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The design of the Tesla Model S seems fresh more than three years after it went into production. By VICTOR E. SASSON EDITOR Tesla Motors, which doesn't advertise or pay for endorsements and product placements, has succeeded by word of mouth. And as far as I know, the lightning-quick Model S has never been discounted -- until now. In an email on Wednesday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced a referral program that will give a buyer $1,000 off the price of a new all-electric Model S when it is purchased through an owner's link. The new program runs through Oct. 31, and the owner whose link is used gets a $1,000 credit in his or her Tesla account that can be applied to a future purchase, service or accessories. So, here is my link, which you are welcome to use to purchase what is arguably the best car in the world: Click here for $1,000 off the price of a Model S Here is more from Musk's email: "Besides word of mouth, another way that our cars are sold is through stores. These

Is a Pajun a planned Porsche or a Korean pancake? At So Gong Dong, a popular tofu restaurant in Palisades Park, N.J., the Haemool Pajun is a grilled rice-flour pancake filled with squid and scallions, above, served with a soy-based dipping sauce. The Porsche Pajun, a concept for a smaller Panamera or Panamera (Pa) Junior (jun). By VICTOR E. SASSON EDITOR I'm not holding my breath for an all-electric Porsche sedan that is being hyped as having enough range to take on Tesla's Model S. The soonest the car will be produced, according to prognosticators, is 2017. The concept is a four-door hatchback like the Model S, but smaller than a Panamera, hence the nickname, "Pajun." Steve Siler of the Car and Driver Blog winks: "PA-namera JUN-ior, get it?" Pajun also is a Korean rice-flour pancake. This wouldn't be the first auto-culinary reference from Porsche, which produces the Cayenne SUV. A compact version of Cayenne, called Macan, is now available, so the Paname

An electric-drive smart or Smart car plugged in at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center on Wednesday afternoon, above and below. By VICTOR E. SASSON EDITOR As a onetime newspaper copy editor, my biggest question about a mini-car called smart is why it's often written with a lower-case "S." Does this automotive small fry with so-so mileage from a 1-liter, three-cylinder engine -- less efficient than most hybrids -- have an inferiority complex? The tiny two-seater is "engineered with Mercedes-Benz," according to the Web site, and sold by Mercedes dealers. The size of the car doesn't give me too much confidence in a world dominated by enormous, gas-guzzling SUVs that are usually driven way over the speed limit, including those from Mercedes, Land Rover, GM and Porsche. This tiny car's passenger compartment is called a "safety cell," which was inspired by "race-car roll cages."  That's great. Now, when I see a smart or Smart on the r

In a garage in Englewood, N.J., the low-slung Tesla Model S seems small next to a midsize Mercedes-Benz SUV. By VICTOR E. SASSON EDITOR The Tesla Model S is many things to many owners, and when you're retired and don't drive as much as you once did, it's likely the cleanest, most efficient luxury car around. On Wednesday, I had errands in Englewood. N.J. -- a 12-mile round-trip from my home -- and according to my emissions-free Tesla Model S, used 4 kilowatt hours of energy. On the instrument panel, "Since last charge" tells you how far you've traveled and how much energy that took. I charged the car overnight with a 240-volt socket in my garage, paying Public Service Electric and Gas Co. about 12 cents per kilowatt hour, but the utility also exacts a delivery charge -- for a total of about $1 for my round-trip to Englewood. Solar panel factor I've had my Model S since mid-April, and the one long trip we took -- to Montreal for the International Jazz Festi

On our return to New Jersey on Tuesday, we stopped at the Colonie Center, above, a mall outside Albany, N.Y., to charge our Tesla Model S 60 for the third and final leg of the trip. My Tesla app reported a charge rate of 221 miles per hour -- much faster than another Supercharger we used when we stopped at the same mall on the way to a Montreal vacation.  By VICTOR E. SASSON EDITOR Not all Tesla Superchargers are created equal. At the Colonie Center, a mall outside Albany, N.Y., we used two of the six free Superchargers on our vacation, and found one dramatically slower than the other. On June 27, on the way to Montreal, the initial charge rate of the Supercharger I used was only 84 miles per hour, according to the Tesla app on my smart phone. On Tuesday, on the way home to New Jersey, the Supercharger I used was blindingly fast at an initial charge rate of 221 miles per hour. Both Superchargers slowed during the time I was plugged in. But on Tuesday, we left the Colonie Center in unde

A man and his dog miraculously standing on water at the Basin Harbor Club, an upscale resort on Lake Champlain in northwestern Vermont, where you can charge a Tesla Model S as well as recharge your own batteries. On Monday and Tuesday, unusually high water in Basin Harbor allowed the man shown above and his best friend to walk out on a submerged dock. By VICTOR E. SASSON EDITOR On the way home from the jazz festival in Montreal, I engaged in the sport of passing slower-moving vehicles on winding, two-lane country roads; went for a refreshing boat ride and capped the day with a five-course gourmet dinner. Our destination was the 700-acre Basin Harbor Club on Lake Champlain in Vermont, where we stayed overnight. I plugged in our Tesla Model S 60 (208-mile range), and recharged our own batteries with picture-postcard views, great food and wine, and an abbreviated nature walk (we didn't pack insect repellent). Tesla Motors calls the Model S a premium electric car, so it's fitting i