Luxury Cars

  • Tesla Autopilot 2 Perpendicular Park

    Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised that the latest iteration of Autopilot would be the most refined variation of the software yet. In fact, the Tesla chief recently tweeted that the new Autopilot algorithm would be "smooth as silk." One owner, James Hansbert, recorded his experience after receiving the latest firmware updated for his Tesla Model S, putting the "smooth as silk" comment to the test. DON'T MISS: Tesla driver killed in Autopilot crash ignored repeated warnings, NTSB says Autopilot has often had issues with "dancing" between lane markers as the sensors work to identify road markings...

  • 2016 Tesla Model S
    Tesla changes warranty, cuts used Model S prices, to lure Model 3 buyers

    Tesla has given its used electric-car sales a jolt and sweetened the deals for potential buyers. CEO Elon Musk announced changes to the Tesla Model S sedan's warranty structure and major price cuts on used examples during the annual shareholder meeting held June 6. "Maybe somebody wants to buy a...

  • Jaguar I-Pace Concept, 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show
    Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV being built now; Europe launch this year, U.S. in 2018?

    While Audi and Mercedes-Benz have trumpeted the electric crossover utility vehicles they will offer in 2018 and 2019, a smaller competitor is keeping pace with the German giants. The British brand Jaguar won praise for the design of its I-Pace electric SUV on its debut at last November's Los...

  • Teaser for Fisker EMotion debuting on August 17, 2017
    Fisker EMotion won't launch with graphene battery; 400-mile range still promised

    Henrik Fisker, the man behind the relaunch of the company that bears his name, has released some new details on the upcoming EMotion sedan. However, the news isn't necessarily the best that electric-car fans and advocates could have hoped for. The graphene battery technology Fisker has frequently...

  • 2017 Tesla Model X
    Tesla Model X gets uniform 5-star safety ratings from NHTSA, first SUV to do so

    Tesla's Model X has secured a major accomplishment: it is officially the first SUV to receive 5-star crash-test ratings in every single category. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave the Model X uniform 5-star ratings, which Tesla says is due to the design of the all-electric...

  • Tesla Store Los Angeles [photo: Misha Bruk / MBH Architects]
    Bill in NY legislature would let Tesla quadruple store locations in state

    Tesla's five New York state stores could increase four-fold should a new piece of legislation pass the state legislature. The bill calls for an increase "certificates of registration for entities that manufacture or assemble zero-emissions vehicles." In turn, it would "authorize 20 certificates...

  • Teaser for Tesla Model Y electric SUV due for reveal in 2019

    Tesla held its shareholder meeting Wednesday night, and lots of news emerged in bits and pieces from CEO Elon Musk and the rest of the event. We now know a little more about the Tesla Model Y, the mass-priced electric SUV or crossover utility vehicle that is scheduled to hit the market in 2019, for instance. And Musk offered snippets of information on future battery gigafactories, impending production of the Model 3 sedan, and much more. DON'T MISS: So what happened to Tesla Model X electric SUV sales, anyway? Devout Tesla supporters and fans may want to read the full transcript of Musk's...

  • Teaser for Fisker EMotion debuting on August 17, 2017
    All-electric Fisker EMotion orders open June 30, starting at $129,900

    Henrik Fisker is planning to return to the luxury electric fold with his new company's EMotion sedan, and potential buyers now have a price tag. The brand's first vehicle, the Fisker EMotion sedan, will become available for pre-order on June 30. And when the EMotion eventually goes on sale, it will...

  • 2017 Cadillac CT6 plug-in hybrid, New York City and Westchester County, NY, May 2017
    2017 Cadillac CT6 Plug-In: first drive of hybrid luxury sedan

    The 2017 Cadillac CT6 Plug-In will be a rare beast in the U.S.; fewer than 1,000 are likely to be sold each year. In many ways, that's a shame. This version of the CT6 large sedan is a worthy competitor among plug-in hybrid luxury cars, the rest of which will come from BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and...

  • 2016 Tesla Model X
    So what happened to Tesla Model X electric SUV sales, anyway?

    A few years ago, before the Tesla Model X electric SUV went into production, company CEO Elon Musk said he thought it could outsell the older Model S hatchback luxury sedan. That hasn't happened. In the first three months of this year, Tesla said it delivered 11,550 Model Xes—but 13,450 Model...

  • Rendering of BMW i5 electric crossover utility vehicle, from patent drawings [Indian Autos Blog]
    If BMW i5 is canceled, what does that mean for its electric cars?

    When it launched in 2013, the BMW i3 electric car was arguably the most futuristic automobile in mass production anywhere in the world. Its all-electric powertrain could be ordered with an optional range-extending engine, and it rode on an aluminum chassis topped with a strong but lightweight body...

  • Tesla Model S P100D drag race
    South's good ol' boy drag racers whupped by Tesla, not happy about it

    For as long as there have been automobiles, drivers have had the itch to go faster than the guy in the next car. Throughout decades we've seen horsepower wars waged between giant, large displacement V-8 engines and even 4-cylinder engines with plenty of forced induction. The rise of the electric...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S electric sport sedan on delivery day, with owner David Noland

    Last week, I was in a bit of a Tesla funk. That’s not normal; my four-plus years of Tesla Model S ownership have been a mostly giddy ride, with the few bumps minor and temporary. But last week I was facing the prospect of two long-term permanent downgrades to my personal Tesla World, both related to Supercharging. DON'T MISS: Life with Tesla Model S: out with the old, in with the new First, the new 100D I had ordered last month (for delivery in late June or July) would not have the free Supercharging I’d become accustomed to with my current 2013 Model S-85. To me, free-for-life...

  • 2017 Tesla Model S
    Consumer Reports restores some points to Tesla electric cars for automatic braking

    Tesla had long been a darling of Consumer Reports magazine since the time the Model S electric car was first revealed, and it consistently scored well in the magazine's tests. However, when Tesla pulled its automatic emergency braking feature when it switched to all-new vehicle sensors and...

  • Tesla Model 3 spotted at service center
    Tesla Model 3 acceleration found in chart on Model S advantages

    Electric-car maker Tesla doesn't announce models in the usual fashion. It trickles out bits and pieces of information, often in the form of tweets from CEO Elon Musk, punctuated by occasional large flashy debut events for owners and investors at which a vehicle is revealed. That's the pattern...

  • Production-ready Jaguar I-Pace spotted in Monaco
    Video shoot shows Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV in production form

    The British luxury brand Jaguar, far smaller than any of its three German competitors, may be looking to steal a march on all of them. While Audi revealed a concept version of its forthcoming e-tron all-electric SUV 18 months ago, and Mercedes-Benz followed with its EQ Concept last September, the...

  • Tesla factory, Fremont, California
    Tesla moans about media as it fights workers' union efforts

    Tesla's position is clear: the California electric-car maker doesn't feel a union is needed to protect its factory workers from what it claims are only anecdotal stories about worker safety and wage levels. Last weekend, Tesla continued to punch back at United Auto Workers organizating efforts at...

  • Mercedes-Benz EQ electric car concept  [photo: Axel Harries]
    British magazine gets ride in all-electric Mercedes EQ Concept

    Mercedes-Benz has big plans for electric vehicles in the future, but its main nod to what those plans will bring thus far is the EQ Concept. Shown at the Paris Motor Show last year, the vehicle represents a conceptual version of the first of many electric vehicles to come from the Germany luxury...

  • 2017 Mercedes-Benz E300 4Matic, Finger Lakes region, NY, April 2017

    The Mercedes-Benz E-Class luxury sedan is hardly viewed as green, even if it'll soon have a plug-in hybrid version offered in small numbers. But driving the most recent generation provides a nice case study of the improvement in gas mileage over three decades of updates to the core product that helped build Mercedes into the powerhouse it is today. We tested a 2017 Mercedes-Benz E300 4Matic sedan over 535 miles during a week of driving through the middle of New York state, and found its fuel economy higher than expected. DON'T MISS: EU fuel-economy ratings move further from reality; Mercedes...

  • 2016 Acura CDX (Chinese spec)
    Acura CDX could migrate from China as luxury subcompact crossover

    Acura today has a thin lineup that has as many passenger sedans as crossover utility vehicles. With only the TLX, RDX, MDX, RLX, and NSX to work with, Honda's premium line doesn't compete in a number of important markets. The most glaring absence is in the raging hot subcompact crossover realm...

  • Karma Revero 'Delivery' as spot
    First TV ad for Karma Revero drops as sales to start next month

    Everything old is new again, including the 2017 Karma Revero, a reborn 2012 Fisker Karma. Now its maker has released the first-ever television advertisement for the car, a spot that debuted during the 2017 U.S. Open Polo Championship, sponsored by Karma Automotive. Simply titled "Delivery," the...

  • 2013 Tesla Model S owned by David Noland, Catskill Mountains, NY, Oct 2015
    Life with Tesla Model S: out with the old, in with the new

    Over the first three years of driving my 2013 Tesla Model S, there wasn't a single time when I looked at another car and said, “You know, I’d really rather be driving that car than this one.” Not once. The Tesla’s combination of performance, style, economy, technology, plus...

  • BMW Vision Next 100 concept
    Why BMW uses Tesla electric cars to scare its staff into the future

    When Tesla arrived on the scene 10 years ago, no major automaker took it very seriously—let alone thought it would cause the disruption it has in the market for luxury cars. At the same time, BMW, once the harbinger of performance and luxury, worries that it may be falling behind when it...

  • 2017 Tesla Model S
    Tesla Autopilot gets automatic braking just as Consumer Reports downgrades safety rating (updated)

    Six months ago, Tesla abruptly announced that it had upgraded its electric cars with a new package of sensors for the Autopilot driver-assist system, known as "Hardware 2." The equipment was being fitted to all new Tesla Model S and Model X electric cars then in production—but there was a...

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