The CarGurus Blog

Daily coverage of the world of cars.

Green Updates

Does the Nissan IDS Concept Take Autonomous Driving Too Far?


by

Nissan IDS concept

Some people went too far when Tesla released its Autopilot Mode on the Model S.

Owners are taking videos of themselves eating breakfast, shaving, and texting (at the same time) while Autopilot is activated. One reckless soul even hopped into the backseat with the Tesla at full control and relaxed while the car handled the driving.

It’s gotten bad enough that Tesla will take action. Elon Musk said,

There’s been some fairly crazy videos on YouTube… this is not good. And we will be putting some additional constraints on when autopilot can be activated to minimize the possibility of people doing crazy things with it.

Unfortunately, this could be a trend that doesn’t stop with Tesla. Case in point: the Nissan IDS Concept.

Continue reading >>>

Can an Electric SUV Save Mitsubishi?


by

When a car company begins to flounder, it has three options:

  1. Keep doing the same things and hope sales come back.
  2. Plan to substantially upgrade cars and add models to the lineup.
  3. Go electric.

Mitsubishi is the definition of floundering in the U.S. market. With Suzuki out of the picture, Mitsubishi is next in line to pull out. The automaker, though, has stood firm on its plans to commit to keep selling cars here, and it seems it has chosen option 3 as its plan of action.

Continue reading >>>

Hybrid Cars: Not a Good Investment


by

CarGurus finds hybrid vehicles cost more to own than comparable gas-powered vehicles.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., September 10, 2010 — CarGurus® (http://www.cargurus.com/), a leading online automotive community, has determined that the majority of hybrid vehicles cost more to own and drive than comparable gas-powered vehicles. Based on the analysis of 45 hybrid cars which have similar non-hybrid, gas powered models, on average the Hybrid models cost 25% or over $2,200 more to own and operate than their non-hybrid counterparts.

Buying a new Hybrid carries with it a substantial cost premium over comparable gas-powered vehicles. Often time this cost premium can be quite substantial. In the 45 models studied, the average MSRP of hybrids was almost $6,400 more than that of their gas-powered counterparts. But the popular idea that hybrids actually cost less to own and drive via higher resale values and reduced gas expenses proved false in 76% of the cases examined. In the large majority of cases, the gas savings from hybrids did not overcome the substantial price premium paid at the time of purchase.

Continue reading >>>