Luxury Cars
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Development of new vehicles, especially if they're on underpinnings that haven't been used in previous models, follows a very predictable schedule. First, a concept car is revealed. Often, it's a thinly disguised version of the future production car with some added design flourishes that won't make it onto the assembly lines. Then spy shots of cobbled-together "mule" vehicles start to emerge, followed by more shots of heavily disguised hand-built cars that are essentially early versions of the production car. DON'T MISS: Tesla Model 3 prices: reader makes his guesses, via spreadsheet That was...
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Hybrid Kinetic electric luxury car, with turbine range extender, to be built in China
Several Chinese or Chinese-backed automotive startups are currently trying to replicate the success of Tesla by designing and selling their own luxury electric cars. But Hybrid Kinetic likely predates most of them. Started by the founder of Chinese automaker Brilliance, the company made headlines...
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Model S lineup slims down as 60, 60D versions end
The ever-shifting Tesla Model S lineup has gone through another change. It will slim down as Tesla discontinues the electric car's current base models—the rear-wheel drive Model S 60, and the all-wheel drive Model S 60D, both with 60 kilowatt-hours of battery capacity. Both versions are being...
Stephen Edelstein -
What Tesla hath wrought: bumper crop of luxury electric cars
It may have taken some time, but the auto industry is now reacting to Tesla in full force. More than four years after the first Tesla Model S was delivered, we are on the verge of a bumper crop of luxury electric cars. A mix of established automakers and startups looking to emulate Tesla's success...
Stephen Edelstein -
Lexus UX small crossover may get hybrid version that Toyota C-HR won't
For better or worse, many Toyota models ultimately donate their underpinnings to the Japanese automaker's Lexus luxury brand. That may not give certain Lexus models the pedigree some purists desire, but it's a fact of life in the modern auto industry—and an effective way for Toyota to...
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla engineer alleges 'culture of discrimination' against women
A female Tesla engineer has accused the automaker of widespread discrimination against women. In a lawsuit filed last year, AJ Vandermeyden alleged Tesla ignored complaints of "pervasive harassment" of female employees, paid her a lower salary than men doing the same work, and promoted...
Stephen Edelstein -
Porsche's most ardent fans no longer complain about the expansion of the German sports-car maker's lineup into sedans and, even worse, sport-utility vehicles. The large Panamera sedan and the Cayenne and Macan SUVs are not only some of Porsche's more popular models, but fund its development of the fabled 911 rear-engine sport coupe and the Boxster and Cayman mid-engine convertible and coupe. Just as the smaller Macan utility vehicle slotted under the larger Cayenne SUV, Porsche has long said it was considering a smaller and more affordable sedan to sit below the Panamera. DON'T MISS: 2018...
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Lucid Air priced slightly below Tesla Model S at $60,000
The Lucid Air electric car will be available in a base model with less power and a lower range than the high-end model unveiled last year, but at a much lower price. A Lucid Motors press release confirmed the Air base model will start at $52,500, after the $7,500 federal tax credit for electric...
Stephen Edelstein -
After Audi e-tron, next electric car to be compact BMW i3 competitor
Next year, the Audi e-tron luxury electric crossover is expected to arrive at U.S. dealers, bringing Audi into direct competition with the Tesla Model X roughly three years after the world's first all-electric utility vehicle went into production. But with a pledge to sell 25 percent of its cars...
John Voelcker -
Which luxury brand will do best in electric cars? Poll results
Within the next two years we will see new all-electric luxury cars from Audi, BMW, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz appear in actual showrooms. All four of those makes have shown concepts for their pricey, 200-mile-plus electric cars, and most of them are expected to go on sale in the second half of next...
John Voelcker -
Nio Eve concept is yet another Chinese luxury electric SUV, this one autonomous
Chinese startup NextEV is the latest company attempting to replicate the success of Tesla with a long-range electric car. NextEV launched its Nio brand last year in dramatic fashion with the EP9—a 1,360-horsepower electric supercar. At the time, the company noted it was developing a model...
Stephen Edelstein -
Volvo plans a long-range electric car for 2019, details to come (updated)
The electric car that Volvo has long planned for 2019 could join a growing group of long-range, mass-market models like the Chevrolet Bolt EV, the upcoming Tesla Model 3, and the second-generation Nissan Leaf. The Swedish automaker has concentrated on plug-in hybrids for the most part thus far, but...
Stephen Edelstein -
BMW is off to a strong start in meeting its ambitious plug-in car sales goals for 2017. In the first two months of 2017, it doubled combined sales of electric cars and plug-in hybrids over the same period in 2016. But the automaker will need to keep that momentum up. DON'T MISS: BMW 740e, X5 xDrive 40e: where do low-range plug-in hybrids fit in? In December, BMW CEO Harald Krueger said the automaker hopes to sell 100,000 electric cars and plug-in hybrids this year. That would mean selling the same amount of plug-in cars in one year as the company sold in the previous three years. BMW began...
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Does Range Rover Velar preview Jaguar I-Pace electric-car dash?
Carmakers often use the same components across vehicles from multiple brands. It's a way to keep costs down by not having to engineer or procure completely different parts for each model. So could some new components in a new vehicle offer a peek at a future model well before it goes into...
Stephen Edelstein -
BMW 740e, X5 xDrive 40e: where do low-range plug-in hybrids fit in?
More than a year ago, we spent a weekend with a 2016 BMW X5 xDrive 40e luxury plug-in hybrid SUV. Rated at 14 miles of range, it never achieved anything near that number in winter weather. Now our colleague Kirk Bell has driven a 2017 BMW 740e plug-in hybrid luxury sedan that uses the same...
John Voelcker -
Lucid Air luxury electric car: Bloomberg gets brief ride
When it comes to luxury electric-car startups, hype is the name of the game. Lucid Motors unveiled its Air luxury sedan in December, promising a range of up to 400 miles, power of 1,000 horsepower, and cutting-edge technology. But very few people outside the company have gotten more than a glimpse...
Stephen Edelstein -
Audi A5 is third model to run on natural gas, for Europe only
New natural-gas passenger cars from major carmakers have disappeared from the U.S. Natural-gas options are available for large pickup trucks and vans but only exist for cars through aftermarket conversions offered by specialty firms. In Europe, though, the German luxury maker Audi remains committed...
Stephen Edelstein -
All-electric Bentley convertible concept shown at Geneva
The Volkswagen Group can't seem to get enough luxury electric cars. The Audi e-tron SUV and Porsche Mission E sedan will go into production over the next few years, with an electric version of the VW Phaeton sedan expected as well. Following that up, at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show Volkswagen...
Stephen Edelstein -
The Lexus LS 500h luxury sedan that debuts this week at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show will use the same "Multi Stage Hybrid System" as the LC 500h coupe. It's a somewhat different—and arguably more complex—setup than the powertrain of the LS 600h, the previous-generation hybrid version of Lexus' flagship sedan. The LS 600h used a 5.0-liter V-8 engine and a version of the Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive system, along with all-wheel drive. DON'T MISS: 2018 Lexus LS 500h hybrid luxury sedan to debut at Geneva show The LS 500h and LC 500h also incorporate the tried-and-true Toyota Hybrid...
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Tesla Model 3 prices: reader makes his guesses, via spreadsheet
Since more than 350,000 people around the world put down $1,000 deposits to reserve a place in line, the Tesla Model 3 electric car has assumed larger-than-life status. Its maker, Silicon Valley-based Tesla Motors, recently reaffirmed that series production will start in July and that Model 3...
John Voelcker -
Smaller Bentley SUV might be all-electric, competing with Audi, Jaguar, Mercedes
The Tesla Model S may have upended the luxury-car establishment, but it's the Silicon Valley automaker's Model X crossover that most traditional luxury brands now seem to be targeting. Audi, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz will each launch a new all-electric SUV within the next two years. And those...
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla to sell 200 electric cars to Dubai taxi service
If you wanted to start a green taxi service—and had ample funds to do so—Tesla electric cars would seem to be a good choice. The Model S and Model X offer plenty of interior space and range, and their popularity would like raise the profile of any taxi service using them. So perhaps...
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Model 3 timing confirmed: first cars in July, 5K a week by next year
Tesla Motors confirmed today that it expected to start production of its crucial Model 3 electric car in July, and claims that it will boost production to 5,000 cars a week by the end of this year. The news was contained in Tesla's latest letter to its shareholders, and it started with the third...
John Voelcker -
Is 2019 Cadillac XT4 crossover the next plug-in hybrid for luxury brand?
Spy shots are continually fascinating, for both future buyers and auto journalists. They can reveal hints about the shapes, design aspects, and powertrains of vehicles that may not hit showrooms for as much as two years. Some recent spy shots of the 2019 Cadillac XT4 small crossover utility vehicle...
John Voelcker