Tesla Model S Voted Best Car Of The Past 70 Years By Motor Trend

The 2013 Tesla Model S, the groundbreaking electric vehicle (EV) that decisively proved EVs are the future of motoring, has been selected the “Ultimate Car of the Year” for the past 70 years by U.S. car magazine, Motor Trend.

The Model S is the first vehicle conferred the honor, Ultimate Car of the Year, by Motor Trend. The Model S was also Motor Trend’s 2013 Car of the Year.

It’s the first vehicle designed by Tesla Inc. from the ground up as an EV and was first produced in 2012. It was built to succeed Tesla’s first EV, the Tesla Roadster.

The Model S beat seven of the best cars in every decade selected by Motor Trend since the 1950s as Car of the Year (COTY). Motor Trend started its COTY awards in 1949 with the Cadillac Series 62 Sedanette winning the first award.

Motor Trend said 92 vehicles have received the COTY award to date. But it felt one of these 92 cars is more significant than the others, hence the reason for the new Ultimate Car of the Year award.

The magazine whittled down the 92 to eight finalists for its first Ultimate Car of the Year award: the 1949 Cadillac Series 62 Sedanette, 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air, 1968 Pontiac GTO, 1972 Citroen SM, 1986 Mazda RX-7, 1996 Dodge Caravan, 2004 Toyota Prius, and the 2013 Tesla Model S.

“Every car here was selected because it's the best representative of the decade when it won, and still the Model S stands apart,” wrote Motor Trend. “In our 70 years of identifying a Car of the Year, none is more deserving than the 2013 Tesla Model S.”

Motor Trend said the Model S changed the way the world thinks about electric cars and cars in general. It remains clear there isn't another vehicle created during its 70 years of existence that has had a truly comparable effect on automobiles, the automotive industry, and society at large as the Model S.

“No vehicle we’ve awarded, be it Car of the Year, Import Car of the Year, SUV of the Year, or Truck of the Year, can equal the impact, performance, and engineering excellence that is our Ultimate Car of the Year winner, the 2013 Tesla Model S,” wrote Motor Trend.

The magazine also said the mere fact the Tesla Model S exists at all “is a testament to innovation and entrepreneurship, the very qualities that once made the American automobile industry the largest, richest, and most powerful in the world.”

"That the 11 judges unanimously voted the first vehicle designed from the wheels up by a fledgling automaker the 2013 MotorTrend Car of the Year should be cause for celebration. America can still make things."