2018 Tesla Model 3 Mid Range Sedan 4d on 2040-cars

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Ed Welburn leaves a lasting legacy at GM design

General Motors design chief Ed Welburn retired July 1, and the soft-spoken stylist is leaving a lasting legacy at the automaker and on the industry. He became the first African American to lead design at a carmaker when he took over GM's top spot in 2003. Just six people have overseen the company's design, and Welburn followed in the footsteps of icons like Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell. When Welburn was given expanded global oversight in 2005, it wasn't ceremonial. He helped unite the company's sprawling design empire, and today is in charge of 2,500 people who have a hand in designing GM cars. "He nurtured a creative, inclusive, and customer-focused culture among our designers that has strengthened our global brands," Mary Barra, GM chairman and CEO, said in a statement." Welburn took the helm when GM and the industry were shaking off a general styling malaise that pervaded the 1980s and 1990s. During his 13 years in charge, he took risks, produced a wide range of styles for everything from hybrids to sports cars to big trucks, and leaves GM design in a better place. Welburn's replacement, Michael Simcoe from GM's international design unit, has big shoes to fill. News & Analysis News: Tesla attracted more than 325,000 preorders of the Model 3 in about a week. Analysis: If anything, the Model 3 is more popular than many expected. Elon Musk tweeted that surprising figure on Thursday, and he said just five percent ordered the maximum number of two. That seems to indicate actual owners rather than speculators are fueling the demand. With a starting price of $35,000 before incentives and an electric range of 215 miles, the Model 3 is the Tesla that's attainable for a lot of people. Clearly, that notion is resonating. News: Lincoln has drawn 40,000 hand-raisers for the Continental. Analysis: Okay, that's not a Tesla figure, but it's still an encouraging sign for Lincoln that one of its most famous and historic names still resonates in 2016. It also demonstrates using a real, albeit slightly dusty name, was the right call for the MKS replacement. "No other Lincoln vehicle has generated this much interest in this little time," Lincoln president Kumar Galhotra said in New York last month. The concept that debuted a year ago put Lincoln back on the map, and the production version remains true to that promise. It will stand out on the road when it arrives this fall, and ultimately, that kind of style will determine Lincoln's future.

US Senate authorizes DOE green car loan program [UPDATE]

Tesla Motors' crush of Model 3 reservations is fresh in everyone's minds, while Fisker Automotive (or at least its bankruptcy) is a distant memory. That's one explanation for a US Senate with a Republican leadership at one time bashed the Department of Energy's loan program for green-vehicle makers but now, under bipartisan support, the Senate has OK'd about $1.6 billion more to push forward green-vehicle technology, according to Hybrid Cars. The Senate voted to authorize a $1.6-billion federal program. The US Senate voted by about a seven-to-one margin to authorize a $1.6-billion federal program for the DOE's Vehicle Technologies Office program housed under the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). This is a different program from the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) program, which was last funded in 2007. The feds have been green-lit to spend $339 million per year through 2020 to speed up the development of advanced-technology vehicles. The mission: to get the US new light-duty fleet to meet the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) mandate of a 54.5 miles per gallon average (which is a real-world average of around 40 mpg) by 2025. Four automakers received funding from the ATVM program in the first go-round. The list was: Tesla, Fisker, Ford and Nissan. Specifically, Tesla was loaned $465 million in 2010, and paid that loan back in 2013 – about nine years ahead of time, with interest. On the flip side, the Department of Energy was slated to loan extended-range plug-in vehicle maker Fisker $528 million, but Fisker only received $192 million before the spigot got shut off because of missed deadlines. Fisker collected enough cash to pay down some of the debt, but the government still was stuck with $168 million unpaid. And that got washed out in Fisker's 2013 bankruptcy. Nissan was awarded $1.4 billion and Ford got $5.9 billion. Senator Gary Peters (D-Michigan), one of the authors of the new bill, issued a press release about the new funding, which you can read here. The new ATVM program will also target automotive suppliers. UPDATE: This post has been updated. We inaccurately said that the ATVM had been re-authorized. In fact, the ATVM loan program "has $16 billion in remaining loan authority for automotive or component manufacturers for reequipping, expanding, or establishing manufacturing facilities in the U.S.

Is Land Rover developing an all-electric Tesla Model X rival?

Tesla will soon put its all-electric Model X crossover on sale, and if it's anywhere near as successful as the brand's four-door sedan the Model S, then it'll be a hell of an attention getter for mainstream automakers. Land Rover isn't waiting for proof of the Model X's success, though. According to reports, Land Rover could be preparing an all-electric Range Rover. Likely more crossover than full-size SUV, the new vehicle would probably be far more aerodynamic than current models. But the new EV would still take advantage of LR's high-tech aluminum structure, and could potentially be a close relative of the production Jaguar C-X17, according to Autocar. It seems unlikely that this new Land Rover EV will have the off-road chops of the brand's other models, but that doesn't mean that will be useless on the rough stuff. AC, citing Land Rover design boss Gerry McGovern, claims that a height-adjustable air suspension will allow a low, aerodynamic ride height for high-speed travel while it can easily be transitioned to a higher level for off-road duty. As for range, AC believes (and we agree) that a successful effort would need to get as close as possible to the Model S' 265-mile EV range. Autocar is anticipating a price of around 90,000 pounds, equivalent to $144,000, which roughly matches the cost of a UK-market Model S. If the Range Rover EV comes stateside, we'd wager that prices will start under six figures, much like the US-market Tesla.