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Tesla unveils Model X SUV, wants to be your all-electric crossover
We're here at the Tesla Design Studio in Los Angeles, where Elon Musk just unveiled his startup's third vehicle: an SUV it calls the Model X. It's party piece is a pair of double-hinged "Falcon Wing" rear doors which apparently make loading people and things easier, as you reach into the car not over it. According to Musk they'll open in tighter spots than a traditional door, and swivel high enough to fit a standing human. Powered by an AWD variant of the Model S' drivetrain, it'll do 0-60MPH in 4.4 seconds in its most performant guise, a figure that matches the most brawny variant of Tesla's sedan, despite being a much larger vehicle. And because it's devoid of a space-hogging ICE, that front portion is a trunk, Musk lovingly calls the "Frunk." Per GigaOm, the seven-seater will cost in the $50,000 to $70,000 range, with first deliveries of the "Signature Series" arriving in late 2013 before mass production starts in 2014. If that sounds like your kind of beat, those interested can begin reservations on Tesla's website tomorrow at noon. Update: Want to see the unveiling for yourself? Check out the video posted by Tesla, embedded after the break.
Tesla's Model X SUV reportedly pushed to February, first deliveries coming in 'late 2013'
So much for December, eh? While Tesla's been talking up an electric sport utility vehicle for months on end, it's evidently harder than expected to actually deliver it. Shocking, we know. The latest hit in the saga comes via GigaOM, who has confirmed with Tesla CEO Elon Musk that the Model X will finally -- finally -- see a public unveiling on February 9th. Details beyond that aren't yet known, but Musk seems adamant that the first paying customers will see theirs in "late 2013," with 15,000 units per year being pushed out starting in 2014. We'll let you know if get an invite, deal?
Tesla Model X SUV to launch in December, will be gliding quietly down the highway by 2014
Well, it's not often that we hear about products being ahead of schedule. Telsa CEO Elon Musk presented some forward-looking statements during his company's quarterly earnings call this week, revealing a mid-December time frame for the unveiling of its Model X prototype, which could hit streets as soon as 2014. There hasn't been any hint as to pricing for the all-electric SUV, but we wouldn't be surprised to see Tesla's X priced comparably to BMW's identically named X model hybrid SUV -- think sub-$100,000, not "affordable." With plans to produce only 15,000 per year beginning in 2013, a high price tag won't be the only thing keeping Tesla from fulfilling the dream of having an electric car in every driveway. Range has been another obstacle for electric car makers, but with new charging stations popping up on a regular basis, we may be able to make the 165-mile drive from New York City to Albany with slightly less anxiety by the time mid-decade rolls around.
GMC showroom app tells you where to pick up your dream SUV, doesn't help with down payment
Ever felt the need to customize vehicles and search dealer inventory, right from the comfort of your smartphone? Us neither, but here's the General with another app to whet our appetites. While certainly not the first of its kind, the GMC showroom app for iOS (coming soon to Android), allows you to specify drive-type, trim, and both exterior / interior colors. Once content with your selections, you're shown nearby dealers carrying exact replicas of your magnificent taste. Unfortunately for us, the app makes no mention of the closest EN-V. If SUVs are your thing, however, have a peep at the free app at the source link below.
Green Automotive's all-electric Zotye SUV gets closer to US roads
We haven't heard a ton out of Texas-based Green Automotive, but it looks like it's now getting fairly close to actually selling its all-electric SUV in the US. That vehicle is already produced and sold in China, but Green Automotive has signed an exclusive agreement with Zotye to bring it to the US, and it's now also brought on Roush Industries to provide structural and vehicle engineering support as it begins a four-step phase to meet or exceed the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. As for the SUV itself, it packs a 25.6 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that promises a range of up to 150 miles, and you'll apparently be able to accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 9.5 seconds and hit a top speed of 70 miles per hour. If all goes as planned, you'll be able to buy one by the end of this year, though there's no indication of a price just yet. Head on past the break for a quick test drive video. Update: According to CNET, pricing is expected to start around $30,000. [Thanks, James]
GM shows off Terrain SUV with noise cancellation, says silence equals fuel efficiency
GM claims its new Terrain has other SUVs beat when it comes to fuel efficiency, and they're citing active noise cancellation -- a concept near and dear to audiophiles everywhere -- as one of the driving factors that puts it 4MPG above the competition. Basically, the Terrain's enlisted a new one-touch "Eco mode" that allows its four-cylinder engine to run at a lower torque, decreasing engine speeds, and thus saving gas. The thing is, this increased fuel efficiency comes with a "low-end frequency boom," which is where the noise cancellation sets in: two microphones built in to the car's headliner detect the boom, prompting a frequency generator to pump counteracting sound waves through Terrain's speakers. Simply put, GM's just getting rid of an unpleasant hum. So a quieter car isn't necessarily a greener car, but we'll take a more fuel efficient SUV any day. If you're picking up what GM's laying down, check out the full PR after the jump.
Land Rover develops Range_e hybrid, will show it off at the Geneva Motor Show
You know electric cars are in the ascendancy when even the fearsome 4x4s start looking to add an extra little spark to their energy production and storage. Land Rover has just announced it'll demo one -- there are multiple working versions -- of its development prototypes at the Geneva Motor Show next month, treating us to an exhibition of what a diesel engine can do when augmented with some electric firepower. The Range_e's design is based on the Range Rover Sport and its 3.0-liter TDV6 core, however the new vehicle is capable of going a full 20 miles purely on its electric charge and touts a whopping 690-mile range altogether. Let's hope Geneva shows enough interest in the Range_e to compel Land Rover to turn it into a commercial reality.
GMC's SATIMO ATS system spins a Denali right round to ensure proper antenna placement (video)
As a certain company knows quite well, finding the right place to put an antenna can be harder than it looks. Rather than just slap one on the roof and call it a day, General Motors has installed the SATIMO ATS, a near-field antenna testing system of the sort we're used to spying in all those FCC photos. This one, however, is SUV-sized, as you can see in the video below. Workers for the General can drive a GMC Yukon Denali onto a turntable and spin it all around while 103 sensors test antenna placement, creating a 3D rendering of the resulting performance. It was the first such system in the world and will be the perfect place for our next Faraday rave. Update: We got an e-mail from SATIMO, the company behind this system, with pictures of a few other automotive installations, one for Renault and one for Peugeot. Both in France, and both pictured below for your browsing enjoyment.
Tesla confirms plans to unveil electric Model X SUV this year, $30k car by 2015
We've known for some time that Tesla hoped to use the underpinnings of the luscious Model S as a base platform upon which other cars would be built, even minivans. Elon Musk in the past has mentioned a Model X SUV due sometime in 2014 and he's just re-confirmed that we'll be getting our first glimpse of the thing sometime this year. Few further details are known but we wouldn't be surprised if it shared some components with the Tesla-powered Toyota RAV4 EV. Musk also took the opportunity to re-confirm that a genuinely affordable electric Tesla is coming by 2015, something priced under $30,000 and, while probably not quite as bodacious as either the Roadster or the Model S, hopefully it'll be a bit more invigorating than the Leaf.
Toyota debuts 100 mile Tesla-powered RAV4 EV, Musk says it 'helps us with the Model S'
Toyota and Tesla have been spotted holding hands behind the school gym on numerous occasions and now, finally, the result of their long hours working together in the craft room are being shown to the world. It's the RAV4 EV, announced earlier this year and finally unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Current pre-production models are delivering 100 miles per charge but apparently still need some climate-proofing to ensure that the 2012 version will hit that range regardless of conditions. That's a big deal for a big SUV, and of course it's a big deal for Tesla, which is providing the powertrain. It's also a good news for Elon Musk, surely injecting some much-needed funding to the company and, as he says, introducing other benefits as well: We're giving Toyota a window into the entrepreneurial, Silicon Valley culture and, vice versa, we're getting a sense for the Toyota production system... I think we're learning a lot form Toyota, bidirectionally, in this process and I think that helps us with the Model S. Having access to Lexus components in the supply chain is also helpful. In other words, expect the production Model S interior to be a little less fanciful and a little more familiar.
Audi's Sound Concept cabin defines auditory excess: 62 speaker surround-sound
If you've been bragging about your all-encompassing 7.2 surround-sound system to of your friends, prepare for a mighty dose of humble pie. Audi has hand-crafted what it calls the Sound Concept, an in-car sound system so excessive it should be able to cause your soft, fleshy bits to pulsate in new and exciting ways. There are five tweeters scattered across the dash and the doors, five woofers (four in the doors and a monster in the back), and then a whopping 52 mid-range speakers encircling the entire enclosure, creating a package that's not likely to show up in the options catalog anytime soon. All these have been wedged into the interior of a Q7 SUV in the interests of Wave Field Synthesis, minimizing a user's ability to hear specific speakers -- and blowing Audyssey's paltry 11-speaker DSX system right out of the water.
Toyota's hydrogen-powered FCHV gets inspected
Just in case you haven't heard enough in regard to green automobiles today, Toyota's FCHV has been broken down good fashion and photographed by our pals at AutoblogGreen. The hydrogen-powered SUV sports a pretty sophisticated get-up-and-go system, which is comprised of four separate storage tanks in order to keep the hydrogen compressed to 10,000psi. Once the compressed gas leaves those tanks, it passes through regulators that "reduce the pressure to something the PEM fuel cell stack can process." The bottom line? This thing can traverse some 350 miles on a fresh fill. If your ears just perked up, give the read link a visit to get yourself more acquainted.
Phoenix Motorcars bringing all-electric vehicles to Maui by 2009
Whoa, talk about returning from the depths of yesteryear. For those with incredibly good memories (we're talking superhero-level here), you might remember Phoenix Motorcars touting a "truly plug-and-play" vehicle nearly two years ago to the day. Now, the outfit is back with a partnership with the state of Hawai'i. In an ambitious press release, the two parties have jointly announced plans to bring "all-electric vehicles and an electric vehicle infrastructure to the island of Maui by 2009." The premise is sound; after all, it doesn't many months of paying $5.29 / gallon for regular (proof after the break) to get everyone on the island to support such an initiative. The real question, however, is will Phoenix Motorcars deliver? Bonus shots to make you envious of whoever will be testing these are also just beyond the break.
Homeland Security gets radiation-hunting SUV
While we're likely still quite a ways away from having nuke detectors in every cellphone, the Department of Homeland Security is apparently at least making some progress in other somewhat portable options, with it now showing off a radiation-hunting Chevy Suburban XL built with a little help from Raytheon. Intended specifically for the DHS's Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, the SUV boasts two sliding panels that can swing out for maintenance but remain neatly concealed when on duty, as opposed to current systems that are mounted in the back of pick-up trucks. That, of course, gets paired with a laptop, which provides a full spectroscopic analysis, and the entire system can be configured to trigger a number of different alarms, including a simple vibration alert to a dedicated PDA, or a scare-the-wits-out-of-everyone approach that involves setting off the car alarm, lights, horn and siren.
Self-driving "Marvin" SUV gets set for DARPA's Urban Challenge
It looks like DARPA's newly-instated Urban Challenge is shaping up nicely, with this self-driving Isuzu SUV from Austin Robot Technology and the University of Texas now joining the likes of Team LUX's Volkswagen Passat and NC State's Lotus Elise in competing for the top prize. As with those other vehicles, the SUV (dubbed Marvin) is completely autonomous, relying on an array of sensors, video cameras, artificial intelligence, and machine-learning technology to (hopefully) avoid catastrophe as it motors about. As you might guess, the Urban Challenge presents a few different obstacles for the vehicles to deal with than the Grand Challenge does, including intersections, improperly parked cars, and traffic laws that must be followed at all times. Marvin still has a ways to go before it can get a chance to drive away a few million dollars richer, however, with it required to pass a basic driving test this summer and a national qualifier in October before it's allowed to enter the big event in November.[Photo courtesy of Ralph Barrera/American-Statesman]
Nissan's Dualis mech caught on video
How do you sell a crossover SUV in Japan? Apparently you build a mammoth mech with wheels on his heels and let it have free reign in the city. Nissan is looking to hype up its Dualis vehicle over in Ginza by making appearnaces alongside the ride as well as blazing through parking garages and fuel stations. The black and silver machine was reportedly created by Shoji Kawamori, and will be on display at various locales in Japan from now until July 1st. Of course, this is marketing we're talking about, and this fellow can seriously fly on these "hidden camera captures," so feel free to click on through to see a few questionable videos of this 3.5-meter tall monster (supposedly) wheeling about.[Via PinkTentacle]
Kia Kue abandons airbag, swaps in GPS navigation
We know it's possible to strap a PSP to your steering wheel, but seriously, it's not like we'd recommend taking such a setup onto the open road. Apparently, designers at Kia are throwing caution to the wind and cramming convenience in your face with its Kue concept vehicle, which neatly sports a full-fledged GPS navigation system in place of an airbag. Yeah, you've got Honda trying to stuff such protective devices into frickin' motorcycles, but who needs driver's side safety when you've got a 100,000-mile warranty? Nevertheless, the whip also manages to sport Lambo-doors, swivel seats, a widescreen in-dash display, and what appears to be flush-mounted pillar controls. Of course, the Kue could end up rocking a half dozen airbags in a variety of other locations, but if you're interested in a few more pics of the quasi-street-legal ride, be sure to click on through.
Questionable report claims Hummer is greener than Prius
You won't have to look too hard in order to find a report or two claiming that hybrid vehicles aren't as miraculous as they are oftentimes portrayed, but when a recent article declared that Toyota's flagship hybrid was more taxing on the environment than a Hummer, you've got to wonder what's going on. Incredibly, the questionable findings from CNW Marketing stated that GM's gas guzzler only cost about $1.95 per mile to put on the road, while the Prius rang up $3.25 per mile in order to hit the pavement. Reportedly, these zany numbers include all production costs -- which supposedly run around 50-percent higher on the hybrid -- but the story started to smell fishy when we found that the per-mile statistics were based on a 100,000-mile Prius and a 300,000-mile Hummer, which seems to be a stretch in both directions. Currently, there seems to be a huge amount of skepticism surrounding the bold figures, and until the testers place both vehicles on a level playing field from the start, we doubt those discrepancies will fade anytime soon.[Via Slashdot]
Microsoft's bumpin' Zune SUV disturbs the New York peace
Granted, we've seen some fairly bizarre methods of promoting one's product, and while Microsoft's Zune hasn't exactly been tagged with controversial propaganda or flashy automobile campaigns just yet, all that changed in a New York minute. According to reports from Hell Square residents in lower Manhattan, a California-tagged, Zune-branded SUV rolled through Ludlow Street during the "wee hours of February 25th," but rather than handing out flyers to the night-owls still roaming, the vehicle decided to test out its "competition grade stereo system" in a densely populated neighborhood. Dubbed an "egregious display of noise terrorism," the 3:00AM blasting from a (presumably Microsoft owned) Toyota FJ Cruiser didn't garner the positive attention that the firm was apparently hoping for, and consequently, quite a few residents of the area are now flaming mad and demanding restitution. Honestly, we've no problem with a little viral marketing every now and then, but blowing out the 'hood on a Sunday morning probably takes things a bit too far, and if you're interested in catching a video of the blasting in action, be sure to hit the read link and await an official apology that will probably never surface.
WiMedia and Mercedes to demo in-vehicle, HD streaming over UWB
In what the WiMedia Alliance calls a "first of its kind demonstration," DaimlerChrysler Research will roll-out a Mercedes-Benz R500 SUV at CES next week all dolled up in Intel's and Alereon's Ultrawideband (UWB) USB technology. The demonstration will pump high-definition video from a handheld mobile device to an array of factory installed headrest monitors for the middle and third row passengers. Great, let's hope they do better that we did with the Belkin's CableFree USB Hub which wasn't quite up to the task of streaming HD with a paltry 6.35Mbps measured. But Belkin's box packs Freescale's flavor of UWB -- this is WiMedia kids, the favored child of the Bluetooth SIG. So let's hope they can demonstrate something a bit closer to the "480Mbps and beyond" transfer speeds they like to boast about. You know, so your kids can someday sit zombied in the backseat watching their videos on a 7.1-inch, 1080p display just as the Good Lorf intended.
