Detroit must sit this one out. Motor Trend magazine has named the Tesla Model S as its Car of the Year. The $59,000 sedan is billed as the first electric sports car.

Tesla, you ask? Isn’t there a rock band with the same name?

Tesla, the car company, will celebrate its 10th birthday next year. For heaven’s sake, it’s just a kid. Ford and General Motors have ongoing lawsuits older than that. Tesla is the brainchild of Elon Musk, who operates out of California’s  Silicon Valley. Frankly, those pocket-protector-wearing computer geeks should leave the car building to us Motor City grease monkeys. I don’t think you can use a Joshua tree to be a shade-tree mechanic.

Of course, Detroit still designs and builds the best cars around. How in the world could I possibly be biased? Because the food on my family’s table depends on Ford perfecting voice-activated controls or General Motors designing a spill-proof drink holder? For my money, and my family’s, GM’s Volt is still the best electric car out there. And it’s not made in the state of California, which is really out there.

HELLO THERE -- NO THAT IS NOT A  TESLA PICTURED ABOVE. IT'S A VEHICLE SPOTTED LOCALLY WITH A PERSONALIZED LICENSE PLATE. IF IT'S YOURS, EMAIL ME A FOTO OF THE CAR PARKED IN YOUR DRIVEWAY AND YOU CAN WIN TICKETS TO THE AMERICAN PLACE THEATRE'S "The Things They Carried" AT 10 AM NOV. 27 AT THE MACOMB CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS. SO, YOU HAVE TO BE A REAL FAN OF LOCAL THEATER AND ALSO AN EARLY RISER! EMAIL ME AT ED.FITZGERALD@MACOMBDAILY.COM.