Toyota President & COO Yoshi Inaba said some fairly sobering things at the Economic Club of Chicago earlier this month. Citing a recent study, Mr. Inaba proclaimed “if everyone in the U.S. drove a Prius, we could reduce our dependence on foreign oil by 70%!” Sit back and let that saturate for a moment. According to Toyota’s big cheese, the Prius has saved 1.1 billion gallons of gas...
With the Geneva Auto Show less than a month up the road, I thought it would be fun to postulate the wackier attractions that we might see in Switzerland. Some of these concepts have been drifting about for years, though none of them have ever made it to mass production. Will this be the year? Leave your predictions in the comments. Michelin Tweel Airless Tires Imagine a world where...
Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to the stage at his company’s design studio outside of Los Angeles Thursday night to unveil the Model X electric vehicle. Built on the same platform as the Model S sedan, the X is a seven passenger SUV/CUV/Minivan described as quicker than a Porsche 911, roomier than an Audi Q7, and better looking than any minivan ever driven by a Soccer Dad or Hockey Mom....
I'll be on hand next Thursday, February 9, for the unveiling of the Tesla Motors Model X, the company's third electric vehicle and their first foray into the crossover market. Tesla will be livecasting the event on their Website beginning at 8pm Pacific Time Thursday, and I'll be posting photos, videos, and impressions from Tesla's Hawthorne, CA Design Center (down near Los Angeles)....
Within recent years, companies have taken to teasing their Super Bowl commercials a few weeks prior to airing. This year, a handful of major car manufacturers have jumped the gun, uploading their Super Bowl XLVI-bound multi-million-dollar spots to YouTube. While there are a few gems, the lot is relatively lackluster. In my opinion, Jerry Seinfeld steals the show in the Acura NSX...
For a company that currently has nothing actually for sale, Tesla is doing all they can to keep the hype mill a-churnin’. But hey, the electric vehicle company was born out of Silicon Valley and pre-launch buzz is the Valley Way! Don’t get me wrong, however: I’m excited for the Model X reveal! (Though I’d gladly skip it for a month behind the wheel of a Model S.) Tesla Motors CEO Elon...
GMC invited me out to Steamboat Springs, Colorado to take part in a winter driving class. Driving 2011 GMC Terrains, our task was to learn how to cope with snow covered roads while climbing 1,000 vertical feet near the Rockies. I gave my driving instructor Gary Osteen quite a challenge, but in the end, I took away some highly valuable techniques that will certainly come in handy during...
The Tesla Model S has been officially priced, but it’s a bit of a quagmire for those who are not familiar with the company’s lineup of EV sedans. The base price of the Tesla Model S will be $49,900 after the $7,500 federal tax credit, but that’s where the pricing starts to jump around like a flea circus. Tesla will be offering a base Model S and a performance model, in addition to two...
Ford flew me out to their batcave in Dearborn, Michigan to check out their latest announcements for the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show. Aside from drooling profusely over a very powerful vehicle that I’m not allowed to talk about until November 15th, I was given a chance to test Ford’s software update for its MyFord Touch touchscreen LCD operating system. While the MyFord Touch system...
Up until the release of the highly intuitive Cadillac Cue driver user interface, automobile dashboard technology had been quite lackluster. Resistive screens, reliance on too many menus, and limited compatibility with peripherals are a few primary illnesses that have been plaguing the auto industry for years. But as the latest technology continues to barrel toward the automotive...