models
Latest
Tesla's upcoming 'D' looks like a souped-up Model S sedan
Elon Musk left a lot of people wondering what, exactly, Tesla's upcoming "D" will be. Is it a brand new car? A self-driving vehicle? As it turns out, it may be something much more familiar-looking. Tesla Motors Club forum member Adelman has posted a photo of what looks like an unannounced Model S P85D -- that is, another high-end variant of Tesla's current luxury EV. It's not clear just what that suffix would mean, although most of the speculation points to an all-wheel drive, dual-motor upgrade borrowed from the soon-to-arrive Model X SUV. That could make the Model S quicker (or at least, better-suited to tough road conditions) than the already speedy P85 trim level you see on the road today. Whatever's under the hood, you'll likely know the full story in about a week. [Thanks, Weaponzero]
Tesla Model S update adds calendar integration and traffic-based navigation
If you look at the changelog for Tesla's Model S, you'll see most of the updates have been minor bug fixes; it's fairly rare that the luxury electric vehicle gets upgraded with new features. Every once in a while, though, Elon Musk and co. unleash a meaty update and as it happens, today is one of those days. The company just released the (previously leaked) version 6.0 of its software, which adds a built-in calendar that syncs with your smartphone, along with a remote-start feature and traffic-based navigation to help you avoid the busiest roadways.
Lord of the Rings Online fans clean up old models
Lord of the Rings Online has been running for quite a while, and while it's not an ugly game its graphics are getting a bit long in the tooth. That's no one's fault, really, just the march of time making itself known. One fan has taken up the challenge of seeing what can be done with a bit of adjustment and retexturing, and the results are available on Reddit for fans to admire. The "new" models all have the same technical specifications as the models currently in the game, but have simply been adjusted and had their textures improved. Currently five of the models have been done -- male and female elves, male and female hobbits, and female humans. You can browse through to see how the updated geometry looks, although there's no way to put these models in the game at the moment. [Thanks to Emilia for the tip!]
Tesla adds drive unit to its infinite mile warranty following Edmunds report
A few weeks ago, Edmunds posted its findings after blazing the highways in Tesla's Model S for nearly a year and a half. In addition to falling short of the promised 265-mile range, a series of service trips saw the drive unit replaced three separate times. Today, CEO Elon Musk announced via the company blog that the warranty on that part has been extended to match the battery pack's infinite mile coverage. The unit will be replaced within eight years no matter the odometer reading. What's more, the new warranty terms apply to any Model S built thus far -- not just the popular 85kWh model cited in the report. "If we truly believe that electric motors are fundamentally more reliable than gasoline engines... then our warranty policy should reflect that," Musk noted in the post. [Photo credit: Emile Wamsteker/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
The Tesla Model S doesn't have onboard navigation in China
Take a Tesla Model S for a spin in the US or Europe, and you'll have the help of a integrated navigation system to help you find your way. In China, you'll have to unfold a traditional, paper map. Local drivers are learning that the country's aversion to Google services keeps Tesla from employing its usual map solution, leaving the sedan unequipped to guide its users through the streets of Shanghai. It's an unfortunate situation, but it won't last forever -- Tesla says that it's working on a solution that supports Chinese voice and text recognition, and expects to update cars in the Chinese market with navigation features later this year. Check out Asysha Webb's ChinaEV blog at the source link below for Tesla's full statement.
World of Warcraft shows off revamped Tauren ladies
As Warlords of Draenor approaches release, the art team behind World of Warcraft continues finishing the revamped models for the game's races. The latest race to get a revamp is the female Tauren; while male Tauren have been in the beta client for quite some time, players have until now seen only quick shots of what the new female model would look like. Now you can see her in all her glory, and even at a glance it's a massive improvement. The original model was extremely angular and low-detail due to the technology available when the game was first made, but the revamped model has much more definition in her fur and body shape. The only big silhouette change is a shrinking of her hands, with the official design blog calling the original model's hands "out of control." Take a peek at the official preview for more details on the updated ladycows.
Tesla preps for Model X production with assembly line revamp
In order to boost output of the Model S and to prepare for production of the Model X SUV, Tesla has paused work at its only plant for two weeks. Bloomberg reports that $100 million in upgrades are on tap for the factory that will allow both vehicles to be constructed on the same assembly line. The changes will also increase production of the Model S sedan by 25 percent. As you may recall, the company's electric SUV has been delayed more than once, so by now there's a few folks anticipating the expected 2015 arrival. [Photo credit: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images]
UK government weighs Tesla's Model S for its £5 million electric vehicle fleet
Despite costing £17,000 ($29,000) per car more than it budgeted, the UK government is weighing the purchase of Model S EVs for its fleet, according to Tesla. In an effort to go green, the UK said it wants to buy 150 electric cars for government mucky-mucks, following the lead of China, which mandated that 30 percent of its fleet must run on electrons. Unfortunately, the budget is £5 million ($8.5 million) for all 150 cars, or about £33,000 per vehicle -- and the Tesla Model S currently runs about £50,000 ($85,000) in the UK. That compares to about £30,000 for BMW's i3 (excluding the gas-powered range extender), another likely competitor. However, the Tesla has one large advantage: it can run about 250 miles on a charge, where the BMW can only go 81 miles. As Bidness Etc put it, that's at least two round trips between PM David Cameron's country retreat and his 10 Downing Street workplace -- though we imagine he'll stick with the armored Jag anyway.
The Queue: XP, models, toy box, and voice
Welcome back to The Queue, the daily Q&A column in which the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Adam Holisky (@adamholisky) will be your host today. Hello Queuers! We've got a few good questions today. Then I went and talked about Thrall being emo. JPF asked: how much xp does the wod starter quests give compared to timeless isle dailies? How about TI mobs vs wod mobs?
Reel in the Sea Green 2DS on June 6
As suspected, a new color variant of the 2DS is launching alongside Tomodachi Life in North America on June 6. The $130 "Sea Green" model should be a fashionable companion for any beach-goer this summer, or any virtual beach-goer in Nintendo's new sim game. The 2DS is the unhinged younger sibling of the 3DS, and plays all 3DS games but in 2D. If Sea Green makes you sea-sick, you can also grab currently available red and blue models for the same price. [Image: Nintendo]
FTC: State bans on Tesla's direct sales model are hurting competition
Tesla has just gained a valuable ally in its battle to sell cars directly to customers: the Federal Trade Commission. The regulator now argues that state bans on direct sales are "protectionist," propping up the traditional dealership business model rather than protecting companies from unfair abuses by automakers. It's the "competitive process" that should decide which sales model is better, not the law. The FTC also doesn't buy the notion that Tesla's modest US sales (22,500 in 2013) are a threat to the wider industry (15 million). It believes that the only thing at risk is the old way of buying cars, which might not be necessary now that customers can skip the sales pitch and do most of their research online.
Tesla opens 100th Supercharger... in a state where sales are banned
You can't buy a Tesla in New Jersey, but now you can Supercharge one up! Tesla's 100th Supercharger just came online in Hamilton, located just a few miles from the NJ state capital of Trenton. The Garden State's very first Supercharger sports six stalls, and, since it's positioned just a few miles from the New Jersey Turnpike, can accommodate Tesla owners traveling down the East Coast, from Connecticut to Florida. Of course, while you can fuel up your Tesla in Jersey, you can't make a purchase -- direct-to-consumer sales are still banned, following a shady (Jersey-esque) backroom deal between politicians and lobbyists just last month.
Tesla Model S gets not-quite-official makeover as a convertible
Let's say you love everything about the Tesla Model S except its static roof. Well, Newport Convertible Engineering wants to help fix that. The aftermarket company has announced that it's received an order for 100 of its new droptop conversions from a Chinese investor, and tells Autoblog that it's reached out to Tesla to put an additional 5,000 units into production to help meet expected demand. The conversion kit isn't cheap, however. A soft-top convertible will run you $29,000 and, if you'd prefer a rigid version, that'll be $49,000. You still have to supply your own Model S, too. But hey, $100,000 (or more) is a small price to pay for having the possibly greenest -- and safest -- rag-top on the road, right?
Warlords of Draenor: New mount and NPC models discovered
AdriaCraft are at it again, digging through the data and powering up the Model Viewer to bring us images of some of the new NPC and mount models in Warlords of Draenor's Alpha. There's a couple of mounts like the Raven Lord that we've seen already, but a few that are new, like the Clefthoof, who also comes in various different colors. There's also a Giant Boar mount, also in red, and a Draenor Wolf, who also comes in three other color schemes. Apart from the mounts, there are various NPC models apart from Thrall, some of which have surfaced already, some of which haven't. Velen, Grommash, Durotan and Blackhand are all there. There's several varieties of Iron Horde machinery that have been found, as well as some pale orcs, new Talbuks and Sporebats which we heard about following the recent press event, and Elekk, Goren and Hippos. All of these come in a variety of colors, so do check out the original post for more info. But my favorite new model by far is the Draenor Ancient. Like all the models, he's in a variety of colors, but look at his grumpy face! What has you excited from this recent datamine?
Warlords of Draenor: Artcraft provides first look at new female draenei
Just the other day Artcraft revealed the new male tauren models--complete with animations and videos--and today they're at it again with a sneak peek at the (real) new draenei female model. This is a quick look, as emphasized in the post itself, because the model has yet to be sent to the animation team. As a result you'll notice her posture in this preview is quite different from the draenei model we know and love. That will change once the animation team gets a chance to properly rig and pose the model, but for now we're getting a glimpse of a work very much in-progress. At first glance, the new draenei model doesn't seem as different from the old one as the tauren or orc models, for example, but this is to be expected. The original draenei (and blood elf) models, implemented in Burning Crusade, were a significant step up from the models of classic WoW. That being said, there's marked improvement in these previews. The hair, the detail of the leg musculature, and in particular the hands all give our beloved draenei much more depth and finesse in the body. The curvature of her head-tentacles is also much smoother and more realistic-looking. This is a nice upgrade from the current draenei, and I look forward to seeing more.
Tesla toughens up the Model S' underbody to prevent battery fires
Tesla's Model S may have a good safety record, but even two accident-related battery fires are too many for the perfection-obsessed (and image-conscious) automaker. Elon Musk has revealed that every Model S built from March 6th onward has both aluminum deflector plates and a titanium underbody shield, the combination of which should prevent battery punctures and deflect debris. Any existing owner can get the shields as a free upgrade, and Musk promises that all the extra metal won't hurt performance in a meaningful way -- you'll lose 0.1 percent of range, he says. While the upgrade is unlikely to completely silence EV doubters, it might reassure Model S buyers who'd rather not lose their cars to detritus on the road. [Image credit: Tesla, Flickr]
The surprising importance of visual improvement
Before the introduction of transmogrification, I had no idea why anyone wanted it. Back then, I was a pretty involved raider (still am, but probably a step or so less) and almost all of my effort in-game was dedicated towards improving my gear's stats. I didn't give much thought to how it looked. Occasionally I'd make fun of myself for looks like the one above, when I simply couldn't get a hat or shoulders to drop in the first tier of Cataclysm raiding and had to settle for ones from Zul'Gurub or Zul'Aman. I wore them, because they were the best I could get, and every week I cursed the bosses in Blackwing Descent and Bastion of Twilight for not dropping better. But I always thought it was the stats that were important, not the fact that I looked like some demented tauren clown pretending to be a murloc to scare tauren children. It took me a long time to understand how important a feature that allows you to customize your character's look can be to get you invested in that character. My groaning bank and void storage, filled to bursting with transmog items, can certainly attest that I quickly learned that lesson. But it shouldn't have been so surprising to me, considering I played in vanilla -- and back in vanilla, it was the fact that the tier raiding sets were such stark visual improvements that was half the motivation in pursuing them.
New Jersey is the latest state to ban Tesla's direct-to-customer car sales
Tesla's direct-to-customer sales model just hit another big roadblock. New Jersey's Motor Vehicle Commission has voted in favor of a rule banning direct car sales, effectively kicking Tesla out of the state as of this April. For those keeping score, this is the EV maker's third such defeat, following similar moves by Arizona and Texas -- while Tesla won a legislative battle to go dealer-free in North Carolina, it appears to be losing the war. Not surprisingly, the company is furious. It accuses Governor Chris Christie of not just reneging on a promise to delay the rule for the sake of debate, but of speeding things up to please dealerships that fear real competition. Whether that's an accurate representation or just corporate bluster, the ban will undoubtedly hurt Garden State residents who want a wider selection of eco-friendly rides.
Tesla plans European expansion with service centers and showrooms
Tesla has a relatively tiny European presence with just a handful of showrooms, service hubs and Superchargers, but it's about to get a much larger foothold -- the EV maker has revealed that it will open more than 30 stores and service centers across Europe. There's no indication of just when and where these locations will open. It won't be hard to find Superchargers in the near future, however. Tesla still expects to place the fast recharging stations across most of Europe before the end of the year, making it practical to drive cross-continent in a Model S without any lengthy stopovers.
Tesla's feature-packed Model S tops Consumer Reports' 2014 auto picks
Tesla's Model S has scored an inordinate amount of coverage since its inception some five years ago, but there's perhaps no honor greater than landing the premier spot in Consumer Reports' Top Picks. 2014's award-winning autos also include Toyota's Prius in the green category and Audi's A6 in the top luxury slot, but the Tesla Model S scored Best Overall, despite an unfortunate battery fire and that infamous report in The New York Times. Minor setbacks aside, the EV has performed phenomenally in many reviews and safety tests, and with Superchargers now available throughout the US, it's possible to take the Model S on a cross-country road trip without spending a cent on fuel. As for this most recent win, Consumer Reports cites the vehicle's "blistering acceleration, razor-sharp handling, compliant ride, and versatile cabin," along with its "massive, easy-to-use 17-inch touch screen... totally keyless operation, full Internet access, and ultra-quiet, zero-emission driving experience." Overall, a very solid achievement for Mr. Musk.
