Hasta La Gadget!

Tesla Motors plans to cease production of its signature Roadster electric sports car next year, according to paperwork Tesla filed ahead of its IPO for the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Autopia reports that a replacement Roadster won’t hit the road until 2013, leaving the upcoming 2012 Tesla Model S sedan as the company’s only car for a year. The current wisdom is that this is because Lotus is retooling its manufacturing plants to accommodate the next-generation Lotus Elise, upon which the current Tesla Roadster is based.

The report said that Tesla may not have a problem if the Model S launches on time. But if it doesn’t, the automaker may not have any cars on the showroom floor for a while. I can see how Tesla arrived at this plan, but that doesn’t make me any less worried.

Don’t miss Gearlog’s full preview and “test ride” of the Tesla
Model S sedan.

As Saab continues to bounce between foster care and outright abandonment, one thing is clear: Saab’s days providing leadership in safety and technology are mostly in the rear view mirror. Even Saab’s lovable quirkiness isn’t much in evidence anymore. Nor are Saabs themselves: Down from a peak of 48,000 sold in the U.S. in 2003 to 21,368 two years ago to 8,680 last year. If Saab goes under, the world won’t change, except to Saab’s handful of hardcore fans. What made Saab special was its past, not its present or future. Alas.

Time-shifting programs works great for DVRs, so why not bring it to radio? GM has announced it is bringing its Pause and Play radio feature, currently available in models like the Chevrolet Equinox and Cadillac SRX, to the upcoming Buick Regal and Chevrolet Cruze.

Pause and Play radio lets drivers or passengers stop a live broadcast, record up to 20 minutes of it on an embedded hard disk, and play it back later. It engages with one push of the radio’s Reverse button.

It also works with the car off; for example, a driver could pause the radio, shut off the car, fill up at a gas station, get back in, and resume listening to a football game or talk show where it was left, without missing all that time in the middle.

Other cars with the feature include the GMC Terrain and the Cadillac CTS Jukebox and Navigation radio, where the feature first appeared in 2008. Back in October, GM announced that Chevy, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC dealers will begin offering Autonet Mobile’s $499 WiFi router as a dealer-installed option on its SUVs and trucks.

The unusually shaped BMW 550i Gran Turismo provides incredible long-distance touring comfort for four passengers. It’s like being in a private jet, especially if you order the business class seating in back, then pile on the entertainment and driver assistance options.  Costs like a private jet, too.

Between BMW’s two hatchback-like recent offerings, the 550i GT is the better vehicle than the two-year-old BMW X6. The GT will be even more desirable once BMW in the spring adds versions with a 300-hp six-cylinder engine and with all-wheel-drive. Only two things require acclimatization: the view from the outside looking at the side and rear, and the view from inside looking out the rear window. 

Get there faster and enjoy the drive with the upcoming JVC KW-NT3HDT. For deep-pocketed car enthusiasts, this attractive installed navigator provides quality map data as well as better-sounding HD radio. The navigator includes maps for all 50 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico, and text-to-speech for street-name pronunciation, plus a host of useful extras including lane guidance, speed limit display, adaptive volume control (it raises the volume when engine noise is higher), and Bluetooth for hands-free calling.

The 6 million points-of-interest database is oddly small, but you can update it by downloading free PC Link software, searching for new POIs on Google Maps, saving your results on an SD card, and uploading them to the navigator. That’s something you’ll never do, but at least you know you could. You’ll also get two-way iPod control and the HD radio includes iTunes tagging. All this will run you $1199.95 when the KW-NT3HDT is available in March.