Today, Germany goes ahead with its plan to incentivize plug-in hybrids and EVs, Tesla Model 3 reservations top 373,000 after the dust has settled, Suzuki's woes may be mounting over fuel economy estimates, and more up next.
BMW's not just betting big on its "i" range of cars—it's going all in. The company said its "iNext" concept car could go into production as early as 2021 and be the company's flagship, replacing the 7-Series as the best BMW (a bunch of) money can buy...
...but Germans hoping the government can pinch in on their big BMW may be a little disappointed. The German government today gave its initial approval to plug-in hybrid and EV incentives, but capped the subsidies to cars that cost less than $68,000—which the iNext most certainly won't. Dang.
The Los Angeles Police Department began testing two Tesla Model S cars for police duty last year, prompting questions about the car's usefulness for police work. The good news: they're much cleaner and better for the environment. The bad news: police could quietly sneak up on anyone.
Suzuki joined Mitsubishi in announcing that it had sold cars in Japan with misleading fuel economy numbers. The company said it sold 2.1 million cars in that country with inaccurate fuel economy data and that's probably not a good idea.
Tesla said in its prospectus that roughly 373,000 people reserved a Model 3 after speculators and cancelled reservations were dropped. The company is raising cash through a stock offering to build 373,000 cars because that's going to get expensive.
Even the Jeep Wrangler can't escape progress. Motor Authority has shots of the next-generation Wrangler, which may sport a new 4-cylinder engine under the hood. It would be the first 4-cylinder for the Jeep in more than a decade. Back to the future!
In case you feel bad for VW execs who have to constantly answer questions about cars they may have known nothing about, consider that The Car Connection has a report that top brass at Volkswagen have pulled down $455 million in salary since 2011. They could stand to answer a few more questions, methinks.
