NOVEMBER 22, 2017

Editor-in-Chief's Note: The hue and cry on Twitter and other outlets over my broadside against St. Elon Musk in my column this week was predictable and expected. That I had the temerity to criticize their Fearless Leader and would deign to bring up the painful reality concerning his antics seemed to be beyond the pale for his devotees. I am not sorry. The blind devotion to this guy is beyond comprehension at this point, and certain denizens of Wall Street and select homers in the media shoulder much of the blame for pumping Musk up to deity status. Yet still, the facts haven't changed. Tesla still isn't able to build a quality automobile. Tesla has never made a profit building automobiles. Tesla is hemorrhaging cash at a prodigious rate. The much-touted Model 3, which was to be the vehicle that would propel Tesla to legitimacy as a mainstream automaker, is a nonstarter and any thoughts of the company building 500,000 of them is the joke that just keeps on giving. And bored with the "hell" of trying to manufacturer the Model 3, Musk turns his maniacally short attention span to showcasing a Class 8 semi-truck and a sports car for the one-tenth of one percenters. He even suggested after the show that the sports car could be turned into a flying car down the road. Am I questioning Musk's brilliance or his visionary perspectives? Absolutely not. I applaud those aspects. But the free pass he has been given as an alleged automaker is inexcusable and unforgivable. In fact, if a domestic automaker had attempted even a shred of what Musk has gotten away with there would be hearings in Washington so public floggings of executives could be carried out. The bottom line? The High-Octane Truth hurts at times. And I stand by every word of my column. -PMD

(Aston Martin images)
This is the new Aston Martin Vantage. Showcasing obvious design tweaks and powered by a 4.0-liter Twin-Turbo V8 with 503HP and 505 lb-ft of torque coupled to an eight-speed ZF gearbox, the new Vantage goes 0 to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds with a top speed of 195 mph. It is the first Aston Martin to be equipped with a Electronic Rear Differential. The new Vantage will arrive in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2018, with a retail price starting at $149,995.