James Raia

Articles by James Raia

#186, CEO Tim McGrane embraces M1 Concourse challenge

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 37:06 — 50.9MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | More Tim McGrane has a long, varied career in the automotive industry. It’s steered him to his current role as the CEO of M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Michigan. The 87-acre playground for auto enthusiasts includes the world’s largest community of Private Garages and a 1.5-mile Performance Track with its own private Motorsports Club. A native of England whose previous experience tenures at Blackhawk Museum in Danville, California, and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, McGrane is my guest this week on The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-host Bruce Aldrich is on assignment. McGrane assumed his latest position in March and like the management of other automotive facilities,

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Wiggy wheels, faulty cameras give Ram pickup trucks troubles

Welcome to the world of recalls Stellantis! A few months into its tenure, the new owner of Fiat-Chrysler has made two dubious announcements. First, the new owner of Ram announced the wheels of more than a half-million of its Ram pickup trucks can fall off. And now comes word, more than 140,000 Ram trucks have recalled because their backup cameras may stop working when the vehicle is in reverse. The problematic wheels prompted the manufacturer to recall 510,000 Ram 3500 heavy-duty pickups and Ram 4500 and 5500 cab-chassis vehicles from 2012 to 2021 and mostly from North American have been recalled. The trucks in question have dual rear wheels and flanged lug nuts. Stellantis said some service and owner’s manuals

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2021 Honda Accord Hybrid: The best gets better

In its sixth decade, the Honda Accord is part of a small fraternity of vehicles that changed the automotive industry. Unveiled in 1976, the Accord was joined by the Toyota Camry six years later. The vehicles’ rivalry has continued since, with the carmakers’ healthy competition a constant in the always-in-flux family sedan segment. Key Takeaways Six decades of evolution pay off: The 2021 Accord Hybrid continues Honda’s rivalry with Toyota Camry, now in its 10th generation with refreshed styling and a sport sedan personality. 212-hp hybrid system erases stodgy reputation: The combined four-cylinder gas engine and electric motor deliver adequate power while achieving an estimated 43 mpg combined. Manual transmission is gone: Honda joined the growing manufacturer trend of eliminating

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New pickup trucks pricey? Sure. But bargains abound

In case anyone hasn’t noticed, pickup trucks have become increasingly expensive. With extensive option packages, several new pickup trucks more than $100,000. But considering the new Ford Maverick, soon debuting as a 2022 model, many pickup trucks are still reasonably priced. The Maverick is already upsetting the industry since it will undercut the current cheapest pickup truck, the Toyota Tacoma, by more than $4,000. Of course, payload, towing capacity, model year and many other factors make the list of the current cheapest pickup trucks skewed. But via dollars alone, Ford has put the other manufacturers on notice: the pickup truck battle is on. Pickup Trucks: Bargains Abound As for the Maverick, here’s what $21,490 as starting price will buy: The

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Ford Lightning electric pickup truck pricing revealed

The Ford F-150 Lightning, the manufacturer’s recently announced electric truck, with be priced at just under $50,000 with its optional extended-range battery. Ford previously released a base price of $39,974 for the 2022 pickup truck. The newly announced detail has exactly a $10,000 premium for the trim with an estimated 300-mile range. The prices don’t include a yet-to-be-released destination fee and details of a potential $7,500 EV tax credit and other incentives. The Lightning is built with the same military-grade aluminum-alloy body as the gasoline versions of the F-150. However, a different frame helps accommodate the battery packs. Ford Lightning Trim Prices Revealed The base version of the F-150 Lightning Pro has 426 horsepower and 775 pound-feet of torque and

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Ram pickup trucks’ dilemma: wheels can fall off

Stellantis, the new owner of Fiat-Chrysler, has made a dubious announcement — the wheels of more than a half-million of its Ram pickup trucks can fall off. As such, the manufacturer announced 510,000 Ram 3500 heavy-duty pickups and Ram 4500 and 5500 cab-chassis vehicles from 2012 to 2021 and mostly from North American have been recalled. More than 500,000 Ram pickup trucks have been recalled because the wheels can fall off. Ram Pickup Trucks Have Loose Nuts The trucks in question have dual rear wheels and flanged lug nuts. Stellantis said some service and owner’s manuals had the wrong torque specifications for tightening the lug nuts that hold the wheels to the hubs. If the nuts were tightened too much,

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2021 Hyundai Venue seeks home in crowded SUV family

Now in its second model year, the Hyundai Venue is the smallest sport utility vehicle and seventh sport or adventure offering in the company’s stable. It fills a niche the South Korean manufacturer has deemed important. But it’s hard to fathom. Since the carmaker already offers the Ioniq, Kona, Palisade, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe and Tucson, does it need the Venue? It’s marketed as a mini or sub-compact, entry-level SUV with a healthy chunk of features and superior gas mileage for its segment. It’s matched against more than dozen competitors, notably the Kia Soul, Mazda CX-30, MINI Cooper Countryman, Nissan Kick, Subaru Crosstrek and its Kona sibling. Hyundai‘s pedigree is constantly improving, but competition between two family members? Is it

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#184, Monterey Auto Week is back including memorabilia

Monterey Auto Week. Monterey Car Week. Classic Car Week. By any name, the now nearly two-week presentation of all things automotive will be back in mid-August. After a one-year hiatus because of the Covid-19 pandemic, most of the usual annual attractions — shows to auctions, speakers’ forums to memorabilia — will unfold throughout the Monterey Peninsula. Recently approved as an indoor show, the Automobilia Pop-Up Show, with a new one-year-only husband-wife organization team, will be held Aug. 10-11 at Embassy Suites in Seaside. Monterey Auto Week Is Back While long-time show organizer Everett Anton “Tony” Singer (www.vintageautoposters.com) continues plans for a full-field 2022 return, Andrew Herrala and his wife Kim Foxx will coordinate this year’s edition. It will include about

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2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat reigns in SUV jungle

Being the biggest, baddest or fastest means a lot in the automotive industry. The 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat is the most powerful sport utility vehicle ever made. It has a few horsepower nod over the Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. What’s difficult to determine is why the designations are important. The SUV Hellcat is newly designed to join the other Hellcat sedan offerings. It’s aggressive-looking but not particularly handsome. But multiple badges (side views of an angered wildcat) vault it into a roadshow. The design derives from the name of the American Grumman F6F Hellcat, the main Navy fighter in the second half of World War II. A Hellcat also means “witch” or “a violently temperamental person.” If it’s an important

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Car collector Scott Gunnari: A Man & His Edsels, #182

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:03 — 42.7MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | More Many cars have failed, but none quite like the Edsel. Scott Gunnari knows all the stories. But the vintage car collector enjoys the car named after Henry Ford’s his son as much as any collector of any brand. Gunnari, the lead inspector for Page One Automotive, the automotive fleet and event management service company in Brisbane, California, has had six of the much-maligned machines in his collection. He now owns three. Gunnari is our guest this week on Episode #182 of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia talk with Gunnari about three his 1958 Edsels — a Corsair 4-door

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The Pope going green with new Fisker electric popemobile

The Pope is getting a new popemobile. It’s an all-electric sport utility vehicle with an all-glass dome to give crowds a better opportunity to see the pontiff. Henrik Fisker and Geeta Gupta-Fisker, co-founders of the Fisker, the American electric startup carmaker, presented the design of the new transporter to Pope Francis in a private meeting May 20. The duo presented the Vatican with a concept of a modified Fisker Ocean. The Pope will get his new one-of-a-kind wheels next year. “I got inspired reading that Pope Francis is very considerate about the environment and the impact of climate change for future generations,” Henrik Fisker said in a statement. “The interior of the vehicle will contain a variety of sustainable materials,

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No computer chips for new trucks, top dollar for old trucks

Across the country, but notably in states like Texas where pickup trucks reign, supplies of new trucks are surprisingly thin. The reason? Car parts, particularly computer chips, are in rare supply. As a result, vintage Ford and Chevy pickups from the 70s and 80s are selling for 10 times more than their worth before the Covid-19 pandemic. So hold off selling that old pickup truck to the first person who offers $5,000 take it off your hands. It could be worth $50,000. In several states, according to several media reports on Drive.com, Ford is storing thousands of new Ford F-150 pickup trucks at the Kentucky Speedway and in parking lots in Detroit. The shortage of chips is preventing the trucks

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Energy Observer, Toyota team for global catamaran ride, #181

Dr. Katia Nicolet, a marine biologist, is part of two, five-person crews rotating on board the Energy Observer. The self-sufficient, 100-foot catamaran is the first round-the-world, hydrogen-powered sea vessel. It’s a working lab designed to showcase zero-emission technologies and demonstrate that clean energies can be accessible to everyone. As part of its six-year odyssey, the Energy Observer arrived in early May on Pier 9 in San Francisco about two weeks after entering the United States in Long Beach, California. Nicolet, who has been involved with the project for about a year, is our guest on this episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. After joining several other guests for Nicolet’s extensive tour of the vessel, co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia

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2021 Cadillac Escalade: powerful, plush, pricey

A year after the Lincoln Navigator debuted, General Motors launched the Cadillac Escalade, the luxury brand’s first sport utility vehicle. It was 1998 and a quick rivalry began between the makers of gas-guzzling apartments on wheels. The behemoth auto segment has since expanded. A half-dozen others are in the mix, the GMC Yukon to the Chevrolet Suburban, the Toyota Sequoia to the Nissan Armada. Powerful and optimally comfortable, road giants largely get left alone. The new Escalade is 17 feet, 6 inches long, 6 feet, 7 1/2 inches wide and 6 feet, 4 inches tall. It weighs nearly 6,000 pounds. Some Escalades seat eight passengers; second-row captain’s chairs cut the capacity to seven in other models. Big and bad, there’s

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#180, New website thatsanicecar.com showcases exotic cars

It’s easy to hear overt enthusiasm in Bill Mayer’s voice. He’s owned, restored and sold several of what he calls “works of art” — classic and exotic cars. After many years of planning, Mayer is now also the co-founder of the website, ThatsANiceCar.com. It reflects his passion for expensive automotive rarities. Andrew Sparrow is also a co-founder and the site’s technology guru. Launched in January, the website features only high-end exotic cars offered in a unique pricing platform. It’s for buyers and sellers. Mayer is our guest on episode #180 of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia discuss with Mayer the idea for the website and his plans to compete in the online marketplace. Exotic cars

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Essential Tips For Window and Mirror Car Maintenance

COLLABORATIVE CONTENT By Tarek Salem Regular glass maintenance is equally important as maintaining any other part of a car. Clean windows and mirrors can help ensure drivers avoid road mishaps. Malfunctioning mirrors or a large crack on the windshield can hinder visibility. It can leave you vulnerable on the road to an unfortunate situation. Collisions are globally among the most common traffic accidents. In Canada, thousands of people die annually from injuries suffered in traffic collisions; thousands more are seriously injured. Visibility hindrance is among the leading reason for collisions. Proper Car Maintenance Is Imperative To help ensure road safety, here’s a list of glass maintenance tips to help keep your car windows and mirrors in proper condition. Tips for

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