Posted: 16 Jul 2014 05:30 AM PDT

Tesla's Elon Musk has revealed his company's plans to take on compact executive cars, such as the BMW 3-series and i3, with the Tesla Model 3. The all-electric Model 3 (which was originally going to be called the Model E) will be around 20% smaller than the Model S, and will have a shorter range of around 200 miles — but it will have "strong performance" like the Model S and start at just $35,000 (the Model S starts at around $70,000).

[The image at the top of the story is an unofficial render of what the Model 3 might look like. Tesla hasn't released any official imagery yet.]

While no one doubts the success of the Model S, there is one question that keeps popping up: When will Tesla make a cheaper version? At $70,000 for the cheapest Model S, and upwards of $90,000 for a tricked out version with 265-mile range, there simply aren't many people who can afford one. It's all well and good to have a fancy EV that millionaire early adopters are proud to show off to their friends — but if you want to really change the world, and to challenge the dominion of gas-powered cars, you need an EV for the mass market — and that means cheap.

The BMW i3, which Tesla will be targeting with the new Model 3

At $35,000, the Model 3 wouldn't be that cheap, but it would be cheap enough to grow Tesla's addressable market by at least a factor of 10. The BMW 3-series, which Tesla is explicitly and implicitly targeting with the Model 3, sold 500,000 units worldwide in 2013, versus around 30,000 total lifetime sales for the Model S. And then there's the Audi A4, Mercedes C Class, BMW 1-Series, Ford Focus… and so on.

Of course, with a lower price point comes lower specs. For a start, the Model 3 will have a range of 200 miles, down from 300 miles for the 85 kWh Model S. The car itself will be 20% smaller (and it won't be based on the Model S wheelbase), and I suspect it'll be a fair bit lighter too. According to Tesla's engineering chief, a lot of the price reduction will come from the use of more cost-effective batteries (possibly via Tesla's upcoming battery Gigafactory). Tesla's designer, Franz von Holzhausen, has said previously that the Model 3 will have a more distinctive design than the Model S (i.e. it will probably look like a funky EV, as opposed to a fairly standard sedan). Musk says the Model 3 will have "strong performance," but we wouldn't be surprised if it isn't quite the same as the Model S's 0-60 mph in 4.2 seconds.

The Model X crossover utility vehicle will be the next car in Tesla's stable, due sometime in 2015

If everything goes to plan, the design of the Model 3 will be unveiled in 2016, and will go on sale in 2017. The Model X — a crossover utility vehicle based on the Model S, but with a higher roof and falcon-wing doors — is the next Tesla to go on sale, with a target delivery date of Q2 2015. If all goes to plan, the Model X and Model 3 should push Tesla from a boutique tens-of-thousands car seller into the hundreds-of-thousands mainstream.

Finally, as an amusing aside, you might be wondering why the Model E is now called the Model 3. Speaking to Auto Express, Musk explains:

"We had the model S for sedan and X for crossover SUV, then a friend asked what we were going to call the third car. So I said we had the Model S and X, we might as well have the E. We were going to call it model E for a while and then Ford sued us saying it wanted to use the Model E — I thought this is crazy, Ford's trying to kill sex! So we'll have to think of another name. The new model is going to be called Model 3, we'll have three bars to represent it and it'll be S III X!"

Enterprise Rent A Car Calling For Transparency In Car Rental Prices

Posted: 18 Jul 2014 02:32 AM PDT

We received an interesting press release from Enterprise Rent A Car about the unfair practices adopted by some car hire companies in Spain. We've written about this before, but the trick these unscrupulous companies use is to give potential customers an extremely cheap "headline" price for their car hire, without mentioning the obligatory "Additional charges" they will have to pay on collection, like:

A full tank of fuel at a massive premium over normal fuel prices
Additional insurance costs unless you opt to leave a huge deposit

You can read more about these practices here: Lanzarote car hire – watch out for the cheap option.

Enterprise have over 8,000 offices and 78,000 employees worldwide, and they are holding meetings with The Canarian regional government in a bid to have the sector regulated, and the issue has already been raised in the European Parliament. The company conducted a survey and found that around 17% of tourists had been caught with the fuel trap, paying an average of €80 for a tank full. It also revealed that 45% of hirers chose a particular company on price alone.

We completely agree with Enterprise CEO Karsten Summers who said:

"The routine application of a mandatory charge is, in our view, unfair to the consumer, is a problem for all regions, especially those in the tourism sector which is one of their main sources of income. These charges not only tarnish the image of the car rental sector but also convey a negative impression to tourists visiting The Canaries. We believe that the price offered must be the real minimum price, with no extras required, or at least to ensure greater transparency so that consumers know what they will have to pay before the book."

We know too many people who have had the start of their holiday spoiled by having to stump up some of their holiday spending money before they've even left the airport.

An Example

I decided to do a comparison on rentals with one of the companies that employs these practices on the island, Gold Car.

First of all, I looked at car hire through us, with Plus Car, using a VW Polo for the dates 14th until 21st August.

The price is €162.75, and as with all our quotes that includes everything – two drivers, no excess insurance, free child seats and a simple "return the car with the same fuel level as when you collected it" policy. To be clear, all you will pay is €162.75.

Looking at Gold Car's site, I've priced the same car for the same dates, and it comes to €151.25.

It's a saving of €11.50. It's not a huge amount, but why would anyone choose the more expensive quote?

Now let's have a look at their extras:

Fuel

It's not easy to find out how much you have to pay for their fuel charge system, but wading through the terms and conditions, it looks like it could be anything from €78 to €109 for the full tank. Let's assume the best case and use €78. A VW Polo tank hold 45 litres and our current fuel price is €1.22 per litre, which adds up to €54.90. So in the best case, you're paying €23.10 more than you need to for the fuel, and this assumes you're going to be able to use a full tank during the week, and deliver the car back completely empty, which of course is almost impossible.

Extra cost €23.10

Relax Cover

This is an additional insurance cover to give you recovery in the event of breakdown or accident, as well as additional coverage on various items on the car. It's not mandatory, but if you choose not to take it, they will insist on taking a large deposit on your credit or debit card.

Additional cost €77.35

It suddenly looks very different, doesn't it? The original quote of €151.25 actually becomes €251.70. So you'll end up paying €88.95 more than you would have with Plus Car.

It doesn't stop there either!

If you want two drivers you'll pay an additional €35.04, if you need a child seat, you'll pay a further €42. There's even talk of a "Diesel surcharge" of €14 if they decide to give you a diesel car.

If you're a couple, who both want to drive, and you have a baby, you could rock up at the airport expecting to pay €151.25 for the car you've booked, and actually end up paying €328.74.

You can get all this information from their website, but it isn't easy, and sadly most people don't invest time in looking at all the details and following all the links. And if you book through a broker, you may not be able to find out any of these things until you arrive.

We hope Enterprise are successful in their initiative.

Pricing for 707-hp 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT ... - Car and Driver

Posted: 16 Jul 2014 02:05 PM PDT

July 16, 2014 at 5:05 pm by Alexander Stoklosa

How much does one horsepower cost? If you're talking about the per-pony charge to get into the 707-hp 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, well, each unit of horsepower will require $86.27, tax not included. How do we know? Dodge has released pricing for the supercharged, hellacious Challenger SRT Hellcat, and it'll be the least expensive 700-hp-plus ride available, with an MSRP of $60,990.

So far, Dodge has released only the Hellcat's base price—no option prices or availability have been laid out yet. The $60,990 covers a base, manual-transmission Hellcat; the cost for the automatic wasn't specified in the press release. We'll bring you full details as soon as they become available, but one thing's for sure: Horsepower for horsepower (heck, quarter-mile for quarter-mile), the Challenger SRT Hellcat is one helluva bargain.

Car Prices Blog

Saturday, 19 July 2014

Tesla announces the Model 3: At half the price of the Model S, Tesla ...

Tesla announces the Model 3: At half the <b>price</b> of the Model S, Tesla <b>...</b>

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