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Driving 2024 Chevy Traverse, BMW X5 M Competition, Fiat 500e | Autoblog Podcast #832

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor John Beltz Snyder. John's been driving the new Chevy Traverse and the BMW X5 M Competition, and Greg gives his first impressions from behind the wheel of the new Fiat 500e. They discuss Tesla's abandonment of its lower-cost EV, and a report that it did so when the car was almost completed. They also discuss Subaru and Toyota teaming up again for another round of EVs, and discuss the ramifications of Biden's tariffs on China. Finally, they dig through the mailbag to give their opinions on the future of Rivian. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #832 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving: 2024 Chevrolet Traverse 2024 BMW X5 M Competition 2024 Fiat 500e Was the Tesla Model 2 almost finished when it was scrapped? The Information says so Subaru to lean on Toyota for three new EVs by 2026 President Biden hikes U.S. tariffs in Chinese chips and cars And why they could have little immediate impact Mailbag: Thoughts on Rivian's future Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Government/Legal Green Podcasts BMW Chevrolet Fiat Subaru Tesla Crossover Hatchback SUV Electric Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance Rivian

Tesla tidbits: Roadster getting 'exciting' upgrade in 2014

It's been quite a while since we've had news about the Tesla Roadster. The original Tesla electric vehicle hasn't been sold in the US for years and we're in a quiet period before the next-generation shows its face. We were fine with the status quo – it's not like Tesla Motors isn't keeping busy with other projects in the meantime – but something that CEO Elon Musk said during the annual shareholder meeting caught our eye this week: the Roadster will get some sort of update before the end of the year. Details were obviously not disclosed, but Musk did say that something cool is coming: We are planning on I think a fairly exciting upgrade to the Roadster. I'm hoping we can get it done later this year. I did say it would be this year and ... yes, we will get it done this year. ... So, we're going to do something cool with Roadster before the end of this year. Anyone want to guess what this upgrade might be? We know that Roadster batteries are performing better than expected, so we're going to discount that possibility that these older EVs will be made compatible with Tesla's Supercharger technology. But Musk did say at the meeting that this tech is available to other automakers, if they could somehow make an EV that can handle the Supercharger's 135-kW output (a number that Tesla hopes to increase in the future): There is no other electric car that can accept anything close to 135 kilowatts. We are more than happy to have other manufacturers do this. And I've said this publicly on a few occasions. No one's approached us and said they'd like to use it. We are happy to have them do so. They just have to contribute to the capital cost, so figure out what percentage of the time are their cars using the Supercharger network and then they can make a contribution proportionate to their customer usage of the Supercharger network. So, we're very open to such a thing. Musk also confirmed he is open to remaining at Tesla for another half decade or so, until at least when the company's lower-cost, third-generation car gets to "volume production." He said that's maybe four or five years away and that there is "a lot of time" to figure out who will replace him when he does finally step down. We know the car is not going to be the Model E (thanks to Ford's trademark, Musk said) and that the company's targets are for it to cost around $35,000 before incentives and have a range of more than 200 miles.

Koenigsegg sees new Tesla Roadster as the 'gauntlet' thrown down

Christian von Koenigsegg, the man behind the company that holds the current record for world's fastest car, does not like to be outdone. So he did not particularly enjoy hearing the numbers regarding the forthcoming next-generation Tesla Roadster and its vaunted 1.9-second 0-60 mph time. "We kind of had our future mapped out, and then we heard about the new Tesla Roadster and its insane acceleration numbers, and we thought 'Damn, that's put the gauntlet down,'" the Koenigsegg founder and CEO told Top Gear. As he told the site, he enlisted his engineers to start running numbers, and within a couple of days, they'd figured out a solution. "The simplest way of putting it is like this: It's combining direct drive with the hybridization we have in a different format with free-valve engine technology, in a peculiar layout," von Koenigsegg said. He said the powertrain could take a car from 0-250 mph in 14 seconds "or something like this," and said he wants to make a combustion engine with a higher power density than an electric powertrain "for as long as possible." His talk about hybrids brings to mind the Koenigsegg Regera plug-in hybrid, which weighs just 3,505 pounds and puts out more than 1,500 horsepower. It does 0-62 mph in 2.8 seconds — impressive, but a full 0.9 seconds less than the Roadster's purported time. And not surprising for a company that is all about maximizing ponies, Koenigsegg likes to geek out over the details of things like the design of the 1,160-hp Agera RS engine. Could he be talking about the same vehicle as the successor to the Agera RS, rumored to be called Ragnarok? Tesla, meanwhile, unveiled said Roadster at Grand Basel in Switzerland — or rather, it showed off what appeared to be a white, empty design shell that had been shown last year at Tesla's shareholder meeting. And don't forget that the mad scientists over at Hennessey are tinkering with the 7.6-liter V8 for the Venom F5, the key to its quest to hit 300 mph. So buckle your seat belts, boys and girls: Things are about to get very fast. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Image Credit: Drew Phillips Green Tesla Koenigsegg Hybrid Performance Supercars PHEV koenigsegg agera koenigsegg regera hennessey venom f5