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One day shy of a month and the Trax is back home. Estimate was $3150, total came to $4500. USAA paid for it all, incl. refunding the deductible since the other driver was at fault.

Both companies have said that a merger is out of the question. The big thing is the MEB modular platform that Volkswagen is using for their upcoming electric vehicles. They are also a little bit further along EV development than Ford.

Suddenly; it's 1958!

Elon says the Tesla Roadster will be capable of vertical lift off, so advantage Tesla there. Mercedes cars can’t lift off the ground.

I"m mostly interested in how flexible the platform is supposed to be. They didn't show any trucks, but apparently, they showed 11 different possible configurations.

That's where I see Tesla getting (back?) into trouble. If Mercedes EQ comes out with the same EV performance as a Model-X but still has a Mercedes interior for the same price, where does Tesla go then? At that point, the only thing they have left is a name-brand advantage (even over Mercedes, it is slight, but it is there). The next refresh of the Model-S needs to focus heavily on the interior quality.

The most technologically advanced, fast, efficient, capable, minimal maintenance, and free fillups availabe..... all in one package. No ICE powered car can match that.

Sometimes it is just about production volume. If they can use a common design, they can get economies of scale by buying components together. Fusion Energi, CMax, the coming Aviator and Explorer Hybrids The Fusion Energi is probably one the best but most ignored of the group because most people just see it as a Fusion hybrid.

This is one of the foreign Fords that would have been cool to have had here. ST wagon.

People like to travel in luxury cars. That means they need more than 100 miles of range

Agreed, it is all coming but they are too small to launch multiple vehicles at once like a Toyota or GM could. This could hurt Tesla if everyone else gets up to speed with full EV lines.

It's Jan 11th. They have plenty of time still. The XT6 that will be shown on Sunday will be on sale later this year. Definitely no on the Silverado, they showed it supporting 7-passenger SUVs but no trucks. While I don't think it will go into Corvette, an EV sports car could be done.

Nice paint work, not exactly my thing...but I like regular cab trucks.

It would be an odd mix of corporate cultures which are VERY different...not sure how that marriage would work out. Very different sense of business and environmental ethics also.

Ugh... I'm going to need to do the same on my Encore. We need to get your engine bay to a power wash.

Given how good Cadillacs look and how bad the Bolt looks, this should be good news for GM's electric program.

Tesla has a lot of demand, so they can drop those base models that probably don’t sell well anyway and not lose any customers. The challenge for Tesla will be if someone like Porsche or Mercedes has Tesla level performance and price but with Porsche/Mercedes interiors and fit and finish.

Definitely. The luxury is all in the powertrain, not in the interior.

The interior materials don't impress either for the price. I've ridden in a Model S a couple times a few years ago, they don't seem overly luxurious...a big German sedan or big Cadillac is way nicer inside, IMO.

I think this will be very doable for Rivian unlike Tesla attempting to rebuild how one builds cars, Rivian CEO as @Drew Dowdell has stated does not have the baggage of Musk or the Ego to boast crazy crap and he is on record that the reason they bought the Mitsubishi plant with parts center and paint shop was that it was already setup for auto production and they just had to adjust it for building their two products. Rivian CEO Robert 'RJ' Scaringe has stated that there is no reason to not use the knowledge of the existing auto companies on how they produce auto's every so many seconds. This acknowledgement tells me he will not make some of the Musk Mistakes that have delayed products rolling out.

2 Best Posts of the Morning, THANK YOU for such a Great Laugh this Friday morning!

Yes, Hybrids. I was only thinking pure EVs.

Different kind of a unique Ford wagon

God that is just so lustworthy....

I love this pic...it so sums up the fun in an old school American muscle car... And a Cold one for Olds Hurst...living in a cold city...

I think Rivian has a real shot. They have the product that will compete with Tesla and none of the Elon Musk Ego Baggage. They're not spending millions trying to build stupid doors. Aside from the powertrain, the truck and SUV are pretty conventional.

EVs and Autonomous vehicles I'm sure.... possibly some engine or transmission sharing.

They've both proven to be ballsy enough already(turbo 4cyl & turbo 6cyl in TRUCKS). They aren't going to let some startup take this away from them

You can bet a bunch of engineers in Detroit are doing lots of advance work on exactly that...Hybrid and Electric F150's. Chinese market for vehicles, the rise of Tesla, the rise of independent competition...they might be asleep on some issues but they are wide awake on this one.

I cant realistically see a 50/50 merger either. No way. Helping each other in certain markets for certain vehicle? Sure.

I completely agree. With GM and their Bolt technology and Ford saying a year or so ago they're working on hybridizing the F150.. I have a feeling both of those auto monsters know when and how to roll out their electrified versions. Not to say they are always correct but there's more data available now than ever to not screw that kind of thing up.

Your buddies ad Ford sold almost a million F series last year IIRC. They have led for 42 years in terms of Truck sales. They ahve 115 years of exp-erience actually building vehicles and not just puttinjg up CGI images and hosting dinner parties in Detroit. You can bet your bottom effing dollar they are not going to just give up on that kind of high margin product and just let startups take over the market. Actually building electric vehicles is a complicated process. If I am going to hire a surgeon I want an actual Doctor. If I am going to buy a truck...I am going to buy from people who know what they are doing... Not to say I don't wish the new guys well because I do... I hear they make an electric conversion for that.... I so want to have something cold to drink with this dude...

Whatever love happens won't result in anything close to a merger, as the Ford Board would never allow themselves to be owned by a foreign company. Although given Ford debt and Stock price it is fairly obvious they will need a white knight of one sort or another. Still....VW is nowhere near close to Ford in terms of the North American market. The Atlas is a nice effort, but nothing like the Explorer for example. Swing a dead cat by the tail and you can hit a dozen Ford Escapes in an olive garden parking lot....last time I saw a small VW SUV out and about I can't even remember.

Since we live in a country of people who have been whacked from above the neck line and are no longer able to think rationally....plenty of spare legs to go around young William...

It is a bit risky, having your legs removed from the hip down, so you can fit inside this great humdinger. Are you sure about this? It is irreversible I think.

During GM's earnings call today, GM announced that a new, highly flexible, EV architecture is on the way and that Cadillac will be at the center of the release. The architecture, called BEV3, is said to be highly flexible, being able to be configured from small sedans to large crossover formats, and front-wheel, rear-wheel, or all-wheel drive configurations. GM is targeting a sweet spot of 300 mile in range according to GM CEO Mary Barra. GM is going to continue its development of autonomous technology. It currently offers SuperCruise automated driving on the flagship CT6 sedan and plans to expand that technology across the Cadillac lineup. Late last year, GM announced that it would be canceling two of its plug-in hybrid vehicles in a slew of cutbacks in the sedan segment. View full article

Raising the prices? By 18 thousand? By just eliminating the lowest trimmed Model S and Model X one could buy previously? I think that statement is misleading... The price of admission for a Model S got more expensive because the lowest trim available got nixed. Not because the Model S and ModelX 100D got 18 thousand higher, but because the cheaper Model S by 18 thousand is no longer available for sale... NOT THE SAME THING... Besides, the 75kwh battery is available in the highest level Model 3. Why create overlap with two of your cars? Streamline...This creates an even more separation between Model 3 and Model S. And when the Model Y comes along, the same for it and the Model X. Which was done once before with the Model S when the Model S ditched the 60kwh battery and forced people to buy the 75 one...but kept the option open for 60kwh when they "detuned" the 75kwh battery that was in it...and then killed that option all together... No harm done. But, yeah. The Model S is fast becoming...scratch that, already is long in the tooth. Like Drew said, they need to fix the interior and make it worth the 100Gs plus one pays for one...

VW needs help in NA; Ford really needs help in Europe. As for the rest of the world, I am not sure who can do better with what. Good luck to both on this alliance though.

The Cadillac's tire needs some air.

We should start to see the first ones this year.

Put a bigger power pack in it, put it in the Altima or Maxima shell, and I'd have no problem driving it.

Love the Grey.

What you see is what you get. The only ones not listed (Hyundai, can't release the info yet) and (Nissan, honestly don't know yet) are the only surprises that will be there. It's going to be a light show this year.

If I have this correct, the average starting MSRP for a Tesla next week will be $84,000. So much for "electric cars for the masses". And this dovetails exactly with what I said a month or 2 ago- that even if battery costs fall, those savings will NOT be passed onto consumers, especially once volume rises markedly.

That is sexy as hell!

I thought it was love, sweet love. (Its the only thing that there is just...too little of)