Tesla data protocol travels apparently N.Y. Times story.

Paul A. Eisenstein, the Detroit Bureau 9 clock.

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk could only in the last word received, as he was with the New York Times about a potentially damaging review of start-up car manufacturer model S battery-electric vehicle battles.

Musk started having what initially makes some during a test run a quixotic struggle with the earlier this week after the release of a report by experienced journalists John Broder noted, he had very influential newspaper no and had delivered to the Tesla model S battery cars from flatbed to the place of destination.

Although he said an initial apology Broder offered, musk later turned around and went on the offensive and threw the paper a "fake" story, and the journalist to do a number of things that would be assured, that he run during his test drive of energy out.

And early today, musk and his PR team by releasing that drove data logs from the model S Broder. The diagram shows that proves what they pretend to clearly will not match the details of the story the way actually drove the reporter.

"If the facts to fit his opinion not, he changed the facts simply," musk wrote.

It has long been a hate between car manufacturers and automotive reviews. Manufacturers often grin and bear it, if they have allegedly poor design, poor mileage or questionable acceleration were attacked. While a few have tried to fight back the benefits have not in General to outweighed the risk.

Tesla seems less willing to smile and his critics to ignore, especially when it comes to the critical question of the range. This is a weak point of the electric vehicle industry, in General, however, Tesla has tried to overcome, so-called "range anxiety" by offering a sedan, equipped with a far larger battery than available in competitive products, such as the Nissan leaf or Ford focus EV, generally less than 100 km per charge leave.

In fact the model is sold S with a choice of three different packs which claims can get Tesla to less than 300 miles. And to further blur the boundaries between a conventional, gas-powered vehicle, and the new model S, Tesla is a network of so-called Superchargers, rapid charging stations, which operate along the East and West coasts and in other parts of the country.

Broder of the review was to see whether he could use these Superchargers, coming from Washington, D.C. to Boston without the agonizingly long normally to recharge, waiting time required. In history, that the times printed that claimed veteran writer he could deduct it, does not require its model S picked up by flat bed and the the second charger to be placed.

Nonsense, musk announced this week raise many eyebrows and a lot of skepticism, as he had shown previously thin-skinned, even complaints the BBC about a bad review by the highly rated series, "Top Gear".

But the Tesla model S, turns out, contains a so-called Black Box, a data recorder that monitored closely as the more complex devices on aircraft, the fashion, the driver operates the vehicle. And indicates that the data was made after a diagram, the Tesla, it seems that Broders was driving significantly differently, what he reported.

The annotated diagram, for example, shows that he operated much faster than the 54 mph Broder cruise control should be claimed during the first third of his trip. He occasionally spiked up to 80 mph and routinely went much faster than if the review claimed he "limped along at about 45 km/h."

Tesla claimed Broder could not properly charge the S model during its first compressor station, and operated the climate control in a way that further looked at the battery.

Musk criticism seems exaggerated. At one point, with battery in the close to zero and a charger nearby went apparently to see Broder circles, what would happen next. This is something that many journalists have done testing of battery vehicles.

But now released with the data logs, Tesla's last Salvo seems first gripes more weight than the musk.

Does it matter? A source in the New York Times promises one "point for point rebuttal." And the Atlantic Wire has already questioned whether the data log is really convincing. The mileage that appears Broder reported more in line with reality, as Tesla would have us believe would like to make, requested it. And in some cases the publication loudly there are apples, oranges comparisons that look not quite so convincing, if investigated.

"Not all data of the musk is entirely convincing, and the parts that do not show for a malicious plot", says the online news service of the Atlantic magazine.

The dispute is to some only a storm in an electric teapot. For others, it will have little effect as Analyst Jim Hall. "they have waiting 10-depth, for the model S,", he said.

But beyond the dedicated Greenies, probably for the first year or so busy will be Tesla's Assembly plant, the question is, what happens if the company must attract more mainstream buyers for themselves? The result of this war of words could determine whether Tesla has a Halo or a dirty face.

Were recent comments when the data graph and musk am issued at 2:00 am EST, said Tesla spokeswoman Shanna Hendricks, "Please keep in mind that nobody is Tesla - including Elon - providing additional commentary on this topic move, as we believe that the blog speaks for itself." At this point is this post of the company final document on the subject. We are happy to clarify, however if you have any questions."

It seems that is time to have the last word not to Tesla, however. And musk, the tendency to rise, on everything that affects him or her interests remains to be seen whether this battle is ending even remotely.

Copyright 2013 the Detroit Bureau

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A sad end to Saab’s story

Sean Gallup / Getty Images fo;e

The logo of Swedish automaker Saab.

By Paul A. Eisenstein

With the filing of bankruptcy papers this week it’s all over for Saab but the funeral. Or is it? 

Few automakers have existed so long and so close to the precipice -- or shown the uncanny ability to come back from the seeming dead.  But this week’s developments would suggest that the Swedish automaker will soon wind up on the automotive rust heap.

The news leaves a lot of folks wondering what will happen next, among them Saab car owners, the maker’s creditors and its employees. There’s relatively little in the kitty left to cover the carmaker’s debts, and a Saab spokesperson today told us warranty service has been “temporarily suspended.”

Even after filing for bankruptcy on Monday, Dutch businessman Victor Muller -- who purchased Saab from General Motors in early 2010 and who has been serving as its chairman -- remained surprisingly optimistic, telling the Dow Jones newswires:

“With a bankruptcy, it is now possible to start with a clean slate.”

Exactly what that means remains to be seen, as the bankrupt firm’s parent, Muller’s Swedish Automobile, or SWAN, said it would write off its investment in the automaker. 

There are signs others may see gold amidst the rust, however. The Swedish Ministry of Enterprise says it has received a “number of calls” from potential buyers of Saab’s remaining assets. Among those interested is Zhejiang Youngman Lotus, the ambitious Chinese automaker that had hoped to strike a deal with Saab to head off the Swedish company’s bankruptcy.

It ran into a brick wall in the form of General Motors, which made clear it didn’t want to create a new competitor for its own Chinese operations -- GM being the largest automaker in the booming Asian market. Though it had sold off Saab in 2010, the U.S. company remained one of its biggest suppliers, providing engines and other parts for Saab’s 9-3 and 9-5 models and assembling the new 9-4X crossover vehicle at a GM plant in Mexico.

But Youngman could purchase Saab’s other assets -- if it can figure out precisely what those are. There are the designs for the current Saab models, though it’s unclear what value they would have without GM’s cooperation. There’s also the next-generation Saab 9-3, which was going to migrate to an engine provided by BMW. 

There’s also the Saab name itself -- although industry analysts see it as severely tarnished in light of the maker’s long-running death spiral. And a purchaser might still have to get approval to use the brand name from Swedish defense company Saab AB, which sold the automaker to GM a decade ago.

Saab started out as an aircraft manufacturer, originally known as Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget. A group of the company’s engineers, looking for ways to keep busy as defense spending collapsed, put together the company’s first automobile shortly after World War II.

Saab never developed a solid financial foundation. GM bought a 50 percent stake in 1989, acquiring the rest of the company 11 years later. GM decided it close or sell off Saab -- along with three other North American brands -- after emerging from bankruptcy in 2009.

Saab was set to close when Muller stepped in later that year. The deal was completed early in 2010 and gave Muller, among other things, Saab’s headquarters and assembly plant in Trollhattan, Sweden.

The Swedish carmaker earlier this year had raised some preliminary cash by selling its factory and other properties. What use they will be to anyone remains unclear. While the Saab assembly plant was one of GM’s most modern it is located far from the center of European automotive manufacturing and in a country with some of the Continent’s highest labor costs.

Part of the challenge for anyone interested in purchasing Saab assets is that it would also have to deal with both the Swedish government and the European Investment Bank, the latter having provided a 400 million euro loan to back the sale of Saab last year to what was then known as Spyker Cars.

The Swedish courts have already appointed two trustees to try to rescue whatever is possible from the ruins of Saab. Muller hinted he would like to see workers -- who have gone unpaid for months -- get something in time for the holidays, though that seems unlikely.

Despite its problems, Saab has maintained a small core of loyalists; U.S. sales totaled almost 4,000 units this year. The question is what will happen to those and previous buyers. Vehicles sold when GM owned the company should qualify for warranty service at GM dealers, according to several industry sources, but there could be hiccups in the short-term, and as for vehicles -- like the new 9-4X -- purchased after the sale, that could be another matter entirely. 

But for the moment, the news is bad for all Saab owners. Saab USA spokesperson Michele Tinson noted that, “all warranty coverage is now being suspended until we have further direction from the [bankruptcy] trustees.”

Even those older GM-built models are facing delays. Should a customer have an immediate problem, Tinson said, it will be “up to the discretion of the dealer” to decide whether to provide covered repairs or charge the owner.

 

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