2022 Tesla Model S on 2040-cars

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Only Four Tesla Model S Cars Ever Stolen

Tesla owners are some of the most satisfied car owners in America, and now they have one more reason to love their Model S: They basically never get stolen. In the last three years just four of the luxury electric cars have been stolen, MarketWatch reported. Three were reported stolen last year, none in 2012 and only one was stolen in 2011. It's not like they are too rare for thieves to get their hands on. At least 20,000 were sold last year alone. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says cars are stolen at an average rate of about 3.56 thefts per 1,000 vehicles produced. The Model S, however, squeaks by with a 0.15 per 1,000 theft rate, making it the least-stolen vehicle in America. The second-lowest theft rate is that of the Hyundai Tucson, with 0.40 thefts per 1,000 vehicles, according to the Highway Data Loss Institute. All that technology makes the Tesla tempting, but ultimately too difficult to steal. The Model S doesn't have any locks to pick, since the car opens and starts only when its corresponding key fob is near. Sure a thief could go to the trouble of hacking the car, but once they had it there isn't much they could do with it. Most cars are stolen and parted out in chop shops, and there simply isn't a market for additional Tesla parts. Related Gallery Tesla Model S Wins Coveted 'Car Of The Year' Awards Green Weird Car News Tesla Safety Electric stolen car

Volvo leads and Mini fails in JD Power's Tech Experience Index

New cars are basically rolling computers. Everything from the engine to the infotainment runs on a series of ones and zeros, and a lot of that technology requires input from the driver. So it's no surprise that JD Power has a study designed specifically to discern which bits of tech drivers love and which bits they loathe. "New technology continues to be a primary factor in the vehicle purchase decision," says JD Power's Kristin Kolodge, executive director of driver interaction & human machine interface research. "However, it’s critical for automakers to offer features that owners find intuitive and reliable. The user experience plays a major role in whether an owner will use the technology on a regular basis or abandon it and feel like they wasted their money." The J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Tech Experience Index (TXI) Study found that Volvo owners are happiest with the technology packed inside their vehicles, followed by BMW and Cadillac, all brands that JD Power classifies as premium. The highest-rated mainstream brand is Hyundai, followed by Subaru and Kia. As was the case with the organization's Initial Quality and APEAL studies, Tesla's numbers aren't officially included because they are the only automaker that has not granted JD Power approval to contact its owners in states that require it. Tesla's projected score of 593 would have put it in second place, right behind Volvo's score of 617. The lowest-ranked brand in the TXI Study is Mini, with Porsche right behind. Diving a little bit deeper, JD Power's findings suggest that the technologies new car buyers care most about are related to helping them see their surroundings better. Camera systems, including rear-view mirror cameras and ground-view cameras, scored highest in five of the six satisfaction attributes measured in the study. The technology that owners could really do without? Gesture controls. Owners who answered JD Power's survey say they don't use gesture controls much at all after initially trying them, and they don't really care if their next vehicle has them. We have to wonder if those responses might be what kept BMW out of the top spot. The TXI Study also found that owners are split on automated driving helpers, like lane-keeping assist and automatic emergency braking. JD Power suggests that owners may need more training on those systems before they learn to trust them. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences.

Investigators Find No Defect Trend With Tesla Motors' Model S

Federal safety investigators said Friday they have found no apparent defect trends in the Tesla Model S, an electric luxury car that has its share of fans and critics. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closed a four-month investigation into whether the car's batteries were at heightened risk for underbody strikes and subsequent fires. Even though no defect trend was found, Tesla Motors said in a written statement it would further protect the bottom of its cars with a reinforced underbody shield. The California-based automaker started adding the shields on March 6 and will retrofit older models free of charge. It will also increase the ground clearance of new cars. "This fix should eliminate the potential of a battery-pack fire under all but the most extreme circumstances," said Karl Brauer, a senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book. Although there are more than 194,000 car fires in the United States every year, NHTSA investigators began a preliminary investigation into potential trouble on Nov. 15, 2013 following two Model S fires, one in Tennessee and one in Washington. No one was injured or killed in either fire. Roadway debris punctured the battery pack near the front of the compartments in both cases, damaging the batteries' lithium ion cells that then began "thermal runaway" events. The opposite ends of the debris had dug into the pavement and jutted upward. Tesla called this a "piking effect." The company said it has conducted 152 vehicle level tests, and that the new shields prevented any damage or penetration of the new shields. The first is a rounded, hollow aluminum bar that's followed by a titanium plate. The third layer of protection is made of solid aluminum. (There's video of the new plates in action on the Tesla Motors website). "We have tried every worst-case debris impact we can think of, including hardened steel structures set in the ideal position for a piking event," Tesla Motors founder Elon Musk wrote on the company's blog," essentially equivalent to driving a car at highway speed, into a steel spear braced on the tarmac." Approximately 15,805 vehicles are eligible for the upgrades, which NHTSA says should reduce the frequency of underbody strikes and subsequent fire risks. But the agency did note that the closing of the investigation did not necessarily constitute a finding that a defect does not exist. "The agency reserves the right to take further action if warranted by new circumstances," it said.