#options

While there are plenty of people that remain annoyed that the Ford Mustang Mach-E continues carrying the Mustang name, the vehicle itself is probably one of the better examples from the electric-crossover segment. Hoping to sweeten the pot, Ford has elected to offer the vehicle with an optional appearance package and some new paint options allowing for one of the best color combinations in automotive history — bronze and green. 

When the world learned that Acura was going to bring back the Type S moniker, a subset of enthusiasts who remembered models wearing the performance badge were readying their applause. While the TLX Type S deserves some amount of praise, the limited edition PMC models are difficult to rationalize unless you’re buying one under the assumption that it’ll appreciate in value parked in your garage. But it just keeps getting more ridiculous with Acura now offering Gotham Gray paint as a $3,000 option.

This post is less about bringing breaking news to the B&B and more about giving your author a chance to run photos of a Jeep in an obnoxious color which he greatly enjoys. The brand calls it High Velocity Yellow; I call it fantastic.

“Do everything better, and don’t be afraid of gimmicks” seems to be the mantra the 2021 Ford F-150‘s development team toiled under. Given the company’s track record with the model, it’s likely a strategy that will pay off.

Optional hybrid power (pricing of which came to light yesterday) and lie-flat front seats are things the F-150’s rivals can’t claim; same goes for on-board factory generators for both hybrid and gas-powered models. As more time passes following the model’s June debut, more secrets are being spilled.

For example, some of the niceties offered on the revamped model won’t arrive until later on, nor will they be an across-the-board option.

The future’s weird, man. As wireless, over-the-air (OVA) software updates become an increasingly common thing in the auto industry, OEMs have weighed its potential. It opens doors to new ways of doing business. New ways of outfitting cars.

New ownership experiences, too.

Frankly, what BMW wants to pull on its customers would make a good QOTD. Some background, first.

What’s the point of owning a GMC if no one knows it’s a GMC? The question no one asked is apparently being answered, with General Motors reportedly offering a lit-up badge as a dealer-installed option for its 2021 Yukon line.

Sometimes a mile-high grille filled with a red GMC logo big enough to bludgeon a man to death with just isn’t enough to get the message across.

You might not have noticed but Audi has been quietly reducing the complexity of its lineup by eliminating certain content combinations, often in select markets. Here, the biggest change was the elimination of the manual gearbox for 2019. But Audi said it needed to be done due to there being an abysmally low take rate for besticked vehicles in North America.

Apparently, the automaker is just getting warmed up on tamping down the configurations. In an recent chat with Autocar, Audi CEO Bram Schot said there was plenty more work to be done. Having already reduced the number of model variants in certain regions by 27 percent, compared to last year’s options, the CEO said the manufacturer still wasn’t where it wanted to be.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb has authored a series of books he labels Incerto, that Amazon tells us is “an investigation of opacity, luck, uncertainty, probability, human error, risk, and decision-making in a world we don’t understand.” The best known work in the series is “The Black Swan,” which teaches that highly improbable things happen frequently. His most recent work is “Antifragile,” which explains how successful systems deal with the random disorder of reality.

A recent essay by Taleb on Medium talks about how a small minority* of just 3 or 4 percent of a greater population can force accommodations by the majority. Taleb uses a broad range of examples — business, cultural, political, religious and culinary — to make the point that if a minority is large enough and intransigent enough in its needs or wants, that what it wants in specific doesn’t really matter to the majority, that minority’s wishes will prevail.

What does this have to do with cars? How many customers really want an illuminated vanity mirror in their sun visor?

After Tesla is done delivering Founders and Signature editions of its Model X SUV, the company will offer a 70D model later next year with a 220 mile range for $80,000 plus $1,200 for shipping. A 90D, with a range of 257 miles and quicker sprint up to 60 mph, will be offered as well, but the company hasn’t disclosed how much that will cost.

Automotive News reported that the automaker updated its online configurator for potential customers to configure their base cars. A 70D Model X with every option checked tops out around $100,000.

The public Model X page only lists the 90D as deliverable next year, which Automotive News speculated could mean that the company may make the 70D available later in the year or 2017.

Tesla may need to sell 500,000 cars by 2020 to meet projected goals by shareholders.

Volkswagen has announced sweeping changes to their suite of tech-driven safety features for the 2016 model year, making a vast array of options available on almost every model within its range.

The features, which are currently only available on the Touareg, will trickle down to a number of other models including the Beetle, CC, Jetta, Passat and Golf in all its flavors.

Those who were waiting for the Chevrolet SS to have a manual transmission to go with its Australian power, they can now breathe: The order guide confirms the 2015 model will that, as well as the Magnetic Ride suspension.

GM has announced details for the 2012 Model Year Chevrolet Volt, and for the second year of production The General is already addressing the Volt’s most controversial feature: its high price. The base MSRP for the Volt will drop from $41,000 to $39,995 for the 2012 year of production, an accomplishment that GM explains

is possible in part because of a wider range of options and configurations that come with the expansion of Volt production for sale nationally.

Wider range of options and configurations? According to the Detroit News, this means navigation and a Bose speakers are no longer standard features on the base-price Volt, but that seven options configurations are now available compared to the 2011’s three. And, on the other end of the pricing equation, the Volt’s fully-loaded price has increased to $46,265 from the $44,278 that Chevy’s configurator tops out at for a loaded 2011. Keyless access with passive locking is the only new standard feature for 2012. With more choices and a slightly lower price of entry, GM is clearly trying to move the Volt away from the “novelty” image that CEO Dan Akerson referenced earlier this week, as it ramps up Volt production for 60,000 units next year. But until the Volt’s price starts dropping without simply offering a less-contented version, the road to mass sales will continue to be a tough one.