Luxury Cars
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It's been a week of Tesla Model S hullabaloo, centered around last Sunday's critical New York Times road test, Stalled Out on Tesla's Electric Highway. Now a set of defiant Tesla Model S owners are setting out to prove Times reporter John Broder wrong. They will replicate his trip from Maryland to Connecticut, fully recharging their electric luxury sport sedans to show that the cars are quite capable of making the trip he couldn't. Three cars will set off at about 11 am tomorrow from the Tesla Service Center in Rockville, Maryland. Two hours later, they'll arrive at the Delaware SuperCharger...
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Ignore The NY Times; Does Tesla Model S Own Silicon Valley Already?Yes, there's a big imbroglio going on right now over an article in The New York Times, followed by some tweets (1, 2, and 3) from Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk contradicting it. We're ignoring that, for the moment. Instead, we're bringing you an idea that made us chuckle. That idea is that the Tesla...
John Voelcker -
2013 Tesla Model S Ready For Delivery: So Close & Yet So FarAfter just about four years of waiting, my 2013 Tesla Model S has arrived. Almost. The call from the Tesla delivery rep came on February 4, the last day of the two-week delivery window promised back in December. My car, with metallic green paint, 60-kilowatt-hour battery pack, black leather...
David Noland -
Tesla Model S Performance: Fastest Electric Car (Video)The Tesla Model S Performance looks great on paper. Not only does the 85 kWh Model S have an impressive 265-mile EPA-rated range, but it'll do the benchmark 0-60 mph sprint in only 4.4 seconds. That means the all-electric luxury sport sedan from Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] is at least as fast as V-8...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Audi A8 TDI Pricing & EPA Fuel EconomyAudi's A8 L may be a big vehicle, but with one of Audi's famed TDI engines under the hood, you know it's unlikely to drink fuel like a big vehicle. That TDI engine is a 3.0-liter V-6, developing 240 horsepower and a chunky 406 pounds-feet of torque. Despite the performance on offer--60 mph will...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Model S: Glitches, Quirks, and Peccadilloes RoundupTo put it mildly, the Tesla Model S has been a resounding success. The New York Times has called the all-electric luxury sport sedan a game-changer, comparable to the Model T Ford. It's won virtually every 2012 "Car of the Year" honor, including the only unanimous Motor Trend award in the...
David Noland -
Based on the Volt, but dressed in a very sharp new suit, the 2014 Cadillac ELR promises to bring the joys of greener driving to the executive sector. Not that the luxury segment hasn't already been a hotbed of hybrid development in recent years, though initially slow on the uptake. That makes perfect sense, as it's more affordable in higher-margin cars, and follows a comfortable trickle-down theory of technology for the carmakers not already deep in the hybrid/electric game. All of that aside, however, the 2014 Cadllac ELR is a very interesting vehicle for the green-car world: it marries the...
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Lincoln MKC Concept Crossover: Detroit Auto Show Live PhotosLuxury brands have been expanding into smaller vehicles for a while now, and the Lincoln MKC Concept unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show continues that trend. The smallest member so far of Ford's struggling lxuury brand has been the MKZ mid-size sedan, but the compact crossover concept shows the...
John Voelcker -
2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA: 2013 Detroit Auto Show Live PhotosYou'd struggle to tell at a glance, but the car you see here has the most aerodynamically-efficient shape of any car on sale. The 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA is the firm's smallest sedan, based on the front-wheel drive A-Class sold in Europe. Already an efficient shape, the elongated tail of the CLA, a...
Antony Ingram -
2014 Cadillac ELR Live Images: 2013 Detroit Auto ShowLooking considerably more futuristic than the Chevrolet Volt on which its based, Cadillac unveiled its 2014 ELR plug-in hybrid at this week’s Detroit Auto Show. Borrowing heavily from Cadillac’s “French curve be damned” school of design. the ELR manages to progress angular...
Kurt Ernst -
2014 Cadillac ELR Preview: 2013 Detroit Auto ShowBased on the Converj concept first shown in 2009, the Cadillac ELR is set to become the very first Extended Range Electric Vehicle launched by a full-line luxury automaker when it hits Cadillac dealers in early 2014. Like the Chevrolet Volt, the Cadillac ELR will be primarily powered by a 16.5 kWh...
Kurt Ernst -
2014 Infiniti Q50: G37 Replacement Gets M35h's Hybrid SystemInfiniti’s replacement for the G37 Sedan, the 2014 Infiniti Q50, has made its official world debut today at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, and, as predicted, the car offers a new hybrid option. The move is part of Nissan’s overall strategy to launch up to 15 new hybrid models by 2016, on...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
It may be the most eagerly sought piece of information in the plug-in electric car world. And Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] ain't talking. The company has a set policy of not disclosing monthly sales figures or production figures until it has to by law. So it'll be another month or so before we know how many Tesla Model S electric cars it built, and how many it delivered, through December 31 of last year. In September, Tesla said it expected to deliver 2,700 to 3,225 cars by the end of the year--down from its initial 2012 estimate of 5,000 cars. Now the prolific members of the unaffiliated Tesla...
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Camouflaged 2014 Cadillac ELR Teaser Photo Released By GMFor years, spy photographers made a living shooting camouflaged test cars for eager fans. Now the auto companies are doing it themselves. GM today released a photo of the 2014 Cadillac ELR on the road in Southern California, covered in camo, as its second teaser shot for the electric luxury coupe...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S "Delivery Roulette" Annoys Some Owners, Thrills OthersWhen you walk into a crowded deli in New York City, you take a number. Rather than jostle in line and try to elbow (or charm) your way to the front, you take the number from the dispenser on the counter and wait till that number is called. First come, first served. Even among rude, pushy New...
David Noland -
2014 Cadillac ELR Electric Car: Teaser Image Of Voltec Coupe ReleasedWe know the official release of the 2014 Cadillac ELR electric car will be on Monday, January 15, at the Detroit Auto Show. Now Cadillac has released a teaser image of the range-extended electric coupe, which is based on a modified version of the Voltec powertrain used in the Chevrolet Volt...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S 60-kWh Is More Efficient Than 85-kWh Car: Why?Sharp-eyed Tesla Model S buffs may be wondering why the mid-range 60-kWh car, which costs $10,000 less, is rated more efficient than the top-of-the-line 85-kWh model. The EPA said last week that the 60-kWh Model S has a range of 208 miles, and its efficiency rating is 95 MPGe (miles per gallon...
David Noland -
2013 Tesla Model S: Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy 2013Two years ago, our first-ever Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy award went to the first modern battery-electric car sold in the U.S. How far we've come. This year, our third annual winner is the 2013 Tesla Model S, a car that takes the all-electric vehicle to a new and far more elevated level. But...
John Voelcker -
Fisker Automotive, often referring to in the media as "struggling," is looking for additional funding and a carmaking partner. According to a story in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), the company has now hired an investment bank, Evercore Partners, to assist in those quests. Fisker CEO Tony Posawatz, on the job just four months, told the Journal today that the company is working with Evercore to identify a strategic partner. "We are in serious discussions with multiple strategic partners," Posawatz said, both in China and Europe. Fisker halted assembly of its Karma...
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Tesla Model S 60-kWh Version: EPA Range Rated At 208 MilesWithout any fanfare, the EPA has released its range rating for the second version of the Tesla Model S to come to market. The 2013 Tesla Model S fitted with a 60-kilowatt-hour battery pack has a rated range of 208 miles. That compares to 265 miles for the Model S version with the largest 85-kWh...
John Voelcker -
Will Fisker Ask For Rest Of Its Stalled DoE Low-Interest Loan?For Fisker Automotive these days, no news is probably good news. Its latest CEO, Tony Posawatz, has been at the helm for four months now. And Fisker is putting all its efforts toward developing and producing its next model, the Atlantic mid-size sport sedan, by late 2014. In a recent Fox News...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S Buyers Face Year-End Deadline: $7,500 At StakeMore than 13,000 people have put down deposits to join the waiting list for the Tesla Model S electric sports sedan. Each of us eagerly awaits delivery of our much-decorated, cutting-edge car. But as 2012 winds down, several hundred of us at the front of the queue are especially antsy. It's not...
David Noland -
Tesla Model S: More New Versions Coming, Says CEO Elon MuskTesla being what it is--a venture-funded startup battery-electric automaker in Silicon Valley--every utterance from its CEO Elon Musk becomes newsworthy. So a generalized hint at future development of its main product, the 2012 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan, becomes fodder for news stories. In...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Model S Production Ramps Up, Company Says In Earnings CallThe biggest question facing tiny Tesla Motors right now is whether it can ramp up production of its Model S all-electric sport sedan and deliver enough of them to paying customers that it can generate the income it needs to keep going. On the quarterly Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] earnings call this...
John Voelcker