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Hollis Johnson

There are cars, and then there are Aston Martins. The boutique British sports car maker doesn’t build transportation — it is a purveyor of automotive art. And though they may not all be as striking as the Vulcan hypercar or as classically beautiful as the Aston Martin DB5, Aston Martins have always been stylish, powerful, and attention-grabbing. So much so that Aston is the car of choice for the world’s most famous fictional super spy. No, we’re not talking about Jason Bourne or Austin Powers.

At the top of the Aston Martin hierarchy is their flagship grand tourer, the Vanquish. The multimillion-dollar Vulcan is a limited-edition, track-only offering to 23 customers, and the Lagonda Taraf is, well, a Lagonda. The Vanquish is a car we’ve had our eye on. Last year, we named the Aston one of the most beautiful news cars money can buy.

Earlier this year, Business Insider had the opportunity to check out a 2016 Vanquish for a few days. Aston Martin delivered the silver super GT to our New York office one afternoon, and from the moment we laid eyes on the Vanquish, it was hard to turn away.

Photos by Hollis Johnson unless otherwise credited.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/aston-martin-vanquish-super-gt-car-review-2016-9/

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WASHINGTON — Volkswagen has given the name “Atlas” to the new midsize crossover that will shoulder the burden of reviving the brand’s fortunes in the U.S., according to Automobilwoche, the German-language affiliate of Automotive News.

The name has been a closely guarded secret ever since the vehicle was previewed by the CrossBlue concept at the 2013 Detroit auto show. VW plans to reveal the Atlas — a seven-passenger, three-row crossover to be built in Chattanooga — on Oct. 27 at a media event in Santa Monica, Calif.

VW filed trademark applications for the name with the U.S. government in April.

The choice shows that VW Group of America CEO Hinrich Woebcken made good on his pledge in July that the midsize crossover would get a “much easier to pronounce, American-style name” than VW’s other crossovers, and one that’s unique to the North American market.

The name also breaks with VW’s convention of assigning its crossover models names beginning with the letter “T” like the Tiguan and Touareg before it.

“Two or three years ago, it would’ve been a no-go that the region decides an individual name,” Woebcken said in July. “This is already an early sign that Wolfsburg is willing to let go.”

A VW spokeswoman declined to comment on “speculation” about the name.

The Atlas will be the first U.S.-built model on VW’s modular transverse matrix platform architecture, known as “MQB.” Series production is slated to begin late this year ahead of its U.S. sales debut next spring.

VW’s product-starved dealers have eagerly awaited the arrival of the Atlas to give them a competitive entry in the hot crossover market and help them climb out of a slump that has deepened since the diesel emissions scandal erupted in September 2015.

VW’s Tiguan compact crossover is pricey and smaller than its segment competitors. The larger Touareg is a more upscale offering that is out-of-step with the mainstream positioning of VW’s higher-volume models like the Passat and Jetta.

After the Atlas arrives, a redesigned, larger Tiguan compact crossover goes on sale in mid-2017, giving VW fresh entries in two of the industry’s largest segments.

Through September, VW’s U.S. sales totaled 231,268, down 12 percent from a year earlier.

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20161006/OEM04/161009907/vw-names-new-crossover-atlas

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Volvo will launch car-to-car communication in its top model line in Europe before the end of the year, joining Mercedes-Benz and Toyota on a shortlist of automakers offering systems that allow vehicles to exchange information, giving the driver advanced warning about poor road conditions or obstacles further ahead.

The Swedish automaker earlier this month released details on its of its cloud-based solution at the launch of the new V90 Cross Country, which it just one of the models that will offer the technology.

“All vehicles in the 90 series – the S90, V90 and XC90 — will be equipped with it as of the end of this year,” Volvo Senior Vice President for r&d Peter Mertens toldAutomotive News Europe.

Mercedes announced in January that the E class would be its first series-production model with fully integrated car-to-car communication. Mercedes’ system is already active in combination with the Comand Online infotainment system and is available in 20 European markets, the U.S. and China.

Mercedes’ and Volvo’s technology differs from the system that Toyota debuted in the Crown last year in Japan. Variants of Toyota’s midsize luxury sedan that are equipped with its so-called intelligent transportation system (ITS) transmit data between cars and the infrastructure using a 760-megahertz frequency.

The Crown can “talk” with similarly equipped cars as well as receive warnings sent by emergency vehicles and information about a traffic light that is about to change from the transportation infrastructure.

Slippery road ahead

Volvo’s solution, which it co-developed with Swedish telecom company Ericsson, will be able to send and receive warnings on slick roads and other hazards.

The slippery-road alert is activated based on road-friction information from the car’s steering, braking and acceleration sensors.

The other warning is activated when the hazard lights are used, giving connected motorists a pre-warning about oncoming problems or a vehicle that is stuck in a dangerous position.

“We use a cloud-based system so we don’t need to have a direct link between the vehicles,” Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson said while presenting the technology. “It allows us to analyze the information and to look for the ideal distribution to other cars.” A data connection to the internet in the car is required for the system to work.

More countries, more rivals

Volvo’s system is similar to the one Mercedes uses in the E class, although Volvo executives say its solution uses a self-developed protocol. Mertens added that the technology will become more useful over time.

“Of course, it will be better when all cars are using a similar system,” he said. “We will introduce it in the coming generations of our vehicles as well.” Mertens added that the new system will be rolled out in other countries but declined to elaborate.

Other automakers working on similar systems include Cadillac, Audi and Jaguar Land Rover.

Cadillac aims to launch car-to-car communication in some of its 2017 models sold in the U.S. Audi is offering the Q7 and A4 with vehicle-to-infrastructure systems in so-called “smart cities” in the U.S. that include Las Vegas, Nevada, and Seattle, Washington. Cars with the system will display a countdown before a red light turns green and also will offer a countdown showing when it is too late to get through an approaching intersection before the light turns red.

Jaguar Land Rover will start real-time testing of car-to-car systems in the UK and in the U.S. city of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20161005/COPY01/310059966/volvo-to-debut-car-to-car-communication-this-year

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Thanks to electric and autonomous technologies car design could radically change in the near future. To help illuminate the future of car design three car design experts spoke in a panel at the Autoblog Upshift event. The consensus was that the future of cars will be based around sexy boxes that will help occupants find new ways to use their commute time. Paul Snyder chair of transportation design at the College for Creative Studies brought up the term. He said that as batteries can be placed in structures and motors in wheels nothing is sacred when it comes to design. Snyder explained that this means classic design cues such as long noses could disappear since they arent needed anymore. As a result well see those sexy boxes take over since the only primary design constraint will be the physical size of the occupants. Snyder did admit that it may be tricky to move past those traditional looks at first saying his students still like to create vehicles with classic proportions. Mark Prommel creative director for Pensa explained some of that preference for classic forms. He said that we have a visceral connection to cars and when cars have proportions that are just right we can feel it. The good news for enthusiasts is that even in a future of boxier cars Prommel said the idea of emotional design disappearing is a fantasy. Along with the sexy box idea Snyder also touched on how interiors can be changed radically as well specifically that people dont have to face forward in a car that drives itself. Melissa Cefkin anthropologist at Nissan had some interesting insight on this seating issue. She said that the autonomous car means that people will have more time for other tasks and those tasks will determine how we design interiors. She said that theres a very good chance well use that time for more work and possibly socializing. As a result well probably want seating with a table for setting up a laptop as well as seating that allows us to see each other and chat something weve seen in autonomous concept car design already. Cefkin also said forward facing seating shouldnt be discounted. Her explanation was that sharing a view with other people is an important part of human socialization think about hiking with a friend and checking out the vista at an overlook together. She also highlighted the possibility that interiors will become more open to the cars surroundings even vehicles that open up completely to the outside. Bike and motorcycle riders often talk about their intimate connection to the environment they travel through she said and theres no reason autonomous vehicles couldnt provide the same sort of exhilaration. So get ready folks the future of autonomy could be flexible transformable boxes where we can work and relax with our friends and family or be productive. Sounds nice doesnt it? Read more:http://www.autoblog.com/2016/10/06/autonomous-vehicle-design-sexy-boxes-upshift-2016/ Find more about cash for cars via our other social media profiles The post The future of automotive design is sexy boxes appeared first on http://galway.cashforcarsireland.com/ via Cash For Cars - Locations http://galway.cashforcarsireland.com/the-future-of-automotive-design-is-sexy-boxes/

DALLAS — Toyota will invest $150 million at its Tijuana, Mexico, assembly plant to increase output of the popular Tacoma pickup amid tight inventory that the company says has held back sales.

The expansion will bump capacity to about 160,000 units annually in late 2017 or early 2018, from just over 100,000 currently, the company said in a statement Wednesday.

The move comes at a time when the Tacoma’s dominance of the U.S. midsize pickup market — which has grown 21 percent this year — is being challenged by General Motors, which returned to the segment for the 2016 model year with its well-received Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon. Honda’s Ridgeline, too, is back in the market and selling briskly, and Nissan’s Frontier pickup is up nearly 45 percent this year. Ford plans a return with the Ranger as well.

Tacoma sales are up 4 percent this year through August, but its share of the midsize market has shrunk to 43 percent, from 51 percent a year earlier, amid the new competition. Toyota’s investment in capacity represents a bet that it can reclaim some of that share, and capture more of the segment’s growth, by increasing supply, even as the overall light-vehicle market begins to soften.

“Demand for trucks has grown exponentially,” Toyota Motor North America CEO Jim Lentz said in the statement. “By leveraging our manufacturing facilities’ availability and expertise, we can be nimbler and better adjust to market needs in a just-in-time manner.”

The Baja plant is currently stretched to its limit, having added a third shift in April 2015, executives at the plant said during a recent tour. The plant runs 24 hours a day Monday through Friday, plus two shifts on Saturday, then closes for maintenance.

Last year, Baja’s production was just over 82,000 trucks as the plant adjusted to the third shift and gradually increased output. Through August of this year, it has pumped out just over 63,000 units, according to Automotive News data.

The Tacoma is also produced at Toyota’s much bigger pickup plant in San Antonio, where it shares the assembly line with the full-size Tundra. San Antonio produced about 111,000 Tacomas in 2015 and 122,000 Tundras.

The Texas plant added a Saturday shift earlier this year to increase capacity to around 250,000 per year, according to David Crouch, vice president of administration and production control at the factory.

U.S. sales of the Tundra are off 7.7 percent this year through August, compared with a 2.8 percent rise for the full-size pickup segment overall. Crouch said supply is a big reason: Toyota dealers don’t have enough pickup inventory on the lot to tempt shoppers to buy.

“Obviously, one of the biggest challenges that we have for Tundra and Tacoma is we’re capacity-limited,” he told Automotive News in July. “We could sell a lot more trucks right now.”

The Baja plant is unique for Toyota in North America, since it operates around-the-clock, uses limited automation and began life in 2004 mostly to supply Tacoma truck beds to a now-closed assembly plant in California.

Toyota will add about 400 jobs in Baja to handle the new production, the company said.

First seen: http://www.autonews.com/article/20160914/OEM01/160919925/toyota-to-expand-tacoma-output-in-mexico

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John Hopkins lights ignighter fluid on a Stanley steam car. REGGIE LYNCH / DELAWARE PUBLIC MEDIA These days buying a car comes down to deciding to buy a gas hybrid or electric vehicle. 100 years ago there was another option. Here volunteers maintain and drive classic cars. Cars that lack a modern convenience were all used to: being able to start the engine without having to worry about lighting your pants on fire. Volunteer John Hopkins uses a blowtorch to start a 1913 Stanley Steam car. He said its like lighting the pilot light on stove. The water in the cars tank has to boil like a tea kettle. Its one of over a dozen steam cars at the museum. Director Susan Randolph said its the largest operating collection in the world. By the 1930s steam cars were overshadowed by their competition which featured turn-key starters. Once it was made easier to run a gas car it was clear that was going to be a winner into this century Randolph said. The Marshall Steam Museum features other cars too. Theyve have a 1917 Ford Model T that you still have to crank to start and a vintage electric car. But the fan favorite might be the small-scale steam train that encircles the property. First seen:http://delawarepublic.org/post/steam-cars-offer-glimpse-automotive-history Contact us for a cash for cars quote The post Steam cars offer glimpse of automotive history appeared first on http://limerick.cashforcarsireland.com/ via Cash For Cars - Locations http://limerick.cashforcarsireland.com/steam-cars-offer-glimpse-of-automotive-history/

Tesla envy among German luxury carmakers remains at a fever pitch, as Automotive News pointed out this month.

Mercedes-Benz and Audi have accelerated their own electric-car programs as they wrestle with how to react to the U.S. upstart, which has received almost 400,000 preorders for its Model 3.

Now, BMW‘s management board is holding talks aimed at breaking a deadlock over whether to produce new electric cars, including a battery-powered Mini, sources told Reuters. Indeed, BMW’s top executives will skip next week’s Paris auto show to kick it around.

Top management is said to be divided, what with expensive early investments that resulted in only lackluster sales of the i3 electric car.

Norbert Reithofer championed the i3 project while CEO and, in his new role as supervisory board chairman, is keeping up pressure on his successor, Harald Krueger, to expand BMW’s electric program. But Reuters reports that some other senior executives are unwilling to plough more resources into EVs until i3 sales improve.

Most of BMW’s eight-member management board — which includes Krueger — traditionally attends the press days of the Paris show. But this year, only sales and marketing boss Ian Robertson will be there. The rest, according to the source, will be at a company strategy meeting at the end of September to hash out the EV plan.

First seen: http://www.autonews.com/article/20160919/OEM02/309199976/bmws-top-brass-caught-in-electric-divide

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Things never stop changing in the automotive industry.

Evolving market demands and regulations keep automakers playing a constant game of catch up. Automakers, especially the ones that appeal to enthusiasts, have to hit a delicate balance of keeping their products innovative while not alienating or pissing off their faithful customers. Sometimes, automakers come out with a new car or technology that is a hit, while other times, traditionalists will whine and complain … and then end up buying it anyway.

Here are a few major changes that got a lot of hate when they were first announced, but ended up being huge successes.

SUVs from Sports Car Makers

Believe it or not, there was a time when sports car makers only made sports cars. That changed with the crossover boom, and when Porsche came out with the Cayenne in 2002, for example, enthusiasts were up in arms about how the German automaker was selling out and said it would lead to the company’s demise. They said a Porsche SUV was blasphemous and that they would boycott it. The Cayenne quickly went on to become the brand’s best-selling model, outselling the 911 by a huge margin and spawning the smaller and popular Macan.

Today, storied luxury sports car makers like Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, Maserati, Bentley, Rolls-Royce and even Lamborghini either have an SUV on sale now or have one in development. They are bound to be huge sellers, which enthusiasts shouldn’t complain about because the money from those huge sales will help fund their next sports cars. Without the Cayenne and Macan, there wouldn’t be enough money to fund the development of the 918 hypercar or the 919 race car, and technology from those mega projects trickle down to the rest of Porsche’s sports car lineup, so SUVs are to thank for that.

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Hybrid/Electric Sports Cars

Hybrids and green cars used to be thought of as transportation for granola-eating tree-huggers, so people generally thought hybrid/electric sports cars would make too many compromises and would ultimately fail — you can’t be green and fast at the same time, right? How things have changed. Tesla has proven that electric cars don’t have to be boring or slow, and hypercars like the LaFerrari, Porsche 918 and McLaren P1 proved that hybridization can be used to bolster performance.

Porsche bosses say it’s possible that the 911 might be hybridized one day, the Acura NSX and BMW i8 are hybrids, and Teslas are getting faster and more powerful. There are even full-on hypercars that are fully electric, like the Rimac Concept One that outputs a combined 1,088 horsepower and 1,180 pound-feet of torque and is capable of going zero to 62 mph in just 2.6 seconds. Expect hybrid and electric sports cars to dominate in the coming years.

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AWD and Turbocharged Muscle Cars

It can be argued that muscle car admirers hang on to their traditions with more force than any other group of enthusiasts. They want naturally aspirated, big-displacement, rear-wheel-drive cars that are fast in a straight line and they have historically been resistant to change.

Fast forward to today where consumers can now buy Camaros and Mustangs with turbocharged four-cylinder engines, and a Dodge Challenger with a supercharger. The Dodge Challenger will also be getting all-wheel drive in the near future, which will surely be a big hit in places that see winter weather and rain. Sales of the four-cylinder Camaros and Mustangs have been strong, despite enthusiasts blasting the seemingly “sacrilegious” engines.

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Automatic Transmissions in High-Performance Cars

There was once a time when high-performance cars only came with manual transmissions in an attempt to draw in driving enthusiasts and weed out the poseurs who couldn’t drive stick. The Volkswagen Golf R, Fiat 500 Abarth and Porsche GT3 are just a few examples of cars that were previously only offered with a manual that now have an automatic transmission in their lineup. Sure, a manual is more engaging, but enthusiasts understand that many automatic transmissions are now faster than manuals and are better on gas.

Some sports cars these days only come with an automatic: The Acura NSX, Alfa Romeo 4C, Ford GT, all Lamborghinis and Ferraris, Audi R8 and the BMW M5 are just a few examples. Expect the number of manual-only sports cars to dwindle even further in the near future.

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Coupe SUVs

Many people are still in the camp that hates “coupe SUVs” and “four-door coupes” because coupes should only have two doors! Coupe SUVs have a raked roof design that makes them less practical versions of their donor vehicles, with less headroom, less cargo capacity, and a higher lift height. To many, their design is gaudy and the proportions are whack. Still, automakers love this trend and people continue to buy these automotive oddities. BMW and Mercedes both have coupe SUVs, Porsche is expected to jump on the bandwagon with a “coupified” Cayenne, and you can be sure that Lamborghini’s upcoming SUV will do the same.

First seen: http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2016/09/top-5-blasphemous-automotive-trends-that-people-ended-up-loving.html

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FRANKFURT — The gleaming white Porsche with menacing black trim took less than 8 minutes to complete the Nurburgring’s demanding Nordschleife circuit. The result was respectable but not spectacular for a 600-hp beast that sprints from 0 to 62 mph in a little more than 3 seconds.

Unlike the Panamera production car, which can easily beat its lap time, the Mission E concept doesn’t have camshafts, pistons or valves to mix air and fuel in a combustion chamber or a spark plug to ignite it. It runs on a current of pure electrons supplied by a lithium ion battery, and it can almost fully recharge itself within 15 minutes.

The Tesla Model S doesn’t come anywhere close to those specs — which is the point.

Porsche’s 1 billion euro ($1.12 billion) gamble to lure Tesla owners from their beloved electric car is just one example of how much premium European automakers are investing to try and match their Silicon Valley-based rival.

Tesla’s zero-emissions sports sedan has made Europe’s finest automakers look woefully behind the times in an area they typically dominate: technology. The question is whether established brands can win back the hearts and minds of car buyers seeking the next big thing.

Germany’s best known sports car maker promises its Mission E, which was teased at last year’s Frankfurt auto show, will be “an electric Porsche that deserves the name.” That means it will be consistently fast over an extended period with no loss of performance despite repeated accelerating and braking. It is supposed to be the first zero-emissions car worthy of being taken to the racetrack.

Porsche, however, will need years before it can mass produce and sell its electric sports car at a decent profit. Meanwhile, Tesla will continue to deliver tens of thousands of its vaunted sedans and SUVs every year to wealthy progressives around the world, most likely at a loss.

“I wish we had put that car on the road and not Tesla,” confided a senior engineer at Porsche, not a brand typically prone to technological envy. “We have to earn money at the end of the day though.”

Speak to other developers in Germany and the same healthy respect mixed with a dose of jealousy can be heard. Whether it is the Wall Street-funded business model, outlandish marketing claims or its brash determination to ignore conventions such as independent retailers, Tesla refuses to play by the same rules as everyone else. And, so far, the company gets away with it.

How do Europe’s premium carmakers, and particularly the German luxury brands, compete against a rival like that? The truth is they can’t — at least not as long as Tesla remains a money-losing boutique manufacturer of luxury sports cars propped up by investors.

“Part of it is a cultural issue,” said a Mercedes-Benz official who asked to remain anonymous. “You can’t compare a 130-year-old company shaped by German engineering ingenuity with a startup from Silicon Valley. It’s a different approach.”

Despite those differences Audi, BMW and Mercedes are joining Porsche in the race to provide a response to Tesla’s success. Audi plans to launch a dedicated electric model in 2018. Mercedes will showcase its Tesla fighter with a concept car this month at the Paris auto show. Mercedes also plans to create a subbrand for electric cars that will offer two electric SUVs and two battery-powered sedans, people familiar with the plan told Bloomberg last month.

BMW hopes its fully autonomous iNext, due in 2021, will revolutionize the industry but in the meantime it will continue to promote its poorly performing i3 as the best option for those looking for a premium zero-emissions car. Volvo plans a Model S rival, which will arrive in 2019 and share its underpinnings with the S90, V90 and XC90. Jaguar Land Rover is expected to debut a battery-powered concept in November at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

More electric vehicles will undoubtedly follow as European Union regulators crack down on road transport emissions, announcing early next year stringent new carbon dioxide targets for the period after 2021. Carmakers have no choice but to electrify their powertrains.

New frontier

Porsche faces big technical and safety challenges to bring the Mission E to fruition and, on top of that, it is unclear whether the brand’s loyal buyers will follow it to this new frontier.

“We believe Porsche can bring to life in an electric car those kinds of values core to our brand, such as performance, sportiness and exclusivity. Whether the customers will be the same or not, we will see,” development chief Michael Steiner told Automotive News Europe.

It is too early to say whether Porsche’s customers will trade the guttural roar of their engines for a silent electric drive. It’s just as unclear whether BMW, Audi and Mercedes can win back customers lost to Tesla. German car executives claim that Musk’s customers are far more willing to accept flaws and shortcomings they wouldn’t overlook at other brands.

As a startup, the company can get away with things that make some engineers at established carmakers envious but make their legal teams sick to their stomachs. Tesla’s Autopilot function is a prime example. While the car can accelerate, brake and steer itself, it is still just a glorified form of assisted driving. Occupants have to constantly watch the controls in case the car suddenly swerves off course for no reason. German engineers bristle when asked about Autopilot.

“We made the very conscious decision to be conservative in our marketing since it’s not in our interest for the assistant systems to be used in circumstances they should not,” said the Mercedes official. “Once every 7.5 million kilometers (4.7 million miles) driven there is a serious accident in Germany. Our assistant systems are supposed to minimize that, not add to it by creating new accidents.”

So while many might be thrilled at the novelty of watching a steering wheel rotate left and right by itself, Germans just shake their heads in disbelief.

“Where’s the added value for the customer?” asks Klaus Verweyen, Audi’s project chief for fully piloted driving, which will debut in a limited form next year in the revamped A8. Nevertheless, the glory associated with cars that can drive themselves has gone to Tesla. The MIT Technology Review named Tesla’s “software update that suddenly made autonomous driving a reality” one of the top 10 breakthrough technologies for 2016. While it admitted the system used a “legal gray area,” Autopilot was “a grand gesture toward an ever-nearing future,” according to the magazine.

More than an EV brand

One of the mistakes many German car executives have made in recent years is believing that Tesla is an electric car brand. If that were the case they would have a strong chance to conquest sales back from Musk once they brought their own versions to market.

Yet Tesla is far more than that. It builds battery packs, installs charging infrastructure and most recently plans to integrate energy generation and storage via an acquisition of Musk’s photovoltaic company SolarCity. In the future it plans to expand into electric pickup trucks and even tractor-trailers.

Musk has built something of a theology around Tesla with himself as a high priest and sustainable mobility as his nirvana. Rivals may roll out their own Tesla fighters, but you cannot fight it because it’s a way of life, not a product.

In other words, Tesla will stand or fall regardless of what the German luxury brands attempt. Several executives admit their best chance to gain back lost sales is if the young company mismanages its transformation from serving a base of die-hard fans to becoming a profitable full-scale producer of zero-emissions vehicles. Many startups fail to surmount this hurdle. Electric car charging station provider Better Place also began life as an investor’s darling because of its charismatic young founder, Shai Agassi. Instead his company collapsed three years ago.

Tesla’s biggest strength is also its greatest weakness. Musk is the company’s most eloquent advocate and he is already the third most influential CEO on Twitter, according to research by French business school INSEAD. Musk is Tesla as much as Steve Jobs was Apple.

Moreover, reputational problems may catch up to it. Allegations have been leveled that Tesla tried to hide suspension flaws in the Model S from the public by forcing customers to sign nondisclosure agreements. More recently, a fatal accident has put its Autopilot in a negative spotlight. Also, when the Model 3 eventually debuts, Tesla will target more demanding consumers, who are not likely to be as forgiving when it comes to the inherent trade-offs of an electric car.

A senior automotive executive at Bosch is convinced that sooner or later Musk will not be able to maintain this startup style showmanship over substance: “At some point as they grow customers won’t accept this and Tesla will have to adopt a zero-tolerance approach.”

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20160905/OEM05/309059949/tesla-envy-grips-germanys-giants

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