Luxury Cars
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On Friday, Tesla held a media call to reveal another in the series of announcements touted in tweets by CEO Elon Musk. This time, the news covered enhancements to the warranty and service experience on its Tesla Model S electric luxury sport sedan. Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is now delivering several hundred Model Ses each week and, Musk said, taking feedback from buyers to heart. Its goal has always been to create "the world's best service and warranty program" for any car on the market, he said, with the "overriding principle" being, "I want give people peace of mind" to ensure they have "the...
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AWD Tesla Model S Coming Soon? (Warning: Pure Speculation)With the delay of its Model X crossover until "late in 2014," it may look as if Tesla's product pipeline is running dry. But we suspect the Silicon Valley startup electric-car company will offer a few new variants on its sole product, the Model S luxury sport sedan. And an obvious next step for...
John Voelcker -
Will Tesla Try For Federal Rule Permitting Non-Dealer Stores?Several thousand Tesla owners have now purchased their cars by ordering and paying for them online after visiting a Tesla Store showroom. No franchised dealers are involved. That's a model that Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] feels is crucial to getting its electric cars into the mainstream. State and...
John Voelcker -
Does Tesla Already Outsell Audi, BMW, Lexus & Mercedes-Benz?The established German luxury brands--Mercedes-Benz and BMW--have sold cars in the U.S. for decades. So how could Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] possibly be beating them at their own game? The answer lies in how you define sales: It appears that the Tesla Model S electric sport sedan is outselling both...
John Voelcker -
Next Mercedes-Benz C-Class Will Offer Diesel, Hybrid Options In 2014One by one, the luxury automakers are turning towards greener vehicles. First came Lexus, expanding its hybrid range with every model. Then BMW, with a hybrid here and there and a wider diesel range. Then there was Audi, which recently announced a plug-in hybrid A3 e-Tron. Now it's the turn of...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Cadillac ELR: Variable Electric Regen Via Paddle ShiftersPaddle shifters on an electric vehicle might seem like a bit of an engineering oversight. After all, what use is manual control over gears if there are no gears to control? Think laterally though, and the appearance of paddle shifters in the 2014 Cadillac ELR makes a lot of sense--variable...
Antony Ingram -
Loaners cars are now routinely provided by luxury carmakers when their customers have cars in for servicing. Now Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is joining the crowd, providing Model S luxury sports sedans to its Model S (and Roadster) owners while their cars are in the shop. But according to CEO Elon Musk, these aren't just any Model S: All the loaners will be the top-end, most luxurious Model S Performance version with the 85-kilowatt-hour battery pack and punchier acceleration than lesser models. Road testers have logged the Tesla Model S Performance accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds...
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Life With 2013 Tesla Model S: Some Bikes Don't FitI've now had my 2013 Tesla Model S for six weeks since it was delivered in late February, and I'm getting used to living with it. I've recharged at the Supercharger network, measured its vampire current usage at night, tested the impact of speed on range, and even experienced my first software...
David Noland -
Life With 2013 Tesla Model S: Range Penalty At Speed Is Lower Than ExpectedI've been surprised and delighted by how efficiently my new 2013 Tesla Model S has been running at higher speeds. Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] hammers home the message that high speeds can drastically reduce the range of any Model S. It cautions that its original range figure of 230 miles for my 60-kWh...
David Noland -
Oh, Tesla: Your 'Lease' Is Smart, But That Calculator Wasn'tWell, that didn't take long. Yesterday, just before 5 pm Eastern time, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] released details of its new "lease-like" financing product. The general consensus in the media (we read a lot of Tesla coverage here, folks) has been that it's smart for Tesla to offer financing for its...
John Voelcker -
2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid: Video From New York Auto ShowThe second of two large seven-seat hybrid crossovers at this year's New York Auto Show, the 2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid is the glamorpuss of the pair. Known for the first year of its existence as the Infiniti JX, and now redubbed QX60 in a complete shakeup of the model names for Infiniti's high-end...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S Electric-Car Deliveries For Q1: 4,750-Plus, Says CompanyWhen the news is good, you want to get it out there. Last night, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] released a statement saying that it had delivered more than 4,750 Model S cars from January 1 through March 31 of this year. The statement came before the first quarter of 2013 had even technically ended...
John Voelcker -
Storm clouds continue to gather over troubled luxury electric-car startup Fisker Automotive. We reported on Thursday that Fisker had put its entire U.S. staff on a "temporary" furlough to conserve cash. Later that day, a Wall Street Journal article reported on what may be the logical next step: Fisker had "hired restructuring lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis LLP," it wrote, to help the company prepare for the possibility of a bankruptcy filing. One deadline that would drive such a filing: Fisker faces an April 22 deadline for a payment to the U.S. Department of Energy on its low-interest loan...
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2014 BMW 328d: Diesel Sport Sedan At New York Auto ShowWe’ve already told you the BMW 3-Series would be getting a new four-cylinder diesel engine in the U.S., and that the engine, a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel, would appear in a new 328d sedan later this year. Now we can finally reveal the car, as it has made its debut this week at the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Tesla Now Making, Delivering 500 Model S Electric Cars WeeklyWith a backlog of more than 10,000 depositors for the Tesla Model S, its maker is making and delivering electric luxury sedans as fast as it can. Among other benefits, that may allow Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] to achieve CEO Elon Musk's suggestion that the company could be profitable for the first...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S Update: 3,000th Electric Sedan Delivered In CAIn the last few weeks, it's almost become a cliche: drivers in Silicon Valley say they see as many Tesla Model S electric luxury sedans on the roads as they do Nissan Leafs or Chevrolet Volts. With a likely total production of perhaps 6,000 cars thus far, the Model S is outnumbered on U.S. roads by...
John Voelcker -
Had To Happen: Tesla Model S Spawns 'Teslacessories' StartupAccessories are a huge part of the auto business, and for every car, somewhere there's a business (or a few dozen) offering aftermarket items the manufacturer hasn't, can't, or won't provide. And so it turns out to be for the Tesla Model S, the all-electric sport sedan from Silicon Valley startup...
John Voelcker -
Life With 2013 Tesla Model S: 'Vampire' Thirst For Electricity At Night?A couple of weeks ago, shortly after I took delivery of my 2013 Tesla Model S, I noticed that my home electric meter seemed to be running a bit faster than normal. I keep a close eye on my meter, but that seemed odd. After all, the long-awaited new luxury sport sedan delivered to my house in...
David Noland -
Why would Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk take a Sharpie to the sun visor of an all-but-new Tesla Model S electric sport sedan? It wasn't a question we'd considered until a reader tipped us off to a photo on Flickr that showed just that. And we were intrigued enough to contact Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA} to ask just what was going on here. The photo is one of a set of 15, dated last Saturday, collectively labeled "Elon Musk visits Austin," taken by local resident John Griswell. "Owners showed up early during the opening weekend of our store at The Domain in Austin, Texas," responded Tesla...
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2014 Infiniti QX60 Hybrid Set For New York Auto Show Debut2.5 liters doesn't seem like a lot to move a large luxury crossover like the Infiniti QX60, but teamed with a supercharger and hybrid drive system, the 2014 QX60 Hybrid aims to offer both performance and efficiency. The new car will debut at the impending New York Auto Show, and mark the third...
Antony Ingram -
Life With 2013 Tesla Model S: The Good & The Bad At 600 MilesTwo weeks and 600 miles ago, I took delivery of a 60-kWh 2013 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan. I won't dwell on the ear-flattening acceleration, nor the magic-carpet ride and handling, nor the mesmerizing 17-inch touch screen controls. Those features have been exhaustively analyzed and reported...
David Noland -
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive Supercar: First Drive VideoIt was a Mercedes-Benz icon before it became a performance flagship. Now it's a messenger for the future: the gullwing's going electric. The SLS AMG Electric Drive electric car is closing in on series production, converting the octane-addicted supercar to fit a greener vision of the future. We've...
Martin Padgett -
My 2013 Tesla Model S Electric Sport Sedan: Delivery at Last!After 1,386 days of waiting, I first glimpsed my new 2013 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan at a local discount tire store. The Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] delivery rep who was bringing the car up from the New Jersey distribution center to my house in New York's Hudson Valley had called me from the...
David Noland -
BMW i3 Electric Car, i8 Plug-In Hybrid: First Rides For JournalistsTwo of the most exciting electric vehicles due over the next few years both originate from German automaker, BMW. The i3 city car and i8 sports car are both clean-sheet designs, developed from the ground up as plug-in vehicles. With carbon-fiber chassis, purpose-designed interiors and unique...
Antony Ingram