jennigist

Did you see the latest TV commercial for Tesla Motors' Model S? Of course not. Thankfully, Tesla doesn't advertise and try the patience of TV viewers who would do anything to avoid sitting through another idiotic spot from Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Cadillac and the Japanese luxury brands. By VICTOR E. SASSON EDITOR How about that TV commercial for the Infiniti Q-Something, the one with the bored young man sitting in the back seat of a luxury sedan as it speeds down the highway on top of a car carrier? Turns out the car has a so-called revolutionary feature, but you don't find out what that is until the male model, his face covered in a two-day-old beard, climbs behind the wheel and actually drives the car off of the truck in reverse, then speeds off down the highway. How did they do that without tearing up the transmission, transaxle and so forth? Adaptive steering? Then it's revealed. This Infiniti Q-Something claims to be the only car with "direct adaptive steeri...

In my Tesla Model S, I went shopping for a tuxedo rental in Westwood, N.J., for my son's prom. By VICTOR E. SASSON EDITOR Auto writers are so focused on 0-60 mph times they lose sight of the value of a car that can sprint easily to 35 mph in North Jersey's suburban driving. In the five weeks I've had my Tesla Model S 60, I've enjoyed brisk, near silent pickup from traffic lights and stop signs on Bergen County's antiquated roads, where the speed limit is usually 25 mph or 35 mph. When driving on Cedar Lane or Teaneck Road in Teaneck, N.J., the Model S is just what you need to keep ahead of others as those streets go from two lanes to one and back, and frustrate drivers with few turn lanes. And when I need an afternoon pick-me-up, I can plug in and recharge my Model S just outside the entrance to Aroma Espresso Bar, a chain based in Israel, at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J. The state's largest mall also has a Tesla Motors Store, where I've purc...

A Tesla Model S 60 outside The Plaza Diner in Fort Lee, N.J., a few blocks from the George Washington Bridge. By VICTOR E. SASSON EDITOR The 2014 Cadillac ELR has to be the biggest flop yet of a green car. The media persist in calling it "electric," but in reality, this major disappointment from General Motors is a plug-in hybrid that uses gasoline. The Caddy has  the same powertrain found in the Chevy Volt, but double the MSRP -- $75,995. Only 1,835 Cadillc ELR Coupes have been sold in North America in the past 18 months, Bloomberg.com reported this week. Still, the media are helping General Motors save face by comparing the ELR to Tesla's Model S, as in this Bloomberg.com headline: "Cadillac is selling its  Tesla-like car at a huge discount" Price is the only thing the all-electric Tesla Model S 70D -- the new all-wheel-drive base model with a range of 240 miles -- has in common with the Cadillac. 'Never buy gas again' On Friday, The Record of Woodland...

The wildly overpriced BMW i8, a plug-in hybrid that uses gasoline, was one of the most popular cars on Tuesday at the annual Spring Brake in Bear Mountain State Park, below. Despite the word "brake" in the event title, some members of the International Motor Press Association received speeding tickets from uniformed park police in marked vehicles. Audi and Porsche were among the automakers that were conspicuously absent. About 20 others -- from Acura to Volkswagen -- did provide vehicles for the ride-and-drive event on twisting two-lane park roads and nearby highways. By VICTOR E. SASSON EDITOR Aren't you sick of watching all those stupid car commercials on TV every night? New cars being driven at insane speeds on empty roads or within inches of a male model shouting to be heard over the roar of passing vehicles are experiences so far removed from the challenge of owning a car in the congested metropolitan area. Did you see the idiotic one showing a Lexus cutting off comp...

At the gym, I complete for spaces with a large number of other members who drive smelly, gas-guzzling SUVs, below. By VICTOR E. SASSON EDITOR Tesla's Model S is an all-electric car worthy of superlatives. Acceleration is effortless, even in the base model I've owned since mid-April, leaving most other cars, whether gasoline-powered or hybrid, fading in my rear-view mirror. When I approach the car in my garage, with the Model S-shaped key in my pocket, the lighted chrome door handles extend, locks are released and the radio goes on. A Tesla app on my smart phone allows me to turn on the climate-control system a few minutes before I'm ready to go. Stop to start You don't have to push a button or turn a key to start the Model S.  Just press on the brake pedal, a move drivers are accustomed to since the unintended-acceleration controversy involving Audis.  California-based Tesla Motors says the Model S has the highest safety rating in America. Take that, Volvo. The smart ke...

California-based Tesla Motors has revolutionized travel with all-electric luxury cars that can go more than 200 miles on a single charge and a nationwide network of free Superchargers. Now, Tesla is planning to do the same with home energy. Eight Supercharges are available at Tesla's Showroom and Service Center on Route 17 north in Paramus, N.J. By VICTOR E. SASSON EDITOR A Tesla home storage battery that can keep your lights on and your appliances humming during a blackout has been dismissed as a 'far out' project. An Associated Press story said David Foster paid $7,500 for his battery as part of  pilot program after California state incentives -- less than the cost of a noisy standby generator powered by natural gas. Thousands of those generators were installed in the New Jersey-New York area after Superstorm Sandy plunged much of the region into darkness in late 2012. Yet, AP reporters Michael Liedtke and Jonathan Fahey, who are based in California, say "as with Tes...