Clooney sells Tesla for a good cause

By Clifford Atiyeh

August 13, 2012

3 minutes to read

The last Lexus model to receive the company’s new “spindle grill,’’ the flagship LS sedan acquires a meaner face and actual performance upgrades for 2013.

We say “actual’’ because the LS has never hinted at purveying speed or enjoyment for the driver. It has always been a Japanese Mercedes S-Class, an ultra-quiet, techladen cocoon with some of the best customer service in the automotive industry.The refreshed 2013 LS gets quieter, of course, with aerodynamic tweaks and noise-reducing wheels with “resonator holes.’’ But a new F Sport model packs bolstered seats, paddle shifters, Brembo brakes, limited slip differential, and a lowered air suspension on summer tires. The F Sport, in addition to waking up the sleepy, conservative types who buy a big Lexus, is here to grab more share from the sportier Audi A8s and BMW 7-Series.

Inside, the big 12.3-inch LCD display that debuted in the midsize GS is also here, along with an optional wood package that looks dipped in golden honey (it’s apparently a mix of dark and light woods that takes Japanese craftsman 38 hours to put together). Other new features include blind spot monitoring with cross-traffic alert and an auto-braking feature that stops the car under 24 mph should the driver not respond. Everything else—size, weight, engines, the six-figure hybrid model—carries over unchanged.

Pricing has not been announced, although we wouldn’t expect it to crest $70,000.The current LS 460 starts just over $68,000. Don’t worry about fuel economy. Even the hybrid— which we tested (and loved) in 2009 – makes no difference for a car this plush and heavy.

George Clooney sells Tesla

Can a $100,000 electric sports car really save the Sudanese people from another allout civil war? George Clooney would like to think so.

The actor is auctioning his 2008 Tesla Roadster—the first production all-electric car since the GM EV1 and Honda EV Plus—to benefit his nonprofit Satellite Sentinel Project, which uses satellite imagery to monitor the borders of Sudan. The group apparently can pinpoint atrocities and other aggressions, and then notifies other world organizations. Auction house Gooding & Company estimates the car will fetch up to $125,000. Clooney’s car is one of the first 100 cars sold from California-based Tesla Motors. The Roadster is no longer sold in the US and a new one won’t debut until at least 2014, when Lotus (Tesla’s manufacturing partner) redesigns its mid-engine Elise.

The auctions will take place on Aug. 18 and 19 as part of the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, a California gathering of the world’s wealthiest car connoisseurs and their rare motors. Jay Leno is also auctioning off his Fiat 500 “Prima Edizione,’’ one of the first 500 Fiats made for the US last year. The money will benefit the Fisher House Foundation, which helps the families of wounded American soldiers.

Ford beats Prius on fuel economy

While it’s rare for a hybrid to achieve equal city and highway numbers, Honda has done that already with the Civic Hybrid, which gets 44 mpg at both ends.Typically, hybrids score higher in the city since they can coast at slow electric-only speeds. Ford has sold the five-passenger C-MAX in Europe for years, yet it’s coming to the U.S. solely as a hybrid model (this fall) and a plug-in hybrid called the C-MAX Energi (early 2013). As for base price, the C-MAX Hybrid beats the PriusV by $1,315 (including destination for both cars).We don’t know yet what’s standard on the C-MAX Hybrid versus the Prius V, nor can we say anything for how it drives, except that Ford claims a 62 mph top speed in electric-only mode, more than double what any Prius can reach. As for the regular Prius and smaller Prius c, no oil-burning car on the market— gas, gas-electric, or diesel—has been able to beat them in an EPA test.