Tesla urges you to arbitrate any disputes, but then sabotages out-of-court process

The 2016 Model S 75D I bought from Tesla last November had dents, scratches and crude, mismatched touch-up paint on the lower bumper -- damage that wasn't shown in photos of the car sent to me by the electric-car maker. See photos below.

When I picked up the car at the Paramus, N.J., dealership, a delivery adviser said Tesla no longer repairs this kind of damage, which might have occurred when the car was transported by truck from storage in Newburgh, N.Y.

EV maker refuses to pay $500 fee,

ends my bid to get bumper repaired

Editor's note: A few weeks after I posted this, Tesla paid the arbitration fee and after more back and forth with a lawyer, the EV maker agreed to replace -- not just repair -- my front bumper for a payment of $500. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Tesla owners agree no other electric-car maker can match the stunning technology packed into their vehicles.

But most of us also agree few companies have such poor customer service.

The latest example is Tesla refusing to pay the $500 filing fee required when a customer submits a dispute to arbitration -- short-circuiting the out-of-court process.

I got the bad news last week in an email from the American Arbitration Association.

I had filed a request that Tesla repair damage to a used Model S I bought from the company website last November, and paid a $200 filing fee.

A Tesla-authorized body shop gave me an estimate of $5,000 for replacing the damaged front bumper, although I'd be happy with just repairs and repainting.

Now, my only recourse is to file a small claims case in the Civil Division of Superior Court, where the maximum recovery is $3,000.

Agreement to arbitrate

I got the idea to submit my dispute to arbitration from the Motor Vehicle Purchase Agreement I received with my 2016 Model S 75D.

On Page 2, under "Agreement to Arbitrate," the company states, "Please carefully read this provision, which applies to any dispute between you and Tesla Inc. and its affiliates."

"If not resolved within 60 days, you agree that any dispute...will not be decided by a judge or jury, but instead by a single arbitrator in an arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules."

Victor Sasson v. Tesla Motors

On June 9, 2020, I got an email from the association, notifying me Tesla has not paid the $500 filing fee required of a business to cover the "costs of arbitration."

I was asked if I was willing to "advance the unpaid fees" so the case could proceed, but they turned out to total $4,400 -- a $500 filing fee, a $1,400 case-management fee and a $2,500 arbitrator's fee.

Fuggedaboutit!

In subsequent emails, I was told the $200 filing fee I paid wasn't refundable.

And "Pro Se Administrator No. 5" declined to say whether Tesla has shown a pattern of refusing to take part in arbitration by not paying the fee required of a business.

"That is private information," I was told.

NEW BUMPER: On Oct. 30, 2020, I picked up my Model S with a new bumper, painted to match my multi-coat red paint job. 

Read: You can do better 

than Tesla's offer on a trade-in

Consumer Reports trashes Tesla, Model 3, other EVs; and a new reason to hate SUVs

The Subaru Ascent SUV leads Consumer Report's list of Top 10 vehicles in 2019, even though a competing model, the Toyota Highlander, is more friendly to the environment. The Highlander, available with a gas-electric drivetrain, gets better mileage.

Environmental impact of cars 

missing in magazine's 2019 Auto Issue

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Consumer Reports' 2019 Auto Issue completely ignores the environmental impact of the 260 new vehicles that are rated and reviewed, just like the first such issue in 1948.

Not a single all-electric, zero-emissions vehicle makes the magazine's "10 Top Picks" this year, although the list includes three gas-electric hybrids from Toyota.

Topping the Top 10 is the 22-mpg Subaru Ascent, a 3-row midsize SUV, even though the Japanese automaker's Crosstrek is available as a plug-in gas-electric hybrid that gets far better gas mileage.

Shocking omission

Given climate change, global warming or whatever you want to call the heating up of the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels, the refusal of the magazine's testers to give vehicles an environmental grade is shocking.

When he unveiled the Model 3 in March 2016, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he hoped the mainstream sedan would accelerate the transition to "sustainable transportation."

And he noted electric vehicles are more important than ever in view of 58,000 premature deaths every year in the United States from tailpipe emissions.

The automotive media, including Consumer Reports (CR), ignored him then just as they are doing know.

Tesla and other automakers should get points for the number of zero-emissions and gas-electric hybrids in their lineup, just as CR knocks itself out praising them for "impressive fuel economy" (19 mpg in the Ford F-150, for example).

Instead, in a March 15 report sent to readers, CR asks, "As Tesla unveils Model Y crossover, should consumers buy into drama-filled company?"

The piece was by Jeff Plungis, identified as CR's lead "automotive investigative reporter."

2019 Auto Issue

In a section on "How the Brands Stack Up" (defined as companies offering "consumers strong-performing and problem-free vehicles") EV maker Tesla dropped 11 places to 19th among 33 brands (behind Buick, but ahead of Ford, Nissan and Chrysler).

On the "Best + Worst Lists," Tesla's Model 3 is "no longer recommended" because of "declining reliability," along with the Acura RDX, Chrysler 300, BMW 5 series, Dodge Charger and Volkswagen Tiguan.

The Model 3 problems described by readers were cosmetic, and don't affect its high safety rating.

No category for EVs

In another section, "New Car Ratings," EVs do not appear in their own categories.

Under "Cars: Compact Electric and Hybrids," two Toyota gas-electric hybrids are rated higher than the Chevrolet Bolt EV Premier, and the Honda Insight EX is tied with the Bolt.

That's bewildering in view of the improved Bolt -- a fast, quiet, tight four-door hatchback you can drive with one pedal: 

Lift off the gas and the battery electric car comes to a stop at a crosswalk, stop sign or traffic light.

And CR dropped the Bolt from its Top 10 list this year.

Teslas finish 4th

Tesla's Model 3 is listed 4th among "Cars: Luxury Compact" after the Acura TLX, Infiniti Q50 and Kia Stinger.

The Tesla Model S -- the first car to achieve an overall score of 100 points from CR -- also finished 4th among "Cars: Ultraluxury." 

Ahead of the Model S were three gas-thirsty cars the Tesla outsells by far: 

Mercedes-Benz S550, BMW 750i (xDrive) and Genesis G90.

Electric Jag?

I could not find any mention in the 2019 Auto Issue of the all-electric 2019 Jaguar I-Pace, which is being advertised on TV in the New York-New Jersey area.

Subaru's Crosstrek, a plug-in hybrid, merits only a few words under "New Car Profiles."

The section on "New Cars Worth Waiting For" lists only 8 vehicles, including 6 gas-guzzling SUVs, 1 sedan and 1 sports car.

Among the 6 so-called sport utility vehicles is the monstrous Lincoln Aviator, to be available with 400- and 450-horsepower engines.

That abomination from Lincoln flunks every environmental test.

Read: Years late, CR puts an EV on Top 10 list

The Toyota Supra, above, a 2-seater that will go on sale this summer, is being built in partnership with BMW and is based on the German automaker's Z4 roadster, according to Consumer Reports' April 2019 Auto Issue.

SUVs are deadlier

Consumer Reports continues to ignore the menace of big SUVs, which use more gasoline and pollute more than other vehicles, and make traffic congestion worse because they take up so much more space than other vehicles.

Not to mention how aggressively they are driven.

Yet, in a section of the 2019 Auto Issue called "Making the World Safer for Pedestrians," the magazine notes "the unforgiving structure of SUVs, when compared with the lower profile of cars, is adding to the [pedestrian] death toll," according to research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

"Higher-riding SUVs and other light trucks -- which now account for almost 70 percent of U.S. vehicle sales, up from nearly 50 percent a decade ago -- mean that pedestrians are more likely to be hit in the abdomen or head than at the legs, which leads to more serious injuries and fatalities."

CR says vehicles with pedestrian-detection systems and automatic emergency braking are one way to slow the rising number of pedestrians killed in the past decade.

The magazine said  that in 2017, 5,977 pedestrians were fatally hit by vehicles -- a 45 percent increase from 4,109 such deaths in 2009, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

So, it's hard to understand how CR can then turn around and recommend any SUV to readers, who could find as much room, all-wheel drive and even a hybrid drivetrain in a minivan.

Clueless, error-filled column on all-electric Tesla Model 3 is better than negative news

"Electric FUN," a front-page column about all-electric cars or EVs in The Record of Woodland Park on Monday, was illustrated with the Mitsubishi i-MIEV, an EV that was withdrawn from the U.S. market in 2017. Sales of the small Japanese car, which had a range of only 62 miles, totaled 2,108 over 7 years, according to GreenCarReports.com.

REPORTER CLAIMS MIDSIZE EV

DOESN'T HAVE A TRANSMISSION

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- John Cichowski, a columnist at The Record of Woodland Park, wants you to meet his wife's cousin, Bob.

Bob Silverberg, who owned a 20-year-old Honda, now drives a  new Tesla Model 3, the all-electric car that's been buried in negative news since deliveries to customers began last year.

But the Page 1 column on Monday in the once-great local daily newspaper was upbeat and positive, with no mention of past production problems, delayed deliveries or the eccentricities of Elon Musk, CEO of upstart Tesla.

Still, typical of Cichowski's work in the past 15 years, the column is filled with errors, and nowhere does the clueless reporter mention that Model 3, like all Teslas, is a zero-emissions vehicle that does no harm to the environment or to humans.

When he unveiled the midsize Model 3 in 2016, Musk noted more than 53,000 Americans die prematurely every year from auto emissions. 

Read: Media ignores Tesla's environmental message

Self-driving features

Chichowski, who calls himself The Road Warrior, begins the column with Tesla's "Summon" feature, which allows the owner using a smartphone app to stand outside the Model 3, start it and have it back out of the garage or, as Cousin Bob did, a carport.

But the reporter doesn't mention the owner of a  Model 3 can also have the car parallel park, drive and steer on the highway, and change lanes automatically.

'No gas tank'

Although he never tells readers the Model 3 is a zero-emissions car without an exhaust pipe, Cichowski does say the EV has "no gas tank."

All you have to do is plug it into "a wall socket," he says, but Cichowski doesn't mention Tesla's network of dedicated Superchargers (fast electric-charging stations) in New Jersey and across the nation, a key to the company's success.

He also exaggerates how much time a Tesla owner spends charging the car, and omits mention of a 240-volt wall socket any electrician can install that allows an owner to charge his EV in a few hours overnight just like he or she charges a cell phone. 

No transmission?

"Electric vehicles don't need transmissions. EVs run on torque," Cichowski claims, providing the two biggest laugh lines in the column.

"Torque" is the twisting motion produced by an internal combustion engine or an electric motor, but the car won't go anywhere unless you connect that torque to the driving wheels via a transmission.

Cousin Bob's Model 3 does have a transmission, but it has only 1 speed, so driving the EV is smooth, silent and -- with all of the torque available immediately -- effortless.

"I'm not polluting the air as much as I did with my Honda, and [my Model 3 is] a lot of fun to drive," Cousin Bob says.

Someone should tell Bob he isn't "polluting the air" at all.

For some strange reason, no photo of Cousin Bob's Model 3 appears with the column, but a photo of an "electric car" used in the Glen Rock July Fourth parade in 2017 appears on the continuation page, 6A.

More laugh lines

"The Model 3 doesn't even need a dashboard," The Road Warrior columnist reports. 

"Instead, it's got something we're already used to on our smartphones: a touchscreen -- except this one is almost as big as a chauffeur," he says, referring to the 15-inch touch screen on the Model 3.

"Like a phone, just touch it the right way and it'll do everything your dash did and more -- phone, radio, heat, air conditioning, etc., etc."

Gee-whiz. Will Tesla's wonders ever cease?

Postscript: John Cichowski, who committed more errors than any other single reporter in the history of The Record, retired in January 2019. He began writing the Road Warrior column in September 2003.

Using a free Tesla Supercharger in the Colonie Center Mall outside of Albany, N.Y., in 2017, I was able to add 100 miles of range to my Tesla Model S in about 40 minutes while my wife and I grabbed a bite to eat and used the restroom at a nearby Whole Foods Market.

Tesla fans: Pay no attention to Model 3 doomsday scenario from Business Insider

Matthew DeBord, a writer for Business Insider, was dubbed "The Saab Slob" when he lived in Los Angeles and never washed his car, above.

DeBord also appears to be a fan of motorcycles, but it's unclear what qualifies him to write about Tesla's Model 3, the highly anticipated all-electric sedan that is expected to go into production in July.

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Just the headline sent chills down the spines of Tesla fans:

"The Model 3 could be the worst thing

 that ever happened to Tesla" 

But the story for BusinessInsider.com contained a fatal flaw in the very first paragraph:

"Small cars are in a crisis in the U.S.," said Matthew DeBord, a so-called senior correspondent who covers transportation for Business Insider.

"Increasingly, consumers want big pickups and SUVs.... Into this challenging small-car situation will soon arrive Tesla's $35,000 Model 3 mass-market sedan."

What a blooper. 

Tesla makes premium all-electric cars and although Model 3 will be smaller and more affordable than Model S and Model X, no one in their right mind would lump the zero-emissions vehicle in with gas-engine "small cars." 

It's true that in a period of low gas prices GM, Ford other automakers have been struggling to sell such small cars as the Chevy Cruze and Ford Focus.

But would nearly 400,000 people pay $1,000 each to reserve a Model 3, if they expected the 4-door sedan to be just another "small car"?

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says Model 3 production will begin in July in the same Fremont, Calif., plant where Model S and Model X are assembled.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk introducing the Model 3.

Premium sedan

Model 3, like all Teslas being built now, will be a premium EV equipped with Level 5 autonomous-driving hardware (sensors, cameras and so forth) -- the highest level available.

My 2015 Tesla Model S will drive itself on the highway, park itself and pull out of the garage when I use the "Summon" command on my smartphone's Tesla app.

A nicely equipped Model 3 will cost about $50,000 (base price $35,000), have a range of more than 200 miles on a full charge and is expected to attain the highest safety ratings in every category. 

No "small-car" thinking went into Model 3, which will be a much wiser choice for fans of all-electric cars than the cheap-looking Chevrolet Bolt EV.

Nearly 2 years after I bought my Model S, I still feel like I belong to an exclusive club, and early Model 3 owners should feel the same.

Plus, they'll be buying one of the fastest and quietest sedans on the road, and helping, not hurting, the environment.

The Record's strong environmental report ignores huge death toll from auto fumes

This photo was published by AutoBlog.com in a report on the number of premature deaths from emissions, including those from automobiles.

 -- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

When The Record's editors plaster an environmental story all over Page 1, readers get it.

Today's sensational report on a "giant bird-killer in the meadowlands" and Monday's huge front-page layout on the Hackensack River, one of the dirtiest in North Jersey, have one thing in common:

They steer clear of alienating such big advertisers as automakers and their dealers.

Auto and truck emissions kill 58,000 people prematurely every year, MIT's Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment reported in 2013.

That figure was cited by Elon Musk last March, when the CEO of Tesla unveiled the Model 3, a smaller, more-affordable zero-emissions car that is expected to go into production this year.

The Record and most other news outlets have ignored the environmental benefits of all-electric vehicles, because there is literally nothing in those stories for them.

Tesla doesn't advertise, and Nissan, BMW and other companies do little or no marketing and promotion of their EVs.

What you will find advertised in The Record are all of the gas-guzzling SUVs and performance cars automakers are churning out to take advantage of low gas prices.

And John Cichowski, The Record's so-called commuting columnist, has been pandering to drivers for more than 13 years, and refusing to cover environmentally friendly mass transit.

Negative EV report

The Record's front page carried a largely negative story on all-electric cars in December 2015. 

Scott Fallon, a veteran environmental reporter, focused only on EVs with limited range and the lack of charging stations for them in New Jersey.

Only in passing did he mention Tesla's Model S, which has a range of more than 200 miles and free, fast-charging stations for owners located in highway service areas and New Jersey malls.

Fallon also was unaware buyers of all-electric cars pay no N.J. sales tax (that's a savings of $5,600 on an $80,000 Tesla), or that even electric cars with a range of 80 miles to 100 miles are ideal for seniors, whose driving is limited.

And nowhere did Fallon mention battery driven cars are the key to reducing deaths from auto emissions.

Christie and Trump

Record Staff Writer Charles Stile apparently still hasn't given up his dream of working for Governor Christie in the nation's capital, if his Sunday political column is any indication.

"In some ways, Christie would be a seamless fit in the chaotic Trump world," Stile wrote of the governor who was removed as head of the president-elect's transition team and lost out to others on a Cabinet post.

Our next prez -- a filthy rich con man and tax dodger -- will make America hate again

Supporters of  Donald J. Trump denounced a cartoon from Jim Morin, showing the president-elect beating Rep. John Lewis, the civil rights hero who says he is boycotting the inauguration of an "illegitimate" president.

EYE ON THE RECORD

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Make no mistake. 

My use of the word "prez" in the headline just bought me room for "con man" and "tax dodger," but, alas, "pussy grabber" didn't fit.

I certainly didn't intend to confer on billionaire Donald J. Trump any of the coolness of the late, great tenor saxophonist Lester Young, who was called "Prez" and "The President" by his fellow musicians.

The inauguration of Trump on Friday will end government for all as we knew it under President Obama, and usher in a period of racism, hate speech and division unlike anything we've seen before.

The Record today carries the fifth and final installment of "Trump Tracker," a series in which the editors and reporters try to predict how a Trump administration will affect 14 issues important to North Jersey residents and businesses (1A and 10A).

They intend to update the stories "at least once every three months." 

That's hardly enough, especially if they spend the rest of the time merely reporting partisan politics and sound bites -- as they have done for the entire Obama administration, as well as during Governor Christie's tenure.

#TeamRecord

On 11A today, readers get a foreshadowing of how The Record of Woodland Park will cover the Trump inauguration, written by Elise Toribio, who is identified as "social-mobile editor" or do they mean "mobile social editor"?  

Poor Toribio reports that Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States "in front of thousands of Americans on the National Mall."

"Thousands"? One estimate is that 900,000 people will attend the ceremony. 

Toribio urges readers "to follow our reporters and photographers on their social channels ... for live updates before, during and after the event." 

Unfortunately, many older readers of The Record don't have smartphones or follow Twitter and other social media.

A dozen staff reporters or columnists and four photographers will be in Washington for the inauguration.

When their work appears in the print edition on Saturday and Sunday, much of it will be largely ignored by readers who watched hours of coverage and commentary on TV.

Obama farewell

In his final news conference, Obama told the White House press corps, "You're not supposed to be sycophants, you're supposed to be skeptics" (12A).

The president appeared to be urging them to "be skeptics" during the Trump administration. 

Many Americas are disappointed the press corps, as well as print, radio and TV reporters, acted like sycophants during the campaign, hoping to gain advantage with Trump and his supporters.

Regulations

In his story on Trump reducing federal rules today, Washington Correspondent Herb Jackson reports "exactly what regulations will be rolled back and what businesses or individuals will be affected remain unclear" (1A).

That's quite a journalistic cop-out from a veteran reporter, who could have discussed regulation of the auto industry that affects nearly everyone.

Trump officials are expected to side with automakers who are pushing back against the latest fuel-mileage standards from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Auto emissions kill 53,000 people a year and aggravate climate change, according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the upstart who is leading the movement to all-electric vehicles.

And no one wants to see a reduction in auto-safety regulations in view of the thousands of Americans killed by defective air bags, tires, cars and trucks in recent decades. 

Affordable housing

Page 1 of The Record today carries a decision from the state Supreme Court that is almost as significant as the landmark Mount Laurel rulings in 1975 and 1983.

The high court ruled towns must allow developers to build affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families "whose needs were ignored for more than 16 years" (1A).

The justices rejected arguments from several towns, the Christie administration and the League of Municipalities, State House Bureau reporter Salvador Rizzo reports.

But this story and previous accounts largely avoid the racial angle -- most of the people who live in affordable housing are black and Hispanic, and many towns oppose accommodating those minorities.