FAPTurbo

California's affinity for technology, style and perceived environmental consciousness appears to have earned it some Karma. China's Wanxiang Group has announced plans to build the Fisker Karma luxury sports sedan in Moreno Valley. The 555,670 square foot Greater Los Angeles Area manufacturing facility is slated to create 150 jobs. “California's natural beauty, trend setting, technology, and environmental focus are perfectly aligned with our Karma re-launch,” said Fisker's chief marketing officer, James Taylor, adding that the company "believes in the quality, work ethic and competitiveness of manufacturing in the United States.” The plug-in hybrid Karma won accolades for styling, but financial difficulties caused the company to file for bankruptcy in November 2013, only to be purchased by Wanxiang in February 2014. The Hangzhou-based automotive parts giant also acquired battery manufacturer A123Systems in late 2012. Fisker's move comes on the heels of another Asian automaker's decision to build vehicles Stateside. Geely-owned Volvo has just announced a $500 million manufacturing facility in South Carolina, and several states are vying for Land Rover's business, a brand which has been owned by Tata Motors since 2008. Source: Autofile.ca View full article

An intrepid Redditor has snapped a photo of Tesla's Model X with its rear falcon wing door open, proof that engineers have cleared a major engineering hurdle. The poster, likely a contract engineer, shared his photo on the Reddit's r/spotted 'subreddit.' The account was deleted shortly after but the image remains. This news will allay fears that the Model X's ambitious rear doors would not see production. The 'falcon wing' door system is believed to have contributed to the crossover vehicle's delays, with engineers unsatisfied with the seal between the door and body. In a later comment, the poster added "The interior is beautiful and the power is comparable to the Model S. Put it to the floor and the the standard 55MPH speed limit is gone before you know it." The Palo Alto based electric automaker is expected to begin deliveries of its hotly anticipated crossover in September. Over 21,000 pre-orders for the vehicle have been placed. View attachment: rZJtcAD.jpg Reddit Link: http://www.reddit.com/r/spotted/comments/39o70v/spent_some_time_behind_the_wheel_of_a_tesla_model/ Sources: Reddit/Teslarati View full article

I like the idea of a separated Corvette brand. It means GM has more room to play with engine options, perhaps even a 3.6TT option. I'd even be happy to see a Corvette sedan, one that takes on the Panamera - the Corvette sedan would likely be lighter, faster and more frenetic than that dowdy whale.

Kung Fury soundtrack. This film makes Citizen Kane look like Biodome. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72RqpItxd8M

I suppose if you squint your eyes and contort your face just right...

Unofficial anthem of the Pacific Northwest and recently gentrified inner-city neighbourhoods.

Oh boy, a transverse-mounted engine in a BMW! The ultimate front-wheel driving machine! I wonder how this will be spun by fans once it's filtered through the BMW reality distortion field. Did BMW pilfer Hyundai's turn-of-the-decade design team to make that chintzy looking dash? And what's the deal with making infotainment screens look like tablets? Give the last-gen CTS credit, the designers had the right idea with the hideaway screen.

Tesla's Model S may have taken the world by storm, but one Atlanta woman's vehicle was taken out by a storm. Sarah Day was charging her Model S at a Supercharger near Columbus, Georgia, when a lightning bolt struck nearby. Once Day realized her dash camera stopped working, Day realized something went wrong. She explained what happened next in an interview with Teslarati: Though Tesla sent a tow-truck, the Model S was unable to be disconnected from the charging station. The sunroof was also stuck halfway. Thus Day's vehicle had to be left at the station, until a technician could service the vehicle onsite. Sarah's day wasn't entirely rained out. She raved about Tesla's "amazing," "responsive" customer service, who first offered to pay for a rental vehicle to return home. Opting to remain in the same city as her vehicle, Day was then asked if she'd like to be put up in a hotel, with expenses and transportation paid for. Tesla's service centre has sent a technician to safely disconnect the vehicle's power cable and bring it in. Tesla told Day that each Supercharger "has multiple relays and sensors to protect the cars from surges," and the vehicle may have sensed the voltage spike and disconnected everything as a precaution. Could it be Edison's vengeful ghost? Is this Ben Franklin's endorsement? Heaven only knows. What we do know is that Tesla is hoping that its upcoming Model X crossover will as successful as the Model S. Perhaps lightning will strike twice? We'll have more once the story develops. Source: Teslarati

Lone Star State lawmakers have reined in Tesla's hopes of selling to Texans. Two bills allowing the Palo Alto-based electric carmaker to open Tesla Store's have died in the state legislature, in the face of dealership opposition. Tesla's direct-sales approach has raised the ire of dealership associations nationwide, who worry this jeopardizes their decades-old sales model based on franchise laws. Similar laws are on the books in states such as Michigan, Arizona, West Virginia, and until recently, New Jersey. Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk reportedly hired up to 20 lobbyists in Texas and made $150,000 in campaign contributions. Despite support from former governor Rick Perry, the bills were unable to overcome Texas' powerful dealership lobby, whose support of franchise laws in a state priding itself as a bastion of free-maket economics and limited red tape was deemed "very un-Texan" by Musk in a 2014 interview. The Texas Auto Dealers Association has spent over $278,000 lobbying against Tesla, with some individual dealership owners and groups contributing hundreds of thousands more. Texas is home to the country's second largest high-tech workforce and is the U.S.' largest technology manufacturing exporter. Tesla's absence among the likes of industry pioneers such as Dell and Texas Instruments is notable. The state competed for the brand's 'Gigafactory' but lost to Nevada. The state's legislature holds bi-yearly sessions, meaning Tesla will need to wait until 2017 for similar bills to be introduced, just in time for the Model 3's debut. Source: The Verge View attachment: Model_S_Press_WEB.jpg View full article

Best song. All day. Every day.

A good place to go for dash cam info is Slickdeals. You can keep tabs on prices, as well as learn if certain units are knockoffs or counterfeits. http://slickdeals.net/f/7889999-papago-gosafe-272-dash-cam-2-4-lcd-full-hd-black-99-95-free-shipping-newegg http://slickdeals.net/f/7704149-request-dashcam-recommendation-reviews Another great resource is RedFlagDeals (Canada) where there's a superthread that tracks deals and information on popular models. http://forums.redflagdeals.com/merged-car-camera-recommendations-995312/221/#post22608397

Why should Tesla ignore the one of the most important segments for luxury automakers? Just off the top of my head: Lexus RX350: ~40% sales Porsche Cayenne: ~45% sales Cadillac SRX: ~ 34% sales Lexus' other 11 models are fighting for 60%. The Cayenne saved Porsche. The SRX is in the top three sellers of its category. Two of these brands have wide lineups, yet their crossovers constitute over one-third of sales. Crossovers appeal to arguably the widest demographics. Go to any auto show and you'll find new couples to retirees checking out RR Evoque's and M-Class'. At college, plenty of young men and women would be driving Cayenne Turbo's and RR Sports, instead of sport-sedans. via TheAtlantic The Model X is based on the Model S. It's only financially prudent to make the vehicle before the Model 3. If Tesla immediately got to work with a new platform, they wouldn't have the capital and confidence to build a necessary charging network and battery factory. I think those last two things are readily and purposefully ignored by people here. FWIW: Each Model X preorder requires a $5,000-upfront pledge. At last tally, that equals ~$105 million in preorders and it's still growing.

What other vehicles currently have 21,000 or more pre-orders which require a substantial down payment? It is hotly anticipated... by his parents. It's not a terribly expensive vehicle compared to the competition. It helps that I made a mint investing in recession-era Ford stock and don't purchase a new vehicle every year. Of course, I think I should've put the money into selling sour grape juice. Business would be good!

Falcon-wing doors are still slated to be on the production vehicle. One of the engineering hangups was properly sealing the doors and the body, which has since been overcome.

Tesla's hotly-anticipated Model X continues testing in California and Los Altos shutterbug hushypuppy has snapped half a dozen photos of the electric carmaker's crossover rolling down city streets. The company has yet to reveal photos of the production vehicle. The vehicle is vital to the Palo Alto-based carmaker's future. The twice delayed Tesla Model X has attracted over 21,000 pre-orders and is predicted to push Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares up 70%. Deliveries are expected to begin in Q3 2015. High definition photos can be viewed at VWVortex. Source: VWVortex; HybridCars.com View full article

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While this piece of investurrgaturrve jurrnalurrzm took place, Autoblog has this from the Detroit Free Press: http://www.autoblog.com/2015/05/24/thousands-unsold-chevy-volt-deals/ BUT OH NOES TESLA IS TEH FAIL.

If you're aiming to use the phone to shoot photos in a pinch at autoshows, auto events, and reviews, I'd probably opt for the G4 for a few reasons. The replaceable battery is good to have. Fast-charging tech on the Samsung is awesome, but no help if you're scrounging for an outlet. The G4 has RAW photo capability. That means you can quickly feed the uncompressed image into your laptop and use photo editing software to get the best image possible. The manual mode on the G4 is also excellent. So should you decide to shoot JPEG, you can at least adjust settings for exposure, shutter speed, white balance and the like. This is a boon in situations like dim, fluorescent-lit halls, or very sunny outdoor settings. Inherent durability of plastic. I wouldn't worry much about the G4's deficit in processing power. It's still flagship-level. Samsung provides high specs to satisfy benchmark fans and those who play demanding games on their phones. That said, I have read that Samsung will debut RAW functionality in the S6 this summer.

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Considering both the income and demographics of a typical Tesla buyer, it's really just them them upgrading. These are people who buy a new smartphone each year and typically want the bleeding-edge. That's par for the course with aspirational tech. Why stick with a frumpy Model S 60 when the P85D is out?