The Car Exam News #16: The recall bug bites the Tesla Roadster, BMW and Mercedes bests Lexus, & the 2012 Focus will be cheaper than the current model

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The recall bug bites the Tesla Roadster


Electric cars aren’t perfect, either: Automotive News reports that over 400 Tesla Roadsters are being recalled due to the possibility that a power cable could short and catch on fire. Tesla apparently had one report in which a 12-volt cable inside of one of the Roadsters chafed a panel and caught on fire. Tesla has begun to notify owners of the potential problem and will send its service crews to customer’s homes or offices to repair the problem (during which they will install a protective sleeve over the cable to eliminate the shorting issue).

Source: Automotive News (http://www.autonews.com) 10/04/10




BMW and Mercedes-Benz bests Lexus
Lexus feels the sales effect of its recent woes: USA Today is reporting that BMW and Mercedes-Benz finally passed Lexus in total sales last month, easily upending the storied Toyota luxury brand.



Lexus sales dropped more than 5% percent last month, while BMW and Mercedes-Benz both saw their sales rise over 20% percent during the same month.

Source: USA Today (http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/index) 10/4/10








The 2012 Focus to be cheaper than the current model

In more news from USA Today, it is reporting that the 2012 Ford Focus (due next year) will start at a base price that is $20 dollars cheaper than the outgoing base 2011 Focus S model costs (which is $16, 270). Ford will also give $500 rebates to customers who order the brand new Focus early—before the end of February 2011. It looks like Ford is really going to promote the new Focus heavily, and it will be interesting to learn what else Ford has in the works for the launch of the 2012 Focus.

Source: USA Today (http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/10/ford-prices-new-focus-cheaper-than-current-model/1?loc=interstitialskip) 10/3/10

P. Scott

The Car Exam Examines Electric Cars, Part 2: The 2011 Nissan Leaf

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The Nissan Leaf

Nissan has pushed a full commitment into the electric car foray with its 2011 Leaf. Nissan truly thinks there is a market for an all-electric car in the U.S. auto market, and it’s betting on the Leaf to help prove its point. What does the Leaf have to offer consumers?

Mechanically speaking, the Nissan Leaf offers a 80 kW AC synchronous electric motor (which equals about 107.28 horsepower), a regenerative, 4-wheel anti-lock disc brakes with Electronic Brake force Distribution and Brake Assist, traction control, and a 24 kWh lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery with an 3.3 kW on-board charger and a Palm-shift drive selector for the transmission.

The Leaf should have a travel range of about 100 miles on a full charge, but that can be seriously limited by driving conditions, the use of accessories (a/c, stereo, etc.) which may discharge the batteries much faster. Fully charging the Nissan Leaf on a 220/240 volt home charging station will take about 8 hours. Nissan rates the Leaf’s top speed at about 90 mph. The leaf also qualifies as a Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV).



The five-passenger Leaf is a four-door hatchback, and it has the versatility of 60/40–split fold-down rear seat backs to help increase cargo space (exact capacity numbers are not available yet). The Leaf also has modern niceties like a navigation system, an XM Satellite Radio, an auxiliary audio input jack (for ipods or mp3 players), cruise control, a push button ignition, power door locks, a full array of airbags for safety, and much more. Exterior styling is decent overall; not especially flashy, but not terribly dull either.

How much will the 2011 Nissan Leaf cost consumers? The base price is $32,780--but the federal government tax savings credit can bring the price down to about $25, 280, depending upon the model. Will the public embrace the Nissan Leaf? Will Nissan’s gamble pay off? The Leaf will definitely face an uphill battle on several fronts, which will be discussed in part 4 of The Car Exam’s series on electric cars.

What’s next in the series? The plug-in electric car that has a technical element the Tesla Roadster and the Nissan Leaf both lack—-an element that may give it a distinct advantage over the Tesla and the Nissan. What car is it? The 2011 Chevrolet Volt.

Source: Nissan U.S.A. (http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car/index#/leaf-electric-car/index) 9-5-10

P. Scott

The Car Exam Examines Electric Cars, Part 1: The Tesla Roadster

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The Tesla Roadster is an electric sports car Tesla hopes will bring electric cars into mainstream America. It is an attractively-styled two-seater powered by a 375 volt AC induction air-cooled electric motor with variable frequency drive. These are the performance numbers for the base model: 288 horsepower (215 kW) at 5,000-6,000 rpm, 273 lb-ft of torque at 0-5,400 rpm, and 0-60 miles-per-hour comes in at 3.9 seconds (the sport model adds 22 more lb-ft of torque at 0-5,100 rpm).

The Tesla Roadster’s battery is a lithium-ion battery with a whopping 6,831 individual cells. It has a range on a full charge of 245 miles, which should just be fine for around-town driving or a quick getaway to suburbs or destinations a bit further away. Charge time is 3.5 hours (an empty to fully-charged battery using the Tesla Home Connector--240 Volts and 70 Amps). Tesla states the battery should last for seven-years or 100,000 miles.

The price of admission to own Tesla Roadster is steep, however: the base model is $109,000 before the federal $7,500 tax credit; $101,000 after that. The Sport model bursts the piggy bank at $128,500 ($121,000 after the same tax credit).

The Tesla Roadster clearly isn’t meant to be an affordable sports car for Americans with moderate incomes. Tesla has a long road to climb. It will be building cars in the old NUMMI facility formerly jointly-owned by GM and Toyota. If Tesla can build and successfully sell enough cars (it also has a Sedan—the Model S—due to go on sale in 2012) and improve its battery technology, then it may find enough affluent buyers to make it a viable player in the U.S. auto market. Challenges remain, however and time will tell.

P. Scott

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The Car Exam News - Edition #3: August 11, 2010 - Honda recalls some models, better MPG for F-150, and The Car Exam's upcoming series on electric cars

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Honda is recalling some models due to roll away risk

Honda announced Monday that it is recalling about 400,000 vehicles (the 2003 Honda Accord and Civic models, as well as the 2003 through 2004 Element)due to concerns that their ignition interlocks could fail, which could allow the vehicles to roll away. This is a result of a two-year investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

In September of 2008, NHTSA began the investigation of the Honda models after getting 15 complaints that alleged 10 crashes, and last month after the lengthy investigation, the NHTSA and Honda agreed that there was problem with those models (only one minor injury has been reported, though). Honda will begin notifying owners in September when their cars can be repaired.

Source: The Detroit News (8/9/10)

2011 Ford F-150 pickups to gain 20% better MPG than 2010 models

Ford announced today its 2011 F-150 Pickup line up will have 20% better MPG than the outgoing 2010 models. The 2011 F-150 series will have the following choices of engines: a 3.7-liter, 300 hp V6; a 5.0-liter, 360 hp V8; a 6.2-liter, 411 hp V8 with 434 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,500 rpm--it can tow a 11,500 lb trailer; and a twin-turbocharged EcoBoost 3.5-liter V6 (horsepower and torque ratings not yet available). A six-speed automatic transmission will be standard in the F-150 on all engines.

Source: Breitbart.com (8/11/10)




Upcoming: The Car Exam Examines Electric Cars

Coming soon, The Car Exam will begin a multiple-part series on electric cars. The Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf, and the Tesla Roadster will be covered, which one of the three may be most practical right now, and why they may have difficulty grabbing a strong foothold in the market place. Stay tuned!

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