo Prizm lower than its identical cousin the Corolla in their "unbiased" testing. Same car, same assembly plant, same suppliers, same everything except the badges.

This is NOTHING new and it’s NOT a American vs Asian thing.

CR has had different ratings on the same car, but with a different badge almost every year. Especially with GM vehicles. The twin models of Chevy and Pontiac…it was rare to find them with the same ratings…yet they were exactly the same, built in the same plant by the same workers. Same with GMC pickups and Chevy pickups. You’d see it with Ford/Lincoln…and Dodge/Plymouth.

It’s not that they are being bias…it’s their the way they gather data.