Cybertruck Delays Mean Competitors GM, Ford Will Be First With Truck EVs

[Auto Styling News]

When Tesla first introduced its Cybertruck electric pickup prototype in November 2019, it was described as a vehicle similar to one in the films "Mad Max" and "Blade Runner." CEO Elon Musk said the development of the Cybertruck was influenced by the amphibious Lotus Esprit S1 that was featured in the 1977 James Bond film "The Spy Who Loved Me."

The prototype impressed so many people that five days after introduction on Nov. 24, 2019, Musk said the company had received 187,000 orders for the electric vehicle.  After numerous delays due to COVID, it may finally come to market next year. As The Street reports, it will have competition from Ford, Stallantis/Chrysler,  and even GM:

"General Motors will have its say in the SUV/crossover market as it in July 2022 unveiled plans for its new electric version of the Chevy Blazer, which has been a popular internal combustion engine model for many years, since it first went on sale in 1969."

"The new Chevy Blazer EV will feature four models: the 1LT starting at $44,995; 2LT at $47,595; the RS starting at $51,995 and the SS priced at $65,995. The automaker will also feature a Police Pursuit Vehicle, automaker said in a statement when it unveiled the models."
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Auto Styling News is a blog that covers car concepts, newly released models, and the auto industry.

VW Cuts Back On EV Production, Citing Poor Sales

[Auto Styling News]

Volkswagen is temporarily cutting back production of e-cars at its Emden plant in the German seaport town of Lower Saxony, citing flagging sales, according to the works council. In the next two weeks until the plant vacations, the late shift in the production of the ID.4 compact SUV and the first models of the new ID.7 electric sedan will be canceled, works council head Manfred Wulff said in response to a question, confirming a report in the "Nordwest-Zeitung" newspaper. 

A VW spokeswoman in Emden told the paper, "We are confident that capacity utilization at the plant will increase again with the market launch of the ID.7 at the end of the year."

The workforce was informed of the move on Monday, the works council said. According to the statement, while production of combustion models, such as the Passat, will continue unchanged, the three-week plant vacation for employees in the E-segment is also to be extended by one week. In addition, around 300 of the 1,500 temporary workers currently employed in Emden are not to be kept on from August.

For the past decade, The German automaker has been promising an electric version of its wildly popular VW Van. But its success was pinned to the nostalgia of Baby Boomers (1946-1964) who remembered the original. The oldest cohort of the group is in their 70s now, and are unlikely to be buying "family vans."

In February, VW booted it's design chief, who was a proponent of "retro" designs.
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Auto Styling News is a blog that covers car concepts, newly released models, and the auto industry.

Cadillac's 2024 CELESTIQ Is A Badly Needed Beapoke Halo Car

[Auto Styling News]

Cadillac is set to release an all-electric bespoke halo vehicle that will come in just over $300,000.  Each all-Electric CELESTIQ will be a bespoke, fully customizable vehicle on the level of the Bentley Continental or Bentayga and will have a similar price point.

Cadillac gushes that the car will be "the ultimate manifestation of ultra-luxury redefined through the spirit of futurism and the avant-garde." And it looks like that isn't an exaggeration at all.

A Cadillac lowest-ever coefficient of drag coupled with Cadillac’s most technologically advanced suspension ever - including Adaptive Air Ride with the latest generation of Magnetic Ride Control - will create, says the American brand, "an addicting intensity."

As you can see from these photos, the cars exterior and even interior are absolutely gorgeous. Like the Bentley, they will likely be thousands of individual combinations of materials and colors inside and out of each of these, making them utterly unique and customized to each individual buyer. 

As for styling, this vehicle will stand out on whatever road it chooses to drive on. The gorgeous rear featuring massive tail lamps and a gently sloping bobtail that gives it it's incredible drag coefficient alone make it stand out. But it's front grill is large and impressive, reflecting a natural evolution of Cadillac styling that nonetheless is somewhat surprising, in a pleasant way. 

That's not a given in the auto industry, as a decade of horrendous Acura front ends, with a buck tooth grill that was distracting and not at all upscale, will testify to. And BMWs recent laughable foray into massive grills will haunt the German automaker for the next decade if they don't do a major design U-turn in the mid-20s. 

A bespoke Halo vehicle is long overdue for a so-called luxury brand like Cadillac, which has in recent decades falling into a potentially brand killing process of nameplate switching with other GM vehicles like GMC, Buick, and others in the GM stable. The vehicle will never be a mass market blockbuster seller, but that's the point.

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Auto Styling News is a blog that covers car concepts, newly released models, and the auto industry.