The Tesla Model S high-end electric sedan has garnered a rare honor from Consumer Reports, with one significant caveat.

Consumer Reports gave the Model S its highest score, a 99 out of 100. In the past, the Lexus LS has also achieved a score of 99.

But the Tesla still has too limited a history on the road to earn it CR's equally coveted "Recommended Buy" rating.

"Despite its stratospheric road-test score, we can’t recommend the Model S until we have sufficient reliability data," Consumer Reports explained.

Sales of the Model S began only last summer. Business began to ramp up toward the end of the year, with the Palo Alto automaker exceeding its first quarter 2013 expectations by selling 4,900 of the cars.

PHOTOS: Kelley Blue Book's 10 best green cars for 2013

"Slipping behind the wheel of the Tesla Model S is like crossing into a promising zero-emissions future," Consumer Reports said.

There is uncharacteristic gushing throughout the CR review, such as the following passage:

The...

For the first time in its 10 year history, electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc. turned a quarterly profit, beating analysts expectations for sales of its pricey luxury sedans.

The Palo Alto automaker on Wednesday reported net income of $11.2 million, or 12 cents a share, in the three month period that ended March 31. That's up from a loss of $89.9 million, or 76 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts, on average, had predicted a profit of 4 cents a share.

Tesla reported revenue of $561.8 million on record sales of 4,900 of its top-of-the-line Model S sedans. That surpassed the company's forecast by more than 250 vehicles and prompted the automaker to raise its 2013 forecast. It now expects to sell about 21,000 of its Model S vehicles by the end of this year.

"There was a lot of skepticism out there that the company would be able to reach that delivery mark," said Elaine Kwei, an analyst with Jefferies & Co. "So the fact that they're raising it — albeit moderately — shows...

Dean Jeffries, the legendary car painter and customizer who made the Monkeemobile and the Green Hornet's original Black Beauty, died in his sleep Saturday at his home in Hollywood. He was 80.

His death was confirmed by his son, Kevin.

During the car-crazy 1950s in Southern California, Jeffries was one of the first hot-rodders to chop, channel and soup-up automobiles. His distinctive paint jobs and sculpted body work attracted many admirers to his auto shop, including the likes of James Dean, Steve McQueen and A.J. Foyt.

In his career, Jeffries was an automotive jack-of-all-trades, working as a stunt driver, car builder, race car painter and pinstriper. He was well-known within the auto business, but didn’t achieve wide commercial success like some of his contemporaries.

“He didn’t talk about himself or promote his work,” said comedian and car enthusiast Jay Leno, the "Tonight Show" host. “We work in a town where the squeaky wheel gets the grease. That...

Summer gasoline prices will be lower in the U.S. than they were last year. But they won't be much lower, experts say, because U.S. refineries have been exporting record amounts of fuel overseas.

That's behind what would normally just be a good news story for U.S. drivers.

U.S. production of its own crude oil is booming at such a rate that it is expected to reach 8.2 million barrels a day in 2014 for the first time since 1988, the Energy Department says.

That was back when the first George Bush was elected president. More U.S. oil means less of the pricier foreign crude and lower transportation costs (no need to rent supertankers and cross oceans.)

PHOTOS: Kelley Blue Book's 10 best green cars for 2013

But the great oil news also included an updated prediction on the gasoline prices Americans will see this summer. There the news was positive, but not great.

"The average gasoline price is now expected to be $3.53 a gallon, 16 cents less than last summer and significantly lower than the...

They may not attract the same number of catcalls or envious stares as a classic Corvette or Jaguar, but the market for vintage SUVs is heating up.

Since 2008, the classic SUV segment has grown by 65 percent, according to Hagerty Insurance, which maintains a database of classic car values. This growth reflects the number of older SUVs that owners are driving and insuring like they would a classic car rather than one driven daily.

This compares to the regular classic car market, which has grown only 37 percent during the same period, according to Hagerty.

PHOTOS: Vintage SUVs with fastest-growing values

The vehicles in this mix include the Toyota Land Cruiser, Land Rover Series II and III, Jeep CJ and Grand Wagoneer, Ford Bronco, International Scout and Chevy Blazer.

"We’re seeing a shift in perception of what makes a vehicle cool," said McKeel Hagerty, the insurer's founder and chief executive. "Vintage SUVs are becoming more and more collectable, and it appears that trend will...

Honda has produced, again, a terrific motorcycle. No, two terrific motorcycles. The 2013 CRF250X and CRF450X are tremendous pieces of two-wheeled engineering. As an old dirt bike guy, I fell in love with both of them.

But even after repeated outings and several hours on each bike, it's almost impossible to say which of them is the better machine.

For a start, they're very similar. They use almost the same frames, suspension, brakes, gearbox, carburetion, electric start systems and other essential elements -- down to the liquid-cooled, dual-radiator Unicam engines that power them. They even look almost identical.

They're slightly different, on paper, in the ways you'd think. The 250 weighs 15 pounds less (254 pounds to the 450's 269 pounds), and sits a tiny bit lower (though both have a seat height of more than 37 inches). The 450 has more horsepower (an unofficial 43 to the 250's unofficial 32). Sitting on them, in the showroom, you'd hardly be able to tell them apart.

PHOTO GALLERY:...

The Chinese appetite for luxury automotive brands, including Cadillac, has become so great that General Motors has won government permission to build a $1.3-billion factory near Shanghai, the automaker confirmed Tuesday.

The Chinese National Development and Reform Commission signed off on the plant, which will be located in Shanghai's Jinqiao district, GM said in a statement. Construction is to begin in June.

GM said the planned production capacity for the factory is 150,000 vehicles.

PHOTOS: What cars and trucks and SUVs are truly American made?

"We want to build where we sell. That is very important to us," said Alan Adler, a GM spokesman in Detroit.

The draw is China's continued growth as the world's biggest automotive market by sales volume. IHS Automotive Consulting says it expects sales of 20.5 million vehicles in China in 2013, expanding to more than 30 million by the end of the decade.

"If Cadillac can capture even a small share of that growth, it will be a very large number,"...

Mercedes-Benz is talking up the changes for 2014 for its redesigned Sprinter cargo van as other automakers ramp up to compete in the segment.

Mercedes-Benz says the new Sprint is slightly longer, with its radiator grill moved into a more upright and "self-assured" position, lending the new Sprinter "a more confident presence."

But the bigger changes are inside.

Photos: The most American cars and trucks

Claus Tritt, general manager of commercial vans for Mercedes-Benz USA, said in an interview that the most important difference, perhaps, was the new 2.1-liter in-line-four diesel engine.

Mercedes-Benz said it marks the first use of super-clean BlueTEC technology in the commercial van market.

Tritt said the new engine offers 161 hp and 265 lb-ft of torque at 1,400-2,400 rpm. and is 18% more efficient in terms of mpg than the old standard 3.0 liter V-6.

Tritt said the 188 hp V-6 will be available as an option.

"This the latest and greatest and best" part of the new Sprinter, Tritt said....

General Motors announced Monday it’s recalling more than 38,000 Chevrolet and Buick eAssist light hybrid cars for a potential fire issue.

The automaker said circuit boards in the trunk can potentially overheat, causing the cars’ 12-volt battery to drain and one of several indicator lights to turn on. If owners ignore the warning lights, the engine could stall and a fire could occur in the trunk, GM said.

The issue is not related to the cars’ rechargable lithium-ion battery that is part of the eAssist hybrid system.

The recall affects 38,197 Chevrolet Malibu Eco and Buick LaCrosse and Regal sedans from the 2012 and 2013 model year. Most of the incidents have occurred within the first 1,000 miles of operation, GM said.

The issue came to GM’s attention in October 2012, according to spokesman Alan Adler. The automaker briefly stopped production of the affected vehicles to make a fix in production. Thus, cars built after December 2012 are not part of the recall.

Adler...

BMW is recalling 42,000 of its model year 2002 and 2003 3-series cars because of front-passenger-side air bags that may not inflate properly in a collision, the automaker said Monday.

BMW is the latest to join a group of five other automakers that have recalled more than 3 million vehicles because of the air bag problem, which could spray shrapnel around the cabin in a crash.

"We have not had a single case of a reported failure in our cars, but it is the same problem, yes," said BMW spokesman Julian Arguelles, in an interview.

PHOTOS: Kelley Blue Book's top 10 green cars for 2013

The defect stems from faulty manufacturing in 2001 and 2002 by Takata Corp., a Japanese company that made the explosive wafers that power the lightning-quick inflation of air bags.

Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Mazda and General Motors have been included in the recalls, which affected cars produced from 2002 to 2004.

During all this time there appeared to be only six reported incidents on the road -- four in the...

When Tesla Motors reports its first-ever profit Wednesday, much of the money will come courtesy of the state of California.

In its zeal to push electric cars into the market, the state has created a system in which Tesla can make as much as $35,000 extra on each sale of its luxury Model S electric sports sedans. That's because the Palo Alto company qualifies for coveted state environmental credits that it can turn into cash.

These Zero Emission Vehicle credits could put as much as $250 million in Tesla's coffers this year, according to one Wall Street analyst, and they are a key reason the 10-year-old automaker has survived this long. Tesla gets to sell the credits to other automakers that need them to satisfy tough California regulations.

Tesla's windfall highlights just how far California regulators have gone to promote the electric car — with a system that promotes the sale of trendy $100,000 sports sedans.

"At the end of the day, other carmakers are subsidizing Tesla," said...