Skip to main content

ads1

Tesla Electric Vehicles Won't Go to Franchisers

Tesla Motors, maker of the hot and hotly anticipated $92,000 electric Roadster, will sell its products through factory-owned stores, not traditional dealerships. The company will put the first cars on sale in Santa Monica, California, in November, then move to major cities including San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and eventually Denver, Boston and other major markets.

tesla roadstertesla roadster 2Automotive News quoted Tesla Marketing Vice President Darryl Siry as saying, "We can't hand over the car to an independent franchiser" who would "spend his time apologizing for the car's shortcomings." Therefore the company plans to run its own sales outlets, which he said would be more like an Apple computer store than a traditional vehicle dealership.

Bloomberg reports 400 orders have already been placed for the first model, the two-seat Tesla Roadster, with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and actor George Clooney on the list.

A second model, the WhiteStar sedan is due in 2010. Whether or not Tesla has the cash to produce the second model is still a question.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Next NSXext revealed at Detroit show

Honda’s next supercar will not be mid-engined if this show-stealing concept coupe is anything to go by, writes Dave Moore. To get cut-through among the dozen-plus concept coupes on display at Detroit last week, you really did have to come up with something special. It seemed that just about everybody had something close-coupled and muscular on display, but Honda’s US luxury arm, Acura, managed to attract most attention with what it messily labels its Advanced Sports Car Concept , or ASCC for short. While Honda will not confirm that the ASCC is a replacement for the much- loved but slow-selling NSX , it has put on record that the front-engined show car marks a preview of the design direction for that car’s successor. It is expected that the Tokyo Motor Show in October this year will mark the production debut of the actual NSX replacement. The concept is designed to incorporate a powerful front- mounted, V-10 engine and a new high-performance, rear- wheel-drive based version of the H...
2 comments
Read more

2007 Alpine Imprint RLS Demo Car based on Mercedes-Benz R500

Making Its Mark: The IMPRINT RLS The birth of the IMPRINT RLS marks the beginning of a new sonic era. While the exterior flaunts a sleek, elegant, one-of-a-kind style, the interior also houses the core Alpine IMPRINT sound technology – making its mark as the absolute show-stopping vehicle for 2007. The IMPRINT RLS by birthright started off as a Mercedes Benz R500 , and was slowly morphed into a car that transcends all laws of space and time. This futuristic concept-like car was brought to life by Alpine’s Advanced Application R&D team, Steve Brown, Gary Bell, Brent Davison with the help of Alpine Canada’s Glen Swackhamer and Rino Odorico. Breathing life into the RLS required a complete dismantling, relocating, building, and reinforcing experiment. Extreme modifications include gas and brake pedal relocation to allow the car to be driven from either front seat. To continue Alpine tradition of unconventional door and seat combinations, the IMPRINT RLS features a unique rotating assem...
Post a Comment
Read more

NAIAS Detroit 2007: Volkswagen continues BLUETEC offensive

Volkswagen is presenting the Concept Tiguan SUV study at the North American International Auto Show. In the first half of next year the series version of the “Touareg’s little brother” will be debuting in the US. The Tiguan is being advanced as a significant component in Volkswagen’s model range in order to expand the market position in the US. Moreover, Volkswagen expects additional US growth starting in 2008 from the market launch of the cleanest TDI of all times. The introduction of the Turbodiesel direct injection engine equipped with a NOx secondary treatment system is taking place as part of the BLUETEC offensive in the latest Jetta– the most successful car in America from a German manufacturer. European injection technologies are increasingly convincing US customers: In 2006 Volkswagen of America had sales 4.9 percent above the previous year. This corresponds to 235,140 vehicles sold in the US. The positive signs for 2007 include the Eos being offered for the first time over an ...
4 comments
Read more