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Ohio Senate strips anti-Tesla amendment from bill

Tesla's strategy to sell cars, such as the Model S, through manufacturer-owned retail stores has rubbed traditional franchise auto dealerships the wrong way. The battle between Tesla and the Ohio Auto Dealers Association heated up quickly over the past week because a proposed amendment to an Ohio road-maintenance worker safety bill (Senate Bill 137) threatened to ban Tesla stores in Ohio. The automaker asked for help from its supporters to fight the amendment, and on Tuesday all 12 members of the Ohio senate passed the bill without it, Transport Evolved reports.
After the vote, Tesla sent out an e-mail to its supporters thanking them for their help, which you can read below:
Dear Tesla Advocate,

Tesla working to eliminate side mirrors

Of all the concept car technologies, one of our favorites has been the deletion of side-view mirrors in favor of video cameras. Besides improving the look of the car, it'd lower drag and improve fuel economy. However, cost, available technology, and most importantly, the government, stand in the way of this tech making it onto a production model.
It's that last facet that Tesla is seeking to change. As Automotive News explains, when the Model X debuted in concept form, it was without wing mirrors. But when the production car was revealed, it had the conventional mirrors, largely because the camera'd car violated the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Federal Motor Vehicle Safety code (Standard 111, to be precise).
Now comes word that Tesla has actively been lobbying the NHTSA to do away with the standard. It's got breathing room at the moment. We reported a few months ago that the federal mandate regarding backup cameras had been pushed back to 2015. That gives Tesla plenty of time to work the safety administration over regarding the mirror replacement, getting the new tech approved in the next mandate.

Consumer Reports weighs in with its first Tesla Model S review

Everyone has been chiming in with their thoughts on the Tesla Model S lately, and with the car taking home awards like the prestigious Motor Trend Car of the Year, this probably won't change anytime soon. Not wanting to be left in the dark, Consumer Reports has managed to get its hands on a Model S to give its own impressions of the luxurious electric hatchback.
Like many other outlets (including our own first drive), CR praised the Model S for its styling (which it compares to an Audi A7) and performance (which it says "can put serious hurt on a Corvette"). With limited time with the car, the video doesn't touch on the specific range the institute attained, but it appears most of the car's time was spent on the track anyway.
On the flip side of things, CR dinged the Model S for its retractable door handles which the reviewer refers to as "fussy," and as much as CR has blasted Ford and its MyFord Touch for being distracting and largely button-less in the past, we were surprised at how much it seemed to adore the lack of buttons on Model S. They even glossed over the fact that drivers can surf the Web on the 17-inch touch screen while driving.