Luxury Cars
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The 2015 Audi A3 is the first all-new version of the compact luxury car since it was launched in the U.S. as a 2006 model. And there are a lot of changes. Most noticeable is its evolution from a five-door hatchback to a four-door sedan, facing it off neatly against the Mercedes-Benz CLA (also a compact, front-wheel-drive sedan). DON'T MISS: 2015 Audi A3 Review The understructure is all new, built on a shared VW Group architecture that's also used for the 2015 Volkswagen Golf and the upcoming new Audi TT sports car. These underpinnings will ultimately spawn dozens of vehicles--including the...
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Are Republicans Really Behind Tesla Sales Bans? Data Offers CluesIt seems to be a common assumption among Tesla Motors supporters: State auto-dealer lobbyists work with Republican legislators to enact laws banning direct sales of Tesla's electric cars to retail buyers. But is it true? An article last month in The New York Times offers a few data points that may...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S P85D Obliterates Ferrari In Drag Race (Video)A Tesla Model S P85D drag races a Ferrari in Florida.
Stephen Edelstein -
Want An Electric Car That Can Tow? That's The Tesla Model XThe Tesla Model X will be available with an optional towing hitch.
Stephen Edelstein -
The Passion Of The Tesla: One Owner's (Unprompted) PaeanPeople who buy new cars generally like and enjoy them during the first months or years of ownership. Many Tesla owners, however, seem to love their cars with a deep, abiding, even overwhelming passion. This is one such story. A longtime personal friend and his partner recently acquired a 2014 Tesla...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S Tops Consumer Reports Customer Satisfaction Index, AgainThe Tesla Model S tops the Consumer Reports customer satisfaction rankings for the second year in a row.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla completes a retooling of its Fremont, California, factory.
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Tesla And BMW: Natural Competitors In Electric Cars, One DayBMW and Tesla don't compete with electric cars now, but they could someday.
Stephen Edelstein -
Audi Confirms Electric R8 e-Tron, Also 280-Mile Family Electric Car In 2017Audi reportedly has two all-electric cars in the works: the R8 e-tron and a new family car.
Stephen Edelstein -
Life With Tesla Model S: Tires Cost Me More Than My 'Fuel' DoesI always knew electric cars were cheap to run, but this is ridiculous. After I bought the first set of replacement tires for my 2013 Tesla Model S (at 26,000 miles), I crunched the numbers and came to a startling conclusion: I've spent substantially less per mile for my electric "fuel" than I have...
David Noland -
2014 Tesla Model S: Killing 3 Versions, 2 Colors, Some OptionsIn an effort to simplify its assembly process and boost production rates, Tesla Motors has streamlined its 2014 Tesla Model S electric-car lineup and eliminated several variants. Specifically, the California carmaker will no longer offer its P85 and P85+ performance versions in rear-wheel-drive...
David Noland -
Relaunched Fisker Karma To Use Quantum Software (Again)Fisker will license Quantum control software for the relaunched Karma, with an option for the planned Atlantic.
Stephen Edelstein -
The Tesla Model X electric SUV will be further delayed for additional quality and validation testing, according to the latest earnings report from Tesla Motors. Deliveries of the luxury electric crossover utility vehicle are now scheduled to start in the third quarter of next year. DON'T MISS: Motor Trend Reviews Tesla P85D, Drools & Froths Uncontrollably The company delivered 7,785 cars from July through September, essentially meeting its most recent guidance of 7,800 cars for the quarter. That number had been reduced from 8,000 when the company announced it would shut its assembly line...
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Range Rover All-Electric Utility Vehicle To Challenge Tesla Model X?Well, add one more name to the queue of luxury carmakers planning to compete head-to-head with Tesla Motors and its electric cars. According to Britain's Autocar, Range Rover is now in the planning stages for a crossover vehicle that could target the upcoming Tesla Model X electric SUV. DON'T MISS...
John Voelcker -
Motor Trend Reviews Tesla P85D, Drools & Froths UncontrollablyBeen searching for stratospheric levels of soaring, over-the-top, heavens-rattling hyperbole lately? You will do no better than the recent road test of the Tesla Model S P85D, published on Monday by Motor Trend. That's the new dual-motor all-wheel-drive version of its signature electric car...
David Noland -
2015 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric: Range Pack Standard, Styling Update, More FeaturesThe 2015 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive could feature more standard equipment than the 2014 model.
Stephen Edelstein -
Were Small Cars Exactly The Wrong Way To Launch Electric Cars?Historically, most technology innovations in automobiles start at the high end and gradually work their way down the lineup until they've become standard features of even the humblest of cars. From automatic transmissions to disc brakes, turbochargers to fuel injection, high-end audio systems to...
John Voelcker -
Life With Tesla Model S: At Last, Some Maintenance Needed (New Tires)After 20 months and 26,000-plus miles, I finally spent my first dollar on maintenance for my 2013 Tesla Model S. Almost 2,000 of them, in fact. The total was $1,858--the cost of four new tires and Tesla's recommended annual service. Up till that point, tire rotations, washer fluid replacements...
David Noland -
The first of our five nominees for Green Car Reports' 2015 Best Car To Buy award is the new 2015 Audi A3 TDI, the diesel version of Audi's new compact luxury sedan. All-new this year, as are most of its competitors, the TDI diesel version will be the highest-efficiency A3 model until the e-tron plug-in hybrid arrives for the 2016 model year. DON'T MISS: Green Car Reports' 2015 Best Car To Buy: The Nominees (Video) Audi switched its A3 model from a five-door hatchback--dubbed the SportBack--to a more conventional compact four-door sedan this year, expanding its potential market considerably...
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How Audi, BMW & Mercedes Plan To Compete With Tesla--And WhyWe already know that in the next few years, we'll see a slew of mid-size SUVs offered with plug-in hybrid powertrains--most from luxury brands like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, and Range Rover. But the German luxury marques are making plans to compete more directly with Tesla Motors and its Model...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S Gets Huge Incentive In Shanghai: No $12K Fee For RegistrationThe Tesla Model S electric luxury sedan has now been on sale in China for six months, but it recently received a major sales incentive from local officials in Shanghai. That city's municipal government has ruled that Tesla buyers will be exempted from paying the $12,000 registration fee required to...
John Voelcker -
Minnesota Tesla Owners Show Banned Model S To Iowa Electric-Car ShoppersSuppose auto dealers in a neighboring state pressured their DoT to make Tesla Motors stop giving test drives of its Model S electric car--the same kind it now offers in more than a dozen other states. What would you do? If you were you a group of Tesla owners in Minnesota, you might just take...
John Voelcker -
36-MPG Jaguar XJ-S: Hypermiling Owner's Great Lengths For 1984 Luxury CoupeAn owner boosts the fuel economy of his 3.6-liter six-cylinder Jaguar XJ-S.
Stephen Edelstein -
Fisker To Launch Two New Models At Los Angeles Auto ShowHenrik Fisker will appear at two press conferences at the Galpin booth during the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show.
Stephen Edelstein