James Raia

Articles by James Raia

Six tips for better gas mileage from Consumer Reports

With high gas prices, Consumer Reports has released its latest compilation of fuel efficient (and least efficient) cars as well as six tips to saving gas before and after hitting the road. Before you leave: Check your tires. Underinflated tires require more energy to roll along, which eats up more fuel.  Make sure your tires’ air pressure is set to the automaker’s recommended level (see the owner’s manual, not the maximum pressure printed on the tires’ side. Get the right rental. If you plan on renting a car, try to reserve one with good gas mileage. For about the same rate, for example, you could get a 26-mpg Nissan Altima instead of a 20-mpg Chevrolet Impala. Or you could get

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Legendary rare Hollywood Ferrari set for Monterey auction

RM Auctions, the collector car auction house, will return Aug. 19-12 to  Monterey, California, for its annual sale held during the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance weekend. This year’s sale will feature a vast selection of vehicles, including the matching-numbers, race-winning 1955 Ferrari 750 Monza Scaglietti Spider, s/n 0492M. It had a starring role in the film On the Beach, featuring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner and Fred Astaire. The 1955 Ferrari 750 Monza Scaglietti Spider, s/n 0492M will be among 20 Ferraris auctioned. The eighth of 35 built, 0492M began its career on the Ferrari stand at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1955. One of the first cars with the improved coil spring front suspension, it was delivered to importer

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Honda Fit, Lexus hybrid claim Consumer Reports' honors

Consumer Reports, in its latest 2011 automotive survey, has selected the most fuel efficient, worst gas guzzlers and best fuel economy among used cars. “Hybrid and diesel vehicles provide better fuel economy than conventional cars, but they usually cost more to buy, and as gas prices rise, the pay-back time gets shorter,” said David Champion, Senior Director of Consumer Reports Auto Test Center in East Haddam, Conn. Below are recommended models in six categories that provide the best fuel economy. To be recommended, they met Consumer Reports’ stringent requirements for test performance, reliability, and safety. So, not only do they provide excellent fuel economy for their class, but they’re solid overall choices. according to the publication. Subcompact Best: Honda Fit

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Hyundai tops Mitsubishi for best car warranty honors

Keith Buglewicz, a writer for DriverSide.com, has compiled an exhaustive list of car warranties and has determined that Hyundai offers the best overall automotive warranty among automobiles offered in the United States. The author writer of Hyundai: “When you see those Hyundai commercials touting the country’s best warranty, well, they’re not lying. Hyundai’s powertrain warranty is equaled in years by Mitsubishi and Kia – and in miles by several others, and Kia and Mitsubishi also offer just as long a period from bumper-to-bumper. “Mitsubishi even ties Hyundai with its roadside assistance. But Hyundai beats out Mitsubishi on two fronts. First, it offers unlimited mileage on its corrosion protection package. Second, it applies to all Hyundai models, including the sporty Genesis

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Chrysler, Dr. Dre Make Nice Music With New Commercial

The Chrysler commercial campaign for the “Imported From Detroit” 300 featuring Dr. Dre is the follow-up to the nearly identically themed commercial featuring Eminem from this year’s Super Bowl. In short, why mess with a good thing? The Dr. Dre commercial showcases the Chrysler 300 that can include as an option a built-in Dr. Dre Beats sound system. Here’s the official announcement, which debuted in Game 3 of the NBA finals Sunday night on ABC: “Beats by Dr. Dre founder and hip hop legend Dr. Dre will star in “Good Things,” a bold 60-second commercial spot for the all-new 2012 Chrysler 300, set to debut during Game 3 of the NBA finals Sunday night on ABC. The commercial, directed by

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BMW, Ford, Mercedes-Benz on 2011 dubious cars list

In its seemingly endless quest to present car lists, CNNMoney.com’s lastest automotive tabulation is its top-10 most disappointing cars of 2011. The list includes some surprising choices, BMW to Honda, Acura to Mercedes-Benz — manufacturers often on top-10 best car lists. Here’s what Alex Taylor III, a senior editor-at-large for the website, wrote about the 2011 BMW X6 — the surprisingly poor seller: “The X6 is marketed as a ‘sports activity coupe’ that combines the attributes of an SUV (high ground clearance, all wheel drive large wheels and tires) with the stance of a coupé (bold styling, dramatic sloping roof).” “BMW sales are hot, but buyers are apparently confused by the concept, put off by the chunky styling, or deterred

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Indy 500: Facts, figures, records for the race's 95th edition

Like all historic sporting events, the Indianapolis 500 has an almost unlimited supply of statistics. Here’s a list of facts and figures for the 100th anniversary and the 95th Indy 500-mile race Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway: DISTANCE — 500 miles or 200 laps around the asphalt-on-brick Indianapolis Motor Speedway track, a 2.5-mile rectangular oval. RACE CARS — Open-cockpit, open-wheel and single-seat, with 3.5-liter, 635-horsepower normally aspirated Honda Indy V-8 engines. PACE CAR — 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS, driven by four-time race winner A.J. Foyt. FINISH — Standings are unofficial until posted by the IndyCar Series. NUMBER OF STARTERS — 33 cars; three abreast in each of 11 rows. POLE POSITION — Alex Tagliani, the first Canadian to win

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Airstream motor coach not quite car reviewer's style

Reviewing a Bugatti Veyron, Mercedes-Benz sedan or any of the new influx of green vehicles — the Toyota Prius to Tesla Roadster — is what Dan Neil does weekly with his column in the Wall Street Journal called “Rumble Seat.” But Neil is an essayist more than a straight-forward reviewer. The facts are all there and Neil has vast automotive knowledge. But the journalist who won a Pulitzer Prize for commentary recently left the his routine reviews that detail performance and comparison shopping among car manufacturers and took on the RV industry. With his family along for the ride, Neil reviewed the 2011 Airstream Interstate 3500. But while providing a detailed article on the motor coach, Neil also discusses a retired

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Obama administration gets 'greener,' buys Chevy Volt fleet

The Chevrolet Volt may have just gotten its biggest jolt. The Obama administration, according to an Associated Press report, is purchasing 101 of the plug-in electric cars — the government’s first purchase viable electric vehicles. Additionally, the government is also buying 10 battery electric Nissan Leaf vehicles and five Think City EV models from Finish EV startup. In the same announcement, the government also said it is installing 100 car-charging stations in Washington, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco at a cost of about $500,000. President Barack Obama has called for a one-third reduction in oil imports by 2025 and wants to put 1 million plug-in electric vehicles on the road by 2015. The electric car purchases are

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Tour of California: caravan of cars traverse the state

Beyond many of world’s best cyclists, including top Tour de France contenders, world titlists and Olympic gold medalists, the 800-mile Tour of California, like other cycling events, features a caravan of automobiles, motorcycles and recreational vehicles. An estimated 300 vehicles are traveling start to finish in sponsors’ cars, including Nissan, the co-sponsor of the RadioShack team, and Acura, the co-sponsor of BMC. Each starting and finish city also has its own law enforcement jurisdictions with a sizable array of police vehicles. The caravan of vehicles is nothing new to bike racing, but the sixth annual Tour of California this year began in South Lake Tahoe, California. Inclement weather, including snow, rainy and wet roads, prompted the cancellation of the opening

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Toyota Corolla, 2011 car review

With its unparalleled legacy via sheer numbers, the Toyota Corolla stands alone in the automotive industry. Now well into its 40s, the Corolla is the biggest selling car in history (approaching 40 million), with one new Corolla sold somewhere in world about every 40 seconds. Now in its 10th edition, the car that received its name for the Latin word for crown may have reached its saturation point. Manufactured in 15 countries (but not the United States), the Corolla is facing increasingly difficult competition from several manufacturers thriving in the subcompact and compact car categories. They offer faster, more efficient and better equipment vehicles. Still, the Corolla nameplate, now around since 1966 globally and since 1968 in the United States,

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Mercedes-Benz 2011 (CL550) car review

The Mercedes-Benz 2011 four-passenger CL550 coupe I tested from the automaker’s CL-Class line is a throwback to the grand Mercedes coupes of decades ago. That was when Mercedes engineers were given a pretty free hand to design the automaker’s large sedan and coupe models, complete with thick double-pane side glass. Those big powerful cars thus were superlative and majestic. Although heavy, they were fast and had no serious competition in America, where they were overqualified for most U.S. driving — and for most U.S. drivers, who were accustomed to soft U.S. luxury cars. The new CL550 coupe is the entry model in Mercedes’ CL-Class coupe line. It’s a two-door version of the sumptuous Mercedes S-Class sedan and thus has all

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Kentucky Derby: Horses, (Dodge) Rams, killing for silence

For the second consecutive year, the Ram Truck brand continued its title as the Official Truck of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby with a multi-faceted program dedicated to the 2011 Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby horse races. According to the official press release: “From the moment Thoroughbred fans enter Churchill Downs they will be immersed in the Ram Truck brand via vehicle displays and work trucks in and around the track, gate crew staff uniforms, and Ram branded jockey pants.” The best part of the partnership for Kentucky Derby viewers, just like in the Super Bowl or World Series, was arguably the sponsor’s commercials. Ram Trucks had its share, including a spot called “Silence” with actor Sam Elliott doing

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It's A (Natural) Gas, Honda To Offer Civic GX nationwide

Honda will offer the Civic GX, the Japanese manufacturer’s natural-gas-powered car, in the United States to retail delears beginning in the fall of 2011, according to a report in Japan’s business-oriented newspaper, Nikkei. The Civic GX is available nationwide to fleet sales, but it’s available for retail sales only in California, New York, Utah, Nevada and Oklahoma. Honda announced it will sell the vehicle nationwide because of the country’s increased interest in “green car” technology. The Civic GX has been rated first in the “Greenest Vehicle of the Year” list presented American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy for the past eight years. Natural-gas-propelled cars are viewed as greener than all-electric vehicles, which charge their batteries using electricity often generated by

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Indy 500 tickets available for race's 100th anniversary

With the event and likely its most famous driver celebrating milestones, the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500, arguably auto racing’s greatest events, will offer its share of memories. As such, attending the May 29 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) is still possible. In addition to the race’s centenary, A.J. Foyt will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first of four Indy 500 wins in a special ceremony. Foyt has also been named to drive the race’s pace car. Race Day ticket prices start at $30. Fans can buy tickets online at www.imstix.com, by calling the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700, or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area. In Indianapolis area, tickets are available at the speedway administrative

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A.J. Foyt will drive Indy 500 pace car; Donald Trump exits

A.J. Foyt, the first four-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 who is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his first triumph in the event, will drive the Chevrolet Camaro convertible pace car at the 100th Anniversary race Sunday, May 29 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Donald Trump, the businessman, television show host and potential presidential candidate, withdrew his name as the expected pace car driver, citing a busy schedule. The choice of Trump as the pace car driver had drawn criticism via his political opinions and criticism of President Barack Obama. In addition to his Indianapolis 500 victory in 1961, Foyt also won as a driver in 1964, 1967 and 1977. He was triumphant as a team owner in 1999 with

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