The 1980s was a strange time for the automobile, with the United States fresh from the throes of the Oil Crisis. Some really bad cars were made in those years, but a few legendary cars from that decade are worth a look. Hagerty Insurance says Mustangs, Firebirds, Camaros, and Corvettes are in decent supply, with plenty of parts and aftermarket support for restoration enthusiasts, but what about something even more special? Lamborghini Countach was first unveiled at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show [...more]

We are saddened to announce that Lee Iacocca has passed away at the age of 94. A remarkable auto designer and businessman, he saved Chrysler from bankruptcy back in 1979. Deemed the father of the Ford Mustang, he contributed to the design and launch of the famous car, along with many other automobiles. Today, we celebrate his professional accomplishments and contributions to American car market. Throughout his career, Lee fostered innovation within the automotive industry. After original [...more]

We’re always on the go, but staying up to the minute with business, entertainment, or friends can sometimes be a hassle. At your desktop or on your smartphone, information and interaction is available at a moment’s notice, but in a car can be difficult, if not dangerous. Android Auto aims to keep you focused on the road, get you to your destination, and keep you connected to your life while you’re on the road. Of course, this isn’t to say that Android Auto is some magic bullet. Inde [...more]

Like most automakers and many other companies, Ford Motor Company took a huge hit during the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008. Ford stock bottomed out in January 2009, just like many other companies, but managed to stay afloat. While most companies are clawing their way back to profitability, Ford’s comeback hasn’t been encouraging. Taking, for example, the comparison between the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Ford Motor Company, things seemed to be improving in sync for a few years. Sin [...more]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ8mD31jkoU&feature=youtu.be This is not the story of just any man, but one who overcame great odds to fulfill a dream. He’s been immortalized in records, books, film, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, and even a postage stamp: Niki Lauda, perhaps Formula 1’s greatest legend. Born into a prominent Austrian banking family in 1949, Niki Lauda eventually determined he had no interest in plying the family business. Instead, against his family’s [...more]

NITTO Tires is all about the enthusiasts, particularly since the company’s renaissance in the mid-1990s. Though always a small company, NITTO made its mark when it started asking drivers what they wanted, and then delivering. Today, NITTO sells tires for all kinds of vehicles, from luxury cruisers and agile sports cars to highway commuters and off-road trucks and SUVs. NITTO offers more innovation in tires than most companies. NITTO tire si [...more]

Ask anyone for a good auto repair experience and you’re more likely to hear stories of being overcharged, misdiagnosed, overlooked, ignored, or outright scammed. To begin, auto repair is already expensive. Auto mechanics spend years on training and thousands of dollars on specialized tools and equipment to maintain, diagnose, and repair automobiles. For example, an experienced mechanic might have personally invested up to $30,000 in tools, and the shop might equip a computerized vehicle alignme [...more]

Ever since Toyota invented the crossover – lookin’ at you, RAV4 – sedan sales have been in steady decline, whatever the gas prices and fuel economy numbers have been saying. In their place, crossovers and wagons have been steadily increasing in sales, but why isn’t anyone buying sedans anymore? Indeed, why are some automakers cutting more sedans from their lineups every year? There are at least a couple of good reasons. People Aren’t Buying Sedans Once asked what ten vehicles you wish you [...more]

Today’s college graduates have it tougher than ever. Tuition expenses are rising, student debt is at an all-time high, and the cost for reliable transportation just keeps going up. If you’re in college or just graduated, reliable transportation for classes or your new job is essential. The MINI Cooper Oxford Edition is just what your financial aid officer or human resources manager would recommend, and it’s not just some stripped-down MINI Cooper so MINI USA can say you drive one of their vehic [...more]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZCRFvcbIJQ The Grand Tour is the go-to show for car enthusiasts. Hosts Richard Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson and James May display a passion and love for all things car-related: driving anything from a Bugatti to a Ford Fiesta. They love them all. In 2018, Ford announced that they would be discontinuing their saloons, amid sedans losing popularity with consumers. More people are opting for SUVs and larger cars, leaving sedans in the dust. The only Ford cars y [...more]

Despite declining sales in the sedan market – SUVs and CUVs are “it” for now – Acura is keeping its main focus on its luxury sedans. Three sedans underpin the Acura brand, including the entry-level Acura ILX, mid-range TLX, and high-spec RLX. The Acura ILX compact luxury sedan marked a several firsts when it was released in 2013. After the Integra was discontinued in 2001, ILX was the first compact luxury sedan that might be called a replacement, though that still meant a whole generation misse [...more]

After you’ve spent hundreds of dollars on new tires, maybe even new wheels to mount them on, and even more to have them mounted and balanced, why would you be interested in spending even more on a road hazard warranty? With every tire we sell, we suggest purchasing a road hazard warranty, doesn’t every tire already come with a warranty? Yes, your tires do come with some basic warranty coverages, such as tread-life warranty, workmanship and materials warranty, and uniformity warranty. These w [...more]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANIZyD1xejA Watch this Mini Cooper be wrapped When looking at the average automobile, chances are it’s going to fall into a strictly monochromatic scale. In fact, half of all cars sold in America are either Silver (23%), White (15%), or Black (12%). The rest of the automotive fleet covers much of the color spectrum, including reds, blues, browns, yellows, and even gold, what if you wanted something really crazy, like a pink car? Would you paint your car pink? [...more]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvuvjEkeDAw The most popular car in the world might be the Toyota Corolla, but not everyone wants to drive one. True, they’re great little cars, but going to the opposite end of the scale, you realize why movie stars, billionaires, and museums drive something altogether different. The rarest cars in the world weren’t produced in their millions, not even in the hundreds, and it’s that exclusivity that makes them also some of the most expensive cars in the wor [...more]

They say, “two’s company” and “three’s a crowd,” but we’re willing to bet the new lineup of the BBC’s Top Gear presenters will be anything but overcrowded. After Clarkson, May, and Hammond left the show in 2015, there’s been no small amount of turnover among the ranks and changes to Top Gear, whose viewership has steadily declined. Replacement Chris Evans was only on board a short time, as were Matt LeBlanc and Rory Reid. LeBlanc announced his leaving the show completely, and Reid and Germa [...more]

U2’s 1983 hit New Year’s Day really deserves more recognition, mostly because its refrain, “Nothing changes on New Year’s Day” is so true. Over half of all resolution-makers make and break New Year’s resolutions like exercising more, learning a new skill, saving more money, or spending more time with family and friends. How about some New Year’s resolutions you can keep? Here are ten New Year’s resolutions you can put into practice right now: Learn to Drive Economically Fuel economy a [...more]

When the Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan was introduced in 2014, it was an immediate success, surpassing 100,000 sales in the first year alone, before even the Coupe, Cabriolet, Maybach, and Pullman variants were released. Four years in, and Mercedes has given the 2018 W222 some refresher points, but we’ve already gotten a preview of the next Mercedes, the 2021, which has been in testing for some time. Mercedes isn’t saying much, but observers hav [...more]

What is the Hot Rod Power Tour? Most car shows are not mobile, unlike the objects of car shows, which are mobile. One can certainly make the case for stationary car shows, to which the people are shuttled in their thousands. On the other hand, not every car show lets everyone take part, and the Hot Rod Power Tour is basically a mobile car show in which anyone who wants can participate. The Hot Rod Power Tour is seven days of hot rods and muscle cars, seen at and between seven cities. Some enthu [...more]

If you live where Winter promises cold temperatures, snowy roads, slushy driveways, snowbanks, and ice, you’ve likely got a dedicated set of snow tires ready to put on once the season hits. The Midwest and Northeast have already had a taste of what’s to come, so if you haven’t done it yet, drop everything and put on your snow tires. There are a couple of ways you can make your seasonal tire swap a little easier on yourself. Many store their tires in the basement or garage, while some auto repai [...more]

For many kids, little and no-so-little, growing up since the 1970s often netted countless tiny toy cars. Introduced in the 1950s, Matchbox started producing die-cast small-scale replica vehicles in the UK, then started similar production in the US. In 1968, Hot Wheels started producing die-cast vehicles of a slightly different type, more fanciful. Hot Wheels were the hot rods of the die-cast car lineup, though both companies eventually would cover daily drivers, race cars, hot rods, and fantasy [...more]

Like steel wheels, aluminum wheels are painted to protect them from corrosion. Some aluminum wheels are protected by a urethane or polyurethane clearcoat, allowing aluminum’s natural beauty to shine through, while other wheels feature combinations of clearcoat and opaque coatings. If the coating is intact, corrosion isn’t a problem, but exposure to sand, brake dust, dirt, and exhaust can damage the coating. Whereas a steel wheel will rust on exposure to the environment, oxygen specifically, alu [...more]

It’s not every day you find a unicorn. Finding this forgotten 1970 Chevelle SS 454 could be right up there with an alicorn (a Pegasus unicorn). The car is special because basically only the first owner ever drove the car, racing it regularly even, and is entirely original and untampered-with, minus the engine, which we’ll get to. A 1970 Chevelle SS – big deal, right? – but no, this is a special car, and enthusiast authenticator Patrick Nichols had to dig deep to pedigree this beautiful car, per [...more]

Orange cars, not just orange highlights, seem to be more popular than ever, but they still make up few cars on the market. Henry Ford famously said, “You can have any color Ford you want, as long as it’s black.” Over a century later, things have changed quite a bit, and practically every color of the rainbow is available, straight from the factory. Custom paint jobs widen the spectrum even further, but few people are paying attention. Unfortunately, Americans typically fall in line with the thr [...more]

San Francisco – Time is winding down to the annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Exposition and all 500 exhibitor spaces have been booked. Running January 24 to 27, 2019, the Moscone Center, 747 Howard St, San Francisco, California, NAPA Expo 2019 will be a complete experience, perhaps even more than one person can take in on their own. The only thing left is for new car- and truck-dealer representatives to sign in their attendance and start booking hotels From [...more]

Tesla Motors and CEO Elon Musk have done what many entrepreneurs have only dreamed of, bringing something completely new to the automotive market and making a success of it. The beginnings were rocky, and stock prices were stagnant for several years. Since early 2013, though, things have been generally on the rise, with the release of new models, and sometimes dropping, because investors are fickle beasts in earshot of the media. Most recently, a Musk Tweet has caused quite the uproar, the conse [...more]