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Will Bob Lutz's VL Automotive really offer V8 conversions for Tesla Model S?

VL Automotive is closely tied up with Fisker. The company's first product, the Destino, is a converted Karma and the Destino Red Concept, just unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show, is the same hardtop Karma convertible that Fisker showed in 2009. So, what a surprise it was to see that Bob Lutz, who owns half of VL Automotive, is ready to convert a brand new electric vehicle: the Tesla Model S. A gas-powered Tesla? Say what? A gas-powered Tesla? Say what? That's at least one way to read this short article in The Detroit News. There's not a lot of context and a distinct lack of details, so we're left wondering if maybe Lutz just meant that Model S owners can buy a Destino. You can read the exchange for yourself here. What we do know is that Lutz said that VL Automotive has already sold nine Destino conversions. The cars cost $200,000, up from the previous estimate of $180,000, and well above the $116,000 max price tag on the original Karma. For your money, you get a 6.2-liter V8 taken from a Chevrolet Corvette that puts out 636 horsepower and can beat the 135-mile-per-hour top speed that the Karma has. Lutz said that all could add up to sales of around 200 or 300 Destinos each year. Featured Gallery VL Destino Red Concept: Detroit 2014 View 21 Photos News Source: The Detroit News via Green Car ReportsImage Credit: Copyright 2014 Drew Phillips / AOL Green Detroit Auto Show Fisker Tesla Electric Hybrid PHEV vl automotive destino

Mystery shoppers love Infiniti, hate Tesla

Infiniti, followed by Lexus tied with Mercedes-Benz took the top two spots for best sales experience according to mystery shoppers from the latest Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index, while EV manufacturer Tesla recorded the lowest overall score. Not surprisingly, premium brands dominated the top ranks. Including the three already mentioned, luxury brands occupied seven of the top ten spots and included Audi, BMW, Porsche, and the only American brand to crack the upper echelon, Cadillac. Toyota, Volkswagen, and Nissan rounded out the first ten positions. The news for domestic automakers isn't good. Aside from Caddy, the only other star-spangled automaker to score above the industry average is Chrysler. The rest of FCA, most of GM, and all of Ford fell below the line. But Pied Piper's mystery shoppers handed Tesla the biggest walloping – the company is ten full points below the next lowest brand, Volvo, and its score of 86 is 17 below the average of 103. It's baffling, considering the company's touted direct-sales model. "Tesla leaves me scratching my head," Fred O'Hagan, Pied Piper's president and CEO, told Wards Auto. "They own all of their stores, so you would think each one would be doing the same thing. But they're not. Tesla is consistent in its inconsistencies." O'Hagan added that there's a "huge variation" in Tesla's store-to-store effectiveness, and that in some cases, shoppers found showroom workers that acted more like "museum curators," Wards Auto reports. It might be popular to call Tesla the Apple of the car world, but based on Pied Piper's work, the brand has a long way to go to emulate the uniform shopping experience of an Apple Store. The news might be bad for Tesla, but even for the brands that scored below average, there's cause for celebration. Only Tesla and Mini lost points in this year's rankings, and only Mercedes and Lincoln held steady. Every other brand, including Infiniti, which topped the index for the first time, gained at least one point. The biggest improvements belong to Porsche, Land Rover, and Mitsubishi, which all jumped five points. Pied Piper's annual Prospect Satisfaction Index uses mystery shoppers – over 6,100 this year – from across the country to assess dealers and generate rankings from over 50 individual factors. News Source: Pied Piper via WardsAuto Green Audi BMW Cadillac Chrysler Infiniti Lexus Mercedes-Benz Nissan Tesla Toyota Car Buying Car Dealers study

Chevy Traverse, Hyundai Santa Fe revealed; Buick Envista, BMW M4 CSL driven | Autoblog Podcast #790

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor John Beltz Snyder. After some banter, including the discussion of an excellent tomato sauce recipe, they get into car reviews. Greg has been driving the Mercedes-AMG GLE 53, while John has been testing the BMW M4 CSL and Buick's new Envista crossover. There's lots of interesting news this week. Chevy revealed the 2024 Traverse with new looks, a new engine and on off-road(ish) trim. Hyundai gave us a glimpse at the wild styling of the next Santa Fe. Dodge might bring back the Stealth nameplate as an SUV, and that has implications for the Durango as well. Ford, after repeatedly raising prices, has turned around and significantly discounted the F-150 Lightning across all trims. The first Tesla Cybertruck has rolled off the line as a pre-production prototype. Finally, we reach in to the mailbag and help a listener decide what to do with cars for himself and his kids in this week's Spend My Money segment. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #790 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 2023 Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 2023 BMW M4 CSL 2024 Buick Envista 2024 Chevrolet Traverse gets rugged looks, new turbo engine, Z71 trim 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe revealed with a radical redesign Dodge Stealth coming with new platform, looks, and powertrains in a year (Bonus reading: check out Dodge Stealth listings) Ford F-150 Lightning gets significant price cut across the full range First Tesla Cybertruck pre-production prototype comes off the line Spend My Money 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: Green Podcasts BMW Buick Chevrolet Dodge Ford GM Hyundai Mercedes-Benz Tesla Truck Crossover SUV Electric Future Vehicles Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance