2013

  • 2013 Toyota Prius liftback

    In 2013-2015 Toyota Prius and 2014-2017 Prius V models, an issue with voltage buildup could cause either a fail-safe mode or failure of the hybrid's inverter.

  • 2013 Chevrolet Volt, Catskill Mountains, Oct 2012
    GM recalls 2013 Chevrolet Volts for battery software (Updated)

    GM said Friday that it will recall 3,233 2013 model year Chevrolet Volts to remedy a problem with battery cell balancing that could cause the car to shut down in traffic. The recall mirrors two service campaigns for the 2017 and 2018 Chevrolet Bolt EVs for similar behavior. Some 2017 Bolt EVs got...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Cross-Country Tesla Trip? Done! How About Texas To Panama?

    It was only a matter of time. Produce an electric car with enough range, and the journeys it can realistically achieve become almost limitless. There have been a flurry of coast-to-coast trips recently as Tesla opens up its countrywide Supercharger network, but perhaps the most impressive trip...

  • 2013 Honda Fit EV drive event, Pasadena, CA, June 2012
    Electric Honda Fit EV Goes Ice-Racing Against Old Two-Stroke Saab

    Given the recent cold snap, spending a day deliberately driving around on ice might not seem that appealing. Others, such as those from the Adirondack Motor Enthusiast Club, like nothing more than to take to a frozen lake in their cars. But this past weekend they got to compete against a sort of...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S at Supercharger station on NY-to-FL road trip [photo: David Noland]
    Tesla Model S: NY-To-FL Trip, Day 4, Florida Destination--Made It!

    The final segment of my New York-to-Florida electric-car road trip, made possible through Tesla's new network of Supercharger stations along the East Coast, provided what I'd come for--time spent with old comrades--but it started gloomy. The grueling 380-mile day was brightened by the kindness of...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S in Florida, during New York to Florida road trip [photo: David Noland]
    Tesla Model S: NY-To-FL Trip, Day 3, South Carolina To Florida

    The third day of my New York-to-Florida electric-car road trip, using the newly completed string of Supercharger stations along the East Coast, brought me almost to my destination in Florida. Here's how the most recent leg of my journey went. DAY 3: Santee, South Carolina, to Ormond Beach, Florida...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S

    Elon Musk might have been taking a risk by challenging the NHTSA on its recall terminology, but he does seem to have people on his side on the issue. Not just our readers either, who were particularly vocal on the subject when details of the recall emerged the other day. Former NHTSA administrator David Strickland told Bloomberg that Musk "has a point" in complaining about the use of the word recall for the recent Model S fixes. Musk's assertion was that because necessary changes could be made wirelessly--barely requiring drivers to lift a finger, let alone drive to their local Tesla service...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan [photo by owner David Noland]
    Tesla Model S: NY-To-FL Trip, From Home To South Carolina

    So far, the New York-to-Florida electric-car road trip in my 2013 Tesla Model S is progressing pretty much according to plan. That's not to say I haven't learned a few things in traveling via the newly-completed network of Tesla Supercharger DC quick-charging stations. One of them would be that...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Grapples With Charging-Cable Troubles In Norwegian Cold

    With truly Arctic temperatures hitting the U.S. and Canada over the past month, North Americans probably don't have a great deal of sympathy for their counterparts in Norway as winter finally closes in. But the Norwegian winter is causing plenty of trouble for Tesla Model S owners in the country...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Electric-Car Cross-Country Trip Underway, With ETA Today

    Just a couple of years ago, traveling cross-country in an electric car would have required a great deal of planning and a great deal of time. But with Tesla's Model S and its 265 miles of EPA-rated range in 85 kWh form, it takes little more thought than in any other vehicle. Throw in a...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Tesla & China: Priced At $121,000, Country Could Be Biggest Market, Musk Says

    $121,000 sounds like a lot of money for the Tesla Model S, considering you can pick up the 85 kWh car in the U.S. from $80,000 or so, before incentives. And it is a lot of money, but in China, where that price tag will be attached, Tesla promises it represents good value for buyers. CEO Elon Musk...

  • Nissan Leaf powers a Christmas tree in Tokyo (Image: NISSANEV)
    Lighting A Christmas Tree The Modern Way: With An Electric Car

    Should you be one of those people among our readers who celebrates the Christmas holiday, you might be interested in having a greener Christmas. Did you know, for example, that it's greener to have a real Christmas tree than a plastic one, unless you keep the plastic tree many years? The real ones...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S

    Recently, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] has had to deal with the latest in a line of high-profile fire events involving one of its cars. While the original events were triggered as the result of accidents though, the latest was a garage fire, the cause of which is still unconfirmed. Tesla, quick to dismiss any probability the car itself caused the fire, has already released a software update for the car to deal with its suspected cause for the fire--faulty wiring in the garage's electrical supply. Revealed by Apple employee and Model S owner @ddenboer on Twitter, the update is an "automatic charge...

  • 2012 Tesla Model S
    Electric-Car Maker Tesla Is The Highest-Trending Car Brand On Google

    For any new company, creating recognition of its product and its branding is one of the most difficult things to achieve. If internet search terms are to be believed--and as a mark of how much people are trying to find out about something, they're pretty important--Tesla Motors has certainly...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Tesla, Irvine Fire Dept Disagree Over Cause Of Garage Fire

    Authorities are currently investigating the causes of a fire in a garage in Southern California that contained a Tesla Model S. While the actual cause of the fire remains undetermined, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] and the Orange County Fire Authority are publicly disputing possible causes, thought to...

  • Red 2013 Tesla Model S cars roll down the production line (Photo: @elonmusk on Twitter)
    Tesla To Add Production Capacity For 35,000 More Electric Cars

    Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is gearing up for increased production over the next few years with the aid of healthy tax breaks from its home state of California. It'll save the company as much as $34.7 million on the purchase of $415 million of new manufacturing equipment, says SFGate--and would allow...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan [photo by owner David Noland]
    Life With Tesla Model S East-Coast Road Trip: Freeze In Slow Lane, Or Languish At Nissan Dealers?

    After reading George Parrott's article yesterday about his effortless 1,200-mile West Coast road trip along Tesla's Supercharger Highway, I have only one thing to say. "George, you lucky bastard." You see, I too recently made a 1,200-mile journey in my Tesla Model S. And it wasn't quite so...

  • Onsite service by Tesla Motor technicians on 2013 Tesla Model S, upstate NY [photo: David Noland]
    Life With Tesla Model S: Electric-Draw Vampire Slain, At Last

    This started out as a feel-good article about another great experience I had with Tesla's extraordinary service program. But it morphed into a detective story that apparently solves the mystery of why my 60-kWh 2013 Tesla Model S still suffered a significant "vampire" power drain, even after...

  • 2013 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid

    Got a 2013 or 2014 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid? It may be one of the nearly 7,300 examples subject to a powertrain control module recall. Ford is recalling the vehicles to correct an issue that could see the cars roll away after being shifted out of park. According to The Detroit News, affected cars may have a transmission sensor error that allows the vehicle to be shifted out of park without first depressing the brake pedal--failing to meet a necessary federal safety standard. Due to a manufacturing error, these sensors fail to send a signal to the powertrain control module, which could assume the...

  • 2013 Honda Civic EX-L
    2013 Honda Civic EX Automatic: Gas Mileage Advice To Reader

    Sometimes we get letters from readers asking for advice, or criticizing our reports on gas mileage. We're always happy to hear their experiences--but a bit of perspective is sometimes needed. Reader Marcus Witte recently sent us the following note (we've edited it slightly for clarity): Your review...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Consumer Reports Says Tesla Model S Customer Satisfaction Highest

    Tesla might have had a bad day this week, but every cloud has a silver lining. While the NHTSA rebukes it for reporting a five-plus star crash test rating and the company suffers the departure of sales supremo George Blankenship, Model S customers couldn't be happier. In fact, their customer...

  • 2013 Chevrolet Volt
    How Much Gas Has The Chevy Volt Electric Car Saved In CA?

    It's hard to picture how much fuel we use as a nation when given the raw data--the numbers are usually so unimaginably vast they lose all meaning. Just how vast is spelled out succinctly when we're shown how much we save by driving electric or hybrid vehicles. In the case of the Chevrolet Volt...

  • 1,000th body for 2012 Tesla Model S on display at Tesla Motors factory, Fremont, CA, Oct 28, 2012
    Workers Burned In Industrial Accident At Tesla Motors Plant

    Three workers have suffered burns in an accident at the Fremont, California assembly plant, where Tesla Motors builds its Model S electric car. According to the company, a low-pressure aluminum casting press failed on Wednesday afternoon, spilling hot metal onto the workers. All three employees...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S
    Tesla's Elon Musk: Model S Fires Overhyped, Car Is Safe

    Recent fires of Tesla Model S electric cars aren't worrying the company's CEO, Elon Musk--at least publicly. In a recent CNBC interview (via Forbes), the Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] founder said reports of the fires were little more than an overreaction by the press--and that Tesla's cars are still...

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