Luxury Cars
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"Don't bite the hand that feeds you" is a popular saying, but perhaps "don't criticize the company you're sharing technology with" should be another. The latter would apply to Mercedes-Benz, whose U.S. boss Steve Cannon criticized Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] at the New York Auto Show. Perhaps Cannon is forgetting that Mercedes has previously turned to Tesla for its electric vehicle expertise. Or that Tesla buys in certain Mercedes components for its Model S electric car. Forbes quotes the Mercedes boss as saying future service of Tesla's vehicles could be "limited". MUST SEE: Johammer Electric...
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BMW X5 Plug-In Hybrid Prototype: We Drive Future Electric SUVThey're not here yet, but in less than two years, U.S. buyers will have a choice of at least three plug-in hybrid SUV models to choose from. Now, we've driven a prototype version of one of them: the BMW X5 e-Drive, which will be shown as an updated concept car at this week's New York Auto Show...
John Voelcker -
2014 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive Now In ProductionThe 2014 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive will be the first Mercedes-badged electric car sold in the U.S.
Stephen Edelstein -
Life With Tesla Model S: Battery Safety Shield In Detail (Photos)When I first heard last week that Tesla was offering Model S owners a free retrofit that would install its new underbody shield and deflector plates, I called my local Tesla Motors service center almost immediately. It seemed like a no-brainer. The titanium shield and two aluminum deflector plates...
David Noland -
Audi A6 e-tron Plug-In Hybrid To Be Sold In ChinaThe Audi A6 e-tron plug-in hybrid is based on the A6 L e-tron concept from the 2012 Beijing Motor Show.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Model S To Get Titanium Battery Shield, Plus Deflectors: BREAKINGTesla Motors announced this morning that it will fit three new underbody components to all Model S electric cars to add further protection against impacts from road debris, which caused a pair of fires in its cars last fall. Those two Model S cars were severely damaged when their battery packs...
John Voelcker -
For 2014, BMW offers diesel engines in its three sedan lines, and now we've spent a long weekend with the mid-size 5-Series sedan fitted with the fuel-efficient engine. Given the depth-of-winter test schedule, its xDrive all-wheel-drive system was very welcome--and almost a necessity for our unpaved mountain driveway. The 255-horsepower 3.0-liter turbocharged straight-six diesel is paired to BMW's new eight-speed automatic transmission, with the extra ratios letting it stay right in its most efficient output zone. It puts out a substantial 433 ft-lbs of torque, and moves the car along in...
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Life With Tesla Model S: UPDATE On Pedal Placement ProblemTwo days ago, I described in this article a frightening incident in my Tesla Model S. Approaching a downhill intersection, I inadvertently stepped on both the brake and accelerator pedals simultaneously. The car barely slowed, and it appeared I was headed for a collision with another car...
David Noland -
Owners Of 'New Fisker' Offer Selective Electric-Car HistoryTen days ago, a website appeared from Wanxiang America, the new owners of Fisker Automotive, under the title of "The New Fisker." The site included a comprehensive timeline of the formerly bankrupt company's past, warts and all: from the lawsuit by Tesla Motors against Fisker through the May 2011...
John Voelcker -
Mercedes S-Class Electric Car Could Follow Plug-In HybridSo far, Mercedes' exploration of electric vehicles has been fairly diverse. It started, logically, with the Smart Fortwo Electric Drive. But then it jumped to the other end of the scale with the SLS AMG Electric Drive supercar. The next stop could be the Mercedes S-Class luxury sedan, as the...
Antony Ingram -
Rolls-Royce Considers Plug-In Hybrid Luxury SedanIn theory, electric power is perfect for Rolls-Royce. What better source of propulsion than a quiet electric motor, for a company that strives for ultimate refinement? In practice though, Rolls-Royce customers weren't keen on the range and charging limitations of the 102EX concept the company...
Antony Ingram -
Life With Tesla Model S: One Year And 15,000 Miles LaterWell, it's now been a year since I took delivery of my dark green 2013 Tesla Model S with the 60-kilowatt-hour battery. After almost four years of waiting, those first days after delivery were euphoric. As I recall, the words "greatest freaking car in the entire freaking Universe" (or thereabouts)...
David Noland -
In general, getting people talking about your ad is a good way to get people talking about your car. In the case of "Poolside"--an ad for the 2014 Cadillac ELR range-extended electric luxury coupe aired during the Oscars and the Sochi Olympics--however, not all the talk has been favorable. MORE: 2014 Cadillac ELR Ad: What Does It Say About Who Buys Electric Cars? (Video) In fact, enough of it has been sufficiently negative that Craig Bierley, Cadillac's advertising director, was interviewed about it by Ad Age magazine. As covered by Automotive News, Bierley says the ad was intended to be a...
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2014 Cadillac ELR: Gorgeous, Too-Pricey Electric Luxury CoupeLet's get one thing out of the way up front: The 2014 Cadillac ELR is rather more than a "tarted-up Volt," in the words of more than one commentator. It's a quiet, smooth, adequately powerful and very stylish coupe with a luxurious interior, and it runs on GM's most advanced range-extended electric...
John Voelcker -
Is This A Tesla Model S AWD Prototype Caught Testing? (Video, Photos)It's long been expected that sooner or later, the Tesla Model S electric sport sedan will be offered with all-wheel drive. Now, two different Tesla fans have captured photos and video of what appears to be a prototype test vehicle with external instrumentation driving around the San Francisco Bay...
John Voelcker -
How Financial Analysts (And Many Others) Misunderstand Tesla's CompetitorsStartup electric-car maker Tesla Motors and its sleek Model S luxury sport sedan have generated more media coverage over the last three years than many well-established car companies. But at least some of that coverage is woefully, hilariously out of touch with the actual world of real people...
John Voelcker -
Has U.S. Demand For The Tesla Model S Electric Car Stabilized?Last month, Tesla Motors reported deliveries of a record 6,892 Model S vehicles during the fourth quarter of 2013. Giddy investors promptly sent Tesla shares zooming higher. But many of those cars--Tesla isn't saying how many--were delivered to Europe. And if you look closely, there are signs that...
David Noland -
Timeline For New Fisker Karmas: 'Within A Year'...HopefullyThe assets of the bankrupt Fisker Automotive are now in the process of being transferred to winning bidder Wanxiang America, but already the new owners have started to discuss their plans for the automaker. The latest news nugget is that Wanxiang hopes to restart production of the Karma...
John Voelcker -
Those states that ban electric-car startup Tesla Motors from opening stores and selling cars online--including Arizona, Colorado, Texas, and Virginia--turn out to have a bunch of other really dumb laws on their books too.
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New Owner Wants To Restart Fisker Karma Production, ASAPIf all goes according to schedule, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Kevin Gross will rule today on whether the assets from bankrupt Fisker Automotive will be sold to Wanxiang, China's largest auto-parts maker. That company submitted the winning bid of $149 million for the remains of Fisker in an auction that...
John Voelcker -
Fisker Assets Sold For $149 Million To Wanxiang, Chinese Parts MakerThe assets of bankrupt Fisker Automotive were sold to Wanxiang America at the close of an auction in Delaware bankruptcy court that lasted more than two days and lasted 19 rounds. Bloomberg reports that the Chinese company paid a total of $149.2 million for the company, or six times the price of...
John Voelcker -
Did You Know There's Now A 'Tesla Lifestyle'? Neither Did WeTesla Motors continues to rack up achievements, it seems. The company has built more than 30,000 of its sleek Model S electric sport sedans, it's expanding into Europe and China, and it continues to get buzz and set stock-price records. In other words, the brand is HOT. MORE: Elon Musk Talks Tesla...
John Voelcker -
Life With Tesla Model S: NY-FL Supercharger Road Trip, ReturningLast week, in the middle of a prolonged and depressing stretch of winter weather in New York's Hudson Valley, I decided I had to get the hell out. Time for a road trip to a warm place. It was a perfect opportunity to test out Tesla's new East Coast Supercharger Highway, the just-completed string of...
David Noland -
2014 Cadillac ELR Ad: What Does It Say About Who Buys Electric Cars? (Video)Well, if this is the guy who's actually going to buy a 2014 Cadillac ELR, there may be some interesting conversations to come with Nissan Leaf owners. This ELR driver is a hard-charging, self-assured, contemptuous-of-vacations, modern-home-owning middle-aged white male, as portrayed in a recent...
John Voelcker