Automotive News

PREVIEW: 2019 Toyota RAV4 debuts new design, features

The Toyota RAV4 debuted 22 years ago. The new fifth-generation 2019 edition of the sport utility vehicle will debut in dealerships in December in gas models and in hybrid models in March 2019. Gas models will be offered in five grades: LE, XLE, XLE Premium, Adventure and Limited. RAV4 HV will be offered in four grades: LE HV, XLE HV, XSE HV and Limited HV. Following the guiding themes from Toyota trucks, the new RAV4 has a revised front end and grille design to create a wider stance. With their polygonal motifs, the wheel arches appear to hold the tires from a high position, emphasizing the lifted-up body and drawing attention to the vehicle’s capability. Ground clearance is increased by

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Celebrities, test drives, rare cars set for LA Auto Show

Celebrity interaction, more test-drive availability, increased mobility solutions, custom cars and a host of world vehicle debuts are set for the LA Auto Show. The annual 10-day extravaganza of all things automotive will be held Nov. 30-Dec. 9 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. And there will be something for everyone, whether you’re an avid car enthusiast or a first-time visitor to the more than 100-year-old show. Consider a few highlights: * Amazon Gaming Lounge: Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May are bringing high-jinks and hot laps to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in The Grand Tour Game, an episodic racing game based on the hit Prime Original series, The Grand Tour. Created by Amazon Game Studios, The Grand Tour Game transports players to exotic locations, where

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NEW CAR PREVIEW: 2019 Mazda CX-5 (Signature)

The new, top-line trim of the 2019 Mazda CX-5, the carmaker’s compact crossover SUV and its best-selling vehicle, was unveiled at the recent Seattle Auto Show. The new Signature SUV includes the turbocharged SKYACTIV-2.5T engine and new G-Vectoring Control Plus. It incorporates premium materials, such as Caturra Brown Nappa leather and genuine layered wood trim. Other features in the 2019 Mazda CX-5: Apple CarPlayTMand Android AutoTM compatibility, a reconfigurable 7.0-TFT gauge display, heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, heated steering wheel, a BOSE 10-speaker premium sound system, windshield-projected Active Driving Display head-up unit and a 360°View Monitor with front and rear parking sensors The powertrain lineup adopts the SKYACTIV-2.5T direct-injection turbocharged gasoline engine also found in the Mazda

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VW plans electric car to compete with Tesla Model 3

Volkswagen may be giving up on the Beetle, but its continuing its quest to regain public trust and modernize its offerings with a new all-electric mid-sized sedan for $23,000. The German automaker cheated for years on its diesel emission tests, but its pending electric sedan has the name I.D. Aero. According to a Reuters report, it will cost nearly $12,00 less than the basic price of a Tesla Model 3. Reuters’ sources also reported VW will convert three of its factories in Germany to produce its Modular Electric Drive Matrix (MEB) entry. The carmaker’s goal will to manufacture 200,000 vehicles using the platform to make a family of electric vehicles. Volkswagen said its goal is selling 10 million by the

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Volvo, Tesla get Consumer Reports’ dubious reliability honors

Consumer Reports has long been recognized for its reliability to compile and present objective information. So who’s better than the service-oriented publication to provide lists of the most reliable and least reliable automakers? The publication’s annual reliability survey analyzed data in 17 areas from more than 500,000 vehicles. The areas for potential problems included interior wear-and-tear, transmission repairs and squeaky brakes. The annual list usually has surprises and this year is no exception. Volvo was the least reliable career in this year tabulations. The reason: The Swedish-made, Chinese-owned manufactured dropped six places from last year and had an average reliability score of 22. Volvo owners complained about three models was the S90. Its issues ranged from screen freezes and a

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Lexus, Toyota get Consumer Reports’ reliability honors

From transmission issues to troublesome turbocharged engines to 15 other areas, Consumer Reports studies in its annual automobile reliability survey. The 2018 compilation, like in every year, has surprises. This year, Toyota and its luxury sibling Lexus, reversed positions. While tabulating the results of more than 500,000 vehicles, Lexus gets the top spot. Lexus had six models in the study, earning an average reliability score of 78. The brand’s least reliable model is the IS while its most reliable model is the GX. This year, all Lexus models with sufficient data were rated average or above. Toyota had 14 models supplying reliability data, with the Japanese automaker receiving an average reliability score of 76. Its most reliable model is the

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A guide to styling and making Dispatch your own

Dispatch is a Magazine style blog for your new website. Each of its features have been designed and built using GeneratePress and WP Show Posts. As expected of a Flint Skin Site it uses Custom CSS. At over 350 lines it is recommended, but not necessary, to move the Additional CSS to a Child Theme style sheet. So lets get onto making it your own. WP Show Posts Without WP Show Posts plugin, this Site wouldn’t exist. Another awesome product from Tom Usborne, WP Show Posts does exactly what the title says. Anywhere and everywhere in the case of Dispatch. So much so there is a dedicated page to explain its uses here. Social Icons – Desktop The Lightweight Social

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Hooks – Custom Theme Elements

Dispatch uses a few Hook Elements to create some Custom Elements in the site. All of them provide dynamic output and should not require any changes to their content. For more info on the Hooke Element read here: https://docs.generatepress.com/article/hooks-element-overview/ Custom Post Navigation Adding a custom featured image post navigation at the foot of all posts. Please note: that the Post Navigation is disabled in the Customizer as it is not required. Secondary Navigation This hook calls the Secondary Navigation and displays below the header / header element. It also uses Display Rules so it is excluded from All Posts. Please note: the Secondary Navigation Location in the Customizer is set to No Navigation. WPSP Open Wrapper & WPSP Close Wrapper

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Page and Post Heroes

Page Heroes are those big bold images and headlines you find at the top of your posts and pages. They sit just below the Site Header and added using the Header Element module, when activated provides the Elements menu in Dashboard > Appearance > Elements Dispatch has two Header Elements in place. But you can add as many as you need. Magazine Grid – Home Page Combined with the WP Show Posts plugin this header creates a 5 post card grid. Very few settings are required. These are the main points: Hero Content: WP Show Posts Short code Element Classes: wpsp-grid wpsp-card This creates the grid and styles the cards Padding: Zero padding Makes the grid fill the hero Display

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How to change the Custom Colors

Changing Colors in Dispatch are mainly done via the Theme Customizer. Certain elements such as Page Heros are controlled within the Header Element and are covered in that article. There are a few colors that are controlled by CSS. The rules for them are found in the Customizer > Additional CSS: Primary Navigation Hairline Border above desktop navigation .main-navigation .inside-navigation { border-top: 0.5px solid #d4d7d8; } Menu item underline on hover .main-navigation ul li:after { background-color: #000; } Navigation Search .navigation-search.nav-search-active { background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.95); top: 100%; } Buttons All of the colors are controlled via the customizer. However the button border inherits the color of the font. This is set by this CSS: button, html input, input, input, a.button, a.button:visited,

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Style Guide

Heading One H1 Heading Two H2 Heading Three H3 Heading Four H4 Heading Five H5 Heading Six H6 Font: Playfair Playfair is a transitional design. In the European Enlightenment in the late 18th century, broad nib quills were replaced by pointed steel pens as the popular writing tool of the day. Together with developments in printing technology, ink, and paper making, it became to print letterforms of high contrast and delicate hairlines that were increasingly detached from the written letterforms. This design lends itself to this period, and while it is not a revival of any particular design, it takes influence from the designs of John Baskerville and from ‘Scotch Roman’ designs. Being a Display (large size) design in the

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Monterey Peninsula great for car events and gouging

The Monterey Peninsula is among the country’s most popular travel destinations, particularly for automotive enthusiasts. It’s a hub for car shows, competitions and special events — the Concours d’Elegance to the return of IndyCar racing in 2019. Enthusiasts and collectors from around the world flood the area, notably during Classic Car Week in August and at the end of September at the Rennsport vintage Porsche weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. But new and vintage cars and motorcycle races are held throughout the year. Public and private automotive museums and a rental company specializing in exotics get plenty of business. There’s a gallery specializing in automotive art in Carmel, a race driving school in Salinas and a healthy corps of

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Website publisher shares RV horror stories on Facebook

Chuck Woodbury, editor and publisher of RVTtavel.com, the leading website for all things related to the RV lifestyle, was our guest in February on Episode 25 of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Woodbury discusses many areas of the RV industry, a lack of quality control to the increasing number of people forced to leave their homes in expensive metropolitan areas around the country and now nomads in Woodbury, who has traveled throughout the world in an RV for many years, is an advocate for more regulations and watchdog programs for RV buyers. He believes the industry is ripe with shoddy manufacturing, and it needs more qualified repair technicians. Horror stories abound in the RV industry, which is why Woodbury and his

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IndyCar racing revving for 2019 return to Laguna Seca Raceway

After a 15-year absence, IndyCar racing will return to the Monterey Peninsula in 2019 with the series finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Salinas. A three-year agreement was approved July 16 by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, which oversees the operation of the facility. Next year’s race will be held Sept. 22 and succeed the current season-ending event in Sonoma Raceway. It will end a 14-year run. Dates for the remainder of the 2019 IndyCar season were not announced. Laguna Seca hosted CART Indy cars from 1983 through 2004. The famed track opened in 1957, but Indy cars didn’t race on the course until 1983 when Teo Fabi was victorious. Bobby Rahal won at Laguna Seca the next

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Jerry Seinfeld honors Jerry Lewis in Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee

Two famous comedians named Jerry driving in a vintage convertible with its top down to an omelet shop in Las Vegas? Is there a better way to begin the 10th season of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee than with Jerry Lewis and Jerry Seinfeld? Jerry Seinfeld didn’t think so. His guest in the first episode of the new season and as the show transitions from Crackle to Netflix, is deceased comedian Jerry Lewis. The debut show was taped last year. It provides a poignant 20-minute homage to Lewis, who died on August 20, 2017, from heart failure at age 91. In the video preview to the opener, which will debut on Netflix on July 6, Seinfeld and Lewis visit the

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Rolls-Royce joins auto industry trend with first SUV

Get ready for something new from Rolls-Royce. The luxurious British carmaker will soon debut its first sport utility vehicle. It will be called the Cullinan and, as expected, it will be big and powerful as its namesake. The Cullinan, the largest diamond ever found, is part of the British Crown Jewels. Pricing and a release date haven’t been announced, but the Cullinan is expected to be available in late 2018 and with an estimated entry price of around $400,000. It will be the most expensive Rolls-Royce ever made. Constructed with all-aluminum architecture, the Cullinan will have impressive specs: a 6.75-liter, twin-turbo V12 with 563 horsepower. It will come standard all-wheel drive, four-wheel steering and rear-hinged coach doors. The estimated 0-60

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