Articles by John Voelcker

The 2015 BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports coupe is a striking design that draws attention wherever it goes.

Painted menacing flat black, the Civic Type-R prototypes we tested at the brand's proving ground in Japan showed it had the performance to live up to the wardrobe.

Not so long ago, a five-speed automatic transmission was pretty advanced -- but we're in a new age now. Six speeds is becoming the norm now even in smaller cars -- when they're not fitted with continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) -- and even the eight-speed automatic pioneered by Lexus a decade ago is no longer King of the Multi-Gear Hill.German maker ZF has designed and rolled out an automatic transmission for transverse engine installations that contains no fewer than nine gears, known as the 9HP. It's all in the service of more efficient gearing that matches closely to the engine's most efficient range, thereby lowering fuel consumption.We've had a chance to drive two pre-production prototypes of the 2014 Range Rover Evoque that will use the new nine-speed, first announced in February.PETROL AND DIESELThe first, with left-hand drive, was fitted with the 179 kilowatts, 2.0-litre turbocharged gasoline engine. But ZF had also provided a right-hand-drive Evoque SD4, the 2.2-litre turbodiesel sold in Europe, for comparison purposes.Both engines are mated to the nine-speed automatic for the 2014 model year. Our drive was limited to half a dozen laps around a test track. It included both medium-speed running (56 to 100km/h) and a high-speed straightaway where we reached about 160km/h, but very little stop-and-go.In the petrol Evoque, while starting up and moving away from a stop, you may never notice the difference in the number of gears.SMOOTH, FAST SHIFTSIf you pay attention, you might register that the shifts are just a little bit quicker, with less lag between them, and the ratios are a bit closer. Whether on full throttle or under only partial acceleration, the gasoline turbo four and nine-speed play well together.By the time we reached 113km/h on the test track, the transmission was only in fifth gear, and the engine was turning only 2,100 rpm--against a speed several hundred RPM higher with the old six-speed automatic.At 160km/h, it took lifting off to get the ZF automatic into its ninth and final gear -- and the engine was still running notably slower than it would have in top gear with a six-speed.We also tested the “manual mode,” in which the transmission can be up- and down-shifted via paddles behind the steering wheel. They worked fine. But our short drive suggested that to get the most out of the closely spaced ratios, you may find that leaving the control logic to its own devices and letting it shift automatically produces better results.SLOWER DIESELThe diesel Evoque SD4 was notably slower on acceleration, not to mention it added half a second or so for the start-stop system to restart the diesel engine as soon as the driver's foot began to lift off the brake pedal. The diesel was louder as well as slower, but we'd expect it to deliver far better fuel efficiency than the often-thirsty turbo 2.0-litre in the Evoque--regardless of the number of gears.In the Evoque, the existing all-wheel drive system is an adaptation of one used by Land Rover's former sister company, Volvo.www.motorauthority.com 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has offered up a few details about the next generation of the electric start-up's vehicles -- including a smaller and cheaper entry-level sedan.At its annual shareholder meeting yesterday, Musk revealed a few more tidbits of the company's future product plan.Joining its current Model S all-electric luxury sport sedan late next year will be the Model X crossover utility vehicle, with its top-lifting "falcon doors" and available all-wheel drive.But it's the new base model sedan that will be a driving aim for Musk, he said."What the world really needs is a great, affordable electric car," Musk told Bloomberg. "I’m not going to let anything go, no matter what people offer, until I complete that mission.”To that end, Tesla's third-generation car (known as Blue Star), will smaller -- about the size of a BMW 3-Series -- and about half the price of the Model S, which starts at US$69,900 in the US, but will be much more than that when it arrives here either late this year or early in 2014.Tesla recently axed the base level Model S, which had offered the chance of Australians getting it under the luxury car tax level. Tesla had previously said it would start the Model S range below the luxury car tax level, which would have meant the base variant coming in under $77,000. That leaves us with the prospect of the two higher variants of Model S -- 60kWh and 85kWh -- which will cost much more.And while just how much more has not yet been revealed, it's likely we'll see the 85kWh one at around $150,000. Tesla had claimed a range of 257 km for the 40kWh Model S, along with a 0-100km/h time of 6.5 seconds and a top speed of 177km/h. A 173 kilowatts motor generating 420 Newton metres of torque was specified, with production to begin this year.So the prospect of a smaller sedan puts a more affordable Tesla back on the table. The styling of the smaller sedan will bear a family resemblance to the Model S, Musk said.He said the new sedan would have a range of more than 330km, for a price cited as US$30,000 or less than US$40,000 in its home market -- which may reflect the effect of the $7,500 government tax credit buyers there will receive.The new, smaller Tesla will continue to use lithium-ion cells from Panasonic, one of several companies that has a minority stake in Tesla Motors. But they'll be of a new and more advanced chemistry designed specifically for use in electric cars.www.thecarconnection.com 

While Aston Martin is among the most storied British sports car brands, it's had its share of ups and downs over the decades. Now it appears that the man who helped return Aston Martin to prominence and give it a role as a global player is about to retire. Dr. Ulrich Bez, who has led the brand since 2000, will step down and take a more "ambassadorial" role, according to Autocar. Bez was appointed as CEO of Aston Martin under Ford ownership, and stayed on even after Ford spun it out to private investors in 2007. On his watch, Aston Martin sales rose from a few hundred each year to thousands. And Aston Martins continued in perhaps their best-known public role: conveying James Bond, Agent 007, on his exploits. Under Bez, the company also moved from its traditional home, Newport Pagnell, to new and more modern facilities in Gaydon. And he was considered to be the father of the 1994 Aston Martin DB7, its first new volume car after some years of scattered product development. That model, built from 1994 through 2004, sold more than any other Aston in history--more than 7,000 altogether, in coupe and convertible models. The DB7 effectively brought the company back into contention among buyers of pricey, high-performance sports cars. According to the report, Bez will retire this summer sometime after a successor has been announced, to provide for a smooth transition. www.motorauthority.com  

One of several cars Volkswagen is showing is the Volkswagen Passat Performance Concept, a "sneak peek" of a new, sportier model of its Passat mid-size sedan with an all-new 184 kW engine under the hood.The new engine is the 1.8-litre direct-injected and turbocharged TSI four-cylinder, paired with a six-speed automatic transmission already used in European and Asian VWs.Getting that output from a four-cylinder engine smaller than 2.0 litres should give the Passat Performance model - or its production equivalent -some quite respectable fuel economy too. Not as high as the Passat TDI diesel, but pretty good for the most powerful model in the range.To denote the Passat Performance Concept's sportier credentials, it is fitted with larger 19-inch alloy wheels, a sport-tuned suspension with lower ride height, and electro-mechanical steering.To underscore its subtle but aggressive appearance, the hot-rod Passat sports a dual exhaust and bi-xenon headlights, including what VW calls an Advanced Front Lighting System, along with LED tail lights.Inside, the dashboard has "carbon-like touches," which Volkswagen says match the "carbon-style inserts" in the two-tone leather seats. There are also carbon accents on the covers for the exterior door mirrors.www.motorauthority.com