Blog Motor Trend Calls Model S “Ultimate Car of the Year”

Tesla received this week glowing endorsements from two major auto magazines.  

Motor Trend awarded the Tesla Model S its “Ultimate Car of the Year” award.

We are confident that, were we to summon all the judges and staff of the past 70 years, we would come to a rapid consensus: No vehicle we’ve awarded, be it Car of the Year, Import Car of the Year, SUV of the Year, or Truck of the Year, can equal the impact, performance, and engineering excellence that is our Ultimate Car of the Year winner, the 2013 Tesla Model S.The mere fact the Tesla Model S exists at all is a testament to innovation and entrepreneurship, the very qualities that once made the American automobile industry the largest, richest, and most powerful in the world,” we wrote. “That the 11 judges unanimously voted the first vehicle designed from the wheels up by a fledgling automaker the 2013 MotorTrend Car of the Year should be cause for celebration. America can still make things.

Other cars considered included:

1996 Dodge Caravan2004 Toyota Prius1955 Chevrolet Bel Air1949 Cadillac Series 62 Sedanette1972 Citroen SM1968 Pontiac GTO1986 Mazda RX-7

Motor Trend said every car was selected because it was the best representative of the decade when it won, and still the Model S stands apart.

“In our 70 years of identifying a Car of the Year, none is more deserving than the 2013 Tesla Model S,” the report said.

Tesla also received a “Car of the Year” award for the Model 3 from the U.K.’s Auto Express magazine, calling the EV “the best Tesla yet.”

 

[Riburn3]

Important to note the winner is the 2013 Model S.

In doing this, they made the 2013 Model S their car of this decade, and then it won head to head with all other “car of the year” models going back 70 years.

It’s very impressive, but an early Model S still offers tech and performance that 99% of the new cars on the road could only dream of, and the battery range of that model today still is only outdone by other newer Tesla’s. It’s amazing what this company has done in less than 20 years.

 

[slartybartfarst]

Important to note the winner is the 2013 Model S.

In doing this, they made the 2013 Model S their car of this decade, and then it won head to head with all other “car of the year” models going back 70 years.

It’s very impressive, but an early Model S still offers tech and performance that 99% of the new cars on the road could only dream of, and the battery range of that model today still is only outdone by other newer Tesla’s. It’s amazing what this company has done in less than 20 years.

 

[MichaelP90DL]

I am blown away. That's one helluva great honor. And Tesla deserves it. I've gotta hand it to Mr. Musk and the Tesla design team. They decided to set a new standard, create great excitement and blow everyone else into the weeds. What better way to capture the imagination and shape the future? I'm proud to be a Tesla owner.

 

[Dwdnjck]

If you do what Motor Trend did, make measurements and put the results on paper for comparison, no gas car has a chance. Not fair!

 

[dauger]

My car is the Model year that MT rightly bestows this great honor upon. That’s great!

I wonder: Will it become a collector’s item? A classic?

 

[Brando]

Citroen DS 20 - 1955

In the first 15 minutes of the Paris Motor Show, 743 orders were taken, and orders for the first day totalled 12,000.[7] During the 10 days of the show, the DS took in 80,000 deposits; a record that stood for over 60 years,[8] until it was eclipsed by the Tesla Model 3 which received 180,000 first day deposits in March 2016.[9]

Citroën DS - Wikipedia

And Motor Trend's car for 1955 - drum roll -

• 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air

And for 2017
Motor Trend's Car of the Year award, representing the car that best represents exceptional value, ... Chevrolet Bolt EV is the 2017 Motor Trend Car of the Year.

Think the Model Y or the Roadster will win?? fun to watch

 

[Riburn3]

My car is the Model year that MT rightly bestows this great honor upon. That’s great!

I wonder: Will it become a collector’s item? A classic?

Honestly, this was sort of my motivation for buying my used 2013 P85.

This is a vehicle that 6 years later still turns heads and offers technology and performance that 99% of brand new cars on the market still can’t compete with. The only thing that outperforms this car is newer Tesla’s.

With what we know now about battery degradation it’s possible to keep seeing these on the road for a long while, but with only 25,000ish ever reaching the global market, it’s still a pretty rare beauty. I absolutely think this will be a classic.

 

[Brando]

Model S xxx D L or P (Ludicrous or Plaid) in about 202x may well get "car of the decade", right?

Well, Motor Trend did miss the 1955 Citroen DS 20 and the Tesla Model 3, we shall see if they miss the Model Y.

And how they treat the Roadster 2020 - how many will Tesla produce/sell??

And where is Model X in the SUV ratings??

 

[rooter]

Actually, MT is being a bit sardonic.

Notice that they awarded the 2013, in 2019? This is a wry comment that all the other manufacturers still have not caught up to the 2013 S, here 6 years later, much less to the 2019 S.

 

[dauger]

Honestly, this was sort of my motivation for buying my used 2013 P85.

This is a vehicle that 6 years later still turns heads and offers technology and performance that 99% of brand new cars on the market still can’t compete with. The only thing that outperforms this car is newer Tesla’s.

With what we know now about battery degradation it’s possible to keep seeing these on the road for a long while, but with only 25,000ish ever reaching the global market, it’s still a pretty rare beauty. I absolutely think this will be a classic.

Well you're right about the tech and I hope you're right about the classic, because I'm original owner of one of those 2013 P85s, my first all-electric car, but it's in storage now that I bought a P100D. I haven't decided what I'm going to do with my P85 (see my profile pict). Keep it forever? In a decade or two loan it to an auto museum, accompanied by pictures of all the places it's been?

 

[Brando]

Well you're right about the tech and I hope you're right about the classic, because I'm original owner of one of those 2013 P85s, my first all-electric car, but it's in storage now that I bought a P100D. I haven't decided what I'm going to do with my P85 (see my profile pict). Keep it forever? In a decade or two loan it to an auto museum, accompanied by pictures of all the places it's been?

S100D - will join the Tesla Network - Then you'll drive the P85 just for fun - week-end coffee - trips down the coast - you get the idea.
Similar to how you use your horse.

 

[StealthP3D]

I am blown away. That's one helluva great honor. And Tesla deserves it. I've gotta hand it to Mr. Musk and the Tesla design team. They decided to set a new standard, create great excitement and blow everyone else into the weeds. What better way to capture the imagination and shape the future? I'm proud to be a Tesla owner.

I'm thinking the established automakers must be feeling kind of sheepish right about now. I mean, they had every opportunity to win this award, the money, the experienced designers and automotive engineers, etc. and all they could do was keep making junk.

To add salt to the wound, they have to buy ZEV credits from the maker of this award-winning auto!

 

[StealthP3D]

Well you're right about the tech and I hope you're right about the classic, because I'm original owner of one of those 2013 P85s, my first all-electric car, but it's in storage now that I bought a P100D. I haven't decided what I'm going to do with my P85 (see my profile pict). Keep it forever? In a decade or two loan it to an auto museum, accompanied by pictures of all the places it's been?

Don't keep it "forever". I think it's a shame for such a nice car to be in storage. It should still be out there on the road displacing one of those stinky, out of breath cars.

This is the equivalent of the prom beauty queen feeling like she could no longer be beautiful because she turned 30 and put on 5 lbs!