Automotive News

NEW CAR PREVIEW: 2017 Toyota Corolla goes bold at 50

The Toyota Corolla, the best-selling car in history, keeps rolling along — and quite well. Now celebrating 50 years and with more than 43 million sold, the anniversary will be designated with refreshed styling and a new safety system. The manufacturer has also introduced a 2017 Toyota Corolla SE 50th Anniversary Special Edition model limited to 8,000 units. The 2017 Toyota Corolla gets a sportier look. There’s a new front grille and LED headlamps. The L, LE and LE Eco grades gain Bi-LED headlamps, while complex-LED headlamps come standard on SE, XSE and XLE grades. With the base L model adding a back-up camera, that feature is now standard across the Corolla line. Redesigned 16-inch wheels are standard on the

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Elio sets higher price, compares three-wheeler to VW

Elio Motors has “locked in” a base price of $7,300 for its three-wheel vehicle that hasn’t been manufactured and has no definitive debut date. It’s an increase of $500 from the original price the start-up company has promoted for several years. Touted as an ultra high-mileage, ultra low-cost vehicle that will achieve up to 84 mph, the newly announced price will be available to the first 65,000 non-refundable reservations the company receives. The company has more than 56,000 reservations total, according to its web site totals. Elio Compares Concept to VW Beetle In the latest of dozen of press releases, Elio said it “aims to disrupt the American transportation industry with its low-cost, highly fuel efficient vehicle, much like Volkswagen

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2016 Honda Civic (Touring): 9 days, 1,932 miles, all good

The drive from Park City, Utah, to Sacramento, California, after a week at the Tour of Utah and Outdoor Retailer trade show, was a high speed, largely desert haul of 678 miles. I left Utah at about 10 a.m. and arrived at home around 11 p.m. in my test vehicle, a 2016 Honda Civic sedan (Touring). With the long day planned, I stopped often, including twice for gas, brief walks at rest stops and longer breaks in Utah at the Bonneville Salt Flats and in Wells for lunch and in Sparks, Nevada, for dinner. I left on the trip July 30 and returned on Aug. 8. The round trip was 1,932 miles, the outbound trip on Interstate 50 and the

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Toyota makes trucks cleanly, quietly, quickly in Texas

During a recent visit to the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas (TMMTX), the 2.2-million square foot, 2,000-acre facility 17 miles south of downtown San Antonio, my notion of the workplace environment of automobile manufacturing plants was shattered. The sweatshop image I’ve viewed in movies and read about in tragic examples of worker exploitation was replaced by modern, efficient, environmentally savvy city of state-of-the art technology. It’s a factory where machines and humans co-exist in a healthy, constantly moving indoor environment. Toyota calls the plant where about 200,000 Toyota Tacoma and Tundra trucks are manufactured per year a campus. It’s an appropriate moniker. The facility has 7,200 employees, the majority of whom rotate day and night shifts in two-week intervals. Employees are

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2016 Honda Civic: More miles, better mpg

One reason hybrid and other alternatively powered vehicles haven’t made a substantial impact among among the general car-buying public is the increased efficiency of gas-powered vehicles. The 2016 Honda Civic, my test vehicle during the Tour of Utah, is among about a dozen 2016 non-hybrid cars available in the United States rated at more than 40 mpg in freeway driving. While driving the Honda Civic Touring model, I left Sacramento on July 30th for Cedar City, Utah. When I refueled for the third time on day 6 of the trip, just out outside of Park City, I’d covered 1,100 miles, most open-road freeway miles with posted speed limits of up to 80 mph. The Honda Civic (Touring model) is rated

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2016 Honda Civic: Tech features, desert companions

Four model years ago, Honda introduced a new feature into its 2013 Accord and Crosstour models — Lane Watch. It’s a right-side camera that assists with blind spots. When the turn signal indicator is engaged for a right-hand turn, the camera shows the lane to the right of the car on the navigation system screen. One red (closest) and two yellow lines on the screen show the distance to the next vehicle(s). The Lane Watch feature has been added to other Honda models more recently, and it’s included in my 2016 Honda Civic (Touring), the vehicle I’m driving during the Tour of Utah bicycle race. Since leaving Sacramento on July 30, I driven more than 1,200 miles. During the long-distance

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Customer Service vital for success in towing industry

Customer service is an essential part of any public-oriented profession. After all, every business needs clients. Keeping your clientele satisfied, including in the towing industry, is key to ongoing success. Any company that allows paying customers to walk away unhappy is risking its future. In the towing industry, excellent customer service is of particular importance. Towing Falcons, providers of towing services in San Leandro, California, attest to this: “We have years of experience working with the public, and know just how difficult dealing with a breakdown, a blown-out tire, or a crash is for drivers,” the company’s owner said. “Our team understands how vital their role in our customers’ day is: they’re on the scene to get their lives back

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Pokemon Go madness: Baltimore driver, player hits police car

How obsessive compulsive has the mobile reality game Pokemon Go become? One answer involves the extreme good fortune of a young man in Maryland. While playing the game on his smartphone while driving, the man crashed his vehicle into a parked police car. The driver’s sport utility and the police officer’s car suffered extensive damage, but the driver of the car emerged without injuries. According to a report on CBS San Francisco, A Baltimore Police Department officer was talking to two colleagues next to his parked patrol car following a service call around 3:30 a.m. on July 19. The driver of the SUV suddenly slammed into the officer’s car, with the crash filmed by the officer’s body worn camera. The

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When buying a used vehicle don’t forget the inspection

Purchasing a new vehicle always represents a significant financial commitment, even when your new vehicle isn’t new at all. Even pre-owned vehicles, significantly marked down from the original sticker price, will cost a few bucks, and it’s important to ensure they represent a decent value. This means doing your homework—reading reviews and consumer reports before you sign on the dotted line. It means taking the vehicle for a test drive, ensuring you like how it runs and how it sounds. And yes, it means inspecting the vehicle thoroughly. As you inspect a used vehicle, you can and should be meticulous. Again, it’s your money you’re going to spend, so you have a right to know what you’re getting into. All

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Worst driving city in the United States? Washington, D.C.

Like all major metropolitan areas, Washington, D.C., has its strengths and weaknesses. One dubious distinction is its designation as the worst city in the United States for driving. That’s the assessment of the personal-finance website WalletHub.com In its new study, which tabulates 21 metrics — average gas prices to delayed traffic time to auto shop repairs per capita — Washington, D.C., is the worst city among the country’s top -100 most populated cities for driving. Conversely, Scottsdale, Ariz., is the country’s best metropolitan area for driving. Arizona has five of top-10 best driving cities. Scottsdale is followed by Tuscon (2), Gilbert (4), Mesa (5) and Chandler (6). Corpus Christi, Texas, ranks third in the study, followed by Loredo, Texas, (8),

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Car air conditioning repairs best left to experts

Like windshield wipers that suddenly don’t work properly in a rainstorm or a flat tire when you’re late for an appointment, there’s no good time for your car’s air conditioning to fail. In summer months, of course, the process that cools and removes humidity from the air in a car is often used to its capacity. To run efficiently, it’s imperative an air conditioner has the proper level of refrigerant, the cooling agent. But if the air conditioning isn’t working or if it’s not blowing cold air of there’s a clicking noise coming from the engine, it’s likely the unit needs to be recharged. And that’s not as simple as just adding refrigerant. With new legislation on the horizon that

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2016 Honda Civic: sales jump for new sporty icon

It’s no surprise when pickup trucks sell well, but joining the perennially top-selling vehicle for honors in the first half of the year is the 2016 Honda Civic. The 10th generation of the compact is well on its way to 200,000 units sold this year and has achieved a 10.7 percent increase in sales from one year ago in June. So far this year, the Civic has improved monthly sales of 43 percent in January, 32 percent in February, 22 percent in March, 23 percent in April and 2.7 percent in May. The 2016 Honda Civic, which The Weekly Driver reviews HERE, has sold at a nearly 20 percent rate increase in the first six months of this year compared

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Leonardo DiCaprio: green car, issue advocate chided

Leonardo DiCaprio is a well-known proponent of global warming issues. But the Academy Award winner is being criticized for his approach to hosting his Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation Annual Gala To Fund Climate and Biodiversity Projects. The occasion will be held July 20 at the Bertaud Belieu Vineyards on the French Riviera. The actor is flying is top celebrity guests from around the world. Critics of DiCaprio, including the Daily Mirror newspaper in England, report guests’ travel will result in substantial overload of carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions. The reception list includes: actors Kate Hudson, Charlize Theron, Cate Blanchett, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Robert De Niro, Scarlett Johansson, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Kevin Spacey. A host of international rock and pop stars,

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Tesla woes continue with production shortfall

Tesla has had its second disappointment in a week. The luxury electric carmaker has fallen short of shipment targets for the second straight quarter, raising further questions of the manufacturer’s ability to meet production demands of its pending Model 3. The carmaker said it shipped 14,370 cars in the second quarter. It missed its target of 17,000. The shortcoming also put Tesla’s claim of delivering 80,000-90,000 cars this year in jeopardy. Further, the announced delivery date of late November 2016 for the affordable Model 3 has now also been questioned. About 400,000 wannabe be buyers of the new vehicle have paid a $1,000 deposit. Tesla blamed in driver death Production woes aside, Tesla has faced scrutiny since the death of

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Elio debuts test vehicle, but no production car date set

The long and circuitous journey Elio Motors has taken to introduce a high-mileage, three-wheel vehicle, has reached another level with the announced completion of its first E-Series test vehicle. The company, which has touted the $6,800 vehicle for several years and collected deposits from thousands of wannabe buyers, said test vehicle debut is a big step for the launch of the vehicle. The first E-Series vehicle, according to Elio, continues to development of final vehicle. The test vehicle will be “put through a battery of tests that will help refine and finalize the overall design prior to final production.” Elio Motors is planning to build 23 E-Series testing and validation vehicles to test for safety, aerodynamics and durability. Once the

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Stop driving older Honda, Acura models

If you own an older Honda or Acura, the government is urging you to stop driving it because its Takata airbags have a 50 percent chance of exploding in a crash. The warning applies to about 313,000 models of the Honda Accord (2001-2002), Honda Civic (2001-2002) Honda CR-V (2002-2003), Honda Odyssey (2003), Honda Pilot (2003), Acura TL (2002-2003) and Acura CL (2003). Takata inflators that can explode in a crash have been linked to 10 deaths and more than 100 injuries in the United States. Auto safety regulators said eight of those deaths occurred in Honda and Acura vehicles subject to the warning. “With as high as a 50 percent chance of a dangerous air bag inflator rupture in a

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