AD #2642 – Tesla Adding Service Centers to Retail Stores, Honda Shows Off New Dual Touchscreen, Cadillac XT6 Details

This is Autoline Daily reporting on the global automotive industry.

TESLA ADDING SERVICE CENTERS TO RETAIL STORES
Back in February, Elon Musk suddenly announced Tesla would close most of its retail centers as a way to cut costs and lower the price of its cars. But after a lot of public questioning of the move, 10 days later he backed off and said only about half of its locations would be shut down. Today, most of the retail stores remain open and Tesla is growing its footprint by adding service centers. Musk says sales are great in locations where the company has service centers and charging stations and can offer attractive financing and affordable prices. Musk said “So we’re rolling out service centers like crazy. Service centers are the key to sales, not the retail location.”

HONDA SHOWS OFF NEW DUAL TOUCHSCREEN
Honda has been teasing its upcoming little electric car, the Honda e, throughout the year. And now it’s showing off the car’s Dual Touchscreen. It consists of two, hi-res 12.3-inch screens that can be used independently by the driver or passenger. You can swipe and browse, just like with a smartphone and it allows you to swap information across the two screens. You can view social media, music, internet and navigation services on the wide screen and while driving, all selections can be made by voice control or through steering wheel controls. The production version of the Honda e will be unveiled later this year and the company is taking reservations for it in the UK, Germany, France and Norway.

CADILLAC XT6 DETAILS
One of the things that’s been holding Cadillac back from a sales standpoint is the lack of a 3-row crossover. The new XT6, which slots in between the XT5 and Escalade, plugs that gap. With a base price of $52,700, the 7-passenger XT6 comes nicely equipped including an air ionizer, 6 USB ports and a 14-speaker Bose sound system, to name a few items. It’s powered by a 3.6 liter V6 with 310 horsepower that’s mated to a 9-speed transmission. Just about all the safety equipment you can think of is now standard, except for an optional automated braking system that works at speeds over 50 miles an hour. Automated braking below that speed is standard. An infrared-based night vision system is also optional. One interesting feature of it is that it highlights people and animals by putting a yellow box around them to draw your attention to them. There’s a sport model priced at $57,000 which includes all-wheel-drive with active yaw control and torque vectoring, active dampers, and 21 inch wheels. The XT6 is on sale right now, and we think it could provide Cadillac with anywhere from a 10% to 15% bump in sales.

CADILLAC DESIGN EVOLUTION
Speaking of Cadillac, we ran across this terrific lineup of classic Caddy’s at this year’s Concours d’Elegance at St. Johns. This series of photos really shows the evolution of tail fins that started out as little bumps on the back of the rear fenders in 1948 which continued through 1956. But then they started growing as you see on this 1957 Eldorado Biarritz, getting even bigger on this 1958 sixty Special, growing massively and getting really pointy on this ‘59 Biarritz, but then starting to moderate in 1960, until they just about blended into the fenders by 1968.

MERCEDES FLOPS AT GERMAN GRAND PRIX
The Formula One Grand Prix of Germany was supposed to be a showcase for Mercedes-Benz which won all but one race so far. It outfitted its mechanics and team managers in period uniforms from the 1950s, including ties, suspenders and tweed caps. And it painted its cars to honor the Silver Arrows of the 1950s. After all, Mercedes was celebrating 125 years of involvement in motorsports and its 200th start in a Formula One race. They even brought in a film crew from Netflix to document their dominance uber alles this season. But the race turned out to be a disaster. Valteri Bottas crashed out of the race, Lewis Hamilton spun and crashed but managed to hold on to finish 9th. It was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who powered his Honda-powered car to victory.

AUDI UNVEILS A1 CITYCARVER
Audi is showing off a new model based on the A1 Sportback called the A1 citycarver. Despite, being called the citycarver, the car features a more off-road look than the Sportback and it has about 2 inches more ground clearance and larger wheels. It’s offered in nine different colors, while the roof is offered in black or gray, to give it a nice two-tone look. The interior features the company’s digital instrument cluster, along with a 10.1-inch touchscreen. The Audi A1 citycarver hits European dealerships this fall.

MYSTERY CAR IDENTITY REVEALED
I knew you all would have no problem identifying this car sent in by viewer Richard. In fact, the very first comment on our website not long after the show went up on Friday had the correct answer. It’s a Triumph Dolomite. More specifically it’s a Dolomite Roadster Coupe, which was made from 1938 to 1940. The car likely got its name from a mountain range in the Italian part of the Alps or a sedimentary rock that’s composed mostly of the carbonate mineral dolomite. Either way, you gotta love that grille. And thanks to Richard for sending the picture in. If you snap any cool or unique pictures send them our way at viewermail@autoline.tv.

But that’s it for today, thanks for watching and please join us again tomorrow.