Luxury Cars
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Earlier this week a report from the UK’s CAR suggested that Audi had nixed production plans for an electric city car based on its A2 concept. In addition to this, the report went on to claim that plans for a production version of the smaller A1 e-tron concept were also being putting on the shelf. The reason for the scaled-back plans was said to be a depressed European market and fears that a projected €40,000 (approximately $49,825) cost for the A2 model would make the car too expensive. While Audi has stated in the past that its A2 was positioned as a direct rival for BMW’s...
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First 2012 Tesla Model S Delivered To Earliest Depositor Steve Jurvetson (Video)Deliveries of the 2012 Tesla Model S electric sedan will officially begin on June 22. But the very first production Model S off the line has already been handed over to its new owner. It went to none other than venture capitalist and Tesla board member Steve Jurvetson, who is now driving it around...
John Voelcker -
BMW To Launch Diesel Flagship 7-Series Sedan For 2014If you want to know what's coming down the pike in German luxury cars, just watch Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi. Whenever one maker launches a new car, crossover, body style, engine type, or performance package...the others usually follow. And so it is with BMW, which reportedly plans to launch a...
John Voelcker -
2013 Lexus ES 300h: First DriveWhen Lexus rolled out its HS 250h hybrid sedan a few years ago, there was a lot of head-scratching. The HS 250h was rather cramped inside, had a powertrain that was way too noisy for a Lexus, and was rated at just 35 mpg city, 34 highway—barely better than the Camry Hybrid of the time, which...
Bengt Halvorson -
Buy Luxury House, Get Low Tesla Model S Reservation Number!Less than 30 days hence, the first 2012 Tesla Model S sedans will be delivered to paying customers. Now, one Model S buyer who holds a low reservation number for the all-electric luxury car is using it as a lure to sell a million-dollar home in an upscale Illinois suburb. Not only has the home...
John Voelcker -
2013 BMW ActiveHybrid 7 Gets Updated Full Hybrid PowertrainBMW's first-ever hybrid sedan, the BMW ActiveHybrid 7 launched for 2011, was an odd beast. Its mild-hybrid system paired a 455-horsepower 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8 with a small electric motor, making it a bit faster than its conventional counterpart but only marginally more fuel-efficient. For 2013...
John Voelcker -
Magna Steyr may be one of the most significant automakers you’ve (likely) never heard of. There are no Magna Steyr dealers, and it doesn’t sell directly to the public, but if you’re an automaker, the company is at the top of your call list when engineering services or contract production are needed. Mercedes-Benz’s 4Matic all-wheel-drive system was developed by Magna Steyr, and the company has built cars as diverse as the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, the Peugeot RCZ and the MINI Countryman. Now Magna Steyr has been tasked with building an entry-level compact offering from...
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Fisker Emphasizes Its Focus On Product QualityFisker wants critics to know that it takes quality seriously, and that the automaker is making an effort to offer superior customer service.
Kurt Ernst -
2012 Tesla Model S: Would YOU Drive It At Just 55 MPH?We've had a ride in a prototype 2012 Tesla Model S electric luxury sport sedan, and it was impressive. The car was smooth, quiet, and relatively fast at speeds up to 95 mph on the test track surrounding Tesla's assembly plant in Fremont, Cailfornia. Intrepid test driver (and Lotus racer) Joe Nuxoll...
John Voelcker -
Dead Fisker Karmas: One May Be A Fluke, But Is Two A Trend?First off, just to be clear, the photo above is NOT a dead Fisker. It shows the 2012 Fisker Karma we road-tested three weeks ago parked at a Tesla Motors dealer in Los Angeles. But while our Fisker was running fine that day, Consumer Reports was not so lucky this week. The magazine bought a Fisker...
John Voelcker -
2012 Tesla Model S Electric Sedan: Industry Analyst Weighs InAfter a flurry of press events last October that included rides in 2012 Tesla Model S prototypes, Tesla Motors went mostly silent until it unveiled its Model X crossover last month. But the electric crossover won't generate any cash for the Silicon Valley startup carmaker over the next year or two...
John Voelcker -
Jaguar XF 2.2 Diesel: Forbidden Fruit First DriveThere are - believe it or not - advantages to living in England. Okay, so the weather is as depressing as the stereotypes suggest, and the average price of gas is currently around $8.17 per gallon, but we do occasionally get cars denied to those on U.S. shores. One of those is the Jaguar XF...
Antony Ingram -
First deliveries for Tesla’s all-electric Model X crossover are still a couple of years away, but the Silicon Valley-based automaker was already hard at work selling it to potential buyers at last week’s party-style premiere, held at the automaker’s design studios in Hawthorne, California. This footage we took Thursday night, at Tesla’s raucous premiere event for the Model X—an all-electric luxury crossover vehicle with room for seven, trick ‘falcon’ (gullwing-like) doors, and a spacious front trunk—shows this upcoming model in action, on a...
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2012 Fisker Karma: Brief Drive ReportWell, after three years of asking, we've finally had a chance to drive the 2012 Fisker Karma. And we can confirm that the extended-range electric luxury sport sedan is, in fact, a real car. It's got drop-dead styling, unique interior furnishings, and a good ride that's aided by the fact that it's...
John Voelcker -
2012 Fisker Karma Electric Car: Quick Drive Review [Video]Price increases be damned, the 2012 Fisker Karma is finally here, and first examples are about to arrive in customers' driveways. Earlier in the week we posted our video driving impressions of the new four-door extended-range electric car from startup Fisker Automotive. Now it's time to expand on...
Joel Feder -
Video: How To Turn A Scion iQ Into An Aston Martin CygnetAs well as the BR-Z sports car, Scion buyers in 2012 will be getting their hands on the 2012 Scion iQ, a funky minicar sold in other markets as the Toyota iQ. The iQ variations don't stop there, however. As you might be aware, British luxury car maker Aston Martin has bought the rights to build its...
Antony Ingram -
2012 Fisker Karma Electric Car First Drive Impressions: VideoAfter what feels like forever, the 2012 Fisker Karma electric car is finally about to go on sale. Last month, we showed you how to order a Fisker Karma. Now, we've been able to slide behind the wheel of a new 2012 Fisker Karma EcoSport to bring you some quick first-drive impressions of the car's...
Joel Feder -
2012 Buick Lacrosse With eAssist: Mild Hybrid Weekend DriveWe drove the prototype, and liked it. Now we've driven the real thing. We still like it. In this case, "it" is the 2012 Buick Lacrosse with eAssist, the only four-cylinder model that Buick offers in its Lacrosse large luxury sedan. While large Buicks aren't known for their gas mileage, this one is...
John Voelcker -
Hybrids, electrics, and various permutations in between get a lot of the attention when it comes to greener driving, but the dino-burning diesel deserves its place in the pantheon as well, at least for the time being. Porsche agrees--at least in the case of the Cayenne. The diesel version may be coming to the U.S. in the second half of 2012. The report, which comes by way of Porsche U.S. chief Detlev von Platen via Automotive News (subscription required), says the Cayenne will be Porsche's first foray into U.S.-market diesels. That makes sense, as the SUV is also a platform for a Porsche...
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Luxury Hybrid Sedan Face-Off: BMW 5 v Infiniti M v Lexus GSA battle is about to commence, and it could get messy. While Toyota's Prius dominates at the lower end of the hybrid market and is set to tighten its hold further with the Prius V and Prius C, Toyota subsidiary Lexus is set to field its GS 450h luxury hybrid sedan against the Infiniti M35h (a Green...
Antony Ingram -
2013 Lexus GS 450h Hybrid Sport Sedan To Be Rated Over 30 MPGIt's not yet in dealerships, but the 2013 Lexus GS 450h offers a big boost in gas mileage for buyers of mid-size sport sedans. The all-new GS 450h hybrid is expected to be rated at 29 mpg city, 34 mpg highway, for a combined rating of 31 mpg. In comparison, the 2012 Infiniti M35h hybrid sport...
John Voelcker -
More Fisker Bad News: EPA Calls 20-MPG Karma A SubcompactIt's been a tough week for Fisker. The startup electric-car company finally got its car approved for sale, many months late, only to have the EPA rate its gas mileage at just 20 mpg in range-sustaining mode. Now, a new wrinkle to those ratings has come out: Based on the volume measurements it uses...
John Voelcker -
2012 Mercedes-Benz S 350 Bluetec Clean Diesel: Quick DriveWhat can you say about driving a Mercedes-Benz S-Class? It's luxurious, smooth, powerful, packed with features, impressive on the road, and very, very large. Now you can add another adjective: green. While the S 400 Hybrid has been in the mix for two years, Mercedes-Benz is launching a clean-diesel...
John Voelcker -
2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5: Taking Hybrid Luxury To Next LevelExit one BMW hybrid, enter another. Next March will see the U.S. launch of the 2012 BMW ActiveHybrid 5, the second hybrid sedan in the Germany luxury-car maker's lineup. And the ActiveHybrid 5 marks an important evolution: It's the first BMW that uses the single-motor hybrid system jointly...
John Voelcker