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<ul class="summary-list"><li>I've driven more than two-dozen electric vehicles. </li><li>Five stand out as the most fun to drive. </li></ul><p>I've tested <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/favorite-electric-vehicles-porsche-tesla-hyundai-mercedes-bmw-rivian-2023-4">more than two-dozen electric vehicles</a> of all different shapes, sizes, and price points. But a few stand out as being the most fun to drive. </p><p>To be sure, "fun" as a concept is broad and subjective. The tea-drinking crossword puzzler has a different definition than the all-night raver. And the same goes for cars. </p><p>These four vehicles put a smile on my face, got my heart racing, or all of the above. </p><h2><strong>Kia EV6 GT</strong></h2><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="The 2023 Kia EV6 GT." height="1467" width="2200" msid="99812351" hostid="261" sizebytes="922776"></div><p>Warn your passengers to brace themselves before pinning it in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kia-ev6-gt-electric-suv-review-tesla-rival-2023-2">Kia's new EV6 GT</a>. And maybe double check they don't have any pre-existing neck problems. Because this isn't your ordinary Kia.</p><p>The new-for-2023 version of the EV6 SUV packs a serious punch in the form of 576 horsepower and 545 pound-feet of torque. The result: instantaneous, gut-punching acceleration when you put the pedal to the metal. Kia says the dual-motor, all-wheel-drive hatchback zips to 60 mph in a brisk 3.4 seconds. </p><div type="image" title="The 2023 Kia EV6 GT." height="1667" width="2500" msid="99812353" hostid="261" sizebytes="177038"></div><p>On top of the jaw-dropping quickness, there's something extra enjoyable about doing it all not in a Porsche or a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bmw-ix-vs-mercedes-benz-eqs-electric-luxury-suv-compared-2023-3">BMW</a>, but in a Kia.</p><p>Interested? The EV6 GT is priced from around $63,000. </p><h2>Pininfarina Battista</h2><div type="image" title="The Pininfarina Battista." height="1526" width="2000" msid="99812355" hostid="261" sizebytes="182466"></div><p>When you take the oomph of the EV6 GT and more than triple it, you get <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pininfarina-battista-fastest-electric-supercar-review-horsepower-price-photos-2022-10">the certifiably outrageous Pininfarina Battista</a>. </p><p>The $2 million supercar packs an astonishing 1,900 horsepower from four motors — one driving each wheel. In its own testing, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pininfarina-battista-electric-supercar-review-ev-horsepower-rimac-2022-11">Pininfarina says it achieved a 0-60-mph time of <em>1.79 seconds</em></a>, faster than any other street-legal car. </p><div type="image" title="The Pininfarina Battista." height="1667" width="2500" msid="99812357" hostid="261" sizebytes="161400"></div><p>A number is one thing — experiencing it is something else entirely. Flooring the Battista in its most ferocious driving setting, Furiosa, feels like breaking the laws of physics. It takes off like a rocket and gives you the sneaking suspicion that you're a blink away from vanishing into some other dimension. </p><p>Fun? Yes. Terrifying? You bet. </p><h2>Rivian R1T</h2><div type="image" title="[EMBARGO 9/28 DNP] Rivian R1T" height="1875" width="2500" msid="99812359" hostid="261" sizebytes="552992"></div><p>And now for something completely different: the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rivian-electric-ev-truck-pickup-coolest-features-r1t-2021-10">Rivian R1T pickup truck</a>. I got behind the wheel of California startup Rivian's first model back in 2021 and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rivian-r1t-ev-electric-pickup-first-drive-impressions-photos-2021-9">had an absolute blast tackling trails in the Colorado mountains</a>. </p><p>The rugged R1T amounts to something like a cheat code for off-roading. I came in with zero off-pavement experience and in no time found myself gleefully crawling over beachball-sized boulders, fording streams, and zooming up gravelly hills. On steep descents, the R1T slows to a manageable crawl, recapturing energy for its battery pack. </p><div type="image" title="[EMBARGO 9/28 DNP] Rivian R1T" height="1875" width="2500" msid="99812360" hostid="261" sizebytes="676976"></div><p>The truck's adjustable-height suspension and quad-motor all-wheel-drive system mean basically all you have to do is steer toward some scary obstacle and hit the right pedal. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-electric-cars-rivian-r1s-hyundai-ioniq-5-porsche-taycan-2022-12">Rivian's R1S SUV</a> offers similar capabilities, but I didn't get to test it on such challenging terrain, so the R1T stands out. </p><h2>Porsche Taycan</h2><div type="image" title="The 2022 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo Turbo S." height="1571" width="2500" msid="99812364" hostid="261" sizebytes="472902"></div><p>Porsches are renowned for their superior driving dynamics. After <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/porsche-taycan-turbo-s-cross-turismo-electric-car-review-2022-6">taking a spin in the brand's Taycan Cross Turismo Turbo S</a>, I can see why. </p><p>I didn't take the electric station wagon to the track or anything, but even on public roads it felt unlike any other car I've driven. Through every turn, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/porsche-taycan-4s-review-ev-electric-sedan-tesla-lucid-mercedes-2021-3">the Taycan</a> felt stable and almost glued to the road. And thanks to its tight steering, I felt remarkably connected to it. I could place it precisely where I wanted to with the slightest tweak of the wheel. </p><div type="image" title="The 2021 Porsche Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo." height="1875" width="2500" msid="99812366" hostid="261" sizebytes="526840"></div><p>Moreover, the Cross Turismo Turbo S I drove had 750 horsepower and a 60-mph sprint of just 2.7 seconds, according to Porsche. With power like that at your disposal, it's tough not to have a thrilling time. </p><h2>GMC Hummer EV</h2><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gmc-hummer-ev-review-price-electric-pickup-truck-2022-11"></a></p><div type="image" title="The GMC Hummer EV Edition 1." height="1875" width="2500" msid="99812367" hostid="261" sizebytes="709996"></div><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gmc-hummer-ev-review-price-electric-pickup-truck-2022-11">GMC's gargantuan electric pickup</a> is a nightmare to drive on city streets. And even on the highway, I constantly feared I was about to demolish some tiny Honda Civic. Still, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hummer-ev-photos-electric-pickup-truck-review-gmc-edition-1-2022-11">the Hummer EV</a> is a joy when you have a bit more space to roam. <p>The six-figure truck feels like a supersized, incredibly expensive toy.</p><p>It has removable glass panels for a roof and quickness that makes absolutely no sense for a 9,000-pound vehicle. It can turn all four wheels the same direction and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gmc-hummer-crab-mode-crawl-diagonally-across-sand-ev-truck-2020-9">drive diagonally</a>. When you switch between drive modes, video-game animations pop up on the Hummer's screen showing the truck trundling across quirky environments, like the Moon or Mars. </p><div type="image" title="The 2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1." height="1667" width="2500" msid="99812567" hostid="261" sizebytes="186438"></div><p>It's all so over the top, so ostentatious, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gmc-hummer-ev-efficiency-weight-electric-vehicles-pickup-trucks-2022-12">so unnecessarily large</a>, that you can't help but laugh at the Hummer's sheer absurdity when you're behind the wheel. </p>

After testing more than 25 electric cars, these 5 were the most fun to drive

Global smartphone brand <keyword id="1731609" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="oppo" source="Orion">OPPO</keyword> on Friday launched a new smartphone, OPPO A55, in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> that will be available in two storage variants.<br /><br />The 4GB+64GB variant will be available from Sunday for ₹15,490, while the 6GB+128GB model will be available from October 11 onwards for ₹17,490 on <keyword id="18635" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="amazon" source="Orion">Amazon</keyword> and across mainline retail outlets.<br /><br />The smartphone comes with 50MP AI triple camera along with a 2MP bokeh shooter and a 2MP macro snapper. And, there is a 16MP from camera for selfies, the company said in a statement.<br /><br />The device features a 5000mAh long-lasting battery which allows around 30 hours of call time or 25 hours of music streaming. It also comes with 18W fast charge technology that juices the handset up to 33 per cent in only 30 minutes, the company claimed.<br /><br />The OPPO A55, available in rainbow blue and starry black, sports a stylish 3D curved design. The smartphone also carries an IPX4 rating for splash-resistance and sports a battery cover that has a faux metal texture.<br /><br />The smartphone runs OPPO Color OS 11.1, which has performance-boosting features such System Booster, Idle Time Optimizer, <keyword id="12220775" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="storage-optimizer" source="Orion">Storage Optimizer</keyword>, and UI First 3.0; gaming-centric features such as Game Focus Mode and <keyword id="12220776" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bullet-screen" source="Orion">Bullet Screen</keyword>, as well as safety features like <keyword id="12220774" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="low-battery-sms" source="Orion">Low Battery SMS</keyword>, Private Safe and <keyword id="1592436" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="app-lock" source="Orion">App Lock</keyword>.<br /><br />It also includes the FlexDrop feature that minimizes app windows when you multitask and Three-finger Translate with Google Lens that allows you to capture and translate screen-shotted text.<br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO:<br /><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/news/hondas-futuristic-plans-include-flying-taxis-rockets-and-robots-that-can-roam-on-the-moon/articleshow/86675013.cms">Honda’s futuristic plans include flying taxis, rockets, and robots that can roam on the moon</a><br /></strong><a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/heres-why-paras-defence-and-space-tech-got-the-best-listing-post-ipo-this-year/articleshow/86674479.cms"><strong>Paras Defence &amp; Space Technologies makes space cameras and it just made the best listing post-IPO this year</strong></a><br />

OPPO rolls out new smartphone A55 in India starting at ₹15,490

<ul class="summary-list"><li>I spent a weekend with the new all-electric Hummer pickup truck. </li><li>The GMC Hummer EV is ridiculously large, astonishingly quick, and excessive in every way. </li></ul><p>General Motors' Hummer brand died in 2010 after the financial crash slammed sales of the big gas guzzler. Now, 12 years later, we have a new stock market rout, a new potential housing bubble, and, to top it all off, the Hummer is back. </p><p>Only this time, it's electric. </p><p>Although the GMC Hummer EV doesn't gulp fossil fuels or spew climate-warming gasses like its predecessors, it still very much carries on the Hummer's tradition of being stupidly large and outrageously excessive.</p><p><a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90790197/yes-to-electric-cars-but-not-the-hummer-ev">A lot of people criticize it for that</a>, but that's also what makes it so darn fun.</p><h2><strong>First, the basics</strong></h2><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="The 2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1." height="1334" width="2000" msid="95789458" hostid="261" sizebytes="556366"></div><p>GM <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/with-an-electric-hummer-reportedly-coming-heres-a-look-at-its-storied-past-2020-1">plucked the Hummer name from the scrapyard</a> to create a new all-electric brand under GMC in 2020. The Hummer EV pickup launched in late 2021, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gmc-hummer-ev-suv-cost-release-range-2021-4">an SUV</a> is on the way for 2023. </p><p>Over time, the pickup lineup will expand to include several trucks at various price points, including an $80,000 base model. GMC is starting out with the $113,000 Edition 1, a fully loaded truck with 1,000 horsepower, three electric motors, and a long list of quirky features. </p><div type="image" title="The GMC Hummer EV Edition 1." height="1875" width="2500" msid="95789461" hostid="261" sizebytes="709996"></div><p>The Hummer <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-f150-lightning-hummer-ev-rivian-r1t-electric-pickup-trucks-2022-11">rivals two other electric pickups</a>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-f150-lightning-electric-price-pickup-review-first-drive-2022-5">Ford's F-150 Lightning</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rivian-r1t-ev-electric-pickup-first-drive-impressions-photos-2021-9">Rivian's R1T</a>. It also competes with glitzy SUVs like the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen, because although the Hummer has a bed and major off-road chops, odds are most buyers won't use it that way. </p><h2><strong>What stands out: An over-the-top truck packed with cool features</strong></h2><p>Nothing about the Hummer EV is subtle. It smacks you right in the face with its brawny looks and flashy interior. It's packed with outlandish features and all amped up on Monster energy drink, ready to show you what it can do. </p><div type="image" title="The 2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1." height="1334" width="2000" msid="95789463" hostid="261" sizebytes="619060"></div><p>The Hummer EV's glass roof is removable, because why not? It comes off surprisingly easily using latches that lock four glass panels into place. They all stow away nice and snug in the Hummer's spacious front trunk. Sans roof panels, the frunk offers 11.3 cubic feet of cargo room, rivaling the trunks of some small cars. </p><p>Inside, the Hummer gets two big screens, gold-accented air vents the size of your head, and designs inspired by the Moon's surface throughout as a nod to GM's work on the Apollo 15 lunar rover. There's more than enough headroom and legroom for passengers of most shapes and sizes, plus a sprawling central cubby that's big enough to fit a Thanksgiving turkey. (We've <em>all</em> been there.)</p><div type="image" title="The 2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1." height="1667" width="2500" msid="95789466" hostid="261" sizebytes="179452"></div><p>Cycle through the Hummer's drive modes and you'll see detailed, video game-like animations of the pickup zooming across different terrains. In Off-Road mode, the truck scrambles across the sands of Mars. In Tow/Haul, it's shown pulling a rocket. The Hummer brings a bit of flair to the mundane parts of driving. </p><h2><strong>Driving the Hummer </strong></h2><p>When switched into the tongue-in-cheek "Watts to Freedom" (WTF) mode, the Hummer EV claims to hit 60 mph as quickly as a supercar — in an astonishing three seconds. </p><div type="image" title="The 2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1." height="1667" width="2500" msid="95789469" hostid="261" sizebytes="209272"></div><p>Even in the more subdued Normal setting, which is what I stuck to, the Hummer is a 9,000-pound rocket ship. Stomping the throttle sends the entire truck rearing backward like a powerboat as it gathers speed. With the top down and the gargantuan truck bobbing all over the place, I couldn't help but giggle at the absurdity of it all. </p><p>Equipped with a healthy 329 miles of Environmental Protection Agency-estimated range, the Hummer does a great job of soothing range anxiety. It rides comfortably and comes with Super Cruise, GM's excellent hands-free driving feature that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cadillac-escalade-super-cruise-hands-free-road-trip-spoiled-me-2022-6">relieves some of the monotony of longer highway stints</a>. </p><div type="image" title="The 2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1." height="1667" width="2500" msid="95789471" hostid="261" sizebytes="186438"></div><p>One thing I couldn't get used to was just how freakin' big the thing is. It's ridiculously wide and tall and its boxy proportions impede visibility in most directions. I drove with the looming fear that I'd misjudge how close I was to something — or someone — and felt the urge to constantly apologize to other motorists for the amount of space I occupied. </p><p>However, maneuvering in tight spaces was surprisingly painless thanks to the Hummer's rear-wheel steering. At low speeds, the truck's back wheels swivel the opposite direction as the front ones, cutting its turning circle. </p><div type="image" title="The GMC Hummer EV Edition 1." height="1759" width="2500" msid="95789474" hostid="261" sizebytes="754548"></div><p>That system also enables the Hummer's buzziest feature: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gmc-hummer-crab-mode-crawl-diagonally-across-sand-ev-truck-2020-9">Crab Walk</a>. It points the rear wheels in the same orientation as the front ones, letting you drive diagonally in off-pavement settings. Featuring tons of ground clearance, underbody armor, and lots of torque, the EV is supposed to be incredibly capable off-road, but I didn't get to test that. </p><h2><strong>What falls short: New Hummer, same problems</strong></h2><p>The Hummer EV is wildly inefficient compared to its competitors, which is both unfortunate and on brand. It gets 47 miles per gallon of gasoline equivalent (MPGe), according to the EPA. The F-150 Lightning gets up to 70 MPGe, while a highly efficient EV like the Tesla Model 3 earns 132. </p><div type="image" title="The 2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1." height="1420" width="2000" msid="95789476" hostid="261" sizebytes="347698"></div><p>Another concerning bit about the Hummer: Its size. The thought that any sufficiently rich bozo can go buy a truck that weighs three Honda Civics and accelerates like a Lamborghini is frankly worrisome given the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/briefing/vehicle-crashes-deaths-pandemic.html">deadly epidemic of car crashes</a> in this country. </p><p>But then again, if people are always going to want big trucks, they might as well be powered sustainably. </p><h2><strong>Our impressions: American excess, electrified</strong></h2><p><strong></strong></p><div type="image" title="The 2022 GMC Hummer EV Edition 1." height="1667" width="2500" msid="95789654" hostid="261" sizebytes="123912"></div><p>I didn't expect to enjoy the Hummer EV nearly as much as I did. An extravagant truck that's hard to see out of and bigger than anyone needs just isn't my personal cup of tea.</p><p>But the Hummer's pointlessness is charming, and its capabilities are downright impressive. It's so perfectly optimized to put a smile on your face that you can't help but give in. </p>

The $113,000 Hummer EV is totally outrageous in every way — and that's what makes it such a good time

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced in <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1157541685980610560">a Saturday tweet</a> that he would be launching The Boring Company China while on a Shanghai trip to the World Artificial Intelligence Conference <a href="https://www.shine.cn/World-Artificial-Intelligence-Conference/">in late August</a>.</li><li>Musk founded The Boring Company, an infrastructure and tunneling construction company, in 2016 in part <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musks-boring-company-reportedly-raising-first-outside-funding-2019-7">because of</a> his frustrations with Los Angeles traffic.</li><li>The Boring Company has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musks-boring-company-reportedly-raising-first-outside-funding-2019-7">embarked on</a> contracts and projects in Los Angeles, Chicago, Maryland, and Las Vegas, but has yet to complete any tunnels for consumer or commerical use.&#xa0;</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul><p>Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1157541685980610560">via a tweet</a> on Saturday that he would be launching The Boring Company China, the first <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="international">international</keyword> extension of his infrastructure and tunneling construction company, in late August while in Shanghai for <a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201906/18/WS5d089f7aa3103dbf14328eca.html">the second</a> World Artificial Intelligence Conference.</p><p>In <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1157541864288866304">another tweet</a>, the founder and CEO of The Boring Company confirmed that it would embark on building underwater tunnels, in addition to planned projects in Los Angeles, Chicago, Maryland, and Las Vegas.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musks-boring-company-reportedly-raising-first-outside-funding-2019-7">Musk created</a> The Boring Company in 2016 as a subsidiary of SpaceX, his private aerospace manufacturing and space transportation company. In 2018, The Boring Company became a separate corporate entity, of which <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musks-boring-company-reportedly-raising-first-outside-funding-2019-7">Musk owns</a> 90 percent equity and SpaceX owns 6 percent equity.&#xa0;</p><p><strong><em>Read more: </em></strong><em><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musks-boring-company-reportedly-raising-first-outside-funding-2019-7">Elon Musk's Boring Company is raising $120 million in its first outside funding round</a></em></p><p>Last year, the infrastructure company <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musks-boring-company-reportedly-raising-first-outside-funding-2019-7">raised $112.5 million</a>, 90 percent of which came from Musk, who says he spends between <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIwLWfaAg-8&amp;t=10m29s">2 and 3 percent</a> of his time on The Boring Company.</p><p>While Musk's tunneling construction venture has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musks-boring-company-reportedly-raising-first-outside-funding-2019-7">yet to complete</a> any tunnels for commercial or consumer use, it is aiming to complete its first project, a tunnel connecting the two ends of the Las Vegas Convention Center, by the end of 2019. The company built a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musks-boring-company-reportedly-raising-first-outside-funding-2019-7">2-mile test tunnel</a> at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, and has projects in mind to build "hyperloop" transportation tunnels in Chicago and between Baltimore and Washington, D.C.</p><p>Musk was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musks-boring-company-reportedly-raising-first-outside-funding-2019-7">partly inspired</a> by traffic in Los Angeles in creating The Boring Company, and initially had plans to build tunnels in LA before opposition from local residents caused the project to be put on hold indefinitely.</p><p>The CEO is set to make an appearance at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference on August 29 to August 31, which <a href="https://t.cj.sina.com.cn/articles/view/1891330474/70bb69aa00100gav1">will focus on</a> artificial intelligence topics that include industrial development and technological innovation, along with applications for AI such as education, medical care, urban management, industry, and finance.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/can-tesla-survive-the-great-auto-disruption-2019-8" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">Tesla could be the only automaker that doesn't survive the Great Auto Disruption</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-executive-departures-list-2018-9" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">Tesla's longest-tenured executive is leaving the company - here are all the key names who have departed in the past year</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-solar-energy-unit-management-changes-amid-falling-sales-2019-8" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">Tesla is reportedly making big changes to its energy unit as it tries to ramp up falling solar sales</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-jeff-bezos-cars-of-top-tech-moguls-2019-7" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">Hondas, Toyotas, and a Morris Minor: These are the surprisingly modest car choices of the world's top tech billionaires</a></li></ul><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hidden-benefits-amazon-prime-power-user-2017-7">7 lesser-known benefits of Amazon Prime</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Elon Musk announced that he'll launch The Boring Company China in Shanghai at the end of August

<ul class="summary-list"><li>I tested a 2020 <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/toyota">Toyota</a> Highlander, priced at $44,498 for the well-appointed XLE trim level.</li><li>The Highlander I sampled has a reasonably potent 296-horsepower V6 engine, decent seating for eight passengers, and ample cargo capacity with the third row of seats dropped.</li><li>The Highlander is the classic "don't think about it" mid-size mass-market <keyword id="45454" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="SUV">SUV</keyword>.</li><li>It won't have you jumping for joy, but it shouldn't keep you up at night worried about whether it will fail at its duties: delivering rock-solid reliability and family-friendly versatility.</li></ul><p><keyword id="6374528" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="toyota">Toyota</keyword> has a reputation for being the brand you buy when you don't want to think about it too much. The company will sell you everything from a subcompact hatchback (Yaris) to a sports car (Supra) to a full-size pickup (Tundra) to a car that runs on hydrogen (Mirai). Toyota has done the brain work for you; all you have to do is show up and drive off.</p><p>That might sound ... a little depressing, especially if you see cars as emotional purchases. But the truth is that most people don't want to overthink their vehicle. They want it to start every single time it's cranked and provide them with hundreds of thousands of miles of worry-free motoring.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Toyota Highlander XLE" height="939" width="1252" msid="78682948" hostid="261"></div><p>In this respect, the Highlander SUV is representative of what a fantastic job Toyota has done in its mission of building vehicles that work for everybody and make trouble for nobody. The mid-size crossover sits smack in the middle of the most important market in the US, bracketed by the compact RAV4 and the off-road optimized 4Runner and the full-size Sequoia. Sales have typically been robust: Toyota has sold well over 200,000 Highlanders in each of the past three years.</p><p>This SUV has been in the lineup since 2000, and the fourth generation was unveiled last year. I recently checked out a 2020 Highlander XLE, a step up from the base L and LE trims. The starting price was $41,200, and a brief list of options took the as-tested sticker to $44,498. (The cheapest Highlander is about $35,000, while the top-dog Platinum is almost $47,000, and there are hybrid choices in the range, all of which tack on a grand or so to their trim level's cost.)</p><h2>The Highlander isn't taking any chances in a tough segment</h2><div type="image" title="2020 Toyota Highlander XLE" height="1500" width="2000" msid="78682952" hostid="261"></div><p>Competition in this segment is brutal. The Highlander jousts with the Honda Pilot, the Subaru Ascent, the VW Atlas, the Ford Explorer, the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2020-kia-telluride-review-price-specs-suv-horsepower-three-row-2020-9">wildly popular new Kia Telluride</a>. Mass-market mid-size SUV customers are looking for seating capacity, cargo space, reliability, decent technology, and a reasonable price tag. </p><p>Toyota has traditionally not thrilled its partisans so much as reassured them. And the 2020 Highlander is a case in point: this crossover has been improved in all the right places, but, stacked up again the Pilot, the Ascent, or especially the Telluride, it lacks thrills. </p><div type="image" title="2020 Toyota Highlander XLE" height="819" width="1092" msid="78682955" hostid="261"></div><p>By design, really. Because on the other hand, the overall experience of driving the Highlander around in its natural, suburban environment is one of reassurance, indeed. The only significant thought I had during the week Toyota loaned me the vehicle was, "Yep, this here is a good truck."</p><p>By never doing anything wrong, Toyota gets a lot right.</p><h2>An exterior that's attractive without calling attention to itself</h2><div type="image" title="2020 Toyota Highlander XLE" height="1500" width="2000" msid="78682957" hostid="261"></div><p>For what it's worth, my attractive "Moon Dust" Highlander, with a "Graphite" interior, was built with pride in Indiana, making it an American-made SUV with a Japanese badge. The styling is consistent with what Toyota has been doing across its portfolio: enhancing the angles, sharpening the corners, and accentuating the folds in the sheet metal, without going too crazy.</p><p>Decades of studying Toyotas have given me the tendency to find them unexciting, but of late, there's been more jazz in the aesthetics. Older Highlanders are bland boxes that never broke down, while the 2020 version has added some visual attitude — and will probably never break down.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Toyota Highlander XLE" height="1500" width="2000" msid="78682964" hostid="261"></div><p>For example, the gently-sloping roof ends in a spoiler atop the hatch, and there are character lines that define the rear haunches. My tester had 18-inch alloy wheels, and they didn't really fill the arches, but they looked fairly sharp.</p><p>The LED headlights were very effective, punching through the darkness and offering automatic high beams.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Toyota Highlander XLE" height="1503" width="2000" msid="78682973" hostid="261"></div><p>Inside, the Highlander combines comfort with seating capacity; my tester had three rows, and they were all pretty cushy without being plush. I didn't have the captain's chairs for the second row, but rather a bench, meaning that on paper, my SUV could handle eight occupants.</p><p>The fronts were heated, and the third row was predictably useless for grownups while diminishing cargo space (at 16 cubic feet, it isn't terrible, but drop the third row and you have 48 cubic feet — and drop the second row and you have a whopping 84). The liftgate in the tester was powered, something I always find helpful.</p><h2>A good engine, a good transmission, and decent MPGs</h2><div type="image" title="2020 Toyota Highlander XLE" height="1500" width="2000" msid="78682981" hostid="261"></div><p>Under the hood, the Highlander XLE has a 3.5-liter V6 engine, making 295 horsepower with 263 pound-feet of torque, all sent through an eight-speed automatic to the all-wheel-drive system (a less potent four-cylinder is also on the menu, as well as the hybrids). This is a rock-solid motor that yields good if not stunning fuel economy, at 20 mpg in the city, 27 mpg on the highway, and 23 mpg combined. </p><p>Speed isn't the Highlander's skill set (a zippier XSE trim is slated for next year). I observed a 0-60 mph time in the eight-second ballpark, but if you don't lay on the throttle, nine might be more realistic. However, the Highlander XLE, which weighs in at around 4,500 lbs., can tow 5,000. That's plenty for a small camper or trailer.</p><h2>Technology, but not state-of-the-art</h2><div type="image" title="2020 Toyota Highlander XLE" height="1500" width="2000" msid="78682986" hostid="261"></div><p>I own two Toyotas, so I'm more than accustomed to the company's defiantly-not-industry-leading infotainment system. In the Highlander, it runs on an eight-inch central touchscreen, with additional buttons to swap menus. It gets the job done.</p><p>Bluetooth pairing is easy, GPS navigation is accurate (but you have to watch it with Toyota, as the mapping provides you with three routes and the quickest choice can be vexing), there are the usual USB ports from device connectivity, and my tester was outfitted with a wireless charge pad.</p><div type="image" title="2020 Toyota Highlander XLE" height="1498" width="1997" msid="78682990" hostid="261"></div><p>Apple CarPlay is available if you need a fallback from the in-house system, and my tester had a premium audio system that sounded pretty good, it not remarkable.</p><p>The SUVs can be outfitted with a host of driver-assist features, from adaptive cruise control with steering assist to lane-departure warnings and blind-spot alerts.</p><h2>There isn't much the Highlander can't handle, and that's why you buy it</h2><div type="image" title="2020 Toyota Highlander XLE" height="1503" width="2000" msid="78682994" hostid="261"></div><p>After a week of driving the Highlander hither and yon, I ended up exactly where I thought I'd be: satisfied and, you guessed it, reassured. </p><p>I've literally never heard anyone enthuse over their Highlander, although I know more than a few folks who've been quietly enjoying the SUV for nearly a decade. I myself was tempted by a Highlander hybrid last year when I went Toyota shopping. (I ended up the RAV4 hybrid.) </p><p>Toyota sells a lot of Highlanders every year because there's nothing you can throw at this mid-size SUV it can't handle, apart from trying to squeeze adults into row three. It's just fine for running errands, just fine for Costco runs, just fine for taking kids to school or activities, just fine at hauling around a moderate amount of gear, just fine at towing stuff, just fine at taking road trips, and if you absolutely, positively need to get off the asphalt and deal with some unimproved terrain, you'll be OK in the Highlander.</p><p>Look, I know it isn't the coolest crossover on the market, and it isn't really fun to drive. Its sibling, the 4Runner, is a better choice if you intend to tackle the backwoods. </p><p>But if I had to buy a mid-size crossover tomorrow and didn't want to think about it, I'd buy a Highlander. My heart wouldn't be racing, but I'd be able to sleep at night.</p>

REVIEW: The new Toyota Highlander is a lot like the old Toyota Highlander — a solid SUV that shouldn't let you down

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The <keyword id="1055033" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Toyota-Rav4">Toyota RAV4</keyword> is the automaker's most popular vehicle, selling nearly half a million last year alone.</li><li>The 2021 RAV4 Prime is the plug-in hybrid version, which boasts an impressive 42 estimated miles of EV-only range.</li><li>The RAV4 Prime has a starting price of $38,100, but my loaner in the top-tier XSE AWD trim started at $41,425 MSRP. After options, it came out to $49,831.</li></ul><p>The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/toyota-rav4-prime">2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime</a> is what you get when you take the best-selling passenger car in the US, make it a plug-in hybrid, and give it great all-electric range. To those still waiting on the so-called EV revolution, I say it's already here — here in the form of highly capable <keyword id="2158849" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="plug-in-hybrids">plug-in hybrids</keyword> like the RAV4 Prime. </p><p>I already know the regular RAV4 <a href="https://jalopnik.com/the-2019-toyota-rav4-can-almost-do-it-all-1834282110">is a champion at almost everything it does</a>, so it was unsurprising that when I made a list of cars I was most excited to drive this year, the RAV4 Prime was near the top. It was time to see if the 302-horsepower, plug-in hybrid version of an already great car would be any better.</p><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_16" height="3750" width="2500" msid="78590824" hostid="261"></div><p>Spoiler alert: It is.</p><h2><strong>The 2021 <keyword id="6374528" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="toyota">Toyota</keyword> RAV4 Optimus Prime: Plug-in <keyword id="6557668" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hybrids">hybrids</keyword>, roll out</strong></h2><p>The RAV4 is Toyota's most popular vehicle in the US, with <a href="https://pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-motor-north-america-reports-december-2019-year-end-sales/">448,071</a> sold last year alone. It was the <a href="https://www.caranddriver.com/news/g27041933/best-selling-cars-2019/">fourth best-selling vehicle in the US overall</a> behind the Ford F-Series, Ram Pickup, and the Chevrolet Silverado — all pickup trucks.</p><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_56" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78590827" hostid="261"></div><p>The RAV4 is not a pickup truck, but it's not a small car, either. It's a two-row, five-seater SUV that's now in its boxy-faced fifth generation. Length comes to 15 feet, width comes to nearly 6.1 feet, and height comes to 5.6 feet. There are 8.3 inches of ground clearance.</p><p>Partway through the current RAV4's life cycle, Toyota unveiled the RAV4 Prime — the plug-in hybrid version of the SUV — at the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show. </p><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_26" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78590832" hostid="261"></div><p>To be clear, Toyota already had a hybrid RAV4, just not a plug-in one. The RAV4 Prime became the second plug-in hybrid offering from Toyota, following the Prius Prime.</p><h2><strong>Details and safety ratings: The most powerful RAV4 ever </strong></h2><p>A plug-in hybrid is different from a conventional hybrid because, as its name suggests, you can plug it in and charge the battery that way. Conventional hybrids have much shorter EV-only ranges, if they offer any at all. A plug-in hybrid's batteries tend to be bigger and EV-only range is greater, but this also makes them more expensive. </p><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_OEM_2" height="1668" width="2500" msid="78590834" hostid="261"></div><p>The RAV4 Prime uses a 2.5-liter, four-cylinder gasoline engine that produces a claimed 177 horsepower. When combined with the electric motors, total system output comes to a claimed 302 horsepower. </p><p>That means the RAV4 Prime is part of a growing camp of Toyota cars and crossovers with more than 300 horsepower, with Toyota proclaiming it the "<a href="https://pressroom.toyota.com/vehicle/2021-toyota-rav4-prime/">most powerful RAV4 ever</a>." Others include the <a href="https://www.automobilemag.com/news/top-10-cheapest-cars-with-300-horsepower-193181/">Toyota Camry TRD, Toyota Avalon XLE</a>, and the <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/toyota-cms-media/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/2021-Toyota-Supra-Product-Info.pdf">six-cylinder Supra</a>. </p><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_35" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78590837" hostid="261"></div><p>The RAV4 Prime has something <a href="https://pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-revs-up-lineup-with-new-302-horsepower-rav4-prime/">Toyota calls</a> "Electronic On-Demand All-Wheel Drive," which involves a separate, rear-mounted electric motor powering the back wheels when necessary, such as during acceleration and in low-traction situations. </p><p>Toyota <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/toyota-rav4-prime-plug-in-hybrid-specs-pricing-release-date-2020-6">quotes</a> the RAV4 Prime's EV-only driving range to be 42 miles, which is <a href="https://www.caranddriver.com/features/g15377500/plug-in-hybrid-car-suv-vehicles/">impressively high</a>. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates it to return 94 mpge (<a href="https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/what-is-mpge">miles per gallon of gasoline-equivalent</a>) and 38 mpg in hybrid mode on city and highway combined driving.</p><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_24" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78590841" hostid="261"></div><p>Comparatively, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-fuel-efficient-cars-vehicles-best-gas-mileage-2019-11#:~:text=The%20average%20car%20sold%20in,miles%20per%20gallon%20(MPG).">the average car sold in the US gets about 25 mpg</a>.</p><p>At the time of this writing, the <keyword id="10085628" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="2021-toyota-rav4-prime">2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime</keyword> has not yet been rated for crash safety by <a href="https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2021/TOYOTA/RAV4%252520PRIME">the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration</a> or the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.</p><h2><strong>What stands out: An estimated 42 miles of EV-only driving </strong></h2><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_OEM_4" height="1668" width="2500" msid="78590843" hostid="261"></div><p>Compared to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2020-lotus-evora-gt-review-price-specs-horsepower-sports-car-2020-9">the last car I drove</a>, the RAV4 Prime was a breeze to climb in and out of. And there was so much room for everything. The back seats were roomy and the trunk offered 33.4 cubic feet of storage space, or <a href="https://jalopnik.com/the-2019-toyota-rav4-can-almost-do-it-all-1834282110">slightly less</a> than the non-plug-in RAV4. </p><p>There was plenty of headroom and, owing to the square design of the rear, visibility was great all around. For front passengers, there were even little rubber-lined cubbies for your loose items. So thoughtful! </p><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_OEM_1" height="1668" width="2500" msid="78590844" hostid="261"></div><p>I awarded additional interior points to the RAV4's extensive button, dial, and switch offerings. True, there was no escaping the slapped-on-screen look, but crucial functions such as the climate and radio volume were still controlled via hard switches. </p><p>The infotainment's user interface looked and felt a little older than some of the other new cars I've reviewed, but it didn't bother me much. I was too busy appreciating the buttons.</p><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_OEM_10" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78590847" hostid="261"></div><p>The RAV4 Prime starts up by default in EV mode, but the gas engine will kick in under hard acceleration. In my own testing, which involved city driving and a stint on the highway, the car returned about 35 miles of EV-only driving before the battery depleted. </p><p>Two buttons on the center console let a driver: keep the car in pure EV-only mode; keep the car in pure gasoline-only mode; utilize charge mode to replenish the battery; or put it in either Auto EV/HV mode, where the car switches between EV-only driving and using the gasoline engine depending on driving conditions.</p><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_OEM_6" height="1668" width="2500" msid="78590849" hostid="261"></div><p>When in the appropriate mode, the car switches seamlessly between battery power and gas power. You can get sucked into figuring out your route and toggling around the modes to maximize efficiency, but if you can't be bothered and just want to drive the RAV4 normally, you can easily do that, too. </p><p>On an empty battery, plugging the car into a wall socket (voltage unknown) took about 11 hours to fully charge. Putting it into charge mode and driving on the highway fully charged the battery in about an hour. </p><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_61" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78590852" hostid="261"></div><h2><strong>What falls short: The driver information cluster has a lot going on</strong></h2><p>My one big gripe with the RAV4 was that it was a little slow. The RAV4 in Prime guise fixed that. It felt much quicker and more urgent off the line thanks to the electric motors, but the four-cylinder drone was still loud in the cabin during hard acceleration.</p><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_OEM_7" height="1668" width="2500" msid="78590856" hostid="261"></div><p>In fact, I wasn't terribly impressed with the car's overall noise, vibration, and harshness quality — also known as NVH, a measurement of the amount of unwanted noise and tactile input that enters the car during driving. The engine was loud and additional noise coming in from the tires against the road did not make for a quiet ride. </p><p>After being so impressed by the casual athleticism of the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/toyota-venza-2021-review-price-new-crossover-hybrid-specs-photos-2020-7">new Toyota Venza</a> recently, I also expected better handling. The Venza felt agile and darty. The RAV4 Prime did not. </p><p>Mostly, it felt top heavy. If I took a corner too quickly and didn't brake adequately beforehand, the car tended to lean pretty heavily, which was unpleasant for my passengers. I learned to take corners conservatively.</p><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_65" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78590859" hostid="261"></div><p>The driver gauge cluster also included far more information than necessary. There are a lot of gauges for <em>a lot</em> of different things. </p><p>The left-hand gauge displays a sort of efficiency meter, showing how much power you're using and what effect it has on your battery. The right-hand gauge shows fuel and battery amount. </p><p>The center display includes a speedometer, odometer, a check-rear-seat indicator, and projected ranges of both EV and HV (hybrid vehicle?) driving. It also tells you what driving mode you're in, as well as a few other numbers and figures I couldn't quite figure out.</p><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_OEM_5" height="1668" width="2500" msid="78590868" hostid="261"></div><p>During the first few hours of my loan, I had to remind myself not to get distracted by reading the gauge cluster. </p><p>Eventually, I made the executive decision to ignore them all, except for the speedo and fuel/battery gauges — the only ones that really matter. </p><h2><strong>How the RAV4 Prime compares to its competitors: That EV-only range, though </strong></h2><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_7" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78590872" hostid="261"></div><p>There certainly aren't as many plug-in hybrid SUVs as there should be. </p><p>A few <a href="https://www.caranddriver.com/features/g15377500/plug-in-hybrid-car-suv-vehicles/">comparable competitors</a> to the RAV4 Prime that come to mind are the Kia Niro PHEV, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jeep-wrangler-plug-in-hybrid-coming-in-2020-8">Jeep Wrangler 4xe</a>, Audi Q5 TFSI e, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, Ford Escape PHEV, and the plug-in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2020-lincoln-aviator-review-hybrid-specs-three-row-suv-luxury-2020-7">Lincoln Aviator</a>. The RAV4 Prime beats out all of these with either a better EV-only range, cheaper price, or both. </p><p>The RAV4's closest competitor, the Honda CR-V, does not offer a plug-in version. </p><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_43" height="3750" width="2500" msid="78590877" hostid="261"></div><p>Within the Toyota family, the Prius Prime admittedly does offer <a href="https://www.toyota.com/priusprime/">a starting price that's $10,000 cheaper</a>, but its estimated EV-only mode is lower and it's a smaller car overall. The regular hybrid RAV4 doesn't offer an EV-only mode whatsoever, but it does have <a href="https://www.toyota.com/rav4hybrid/">a starting price of $28,500</a>.</p><p>The 2021 <keyword id="8366344" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Toyota-RAV4-Prime">Toyota RAV4 Prime</keyword> <a href="https://www.toyota.com/rav4prime/features/mpg/4544/4550">starts at $38,100</a>. My loaner came in the top-tier XSE AWD trim, so starting MSRP was $41,425. With the XSE trim, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/toyota-rav4-prime-plug-in-hybrid-specs-pricing-release-date-2020-6">you get</a> bigger wheels, a moon roof, ambient interior lighting, two-tone exterior paint, and a bigger center touchscreen.</p><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_44" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78590880" hostid="261"></div><p>After options such as a premium audio system ($1,620), special Supersonic Red exterior paint ($425), the Premium Package ($3,765), and some roof-rack crossbars, the new total came out to $49,831.</p><p>For a RAV4, that's a lot. </p><h2><strong>Our impressions: The solution to range anxiety</strong></h2><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_60" height="3750" width="2500" msid="78590881" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_59" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78590884" hostid="261"></div>The RAV4 is Toyota's volume seller, so it's an important one to get right. And for the majority of US buyers, it's exactly what they need. <p>It's comfortable, utilitarian, highly practical, well thought out, and incredibly easy to drive and use. When it came down to building a mass-market car, Toyota nailed it. No wonder the automaker sold nearly half a million of them last year.</p><p>Then, Toyota took that package and made it a plug-in hybrid — a good one, at that.</p><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_49" height="3750" width="2500" msid="78590886" hostid="261"></div><p>In my own testing, I saw a return of about 42 mpg. Our EV-only stint returned about 35 miles, as mentioned above, and that was mostly on a highway. For someone looking for a fuel-efficient car that can also haul around just about everything, the RAV4 Prime is the perfect solution.</p><p>I don't know what your daily commute looks like, but I could ostensibly see most RAV4 Prime owners relying primarily on the battery to get around town for errands and day-to-day life. Potentially, you could whittle your reliance on gasoline down to zero during daily usage.</p><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_36" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78590890" hostid="261"></div><p>There's the gas engine to fall back on for longer commutes, of course. But if your roundtrip commute is less than about 42 miles, you could just charge your RAV4 Prime at home overnight so it's fresh and ready to go the next morning. Treat it like an EV. </p><p>And if there's anything the RAV4 Prime proves, it's that plug-in hybrids like it are a solution for range anxiety. </p><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_41" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78590891" hostid="261"></div><p>For those who want an EV but fret about being able to complete long trips, PHEVs are the answer. You don't need to worry about finding a charging station because any old gas station will do, and you can rely on the gasoline engine while your battery is charging. </p><p>You won't get stuck. I can't really see a downside, and buyers probably won't either.</p><p>If the future of the RAV4 Prime is anything like the success of the regular RAV4, then strap in. Toyota just might wind up <a href="https://jalopnik.com/the-2021-toyota-rav4-plug-in-hybrid-might-become-the-mo-1838968972">selling thousands and thousands of these things</a>.</p><p style="text-align: center;">♦♦♦</p><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_52" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78590894" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_10" height="3750" width="2500" msid="78590895" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_28" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78590896" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_39" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78590899" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_42" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78590903" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_19" height="3750" width="2500" msid="78590909" hostid="261"></div><div type="image" title="2021 Toyota RAV4 XSE AWD_KL_23" height="1667" width="2500" msid="78590912" hostid="261"></div>

REVIEW: The Toyota RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid is perfect for those who want an EV but can't quite commit yet

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Thom Baur/Reuters</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>SpaceX launched the world's most powerful operational rocket, called <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/falcon-heavy-spacex-epic-rocket-launch-in-person-2018-2">Falcon Heavy</a>, on February 6.</strong></li><li><strong>The company recovered two of the rocket's three reusable boosters and launched founder Elon Musk's red Tesla Roadster toward Mars orbit.</strong></li><li><strong>A former Pentagon official said the successful launch "ranks up there with the first Apollo mission."</strong></li><li><strong>Falcon Heavy could take business away from SpaceX's biggest current competitor, United Launch Alliance</strong><strong>.</strong></li></ul><p><br />On February 6, SpaceX <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-successfully-launched-falcon-heavy-rocket-2018-2">launched</a> Falcon Heavy, the most powerful operational rocket system in the world.</p><p>The 230-foot-tall, three-booster launcher sent a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/falcon-heavy-launch-spacex-elon-musk-tesla-roadster-car-2018-2">red Tesla Roadster</a> owned by company founder Elon Musk toward Mars orbit with a spacesuit-clad dummy in the driver's seat.</p><p>Musk is the first to admit that an electric car drifting through space is <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-dragon-cheese-rocket-2010-2017-3">silly</a>. But what Falcon Heavy's successful launch may mean for the future of spaceflight is anything but a joke.</p><p>"It ranks up there with the first Apollo mission. This is a pretty amazing thing," John Young, a SpaceX consultant and advisory board member, told Business Insider at Cape Canaveral, Florida, hours before the launch.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://davemosher.com">Dave Mosher/Business Insider</a></span></p><p class="caption">SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket launches toward space for the first time on February 6, 2018.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Young is a former Pentagon undersecretary who was in charge of buying launches and other equipment and services for the Department of Defense. He said Falcon Heavy could majorly disrupt the launch industry because it can lift nearly three times as much payload as the next-best rocket today, yet for about <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-reusable-rocket-launch-costs-profits-2017-6">25% of the cost</a>.</p><p>"I think Falcon Heavy and its cost is going to reopen the door to larger satellites with more capability," Young said, adding that he also expects the launch to impact a lot of young people who watched the event live.</p><p>"That's why I'm willing to use a word like Apollo," he said. "That inspired a whole generation to go into <keyword id="41551" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="science">science</keyword>, and engineering, and aerospace, and I think today's event is going to inspire another group of people."<a href="https://elliott.gwu.edu/emeritus-faculty#logsdon"></a></p><p><a href="https://elliott.gwu.edu/emeritus-faculty#logsdon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">John Logsdon</a>, a space policy expert, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/After-Apollo-American-Palgrave-Technology/dp/1137438525?tag=bisafetynet2-20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">author</a>, and spaceflight historian at George Washington University's Space Policy Institute, agreed that the Falcon Heavy launch represents a major moment in spaceflight history.</p><p>"The fact that SpaceX, on its own resources, was able to design, develop, and test this thing I think revives a sort of spirit of exploration - that the private sector really is doing some remarkable things," Logsdon told Business Insider.</p><h2><span style="color: #000000;">What a Falcon Heavy rocket costs and what it can do</span></h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Be6VZEzgAEk/">Elon Musk/SpaceX via Instagram</a></span></p><p class="caption">The last photo of "Starman" in Elon Musk's red Tesla Roadster as it flies toward Mars orbit. Earth is the bright crescent seen in the background.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>During a press conference after the launch, Musk said he spent about $500 million developing Falcon Heavy.</p><p>"We tried to cancel the Falcon Heavy program three times at SpaceX. Because it was like, 'man, this is way harder than we thought,'" Musk told reporters. </p><p>Now that SpaceX has proven Falcon Heavy works, it can launch the rocket in a few modes. When all three boosters can be recovered (fully reusable mode), a launch costs $90 million. If all three boosters are ditched in the ocean (fully expendable mode) a mission costs $150 million, <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/963076231921938432" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Musk</a>.</p><p>These prices may sound horrendously expensive, but relative to the rest of the launch industry, Young said it's "game-changing."</p><p>"As a DoD acquisition official, my fundamental mandate was to save money," Young said. "There's nothing more exciting to me than the opportunity for both competition and saving money."</p><p>The bargain becomes apparent when looking at what Falcon Heavy can launch: about 70 tons into low-Earth orbit, a space some 250 miles above the planet where many satellites reside.</p><p>That mass is roughly equivalent to 50 Tesla Roadsters, 15% of the football-field-size International Space Station, or 10 very large African bush elephants.</p><h2>How Falcon Heavy compares to similar rockets</h2><p>Each NASA space shuttle could carry about 27 tons as its payload - about 40% of a Falcon Heavy's capacity. Yet including development costs, NASA spent an average of more than <a href="https://www.space.com/12166-space-shuttle-program-cost-promises-209-billion.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$1.7 billion</a> (in 2017 dollars) per space shuttle launch.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Delta_IV_launch_2013-08-28.jpg">Joe Davila/USAF; Wikipedia (public domain)</a></span></p><p class="caption">A Delta IV Heavy rocket made by United Launch Alliance carries a spy satellite toward space on August 28, 2013.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Today, the government uses Delta IV Heavy rockets to launch the heaviest payloads, such as spy satellites, into orbit. Those rockets are made by United Launch Alliance - a joint company formed by Boeing and Lockheed Martin in 2005, and SpaceX's biggest rival (Musk sued to stop the merger).</p><p>A Delta IV Heavy is the only other comparable launcher to Falcon Heavy. It can lift an impressive 32 tons to low-Earth orbit, but that's still less than half the capacity of a Falcon Heavy - and it costs a lot more.</p><p>Young claimed that each Delta IV Heavy launch costs "over $400 million," a number based in part on previous prices and a recent US Air Force budgeting document (which suggests that may<a href="https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/06/air-force-budget-reveals-how-much-spacex-undercuts-launch-prices/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> be the case again by 2020</a>). Young also said the price might climb to as much as $900 million or $1 billion per launch in coming years as ULA retires smaller rockets and shrinks the number of launch options in the market.</p><p>But Tory Bruno, the CEO of ULA, told Business Insider that he "doesn't know where this $900 million to $1 billion stuff came from." He said the cost per Delta IV Heavy launch has actually fallen to about $350 million, and confirmed the price won't budge much in the near future.</p><p>Either way, SpaceX's $90 million-$150 million price per Falcon Heavy flight is significantly less expensive, even if tens of millions of dollars get added to SpaceX's price for top-secret payloads (to cover what Bruno calls the "unique requirements" surrounding national security launches).</p><p>Young compared the Delta IV Heavy to a Lamborghini and the Falcon 9 to a Honda Accord.</p><p>"[SpaceX is] bringing a great, affordable, reliable launcher to the table in Falcon 9, and I think Falcon Heavy's going to be the Acura TL version of that," he added. "That Lamborghini launcher is going to cost about, right now the math says, four to ten times what that Acura or Honda Accord launcher's going to cost."</p><p>Bruno said ULA will launch two Delta IV Heavy rockets this year, then launch one "every couple of years" until the early 2020s before retiring the system. To replace it, ULA is developing a rocket called Vulcan: a partly reusable, roughly $100-million-per-launch system that will carry more mass than Delta IV Heavy.</p><h2>Cornering a revived market - and launching a new one</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Blue Origin</span></p><p class="caption">The "New Glenn" rocket system is planned to be a reusable, vertical-landing booster that can deliver 3.85 million pounds thrust&#xa0;- about half the power of NASA's Saturn V moon rockets.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Bruno said ULA's Vulcan rocket will offer capabilities for deep-space payloads that SpaceX's rockets don't yet have.</p><p>"There's a difference in capability between these two platforms... Sometimes it's more than just, 'Hey my rocket's really big,'" Bruno said. "Sometimes you need the rocket to do some rather unique and exotic things after they're up in orbit."</p><p>But the Vulcan may not be fully realized until the mid-2020s.</p><p>"I will seriously eat my hat with a side of mustard if that rocket flies a national security spacecraft before 2023," Musk <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/963092110994886656">tweeted</a> on Monday, referring to Vulcan.</p><p>Another up-and-coming competitor to SpaceX is Blue Origin, an aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame.</p><p>Blue Origin is working on its own relatively affordable heavy-lift rocket system, called <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blue-origin-vs-spacex-falcon-heavy-vs-new-glenn-2016-9">New Glenn</a>. That rocket is expected to launch on a fully reusable booster, as is Bezos' smaller New Shepard rocket system <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blue-origin-new-shepard-spaceship-inside-images-2017-3">for space tourists</a>. The company is currently very secretive about its progress - Blue Origin declined Business Insider's request to look inside its new 750,000-square-foot rocket factory in Cape Canaveral, Florida.</p><p>In all likelihood, New Glenn may not debut for several more years either. That may give SpaceX additional time to corner more of the US commercial satellite market, which Young says the company rescued with the inception of its smaller, reusable, and relatively inexpensive Falcon 9 rocket.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://davemosher.com">Dave Mosher/Business Insider</a></span></p><p class="caption">John Young, the Pentagon's former buyer and now a SpaceX consultant and advisory board member.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>"In 2010, 2011, and 2012, no commercial payloads flew on US launchers. They all flew on French, Chinese, and Russian launchers. In 2018, almost 70% of the commercial payloads are going to fly on US launchers," Young said, referring mostly to Falcon 9 rockets. "SpaceX, self-investing, has completely recovered the space industry for the US. That's jobs, that's the economy."</p><p>With Falcon Heavy's debut, Young said that door is swinging open farther and giving NASA, the military, and companies a new inexpensive way to send heavier satellites into orbit or <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-elon-musk-mars-colony-plan-life-support-2017-10">to other worlds</a>.</p><p>"SpaceX rockets are significantly lower than anybody in the marketplace. It's been said in the press, by the Chinese, that they are not sure they can compete with SpaceX's price points," Young said. "That's amazing, and that gives me hope the US is going to own the launch market for the next 20-plus years."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-launch-tesla-roadster-mars-spacex-falcon-heavy-2018-2">Watch SpaceX launch a Tesla Roadster to Mars on the Falcon Heavy rocket - and why it matters</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

SpaceX's latest rocket launch 'ranks up there with the first Apollo mission,' says a former Pentagon official - here's why

<p class="source"><span>Matthew DeBord/Business Insider</span></p>There's no better way to celebrate the the birth of the USA than with the mighty Corvette.<p>Business Insider readers already know that we like the Chevy Corvette Stingray.</p><p>We named it our 2014 Car of the Year, concluding that although it might not be the mythical Corvette of the Mind - that honor goes to the second-generation version of the car from the early 1960s or the third-gen Vette, built from 1968 to 1982 - it was certainly the best Corvette to yet emerge from the storied bluegrass assembly line in Bowling Green, Kentucky.</p><p>But you should know something. There's actually a better Vette.</p><p>A <em>much</em> better Vette.</p><p>There's just one drawback. While the Stingray (technically the C7, or seventh generation of the all-American sports car) is a deeply compelling motoring experience, the better Vette is a way of life.</p><p>It's the Z06, and it's a living, breathing supercar.</p><p>The stats: 650 horsepower, 650 pound-feet of torque. You'll know this because Chevy has included a small plaque with the data, located on the center console. Other stats: 0-60 in 2.9 seconds, according the manufacturer. And one more stat: Just look at it!</p><p>For comparison, here's a first-generation Vette, a charming little thing:</p><p class="source"><span>GM</span></p><p>And here's the Z06:</p><p class="source"><span>Matthew DeBord/Business Insider</span></p><p>You've come a long way, baby.</p><p>GM let us borrow a Z06 for a weekend, and we took the car and its supercharged V8 engine and its groovy targa roof all the way out to eastern Long Island, then back across Manhattan and into New Jersey. If this sounds like fun, it was.</p><p>But it was also an exercise in personal discipline and focus. The Stingray is a Corvette through and through and therefore not a well-mannered Buick either in town or on the highway. But driving it is like piloting a Honda Civic when compared with the Z06's snarling mechanical dragon, which quite often feels as if it's powered by a Saturn V rocket that woke up on the dark side of the Moon.</p><p>The performance is dismaying and actually rather difficult to properly assess without access to a track. When we reviewed the Stingray, we pointed out that for its sub-$100,000 price, you get a car that, although front-engined, could be every bit as much the track warrior as a mid-engined, $270,000 Ferrari 458. A street-legal race car for the budget-minded. That argument still holds now that the 458 has been replaced by the 488.</p><p class="source"><span>Hollis Johnson</span></p><p>The Z06 also comes in at less than $100,000. High-performance Vettes are nothing new. This Z06 can trace its heritage back to the 1960s, when the designation first emerged. Corvette's role at GM is to push the envelope.</p><p>That monumental LT4 eight-banger is a good example; General Motors says it's the most powerful engine it has created in its more than 100-year history.</p><p>In my case, it was mated to a seven-speed manual transmission (you can also get an automatic) equipped with a nifty rev-matching feature that will rhyme your engine speeds with your downshifts and match them better than you can with your left and right foot. You don't need to flirt with escape velocities to derive gobs of unholy human pleasure from that powertrain setup.</p><p>True, the entire arrangement is specifically designed to take gasoline and transform it ruthlessly and rapidly into raw speed and a sound that will make you curse the quiet. But in mild-mannered freeway cruising, you can get the Z06 up around 20 mpg, which is sort of mesmerizing when you consider that while I was doing this on the Long Island Expressway, a Lamborghini Aventador came screaming up alongside and I thought, "Well, it's pretty much you and me, bub, on this stretch of road - nothing else can touch us."</p><p>And, for the record, I didn't act on that knowledge as the Lambo wailed off into the distance, achieving something like 12 mpg for its exertions.</p><h2>More Stingray</h2><p>The design of the Z06 is best described as the Stingway with just MORE. More pronounced angles, more aggressive adornments, and more aerodynamic elements. More, more, more. The overall package does feel completely different from the Stingray, even though the bones of both cars are effectively the same. When underway, the Stingray, with a mere 505 horsepower, feels light and flicky. The Z06 feels like it could blot out the Sun with violent combustion. In the Stingray, you smile. In the Z06, you furrow your brow and tighten your grip.</p><p>You simply can't relax in the Z06 - an understandable state of affairs given that this car is completely and totally too much for everyday living. It commands your attention. But the thing only costs about $90,000. This definitely should not be. But there it is.</p><p class="source"><span>Matthew DeBord/Business Insider</span></p><p>So only thing standing between a lot of folks and a Z06 is the stigma associated with Corvette ownership. In this respect, the Z06 is meant to be something of a trans-Vette. Yes, it's a Corvette. But it's a Corvette that hangs out with Pagani Huayras and drinks good tequila. The words "singles bar" aren't printed in the owners manual. The word "Nurburgring" is.</p><p>And believe me, the Z06 is truly a machine that longs for the race track: Last year, I watched the competition version tear around the Rolex 24 at Daytona, being chased by Ferraris and BMWs and the new Ford GT. The car I saw was the C7.R, the GT racing version of the Z06, and at Daytona Corvette Racing finished 1-2 in 2016.</p><p class="source"><span>Matthew DeBord/Business Insider</span></p><h2>New mindshare for the legendary Vette</h2><p>Ever since the "Boogie Nights" third-gen Vette established itself in the collective imagination as the preferred vehicle of the male midlife crisis, Corvette has been trying to modify its reputation. The effort has always been honest and determined, but the fact is that it's taken literally decades. The current Z06 stands at the pinnacle of that undertaking.</p><p>That said, it's hard to tell if it will actually work. When Vettes were for guys going through changes, Porsche, BMW, Ferrari, and Lamborghini were exotic imports. But now the competition is everywhere. It used to be rare to spot a Porsche 911 in the American wild. Now you can't swing an old crankshaft in Los Angeles without hitting one.</p><p>So even thought it's <em>easier</em> to justify buying a Vette now than it used to be, it's <em>harder </em>to convince yourself that the car is really as good as it looks on paper. And so those creeping doubts combined with the Vette's, um ... reputation lead you naturally toward Porsche.</p><p>However, the Z06, if experienced under proper conditions (that would not be on a 10-minute test drive) is adequately mind-blowing to alter this familiar psychological dynamic.</p><p>It's too early in Corvette's Generation 7 to tell if we've crossed over into truly new territory. The Z06, however, is a departure, and not simply because this is both the most powerful and most technologically advanced Vette GM has ever created. Inside and out, it was designed to <em>mean something new. </em>General Motors examined the epistemology of Corvette, found it wanting, and took the steps necessary to change hearts and minds.</p><p>With the Stingray, the steps were huge. With the Z06, they're <em>gigantic.</em></p><p>Honestly, I think the engineers doth protest too much with the Zo6. They didn't really need to stretch quite this far, to reach for distant supernovas and figure out a way to reshape them as a drop-top two-seater that sounds like it has eight live volcanoes under the hood.</p><p>But then again, you don't change hearts and minds by holding back.</p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-ford-replacing-ceo-mark-fields-short-termism-on-wall-street-2017-5">Ford replacing its CEO points to the short-termism on Wall Street</a></h3>                                    Please enable Javascript to watch this video

There's no better way to celebrate the USA than with the Corvette Z06

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Ferrari</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Since the end of the financial crisis, there have been four carmakers that have staged IPOs: General Motors and Tesla in 2010, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles earlier this year, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ferraris-history-through-its-nyse-ipo-2015-10">Ferrari last week</a>.</p><p>And General Motors doesn't entirely count, because the company was reentering the public markets after its 2009 bankruptcy.</p><p>So Tesla, FCA, and Ferrari are the only automakers to have IPO'd in US markets since Ford in 1956.</p><p>In other words, car-company IPOs are about as rare as black swans, four-leaf clovers, and appearances by the Cubs in the World Series.</p><p>Tesla's offering started out modest with shares priced at $17. But in the last few years, the stock has blasted to epic levels, at one point nearing $300 per share in 2014. Investors who bought early are sitting on a 1,000%-plus return.</p><p>Ferrari's IPO was richer and flashier, with the stock debuting at $52 and jumping to $60 on the first day of trading before settling. Still, you might look at both automakers - with their cars that sell for over $100,000 (in Ferrari's case, <em>well over</em> $100,000) and can accelerate from zero to 60 with impressive velocities - and see affinities. And there are a few. But when you get down to it, Tesla is nothing like Ferrari. And it doesn't want to be anything like Ferrari.</p><h2>A tale of 2 cars</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/author/hollis-johnson">Hollis Johnson</a></span></p><p class="caption">The Tesla Model S P90D.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Ferrari automobiles are all supposed to have three things in common: be sexy, be fast, and be expensive. Ideally, they're also red, but Ferrari doesn't stick to this. There's always a core Ferrari. For about the past decade, it's been the 458 sports car. Pretty soon, it will be the 488 GTB. The loud and powerful engine is behind the driver's head, there are two doors, and the design is dramatic and flamboyant without being tasteless. The asking price is about $300,000.</p><p>Tesla hasn't really created a core car yet, but though the company's start came with the fast and sexy Roadster, CEO Elon Musk has the company focused on delivering a mass-market electric car, the Model 3. It will supposedly debut in 2017 and cost $35,000.</p><p>Ferraris captivate the imagination. You see one when you're a kid and dream the Ferrari dream until you have the resources to buy one. The buzz starts in childhood and lasts a lifetime.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Ferrari/photos_stream">Ferrari Facebook</a></span></p><p class="caption">Beautiful, fast, sexy, red, and Italian.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Teslas also captivate the imagination, but in a more rational way. Ferraris are sexy because they're Ferraris. Teslas are sexy because they want to change the world.</p><p>Although a car like the Tesla Model S P85D, which sells for $130,000 with Ludicrous Mode acceleration, is a luxury vehicle, owners don't think of the car that way. If the Model S proclaims anything to the owners who love it, it proclaims something bigger than the person driving it.</p><p>So does a Ferrari, but the status statement is more overt and enduring. Tesla wants you to dream beyond yourself and ultimately consider the possibility that your incredible $130,000 car is a just a means to an end: the replacement of the gas-burning car with electric cars, and a rescue of the planet from global warming.</p><p>Ferrari wants to align your dream with one of its cars. The DNA of Ferrari is racing, so an owner of a road car will never quite achieve the heights that Ferrari wants to ascend to. But when you buy your first Ferrari and take it out for that first spin, you'll hopefully feel at peace with yourself.</p><h2>Tesla is restless</h2><p>The Tesla story is just beginning, while the Ferrari story - even though opening a new chapter with the IPO - has largely been told. For the moment, many potential Ferrari customers may also be potential Tesla customers.</p><p>Tesla doesn't want matters to remain this way. To be sure, Tesla has thrived while other startup carmakers have failed mainly because it's selling pricey machines. But strangely, Tesla's business is moving in exactly the opposite direction it should be if Musk want to nurture fat profit margins, of the sort that Ferrari enjoys.</p><p>Tesla is a luxury carmaker that wants to chase the Fords and Toyotas of the world. Ferrari, meanwhile, wants to avoid becoming a mass-market brand at all costs. FCA CEO and Ferrari Chairman wants to sell more cars than the 7,000 yearly total that Ferrari notches. But he wants to do it with a few thousand more $200,000 California T and FF models.</p><p>Musk, on the other hand, has declared that Tesla's goal is be building 500,000 by 2020. And if Tesla production comes in more or less on target in 2015, Musk's company will sell seven times as many cars as Ferrari. There is no acceptable status quo at Tesla. And there is no tradition. The entire undertaking is a Moon shot.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Justin Sullivan/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">The Model X SUV is a step on the road toward mass-market electrification.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2>Strong visions</h2><p>Tesla and Ferrari are both special carmakers. This takes nothing from GM, Ford, Honda, BMW, Audi, Mercedes, or any of the the dozens of other car companies doing business. Many of those automakers are big and ambitious and charting innovative paths.</p><p>But you can really wrap your head around Tesla and Ferrari, because they both embody the unwavering visions of their leaders. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ferraris-exclusivity-stems-from-one-place-2015-10">Enzo Ferrari wanted to build the greatest race cars anyone had ever seen</a>. (The road cars came later.) Elon Musk wants to change how we get around. (The incredibly fast electric cars that sell for a hundred grand just came first.)</p><p>What Ferrari does have on Tesla is, of course, history. However, as tempting as it might be for Tesla to look at Ferrari's success - it is by some measures the biggest brand in the world, bigger even than Apple - and hope to match it, that would be a catastrophe for the Palo Alto company.</p><p>The bottom line is that Ferrari is special and must remain so forever.</p><p>Tesla is special at the moment. But if everything goes according to plan, Tesla won't be special in 20 years; it will be ordinary. But it will have solved some major problems with <keyword id="34991" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="transportation">transportation</keyword> and the environment - and helped create a world in which Ferrari can continue to nurture dreams.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lamborghini-huracan-luxury-car-2015-10">Finally - a Lamborghini that won't make you look obnoxious</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="VmaWxjeDpmpMhKNN5t9rFFLCtf1iQ1sw" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Why Tesla is nothing like Ferrari and never will be

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Matthew DeBord/Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Business Insider readers already know that we like the Chevy Corvette Stingray.</p><p>We named it our <a href="Business Insider's First-Ever Car Of The Year Is The Corvette Stingray">2014 Car of the Year</a>, concluding that although it might not be the mythical Corvette of the Mind - that honor goes to the second-generation version of the car from the early 1960s or the third-gen Vette, built from 1968 to 1982 - it was certainly the best Corvette to yet emerge from the storied bluegrass assembly line in Bowling Green, Kentucky.</p><p>But you should know something. There's actually a better Vette.</p><p>A <em>much</em> better Vette.</p><p>There's just one drawback. While the Stingray (technically the C7, or seventh generation of the all-American sports car) is a deeply compelling motoring experience, the better Vette is a way of life.</p><p>It's the Z06, and it's a living, breathing supercar.</p><p>The stats: 650 horsepower, 650 f00t-pounds of torque. You'll know this because Chevy has included a small plaque with the data, located on the center console. Other stats: 0-60 in 2.9 seconds, according the manufacturer. And one more stat: Just look at it!</p><p>For comparison, here's a first-generation Vette, a charming little thing:</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>GM</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>And here's the Z06:</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Matthew DeBord/Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>You've come a long way, baby.</p><p>GM let us borrow a Z06 for a weekend, and we took the car and its supercharged V8 engine and its groovy targa roof all the way out to eastern Long Island, then back across Manhattan and into New Jersey. If this sounds like fun, it was.</p><p>But it was also an exercise in personal discipline and focus. The Stingray is a Corvette through and through and therefore not a well-mannered Buick either in town or on the highway. But driving it is like piloting a Honda Civic when compared with the Z06's snarling mechanical dragon, which quite often feels as if it's powered by a Saturn V rocket that woke up on the dark side of the moon.</p><p>The performance is dismaying and actually rather difficult to properly assess without access to a track. When we reviewed the Stingray, we pointed out that for its sub-$100,000 price, you get a car that, although front-engined, could be every bit as much the track warrior as a mid-engined, $270,000 Ferrari 458. A street-legal race car for the budget-minded.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Motor Authority</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The Z06 also comes in at less than $100,000. High-performance Vettes are nothing new. This Z06 can trace its heritage back to the 1960s, when the designation first emerged. Corvette's role at GM is to push the envelope.</p><p>That monumental LT4 eight-banger is a good example; General Motors says it's the most powerful engine it has created in its more than 100-year history.</p><p>In my case, it was mated to a seven-speed manual transmission (you can also get an automatic) equipped with a nifty rev-matching feature that will rhyme your engine speeds with your downshifts and match them better than you can with your left and right foot. You don't need to flirt with escape velocities to derive gobs of unholy human pleasure from that powertrain setup.</p><p>True, the entire arrangement is specifically designed to take gasoline and transform it ruthlessly and rapidly into raw speed and a sound that will make you curse the quiet. But in mild-mannered freeway cruising, you can get the Z06 up around 20 mpg, which is sort of mesmerizing when you consider that while I was doing this on the Long Island Expressway, a Lamborghini Aventador came screaming up alongside and I thought, "Well, it's pretty much you and me, bub, on this stretch of road - nothing else can touch us."</p><p>And, for the record, I didn't act on that knowledge as the Lambo wailed off into the distance, achieving something like 12 mpg for its exertions.</p><h2>More Stingray</h2><p>The design of the Z06 is best described as the Stingway with just MORE. More pronounced angles, more aggressive adornments, and more aerodynamic elements. More, more, more. The overall package does feel completely different from the Stingray, even though the bones of both cars are effectively the same. When underway, the Stingray, with a mere 505 horsepower, feels light and flicky. The Z06 feels like it could blot out the Sun with violent combustion. In the Stingray, you smile. In the Z06, you furrow your brow and tighten your grip.</p><p>You simply can't relax in the Z06 - an understandable state of affairs given that this car is completely and totally too much for everyday living. It commands your attention. But the thing only costs about $90,000. This definitely should not be. But there it is.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Matthew DeBord/Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>So only thing standing between a lot of folks and a Z06 is the stigma associated with Corvette ownership. In this respect, the Z06 is meant to be something of a trans-Vette. Yes, it's a Corvette. But it's a Corvette that hangs out with Pagani Huayras and drinks good tequila. The words "singles bar" aren't printed in the owners manual. The word "Nurburgring" is.</p><p>And believe me, the Z06 is truly a machine that longs for the race track: A few months back, I watched the competition version tear around Watkins Glen International in impressive fashion, being chased by Ferraris and BMWs. (It was the C7.R, the GT racing version of the Z06.)</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Matthew DeBord/Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2>New mindshare for the legendary Vette</h2><p>Ever since the "Boogie Nights" third-gen Vette established itself in the collective imagination as the preferred vehicle of the male midlife crisis, Corvette has been trying to modify its reputation. The effort has always been honest and determined, but the fact is that it's taken literally decades. The current Z06 stands at the pinnacle of that undertaking.</p><p>That said, it's hard to tell if it will actually work. When Vettes were for guys going through changes, Porsche, BMW, Ferrari, and Lamborghini were exotic imports. But now the competition is everywhere. It used to be rare to spot a Porsche 911 in the American wild. Now you can't swing an old crankshaft in Los Angeles without hitting one.</p><p>So even thought it's <em>easier</em> to justify buying a Vette now than it used to be, it's <em>harder </em>to convince yourself that the car is really as good as it looks on paper. And so those creeping doubts combined with the Vette's, um ... reputation lead you naturally toward Porsche.</p><p>However, the Z06, if experienced under proper conditions (that would not be on a 10-minute test drive) is adequately mind-blowing to alter this familiar psychological dynamic.</p><p>It's too early in Corvette's Generation 7 to tell if we've crossed over into truly new territory. The Z06, however, is a departure, and not simply because this is both the most powerful and most technologically advanced Vette GM has ever created. Inside and out, it was designed to <em>mean something new. </em>General Motors examined the epistemology of Corvette, found it wanting, and took the steps necessary to change hearts and minds.</p><p>With the Stingray, the steps were huge. With the Z06, they're <em>gigantic.</em></p><p>Honestly, I think the engineers doth protest too much with the Zo6. They didn't really need to stretch quite this far, to reach for distant supernovas and figure out a way to reshape them as a drop-top two-seater that sounds like it has eight live volcanoes under the hood.</p><p>But then again, you don't change hearts and minds by holding back.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-model-s-p85d-breaks-score-ratings-best-car-consumer-reports-tested-2015-9">This new Tesla just broke Consumer Reports' rating scale </a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="B5dDVkdzoA5nlQSCSIQtj5NW5KvGeOUn" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

You'll never think about Corvette the same way again after your drive the Z06 supercar

<p>Apple has retained its position as the world's most valuable brand, according to <a href="http://www.bestglobalbrands.com/2014/ranking/">brand management firm Interbrand's annual rankings</a>.</p>
<p>Apple usurped Coca-Cola from the top spot, which had held the position for 13 years, in last year's list. This year Apple has increased its brand value by 21% to $118.9 billion.</p>
<p>Tech brands dominated the rankings, with 13 entrants. Google once again was the second most valuable in the world, increasing its brand value by 15% to $107.4 billion. Elsewhere in Interbrand's top 100, Facebook and Amazon were among the top risers.</p>
<p>To conduct its annual study, Interbrand measures companies' financial performance, the role that brand plays in influencing customer choice and the strength the brand has to command a premium price or secure earnings for the company.</p>

<h3>20. Honda<br>Brand value: $21.7bn<br>Last year's rank: 20<br>Change in value: +17%</br></br></br></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Honda has been plagued by recalls in 2014 but its announcement that it was returning to Formula 1 as an engine supplier for McLaren, after a break of more than 20 years, is helping the brand grow and more clearly differentiate itself from competitors.</p>
<p>Honda has also been partnering with with tech companies like Google and Apple to work on programs like telematics and driverless cars - although Interbrand says this is far from unique in the category.</p>
<h3>19. Louis Vuitton<br>Brand value: $22.5bn<br>Last year's rank: 17<br>Change in value: -9%</br></br></br></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Interbrand says Louis Vuitton is affected by fluctuating exchange rates in the global economy and the impact of political and economic climates on key customers, such as Russian and Chinese travelers.</p>
<p>Louis Vuitton must push its core strengths in "extraordinary design, technical innovation, style and authenticity" if it is to retain strong brand loyalty with global consumers, Interbrand says. That might be achieved during the fall season with the launch new collection of Marc Jacobs' successor, Nicolas Guesquière, hitting stores for the first time.</p>
<h3>18. Gillette<br>Brand value: $22.8bn <br>Last year's rank: 16<br>Change in value: -9%</br></br></br></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Gillette is maintaining its lead by staying true to its "The Best a Man Can Get" brand promise, offering a broad range of products. While sales growth is slowing as more men adopt facial hair, Gillette is responding with the introduction of new products like the Gillette Body razor and the Gillette Fusion ProGlide which uses the brand's proprietary "Flexball" technology.</p>
<p>But the brand remains under threat from cheaper alternatives such as the Dollar Shave Club, 800Razors.com and general disposable razors.</p>
<h3>17. HP<br>Brand value: $23.8bn<br>Last year's rank: 15<br>Change in value: -8%</br></br></br></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>HP hit the headlines this month when it announced it would be splitting into two companies, one devoted to business technology and the other concentrating on personal computing. Interbrand says the year ahead for HP will be a "pivotal one".</p>
<p>In recent months the company placed strategic bets on mobility, security, big data and cloud technologies which have led to new product launches like the Slate VoiceTab phablet range for India, plans to invest in 3D printing and the launch of a new converged infrastructure platform.</p>
<h3>16. Oracle<br>Brand value: $25.9bn<br>Last year's rank: 18<br>Change in value: +8%</br></br></br></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Oracle is a complex business, having spent 10 years acquiring more than 100 companies to build its back office solutions suite. Its challenge now is to define the Oracle brand as a whole, not just a sum of these complex parts.</p>
<p>Oracle's marketing of late has all been around "simplicity" as it looks to increase understanding about its business. Interbrand says with more effective storytelling about how the business is evolving and where it is headed, Oracle can transition smoothly into the next stage of its development.</p>
<h3>15. Amazon<br>Brand value: $29.5bn<br>Last year's rank: 19<br>Change in value: 25%</br></br></br></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Amazon was the "top riser" in Interbrand's list this year. In 2013 the company expanded from its core retail roots by entering into a content licensing agreement with HBO, growing its AmazonFresh grocery delivery service and launching its Fire TV service for users to access Netflix, Prime Instant Video and Hulu all in one place.</p>
<p>Looking ahead Interbrand says Amazon's brand value may lift even higher if it gains approval from the Federal Aviation Authority to launch its Amazon Prime Air delivery service and as it continues to invest in customer personalization.</p>
<h3>14. Cisco<br>Brand value: $30.9bn<br>Last year's rank: 13<br>Change in value: 6%</br></br></br></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Last year Cisco launched its "Internet of Everything" marketing campaign, which is still running today, telling the story of how the company is connecting the previously unconnected - a move that is expanding its presence in the global marketplace.</p>
<p>Interbrand says Cisco is now in a thought leadership position in terms of how technology is transforming the world. Aside from marketing, Cisco is also improving the value of its brand by increasing its speed to market from 3 to 5 years to 12-18 months.</p>
<h3>13. Disney<br>Brand value: $32.2bn<br>Last year's rank: 14<br>Change in value: 14%</br></br></br></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>The box office super hit that was Frozen helped revitalize Disney as a global powerhouse last year. Also key to Disney's brand strength is its use of technology and data to understand what customers want and personalize their experiences.</p>
<p>Big news such as its partnership with Marvel to create programming for Netflix, the launch of the Disney Infinity gaming platform and Disney's acquisition of YouTube network Maker studios were all announced in recent months. Interbrand says that by continuing to grow its reputation for top family entertainment and increasing its focus on next generation media and technology, Disney is ready to "thrive."</p>
<h3>12. Intel<br>Brand value: $34.2bn<br>Last year's rank: 9<br>Change in value: -8%</br></br></br></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Intel is facing an uphill challenge as global PC sales are experiencing a 4.4% year-on-year decline. In response, Intel is moving into new markets including cloud computing, the "internet of things" and wearables, demonstrated by its partnership with fashion designers Opening Ceremony to create a smart bracelet.</p>
<p>These are all moves in the right direction but Intel, the brand built around power and performance, is finding it hard to differentiate itself - particularly as the tablet and smartphone markets are dominated by competitors ARM and Qualcomm.</p>
<p>Interbrand advises Intel to reignite growth through innovation, revitalize its identity and generate awareness through marketing to build upon its heritage as a brand that transforms life through technology.</p>
<h3>11. BMW<br>Brand value: $34.2bn<br>Last year's rank: 12<br>Change in value: +7%</br></br></br></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>BMW has managed to increase its relevance with models like the i3 emission-free car for driving around cities and the i8 progressive sports car and its "Born Electric" marketing campaign. The push has brought BMW's mobility ideals to life, proving the brand is "Fueled by Innovation," Interbrand says.</p>
<p>Over the past few years BMW has refined its brand strategy, internal communications clarity and external brand consistency to build the value of its brand. Record sales in China and an "enviable" profit margin per vehicle have also been credit for BMW's success last year.</p>
<h3>10. Mercedes-Benz<br>Brand value: $34.3bn<br>Last year's rank: 11<br>Change in value: +8%</br></br></br></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>German automaker Mercedes-Benz reported a record 14% increase in sales last year, having revitalized itself with new models and "fresh expressions of its brand" which includes making contributions to clean mobility.</p>
<p>Interbrand says Mercedes-Benz owes much of its recent success to continual innovation and its commitment to debuting new products and services.</p>
<p>Its researchers say the brand has also raised the bar when it comes to delivering premium customer experiences with its "Mercedes me" initiative, which bundles benefits and services like "Move me," "Connect me," and "Assist me" on one digital platform.</p>
<h3>9. McDonald's<br>Brand value: $42.3bn<br>Last year's rank: 7<br>Change in value: +1%</br></br></br></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>McDonald's global sales have been under pressure but the brand is working hard to respond to consumer demand for healthier meals and expand its operations globally.</p>
<p>High profile sponsorships of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2014 Winter Olympics and major <keyword id="35666" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="advertising">advertising</keyword> campaigns have helped McDonald's maintain awareness and promote new launches, such as its revamp of its fries packaging which allowed customers to play an augmented reality soccer game.</p>
<p>The brand is now on a journey to rebrand itself as "not online a cheap food destination, but an appealing and high-quality one as well."</p>
<h3>8. Toyota<br>Brand value: $45.4bn<br>Last year's rank 10<br>Change in value: +20%</br></br></br></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Toyota is the most valuable automotive brand on this year's ranking, despite a huge vehicle recall and being fined $1.2bn by the US Justice Department in March.</p>
<p>The company has evolved its marketing with campaigns like "Let's go places" and "Go Fun Yourself" to add a more playful dimension to it communications. Elsewhere, Toyota has also made efforts to increase diversity within the company and collaborated with brands such as BMW on projects such as electric drivetrains and fuel cell engineering.</p>
<p>By prioritizing collaboration, investing in mobility and putting sustainability and innovation at the top of its agenda, Toyota is well positioned for the future, Interbrand says.</p>
<h3>7. Samsung<br>Brand value: $45.5bn<br>Last year's rank: 8<br>Change in value: 15%</br></br></br></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Samsung continues to lead the competitive global smartphone market in terms of volume and doubled its presence in tablets last year. The company has also made sustained investments in R&amp;D to bring out technologies such as curbed TVs and a virtual reality headset.</p>
<p>In 2013 Samsung tripled its marketing spend to $14bn - the equivalent of Iceland's GDP and more than triple Microsoft and Apple's combined marketing spend last year - to drive perceptions of the company as an aspirational brand.</p>
<h3>6. General Electric<br>Brand value: $45.5bn<br>Last year's rank: 6<br>Change in value: -3%</br></br></br></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>General Electric is in the process of reinventing itself by harnessing big data to make its heavy industrial machines smarter.</p>
<p>Over the past 12 months GE has divested its retail finance division and it was announced that Electrolux would buy GE's appliance business for $3.3bn, indicating how the company is transitioning away from consumer businesses and focusing more intently on industrials. But despite the shift, GE's marketing and relationships with customers remains very personal, having produced ads such as "What Would Happen" and "Childlike Imagination,"</p>
<p>Interbrand says initiatives such as its Garages global road show which showcases innovations in manufacturing demonstrate how "GE is not just imagining what's next, but is actually doing it."</p>
<h3>5. Microsoft<br>Brand value: $61.2bn<br>Last year's rank: 5<br>Change in brand value: +3%</br></br></br></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>The past 12 months have been transformational for Microsoft, with new CEO Satya Nadella now firmly in place and leading the company's move towards a new "cloud and mobile first" era.</p>
<p>To demonstrate this new vision, Microsoft has completed its purchase of Nokia's devices and services division, released the Cortana personal voice assistant, acquired the parent company of Minecraft and rebranded its cloud computing enterprise Windows Azure to Microsoft Azure and made it compete on price with Amazon Web services.</p>
<h3>4. IBM<br>Brand value: $72.2bn<br>Last year's rank: 4<br>Change in brand value: -8%</br></br></br></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>IBM is in the process of shifting from its five-year old "Smarter Planet" strategy to a stronger focus on big data, cloud computing and analytics, following year on year declines in both revenue and profit.</p>
<p>The challenge is differentiation: all its competitors are also focused on all the same areas. IBM will be hoping its b2b computing partnership with Apple, announced in July, will enrich its analytics offering with the input of billions of data points from iOS devices.</p>
<p>The company has made multi-million dollar investments in acquisitions, net capital expenditures and R&amp;D, earning it the most US patents for the 21st straight year in 2013. In early 2014 IBM formed the IBM Watson Group which aims to work out how to make decisions based on all the data that exists in the world as it looks to set itself apart from the rest of its competitors as the leader in the big data space.</p>
<h3>3. Coca-Cola<br>Brand value: $81.6bn<br>Last year's rank: 3<br>Change in brand value: +3%</br></br></br></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Coca-Cola has seen declining sales growth in North America, its biggest market, as demand for its products wanes among increasingly health conscious consumers.</p>
<p>To help combat this, the company has been rolling out mid-calorie "green" cola Coca-Cola Life. Elsewhere it has also partnered with brands including Nike, P&amp;G, Ford and Heinz to accelerate the development of products made from plants as it looks to respond to concerns around sustainability.</p>
<p>Interbrand says Coca-Cola's opportunity ahead lies in continuing to strengthen the brand's connections with Millennials and addressing the shift away from sweet, carbonated beverages to high energy and health-conscious ones, especially in North America and Western Europe.</p>
<h3>2. Google<br>Brand value: $107.4bn<br>Last year's rank: 2<br>Change in brand value: +15%</br></br></br></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Google continued its quest this year to be leaders in far more than search alone. Recent ambitious projects - known internally as "moon shots" - include self driving cars, the roll out of Google Glass, Project Loon (its global network of high altitude balloons that provide internet access to people in remote areas) and an investment in a biotech company that is working to slow human aging.</p>
<p>Interbrand says that with its extensive reach in search, advertising, Android, apps and Google+, Google has the capabilities and resources to continue to deliver on its vision to provide more personalized experiences.</p>
<h3>1. Apple<br>Brand value: $118.9bn<br>Last year's rank: 1<br>Change in brand value: 21%</br></br></br></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Apple maintained its position at the head of the rankings by continuing to be bold, Interbrand says. Recent examples of boldness have included the launch of Apple Pay, the long-anticipated Apple Watch, two new iPhones and software such as CarPlay and HomeKit.</p>
<p>Intebrand says the real breakthrough, though, is how the products now work together to make everything in your life work that bit better.</p></hr>

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