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Car subscription services: A slow, expensive start — but the potential is huge

Americans are used to paying for subscriptions — to magazines and cable television, for instance — but experience shows they'll cancel when the price of admission gets too high, or there are more tempting alternatives. Cord cutters ditched nearly 1.5 million pay-TV subscriptions in 2017, according to a survey by Leichtman Research Group. Cable TV started out cheap with basic offerings, and then got expensive. The auto industry's subscription offerings are new, but they're starting out costly, and not price-competitive with traditional leasing. The upside is that they take the hassle out of car ownership for busy people by letting the service take care of maintenance, insurance, licensing and taxes. And they give consumers choice, often allowing relatively painless switches between different cars in the automakers' lineup. Subscription services also point the way toward an ownership-free auto experience, and offer an easy transition to a potential world where ride- and car-sharing will be dominant. Subscriptions are here to stay, but consumers may take a while to "get" them. Lincoln's subscription service for lightly used 2015 to 2017 models, offered through the Ford-owned Canvas beginning this year, got off to a slow start. Many early subscribers canceled. Last month, Cadillac announced it would " temporarily pause" its $1,800-per-month Book subscription service for "adjustments" as of December 1. According to the Wall Street Journal, "Snags with the back-end technology used to support the service made some customer-service functions tedious and time-consuming, adding costs for the company." The challenge for automakers is to come up with a strategy that offers consumers a compelling, affordable option to regular ownership, and one that can also make a profit. I think they'll find that sweet spot, but they're not there yet. Jack Nerad, former executive editorial director at Kelley Blue Book and author of " The Complete Idiot's Guide to Buying or Leasing a Car," points out that "A lot of people expected that subscriptions would be very valuable for people who wanted inexpensive transportation, but the reality is quite the opposite. Subscriptions are offering more choices for the wealthy.

2017 Infiniti QX30 First Drive

If you've heard anything before about this car, the 2017 Infiniti QX30, it probably has to do with its corporate parents, an odd couple if there ever was one. Renault-Nissan, Infiniti's corporate overlords, inked a deal with Mercedes-Benz to share some mechanical components and platforms. That deal put a new, very modern 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four under the hood of the Q50 and was the genesis of what you're looking at here. What are you looking at here? We drove this car in 2015, when it was called a Q30 – originally it was going to be the lower-riding counterpart to the slightly jacked-up QX30. Then Infiniti decided it'd make more sense to sell all variants of this vehicle as CUVs in the US, so we have three slightly different flavors of the QX30 instead. There's the normal version; the Sport, which is 0.6 inches lower; and the AWD, which is 1.2 inches higher. Infiniti brought us to Seattle to sample the Sport and AWD flavors on a semi-circumnavigation of the Puget Sound. It didn't rain a drop, thanks for asking, and instead was sunny and mild the whole time. It's easy to make the QX30 sound more confusing than it actually is. This is essentially a Mercedes-Benz GLA250 with full exterior styling and partial interior design by Infiniti, built in the UK alongside several other Nissans. The powertrain and chassis, including the optional AWD system, were all "co-developed" with partner Daimler, with final calibration and tuning by Infiniti engineers. Here's another way of explaining it: Infiniti needs an entry-level car to appeal to new premium car shoppers, and the QX30 is the prescription. It's a hatchback that's been given the mildest of CUV treatments and a lot of marketing descriptors. That's because hatchbacks are sales death in America. In Europe, they'll see right through the CUV posturing and realize it's just a hatchback offered in three different suspension heights. Whatever you call it to make it palatable to Americans, it's a useful little vehicle. This car is mechanically identical to the Q30, so there are some things we can gloss over. Both are powered by a transverse-mounted 2.0-liter Mercedes inline-four. It's a turbocharged, direct-injection gasoline engine, and it sure feels like one. It sounds like a rock tumbler full of nickels and runs out of breath at about 5,000 rpm. All versions make 208 hp at 5,500 rpm and 258 lb-ft of torque between 1,200 and 4,400 rpm – more than adequate but less than thrilling.

2022 Mercedes-Maybach S 580 First Drive | This thing rules

I can’t help but giggle to myself cruising around in the 2022 Mercedes-Maybach S 580. It is so absurdly good at its intended purpose. Just like a Porsche 911 is to performance, the latest Maybach is to all-out luxury. Much of the MaybachÂ’s goodness is thanks to the excellence of the new S-Class. Technological innovations like rear-wheel steering, E-Active Body Control and the latest MBUX software systems, all found in the new S-Class, establish a very lofty floor for the Maybach version of the car to build upon. And yes, when you pay the Maybach S 580Â’s exorbitant $185,950 base price, you get a whole lot more than just the standard S-Class experience. Appearances are half the battle with mega-luxury yachts like this car. The Rolls-Royces and Bentleys of the world are formidable on the road, and this Mercedes-Maybach puts up a good fight. It all starts with the 7-inch-longer wheelbase, most of which youÂ’ll see represented in the massive “comfort rear doors.” And we do mean “comfort” — they electronically swing open or shut via a switch on the ceiling or via a touch to the pop-out door handles. A massive radiator-style grille replaces the comparatively subdued grille in the standard S-Class. The C-pillar is noticeably more upright in the Maybach, and it features a light-up Maybach logo that reminds everybody about how rich you are, even at night.  And lastly, thereÂ’s the utterly breathtaking two-tone paint — pictured in Obsidian Black/Manufaktur Diamond White here — that costs $12,750 extra, but is genuinely worth the coin. Robots first spray the whole body in the lower halfÂ’s color, then the dividing line is hand-painted before both it and the lower part of the car is masked off for the top color to be hand-applied by MercedesÂ’ expert painters. There are lots of steps that were just left out, but know that the process can take up to a week in the custom paint shop before the body is returned to the regular production process. The end result of all these changes is a sedan that is both deeply different in character but also recognizable as the S-Class it is based on. ItÂ’s also just as imposing and rich-looking as a Bentley Flying Spur, so donÂ’t worry about being out-classed in the country club parking lot. Deciding which seat to occupy — the driverÂ’s seat, or the lounge-like rear seat — on the way to said country club might be the most difficult decision any Maybach S 580 owner will have to make on any given day.