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Tesla Model S drivers claim first cross-country trip on Supercharger power

It's not like most Tesla Model S owners are hard-pressed for cash, but it's still got to be nice to know they can get across the country in their all-electric luxury hatchbacks for free. Father-daughter team John and Jill (no last names given) just finished what's being called the first coast-to-coast Model S trip powered completely by the company's Supercharger network. Tesla just completed installing the Superchargers and CEO Elon Musk tweeted just yesterday that the network was energized. The company unveiled its first Supercharger in September 2012, and Musk says he will finally take his long-promised Model S family road trip this spring. But now someone's beat him to the headlines. The pioneering duo finished its New York-to-Los Angeles trip January 25, logging about 3,600 miles in the process. Additional miles were required since father John started his trip in Kentucky before picking up daughter Jill in New York. Tesla says it has 71 free North American Superchargers and that its network is reachable by about 80 percent of the continent's population. The important number that makes that possible is that the 85-kWh version of the Model S can go 265 miles on a single charge. WIRED says John and Jill hit up 28 Superchargers over the course of a week. Naturally, fellow Tesla owners who posted on a rather long forum thread describing the trip were enthused, effusively comparing the team to Lewis and Clark. The news could spur more sales to the California-based automaker, which finished last year with a flourish of sorts. Tesla sold about 6,900 units of the Model S in October, November and December, beating the company's own target and making the Model S the country's best-selling plug-in vehicle for the fourth quarter.

Consumer Reports no longer recommends Honda Civic

Consumer Reports annual Car Reliability Survey is out, and yes, there are some big surprises. First and foremost? The venerable publication no longer recommends the Honda Civic. In fact, aside from the walking-dead CR-Z and limited-release Clarity fuel-cell car, the Civic is the only Honda to miss out on CR's prestigious nod. At the opposite end there's a surprise as well – Toyota and Lexus remain the most reliable brands on the market, but Buick cracked the top three. That's up from seventh last year, and the first time for an American brand to stand on the Consumer Reports podium. Mazda's entire lineup earned Recommended checks as well. Consumer Reports dinged the Civic for its "infuriating" touch-screen radio, lack of driver lumbar adjustability, the limited selection of cars on dealer lots fitted with Honda's popular Sensing system, and the company's decision to offer LaneWatch instead of a full-tilt blind-spot monitoring system. Its score? A lowly 58. The Civic isn't the only surprise drop from CR's Recommended ranks. The Audi A3, Ford F-150, Subaru WRX/STI, and Volkswagen Jetta, GTI, and Passat all lost the Consumer Reports' checkmark. On the flipside, a number of popular vehicles graduated to the Recommended ranks, including the BMW X5, Chevrolet Camaro, Corvette, and Cruze, Hyundai Santa Fe, Porsche Macan, and Tesla Model S. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the hilariously recall-prone Ford Escape getting a Recommended check – considering the popularity of Ford's small crossover, this is likely a coup for the brand, as it puts the Escape on a level playing field with the Recommended Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Nissan Rogue. While Ford is probably happy to see CR promote the Escape, the list wasn't as kind for every brand. For example, of the entire Fiat Chrysler Automobiles catalog, the ancient Chrysler 300 was the only car to score a check – there wasn't a single Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, or Ram on the list. That hurts. FCA isn't alone at the low end, either. GMC, Jaguar Land Rover, Mini, and Mitsubishi don't have a vehicle on CR's list between them, while brands like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Nissan, Lincoln, Infiniti, and Cadillac only have a few models each. You can check out Consumer Reports entire reliability roundup, even without a subscription, here.