Automotive News

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Vintage cars are great fun, need care, quickly empty wallets

Vintage cars are often neither fuel-effective nor budget-friendly. But they look, feel great and drive beautifully. Sit or drive a classic vehicle and the experience can be a coolness and freeing feeling, not too dissimilar to what Sean Connery must have felt like when he driving an Aston Martin in a James Bond film. If you attend a classic event in your area, such as the Monterey Auto Week, it’s the perfect opportunity to get to know more about your favorite cars and how owners preserve them. Classic vehicles require a lot of care and repair to remain on the road — even if the vehicle is only sporadically driven. Vintage Cars Greatly Vary If driving a classic vehicle on

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Stuck in a rut? How about driving a Walmart truck for $110,000

No one has ever said making a living as a truck driver was easy. But starting pay of $110,000 a year might be the enough incentive to attract more workers to a long-hauler career. Walmart hopes so. The country’s largest retailer is trying to alleviate the country’s truck driver shortage by increasing the starting salary to $110,000 for those interesting in long-distance hauling the company’s vehicles. Driver with previous work experience working for with Walmart can earn more based on their tenure and location. Walmart, which currently has about 12,000 workers who drive its company-owned trucks, said the average company driver’s pay was $87,500. It hired 4,500 new drivers in 2021, the most in Walmart’s history. The median pay for

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Questions To Ask Houston Auto Repair Shops

If you are new to any area or shopping around for a new place to take your car, it’s best to do your homework. Spending some time and energy asking the right questions can save you money, time, effort, energy and frustration. Ask Houston Auto Repair shops the tough questions instead of going to the wrong place. Your motor vehicle is one of your most important assets; it takes you everywhere. There may be a couple of places to choose from, so it’s best to choose right from the start. This way, you may end up only having to deal with one more Houston Auto shop for the rest of your life. While your options are plenty, Adams Automotive Services

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Mystery icons on your dashboard? Pictures tell the stories

Flashing rectangles on the navigation system? Vibrating steering wheels? Abrupt warning sounds? It’s enough to drive a driver into making a mistake or it can save their life. And then there are those icons. Less invasive and also simultaneously helpful and confusing, warning icons can also abruptly appear on your car or truck‘s dashboard without, well . . . warning. Some of the icons are commonplace, others are more difficult to decipher. MotorTrend.com, the online version of automobile magazine dating to 1949, has accepted the task in long form of explaining in alphabetical order 10 icons that can appear on your vehicle. What they mean? How serious are their arrival? Here are abbreviate explanations. ABS Sensor Warning Light The ABS

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Tiger Woods driving again but he should never drive again

The fandom and television network adulation stopped for a while, but now it’s all back. Tiger Woods is playing in The Masters this week and it will be celebrated as miraculous and with additional adjectives always best used sparingly, particularly in sport. Woods apparently didn’t spend much time considering the possibility of his children being fatherless before he crashed on Feb. 23, 2021, while driving twice the speed limit on a notoriously dangerous Southern California road. The golfer was lucky. Removed from his Genesis SUV via the “Jaws of Life” after suffering substantial leg injuries, Woods was alive, but a lot was unknown. Would he have brain damage? Would he have a leg amputated? Would he walk and talk again?

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Pending new USPS trucks remain contentious

The pending first new USPS trucks in 30 years haven’t been driven. But they continue to be stuck before they start and the problem appears worse. The problem, percolating for months, now may include an investigation into a decision by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to purchase up to 165,000 gasoline-powered mail trucks over the Biden administration’s objections. In a letter to Inspector General Tammy Whitcomb, lawmakers questioned whether the Postal Service had complied with a law requiring environmental reviews of major federal actions. Further, the lawmakers believe the multibillion-dollar contract would undermine the nation’s climate goals. The contract, worth up to $6 billion over 10 years, would be the Postal Service’s first large-scale vehicle purchase in three decades. News USPS

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Tesla in space rings true with skyrocketing price increases

There once was a time when Elon Musk unveiled a plan to change the automotive landscape and offer his Tesla performance electric car for about $35,000. Musk has changed the car industry but his marketing promise never materialized. The original Tesla Model S debuted in March 2009 with a base price of $57,400 ($49,900 after federal tax credits). With the company founder’s pricing increase announcement March 15, the entry level price for Tesla is now about 40 percent more than originally promoted nearly 15 years ago. The latest price hike is far from the first price increase for the performance car. But it’s the second time in a week and the latest increase affects the brand’s entire line-up of electric

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How to overcome a car accident: family, friends, legal help

Getting into a car accident can be a daunting experience. It’s not often easily forgotten and it may leave physical and emotional scars. But there are many ways to overcome those difficulties. Brushing up on driving skills can help you return to being a confident driver.  Likewise, talking with a professional, friend or family member about the experience can help. Here are several ideas to help someone who’s been in an accident feel secure and return to driving as soon as possible. Close friends and family members can often tell when something is negatively affecting you. A car accident can be difficult to overcome, especially if it involved severe injuries. When speaking to someone about the injury experience, consider their

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Car loss on burned ship in the Azores exceeds $400 million

The destroyed vehicles among the cargo on the burned ship that caught fire last week in the Atlantic Ocean may tally a loss of more than $400 million, according to an industry consulting firm. Volkswagen alone could have incurred as estimated loss of $155 million. The total value of the cargo on the Felicity Ace, the ship ablaze for several days off the coast of Portugal’s Azores Islands, is approximately $438 million, according to the Russell Group. The 650-foot long ship was built in 2005. Estimates of the loss are based on all vehicles on board the burned ship as total losses. About 4,000 Volkswagen Group vehicles were on board, including Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche and VW. About 1,110 of

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Burning ship, 4,000 burning cars in the Atlantic, oh, my!

As if the automotive marketplace doesn’t nave enough problems, now it has burning cars on a burning ship adrift on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. According to insurance experts, an estimated 4,000 vehicles in transition from Germany to Rhode Island were cargo on the now-abandoned 656-foot Felicity Ace. It’s the ship that caught fire while carrying an estimated $401 million worth of cars and a total of $438 million in goods. The burning cars include Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche or Volkswagen models. The vessel’s 22 crew members were evacuated without injuries via helicopter. But the fire continued to burn for several days, fueled by lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles on board, according a port official. “These

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New U.S.P.S. truck fleet stalled again by controversy

The U.S.P.S. once prided itself in an unofficial motto: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” But for the past several years, the agency can’t even get new vehicles built to try to efficiently get job done. The pending new contract with by Oshkosh Defense to replace a 30-plus-year-old fleet is in neutral — again. After years of negotiation, the U.S. Postal Service and Oshkosh Defense reached at estimated $6 billion negotiation, but it’s now being questioned by the Environmental Protection Agency. New U.S.P.S. Trucks Face Scrutiny A letter this week complains about the poor fuel economy of the proposed mail truck replacement and urges the

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Consumer Reports: Some new cars, trucks less than sticker

Despite extraordinary higher prices and limited supplies of new vehicles, a report recently released by Consumer Reports details several new cars and trucks are available for less than their respective sticker prices. Three of the most discounted vehicles are pickup trucks from Chevrolet, Ford and Ram. The publication’s analysis states discounted vehicles are “specific trim variations, rather than savings being consistent across a model range.” According to the report, the discounts are smaller than usual, with the best prices still available via “negotiation and shopping around.” Consumer Reports notes: “Most months there are a few models that are given an extra push with incentives tied to supply and/or a coming redesign. Automakers and dealerships need to make room for new

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To keep or sell old cars, that is the question

The consensus among car owners is to keep their old cars longer. According to IHS Markit, the average age of cars on U.S. roads reached more than 12-years-old in 2021. It isn’t uncommon for vehicles to last well past the 100,000-mile milestone, with some cars exceeding 200,000 miles. In the wake of the post-pandemic economy, it is expected drivers will keep their vehicles even longer. Still, not every car owner is willing to keep their vehicle forever. In fact, despite the economic situation, some drivers are already wondering how to sell a car rapidly so they can buy their next vehicle. In a context where vehicles are durable and can maintain their performance for many years, it is worth asking

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Ripped Off: Catalytic Converter theft skyrockets

The theft of catalytic converters in cars and trucks nationwide is increasing exponentially. The reason: The easily accessible part includes rare metals skyrocketing in value. Located in front of a vehicle’s tailpipe, catalytic converters are easily removed, particularly in older cars and trucks with high clearances. Mandated for all U.S. cars and trucks in 1975, catalytic converters convert harmful pollutants into less harmful emissions before they’ve left the exhaust system. Platinum, palladium, rhodium or gold are used as the catalyst. Catalytic Converter: Rare Metals Thieves can sell converters to metal recyclers for $20-$200. The recyclers extract the metal and resell it for as thousands of dollars per ounce. Palladium sold for about $500 an ounce in 2016; It’s currently more

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Bored with driving? Here’s how to enjoy the ride

Driving can be a fun, exhilarating and life-affirming experience — at least when you’re in the right frame of mind driving enjoyable places. Most drivers are optimistic when they pass their first driving test. Road trips, greater autonomy and the ability to properly enjoy the world of auto enthusiasm and car culture are appealing. Unfortunately, the initial enthusiasm wears off. Many drivers use their cars to commute and the repeated pattern because mundane. It doesn’t help the driving experience when a driver gets into an accident or another car-related issue that requires the assistance of a car accident attorney. Determining how to get more enjoyment from driving and perhaps even make it an uplifting experience is recommended. Here are a

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Pickup truck owners beware: theft on the rise

Pickup truck owners get the best of all automotive versatility. But there’s also a dubious consideration — theft. According to newly released statistics from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, four of the top-10 most stolen vehicles in the United States are pickup trucks. At the top of the stolen list for the second straight year is Ford F series pickup truck. Theft of the country’s most popular vehicle increased 13 percent from 2019 to 2020, with 44,014 reports of stolen. The most “popular” year for the full-size pickup truck’s theft is 2006. Pickup Truck Theft: Ford Tops List Trucks on the most stolen vehicle list also include the 10. Dodge Ram 1500 (11,991); No. 7, GMC Sierra 1500 Denali (13,016)

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