Cadillac’s hopes of reinventing itself and reestablishing itself as a leader in the luxury car space continued yesterday, as it announced a new partnership with American Airlines. The deal will have Cadillac and American offering luxury airport transfers to upper-strata passengers, with frequent flyer miles among the perks that can be expected.

Three Cadillacs – the CTS, SRX, and Escalade – will be used for this new initiative, as Caddy will provide shuttle vehicles for flyers who have tight flight schedules. The program will launch in October at the Los Angeles International Airport, though other airports, including Dallas/Fort Worth in Texas and LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, should also be covered in the coming months. Unfortunately, this may not be a program for the average Joe, as Cadillac and American are only making the service available for ConciergeKey members; this program is reserved only for top flyers with a lot of frequent flyer miles to their names.

There is, however, one program that most other American Airlines passengers could take advantage of, and that’s the opportunity for these flyers to test drive a Cadillac at the nearest dealership.  This would earn them 7,500 miles for the test drive, though it’s not sure when this program will launch.

Although the Lamborghini Asterion was a real head-turner at the Paris Motor Show, wowing design connoisseurs for its old-school charm and speed freaks for its amazing 900 combined horsepower, the company’s CEO is still not a believer in releasing high-performance hybrids to the buying public.

The Asterion was indeed an anomaly when it was launched last week at the Paris Motor Show, boasting of a rather peculiar setup, at least by Lamborghini standards. The car runs on a 602-horsepower gas-powered 5.2-liter V10 engine, which is already quite a formidable figure, but what set the vehicle apart was its three electric motors, which combine to make 295 horses. All in all, the Asterion is capable of 897 horsepower, making it probably the most muscular hybrid ever to see the light of day.

Unfortunately, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann insists that his company does not have any plans of giving the Asterion a mainstream release. In the past, he had remarked that hybrid technology is not in the cards for Lamborghini, and he had reiterated this point in an interview with Maxim yesterday. “I strongly believe that this is not a car that will be in production and we will not do it,” said Winkelmann, quite succinctly.

Still, there are some things buyers can look forward to, such as some elements of Lambo’s hybrid tech appearing on the production Urus SUV once it launches, as well as the possibility of manufacturing the Asterion as a one-off, albeit only “if the price is right,” and with a “standard” gas engine underneath, probably the V12 engine that powers the Aventador.

The words “hybrid” and “supercar” may be an oxymoron, unless you’re one of the few who considers ultra-high-fuel economy cars to be the supercars of today. But Lamborghini’s new Asterion hybrid is just that – a hybrid that can hit speeds of close to 200 mph.

Launched this week at the 2014 Paris Auto Show, the new Lamborghini Asterion is powered by a 5.2-liter V10 gas engine that’s capable of 610 horsepower. This engine combines with not only one, but three electric motors that combine for 295 horsepower, thus boosting the combined total to 905 horses under the hood. According to Lamborghini, the Asterion can go from 0 to 60 mph in approximately three seconds and flirt with the 200 mph mark in terms of top speed – this definitely is not your typical hybrid that’s solely focused on mileage and being an environmentally safe vehicle.

Talking abut the Lamborghini Asterion’s design, it has proven to be a bit polarizing.  While most can consider it a stunner, some believe it has too many old-school ’70s-inspired elements in it, but as we’ve seen from several American muscle cars, old-school design can still be relevant to modern-day buyers.    Interior features, on the other hand, include a built-in tablet for GPS and other functionalities; this allows the Asterion to compete with other forward-thinking vehicles like the Tesla Model S.

No pricing or release details have been announced for the Asterion at this point, but one thing’s for sure – it’s going to cost a fortune once it does become available to consumers.

Chrysler announced today that it posted its best-ever September sales figures since 2005, selling a total of 169,890 vehicles last month.  This represented a 19 percent jump on a year-over-year basis, also making it the 54^th straight month in which the company’s sales increased over the past year’s monthly numbers.

One of the biggest drivers of Chrysler’s success was the Jeep Cherokee, which had sold a total of 14,639 units last month.  That allowed the Cherokee to outsell the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee, which sold 13,955 and 12,854 units respectively in September.  Since the model’s November 2013 release, Jeep has sold a total of 128,133 Cherokees, while Jeep’s total sales for September mark its best total for that month in brand history.

Chrysler’s Ram brand also did great guns in September 2014, as the brand sold 36,612 vehicles in September, good for a 30 percent year-over-year jump.  Cutting down the figures to smaller pieces, light duty trucks enjoyed a 21 percent uptick, while heavy duty truck sales were up 49 percent from September 2013.  In terms of year-to-date figures, Ram has sold 319,868 pickup trucks and 337,148 vehicles, which is good for a 22 percent/25 percent improvement compared to last September’s year-to-date total.  Recently, Ram announced that it is changing up its blend of vehicles, doubling the percentage of Ecodiesel-powered trucks from 10 percent to 20 percent of all trucks manufactured.

Unfortunately for the Dodge brand, September was not a very good month, as Dodge sold 44,020 units last month, down 9 percent year-over-year.  Year-to-date sales are now at 443,957, which is 4 percent lower than last year’s total as of the end of September.  While the Viper supercar was one of Dodge’s best performers in terms of year-to-date improvement (108 units sold, up 140 percent year-on-year), more telling was the decline of models such as the Dodge Avenger, which sold just 1,667 units last month, down from September 2013’s 5,099.

With a “bold” mid-cycle refresh and a slew of new safety features, the 2015 Honda CR-V will be available for purchase tomorrow, selling for $23,320 and up, a slight increase over the previous model year’s price tag.

Looking at the 2015 Honda CR-V from outside, it’s hard to call this refresh an especially significant one, but Honda insists that this refresh is indeed the “boldest” in the compact crossover’s history.  That’s mainly because of certain features that are now standard or optional on the vehicle, including a comprehensive safety feature package called Honda Sensing.  This package includes old favorites like Adaptive Cruise Control and Forward Collision Warning, but also adds Honda’s own proprietary tech, particularly Honda LaneWatch.  Interior changes include air vents behind the console for added comfort, and a center console armrest, among others.

There’s not much change either with the 2015 Honda CR-V’s engine, though that only applies if you’re only considering the vehicle’s horsepower, which is unchanged at 185.  An enhanced continuous variable transmission will debut as part of the CR-V’s powertrain, while torque is now at 181 lb/ft., up from the previous 163 lb/ft.  In terms of mileage, front-wheel-drive versions of the CR-V are capable of 27 mpg city and 34 mpg highway, while all-wheel-drive options are capable of 26/33 city/highway mpg.  That’s up from the figures of 23/31 mpg for FWD versions and 22/30 for AWD versions in 2014.

As mentioned above, you’ll have to pay $23,320 for the base 2015 Honda CR-V; that’s the LX trim with front-wheel drive.  Pricing goes up to $24,570 for the AWD version of the LX.  The EX trim, on the other hand, will cost $25,420 for FWD and $26,670 for AWD, while the highest-end Touring trim costs $31,520 for FWD and $32,770 for AWD, with Honda Sensing now included as a standard feature.

Not long ago, gray market dealers in China had it made – with the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus release date delayed in the country, that gave these dealers the impetus to jack up prices big-time.  Customers also seemed interested in these smuggled devices, never mind that they often cost several times more than the actual MSRP.  However, it now appears that demand for these “hot” iPhones has waned, as indicated by a special report from the New York Times.

Prior to the report, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus variants were selling in China for as much as $2,500.  However, the Times reported that one dealer had to reduce prices from $1,960 to $2,450 to $1,060 to $1,436, a discount of close to 50 percent.  Several thousand iPhone 6 and 6 Plus units were smuggled into China from different locations, including New York City, and since gray market trading on these devices began, dealers were estimated to be making as much as $163 per handset, a tidy profit indeed.  Unfortunately for them, the combination of diminished demand and an increased number of gray market dealers may spell trouble in the long run.

There are other variables that may further dampen things for the so-called gray market, aside from increased competition and reduced demand.  For one, China now has several local manufacturers selling products that cost much less than the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, but can hold their own in terms of technical specs.  This is in stark contrast to previous iPhone releases, where the iPhone was the must-own handset for Chinese buyers, especially with release dates far removed from that of the U.S.  Also, the Chinese government has been less than subtle in slagging American-made products and pushing their local counterparts.

Apple has yet to announce an official iPhone 6/6 Plus release date in China, but with regulatory issues slowly getting ironed out, it shouldn’t be long before the devices become legally available for Chinese consumers to purchase.

BlackBerry had, under the leadership of former CEO Thorsten Heins, had tried to recapture the consumer market with the higher-end Z10 and Q10 last year, but had unfortunately fallen flat with both devices.  But the company, with John Chen as new Chief Executive, is seemingly shifting its focus to the enterprise market, and its new BlackBerry Passport, according to Wall Street’s number crunchers, will be made with that market in mind.

In a recent research note, Citigroup analyst Ehud Gelblum said that BlackBerry is aiming at the business market due to the increased prevalence of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) initiatives at workplaces.  “We therefore believe the success of the device business is once again in the hands of BlackBerry’s consumer fans, counter to CEO Chen’s enterprise first strategy,” said Gelblum.  He believes the number of phones provided by employers has gone down from 3  million per quarter four years ago to about 1 to 1.5 million as of the present.

“BlackBerry’s CEO’s attempts to convince enterprise CEOs and CIOs to give BlackBerry a second chance is bearing some positive results,” read a separate analyst note from RBC Capital Markets’ Mark Sue, as he reaffirmed his confidence in Chen’s leadership as BlackBerry CEO. “The improvements in the balance sheet and restructuring in the business is providing the challenged company much needed time to turn things around.”

The BlackBerry Passport, which is set to launch globally tomorrow and get released in select markets within the month, comes with a 4.5-inch square display and a redesigned keyboard that is ostensibly a classic QWERTY keyboard, but with a few twists.  Such a display is believed to be more conducive to professional users, as it allows for a better view of spreadsheets, while software features like BlackBerry Assistant are said to allow users to attend to work matters while on the go.