1994 Jaguar Vanden Plas Base Sedan 4-door 4.0l on 2040-cars

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40+ cars that barely avoid the gas guzzler tax

The Gas Guzzler schedule, with mpg ratings and charges that haven't changed since 1991, lays out which fuel-swillers owe what to Uncle Sam.
I started thinking about the "Gas Guzzler Tax" - considerably less well known as The Energy Tax Act of 1978 - when I was driving Dodge's new Challenger SRT Hellcat last week. Unsurprisingly for a car that can burn 1.5 gallons of gas per minute at max tilt, theoretically able to empty a full tank of premium in about 13 minutes, the Hellcat will be subject to the Gas Guzzler Tax schedule when it goes on sale.

Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy: New EV, new series — Jaguar's going racing

Luxury carmaker Jaguar is teasing the 2018 launch of a five-seat electric sports car based on its I-Pace concept as its first battery-electric vehicle. The Indian-owned automaker released images of the sports car as part of its announcement that it will launch the world's first international production EV race series in 2018. A performance SUV version of the I-Pace, previously reported and presumably based on a concept revealed late last year, is also planned for late 2018. Jaguar has said it plans to electrify all new models after 2020, part of a wave of similar announcements as governments in England, China and elsewhere have announced plans to eventually ban the sale of gasoline or diesel cars. In its announcement, Jaguar said only that the race series would "support the launch" of the I-Pace five-seater. View 7 Photos At the Los Angeles auto show last year, Jaguar said its concept I-Pace crossover SUV would have a 220-mile range from its 90-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack, designed and engineered entirely in-house. The Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy series is a support series for the FIA Formula E championship and will exclusively feature up to 20 all-electric Jaguar I-Pace racecars across 10 races in cities including Hong Kong, Paris, Sao Paolo and New York. The racecars will be built at the Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations in Warwickshire, England. "With the launch of the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY, we have strengthened our commitment to battery electric vehicles, international motorsport and Formula E," Gerd Mauser, chairman of Jaguar Racing, said in a statement. "As a British team, we are proud to announce today the launch of the world's first production battery electric vehicle championship." He added: "Ultimately this innovative series will enhance the technology in our future electric vehicles and benefit our customers." Jaguar says it will release technical specifications, race calendar and costs for the I-Pace eTrophy in 2018. Related Video: Green Frankfurt Motor Show Jaguar Electric Racing Vehicles Performance Sedan Frankfurt 2017 jaguar i-pace

London skyscraper caught melting cars

A new skyscraper under construction in London is apparently to blame for some mysteriously melting car parts on the city's surrounding streets. The 37-story building at 20 Fenchurch Street, nicknamed the "Walkie Talkie" for how it looks, features a convex side of glass windows that apparently concentrates the sun's rays like a kid with a magnifying glass. Instead of smiting ants, however, the building was caught focusing its sun-sourced laser death beam on an innocent Jaguar XJ parked on Eastcheap street. The intense heat managed to melt a sideview mirror, plastic C-pillar cover and Jaguar emblem (scroll down for an image of the damage).
Fortunately, the construction company, Land Securities, had some scruples and reportedly left a note on the car for its owner reading "Your car's buckled, could you give us a call?" They've also since apologized and agreed to pay for the £946 done - about $1,500 - in damages by their blazing hot building. A joint statement with the Canary Wharf district in which the building's located was also released. In it, the developer acknowledges concerns about the reflected light and says it's looking into the matter. The city has also decided to close a few parking bays that could be in the building's line of fire, so to speak, until a solution can be engineered. Since news of the melting Jag broke, other vehicle owners have also come forward claiming the building, re-nicknamed the "Walkie Scorchie," has damaged their cars, as well.
This isn't the first shiny-new-building-attacks-cars story we've heard - architect Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles was built amidst concern that its polished ribbons of stainless steel were blinding motorists and causing accidents, along with raising the temperatures of nearby buildings with its reflected light. The building's surfaces were later given a matte polish.