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CES opens with fewer big wheels, including carmakers

There are some grumblings that the annual CES is becoming less relevant in this era of 24-hour news and instant globalization of information on the internet. And you can make a good argument that the relevance of the world's largest consumer electronics show is at least evolving, for carmakers as well as for other industry giants. It has always been an industry only show, with no public -- the “consumers” in "consumer electronics" -- allowed.

BMW X4 to launch at New York Auto Show in April

BMW X4 to launch at New York Auto Show in April The surprising success of the coupe version of the BMW X5 – the BMW X6 – made it highly probable that BMW would pull a similar trick with the X3 by building a coupe version of their smaller SUV. That probability became a certainty when BMW revealed a the BMW X4 Concept at the Shanghai Motor Show, looking just like an X6 on a boil wash. Although BMW didn’t give any major details about what goes under the X4′s bonnet, it’s safe to assume the X4 will come with a similar engine lineup to the X3, an interior that’s also similar and a price point that’s a bit higher.

Tesla pays off its government loans

Tesla paid off the last of its $465 million government loans May 22, nine years ahead of schedule, thus outperforming most U.S. college graduates and the vast majority of American homeowners. Tesla used funds from a stock offering to finish the loan with a whopping bank transfer of $451.8 million Wednesday, pointing out that it was “…the only American car company to have fully repaid the government.” Apparently no one at Tesla was even born when Lee Iacocca paid off Chrysler's $1.2-billion government bailout ahead of schedule back in 1983.