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There’s always a lot happening in the auto industry. But it’s been a particularly wild ride lately.
Tiger Woods crashed a new 2021 Genesis GV70. I test drove a 2022 Rolls-Royce Ghost for four days. And a new coffee table-sized book on the new mid-engine Corvette C8 has been published.
Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia discuss the three topics and more on this episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast.
Woods sustained multiple leg injuries early February 23 when he was involved in a single-car accident in Los Angeles County. The accident continued the golf icon’s years of misfortune while driving.
After removing Woods from his vehicle with the “jaws of life,” the golfer was taken by ambulance to Harbor UCLA Medical Center. It was Woods’ third car accident since 2009.
Woods, 45, an 82-time PGA Tour winner, was in the Southern California area for his annual Genesis Invitational golf tournament at the Riviera Country Club in the Pacific Palisades.
A lot still remains unknown about the accident and Woods’ future. Bruce and I give our opinions, which mostly streamline to: “Hey Tiger. Live Longer. Hire A Driver.”
Woods recently had another in his long series of back surgeries and he recently said his recovery could recent back surgery could keep him out of the upcoming Masters tournament in Augusta, Georgia.
The 2021 Rolls-Royce Ghost attracted as much attention as any vehicle I’ve reviewed in 16 years as an automotive journalist
The entry-level Ghost and siblings Cullinan, Dawn, Phantom and Wraith attract attention like no other carmaker’s offerings. Global sales of 5,125 in 2020 continued the brand’s reputation. It’s a name everyone knows, a car few see.
The Cullinan, the company’s first SUV, debuted in 2018. It catapulted sales to record levels. The Ghost is described as the carmaker’s “purest expression.”
Podcast No. 172: Tiger Woods, Rolls-Royce, Corvette CB Book
Who’s to argue? Newness abounds this year in the long-anticipated five-passenger sedan’s second generation. The so-called entry-level Rolls Royce was the brand’s top-seller for the previous decade.
The new Ghost features a 6.75-liter, twin-turbo, 48-valve V12. It produces 563 horsepower and advances from zero to 60 miles per hour, via its eight-speed automatic transmission, in 4.6 seconds. The top speed is 155 miles per hour.
The drive is powerful, smooth, quiet and carried on 21-inch, 10-spoke wheels. And while the wheels spin, the RR center emblems remain upright.
It’s all impressive for a vehicle that weighs 5,540 pounds and extends slightly more than 18 feet.
And speaking of beauty, consider the new Corvette. The debuts of the 2020 C8 and its 2021 sibling, both delayed in production by the coronavirus pandemic, feature what Chevy considered for decades — a mid-engine.
With diminishing sales for several years, the eighth generation is unlike any previous Corvette. Its engineers, like other renowned American artists, were influenced by European supercar masters from Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren. Some purists were aghast, others welcomed the change.
With a starting price of less than $60,000 and stunning specs — a 6.2-liter V8, top-speed of 194 miles per hour and 0-60 mph in less than three seconds — the new Corvette has global sales aspirations. Chevy hopes its sports car flagship’s reputation, cultivating since 1953, accelerates across continents and into competitors’ domains.
The new Corvette also disrupts previous signature traits. An eight-speed, double-clutch transmission replaces a stick shift.
Please join us for another episode as we examine the ever-changing automotive world.
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The podcast is in its third year, and we’ve had a diverse collection of guests — famous athletes, vintage car collectors, manufacturer CEOs, automotive book authors, industry analysts, a movie stuntman and episodes from auto shows and car auctions.
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Article Last Updated: March 10, 2021.
- About the Author
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.
