Luxury Cars
-
BMW is recalling more than 19,000 i3 REx extended-range electric cars due to concerns over the potential for fires to be started by fuel vapors. The REx uses a small gasoline engine to charge its battery pack, offering a longer range than the all-electric i3 when both gasoline and electric power are used. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the i3's fuel-tank vent line may rub against the ribbed wire protection sleeve of the battery positive cable. DON'T MISS: Toyota Mirai recall to fix output voltage on fuel cell electronics Over time, the vent line may chafe and...
-
Video explains how Tesla Model S P100D takes just 2.28 seconds to hit 60 mph
The Tesla Model S, now into its sixth model year, just keeps getting quicker. When Tesla introduced the current P100D version, it quoted a 0-to-60-mph time of 2.5 seconds. But then it released a "Ludicrous Plus" software upgrade, cutting that time to 2.4 seconds. DON'T MISS: Tesla P100D 'Ludicrous...
Stephen Edelstein -
2018 Lexus LS 500h hybrid luxury sedan to debut at Geneva show
It should come as no surprise that Toyota's Lexus luxury brand remains enthusiastic about hybrids. Toyota has sold more hybrids than any other automaker, with luxury models sold under the Lexus brand contributing to a total that just exceeded 10 million. That trend will continue with the 2018 Lexus...
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla updates maintenance plans; higher fees now include hardware updates
Electric cars may require significantly less maintenance than internal-combustion cars, but even they will break down eventually. So the Silicon Valley automaker offers maintenance plans, which allow owners to prepay for annual inspections and other routine work. Early in the life of the Model S...
Stephen Edelstein -
Pilot production of Tesla Model 3 to start Feb 20: report
Tesla said yesterday it would shut down its production lines for one week this month to prepare for the launch of its upcoming Model 3 electric sedan. The Silicon Valley carmaker said the "brief, planned pause" was to add paint-shop capacity and do general maintenance at its assembly plant in...
John Voelcker -
Bowing to inevitable, Faraday Future scales back plant plans
During a press conference at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show, Faraday Future announced plans to build its first electric car within two years. Later in 2016, it selected a site for what it claimed would be a $1 billion electric-car factory to be built in North Las Vegas, Nevada. But work at the...
Stephen Edelstein -
Lucid Motors, the California automotive startup formerly known as Atieva, unveiled its Air electric car in December 2016. But so far, the car hasn't been seen on public roads. Lucid has now rectified that by releasing a video that shows its luxury sedan driving around the San Francisco Bay Area. DON'T MISS: Lucid reveals design for its luxury Air sedan, a Tesla competitor (Dec 2016) In the video, the electric sedan glides over the Golden Gate Bridge and into downtown San Francisco, while rear-seat passengers keep themselves occupied by poking at a rear-mounted touchscreen infotainment...
-
What will a fully-loaded Tesla Model 3 cost? Poll results
Now that the 238-mile Chevrolet Bolt EV is arriving in more dealers each month, anticipation fever has turned to the Tesla Model 3. (There's a new generation of the Nissan Leaf coming too, but so far not a lot of people seem to be focusing on that.) The Silicon Valley carmaker's Model 3 electric...
John Voelcker -
Faraday has 64,000 reservations: why they're different from Tesla's
Faraday Future unveiled its first production electric car, the FF 91, last month at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The public debut of the much-hyped luxury utility vehicle generated considerable interest from potential customers. At least, that's how it looks at first glance...
Stephen Edelstein -
2018 Porsche Panamera 4 E-Hybrid: first drive review
In the plug-in hybrid game, you move forward or get left behind. When the hybrid maker is Porsche, that applies to power as well as efficiency. The 2018 Porsche Panamera 4 E-Hybrid is the replacement for the previous Panamera S E-Hybrid, and it gets more power, performance, and efficiency in a...
Kirk Bell -
Audi tells its dealers to get with the (electric-car) program
As many electric-car buyers will tell you, franchised auto dealers can pose a large and tedious impediment to actually buying the plug-in car you want. From salespeople with no knowledge of the cars to test vehicles that haven't been recharged and have little battery range left, the hurdles are...
John Voelcker -
What the Tesla logo means: CEO Elon Musk explains
An automaker's logo can and perhaps should be as recognizable as its cars, if not more. That makes logo design a very important task. Tesla's logo is certainly not anonymous, but it turns out there's more to it than may be immediately apparent. DON'T MISS: Why Faraday Future's luxury electric car...
Stephen Edelstein -
The Tesla Model 3 electric car is undoubtedly one of the most highly-anticipated new-car launches in recent memory. Unveiled in prototype form last April after a drawn-out teaser campaign, the Model 3 quickly generated an unprecedented response from the public. As of last August, around 400,000 people had put down refundable $1,000 deposits, despite most not having seen the car in person. DON'T MISS: Tesla Model 3: 215-mile, $35,000 electric car revealed (Apr 2016) With a promised base price of $35,000 (before federal, state, and local incentives) and an estimated range of 215 miles or more...
-
How many Tesla Model 3 electric cars can company build this year?
It's one of the most fascinating sets of questions in the auto industry. How quickly can Tesla Motors put its Model 3 electric car into production? And when? How many cars can it build this year? How many can it deliver to paying customers? At a promised starting price of $35,000, the Model 3 is...
John Voelcker -
Schwarzenegger's hydrogen Hummer gives way to electric G-Wagen
Arnold Schwarzenegger has always had rather unusual taste in vehicles. The movie star and former California governor previously drove a hydrogen-fueled Hummer H2, symbolizing both his love for militaristic vehicles and a general concern for the environment. Now, the "Governator" has another SUV...
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Autopilot features edge closer to self-driving in 3 to 6 months
Last year, after Tesla updated the radar, camera, and ultrasonic sensors on its electric cars, CEO Elon Musk said the new hardware's capabilities would lag behind the cars on the street already. Now, Musk has projected that the "Hardware 2.0" cars may surpass the older generation of "Hardware 1.0"...
Aaron Cole -
Even top German minister for environment prefers Tesla
Government officials in Germany seeking to express national pride in their choice of vehicle have no shortage of options. The established German luxury brands offer many models that frequently serve in the capacity of official vehicle for an elected official. Indeed, given Germany's considerable...
Stephen Edelstein -
New Tesla Model S 100D version rated at 335 miles of electric range
If anything, the pace of new Tesla model changes seem to have increased of late. Over the last year, a 60-kilowatt-hour battery option has reappeared, a new 100-kwh battery was launched, followed by a sequence of software updates to make it faster, and all Autopilot sensors were replaced with new...
John Voelcker -
Tesla uses over-the-air software updates to quickly add new features to its electric cars, or to correct problems without the need for customers to bring their cars to service centers. But one apparent software update rankled more than a few Tesla owners: it limits the number of times Launch Mode can be used with specific battery packs, reducing performance once a limit determined by Tesla is reached. UPDATE: Two weeks after news of the limit came to light in early January and after feedback from its owners, Tesla announced that it will remove the software limiter in its next software update...
-
Tesla's Supercharger pricing: one owner reacts to new fees
It’s a new era in Teslaworld: the end of unlimited free Supercharging. Starting on January 15, anybody who orders a new Tesla Model S or Model X will receive an annual allotment of 400 free kilowatt-hours (good for about 1,200 miles). After that, they will have to pay for use of the...
David Noland -
Faraday Future FF 91 electric car to cost almost $300,000?
At the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show, Faraday Future released a number of details about the FF 91, its first production electric car. It quoted a range of 378 miles, courtesy of a 130-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. It also cited a power output of 1,050 horsepower, enabling the FF 91 to...
Stephen Edelstein -
All 2017 BMW diesels certified by EPA, production now starting
This might not seem to be the most convenient moment to restart production of a gaggle of diesel cars. The Volkswagen diesel scandal continues to unfold, and last week the EPA accused Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) of failing to reveal eight separate software routines that altered the behavior of...
Stephen Edelstein -
How high a hill could recharge a coasting Tesla electric car completely?
One of the benefits of electric cars is that slowing down becomes a useful activity. Regenerative braking recovers energy normally lost as friction heat, as it does when the accelerator pedal is not pushed and the car is coasting. In some cars, regeneration is aggressive enough to allow "one-pedal...
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla releases Supercharger electric-car fast-charge prices
Tesla announced in November that it would end free unlimited use of its Supercharger DC fast-charging stations. Now that the cutoff point for that perk has arrived, the company is offering more details on Supercharger pricing. The new rates take effect for buyers who ordered a Tesla electric car...
Stephen Edelstein