Automotive News

Meet Dale Earnhardt Jr., win a Camaro with eBay

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has as loyal a fan base as any driver in any racing discipline. But just like enthusiasts in many other sports, following favorite athletes in the auto racing is mostly done from a distance. Earnhardt Jr., and eBay Motors have joined to change that for one fortunate fan. A website for the global company, eBay Garage, is presenting a giveaway sweepstakes. The winner will be awarded a 2014 Chevrolet Camaro and receive a trip to to meet Earnhardt Jr., at his car dealership in Tallahassee, Florida. The contest, however, requires more than just completing an entry form. Participants are required to log-in to eBay Garage, add a vehicle profile, add additional images for additional entrants and share

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Recall madness: Honda, Nissan, Mazda . . . airbags

Honda, Nissan and Mazda combined are recalling about 1.3 million cars in North America and more than 3 million globally for faulty airbags manufactured by the Takata Corp. Honda is recalling 1.02 million Civic, CR-V, Odyssey and Element models manufactured between April 2000 and October 2002. Nissan is recalling 228,00 vehicles. Mazda is recalling about 15,000 of the RX-8 and Mazda6. Takata airbags were last involved in a recall in 2013 when Japanese automakers recalled 3.4 million vehicles worldwide because of faulty airbags. In early June (2014), Toyota recalled 844,277 with similar problems. The exact cause of the airbag issue has not been determined. One theory is that defective inflators can explode when deployed because of the propellent’s sensitivity to

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Aston Martin nirvana? New festival for James Bond cars

Aston Martin and James Bond are nearly synonymous. The Monterey Peninsula wants to be part of the lore, too. And it will likely make a keen impression when the North American Aston Martin Festival debuts Aug. 30-31 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. The festival will be open to all owners, racers, and enthusiasts. And if will offer the opportunity to see road and race cars in close action while also enjoying live entertainment and a gala dinner. The festival concept has been designed to attract a wide and international audience including current and historic Aston Martin owners, Aston Martin dealer partners, owner and enthusiast clubs, as well as sponsors and corporate partners. TRG-AMR will showcase the current

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2015 Mazda6: Good option to costly foreign sedans

Mazda continues its strong emphasis on sporty cars with The 2015 Mazda6. It’s a roomy, sporty mid-sized sedan with a fun-to-drive personality and sparkling fuel economy. No wonder its sales are escalating in the highly competitive mid-size car market, which includes the formidable Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. The 2015 Mazda6 is mostly a carry-over from the fairly recently redesigned Mazda6 with updates to select features and packaging options. Mazda doesn’t promote this model as a BMW or Mercedes fighter, but rather as a sporty, roomy, economical family car. For one thing, it has front-wheel drive, instead of the rear-drive traditionally found with high-performance foreign sedans. Yet, my rakish-looking Mazda6 Grand Touring model, complete with bright dual exhaust outlets, drove

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Jerry Seinfeld back in cars getting coffee on Crackle

“Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee,” the contagiously funny show about nothing and everything all at once, has started its fourth season. The show has some changes, but it’s as if Jerry Seinfeld never missed a comedic beat during the show’s hiatus. The season opener features Seinfeld and Sarah Jessica Parker driving in her 1976 Ford Country Squire station wagon to Manhattan. The premise of the show is Seinfeld’s obsession with coffee and cars. It’s the most popular show on the Crackle network. There’s new static footage in Season Four, and the season opener begins with a clever exchange of why Seinfeld hates the car and why Parker is enamored with it. She likes the immense windows and space; He says

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GM nailed again, this time $10 billion lawsuit

As if the recall of 20 million cars and a new CEO isn’t enough turmoil, GM is now being sued for $10 billion. The lawsuit, filed by attorneys Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, details GM hurt its customers by concealing defects. The result: devaluation of many late-model vehicles by about $500 to $2,600 in resale value. The news agency, Reuters reported the plaintiff is Anna Andrews, a California resident and GM customer. Andrews is seeking class-action status for people who owned or leased GM vehicles sold between the company’s bankruptcy and April 1, 2014 It’s the first legal claim that GM owes customers some compensation for damaging its brand and reputation — a total exceeding $10 billion, to be paid to

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Tracy Morgan improves, sense of humor back

Tracy Morgan, the actor and comedian who suffered multiple injuries June 7 in a New Jersey highway crash that killed one of his friends, has been upgraded to fair condition. “His personality is certainly starting to come back as well,” Lewis Kay, Morgan’s spokesperson, said. Morgan, 45, the former “Saturday Night Live” and “30 Rock” star suffered broken ribs and a broken leg on the New Jersey Turnpike. The crash killed comedian James McNair and seriously injured two others. Prosecutors say Walmart driver Kevin Roper’s truck hit Morgan’s limo. Roper has pleaded not guilty to death by auto and assault by auto charges. A criminal complaint alleges Roper hadn’t slept for more than 24 hours before the accident when he

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World Cup, Hyundai have a good soccer marriage

Hyundai has had plenty of innovative commercials, particularly during Super Bowl telecasts. But the South Korean automaker may have outdone itself with a series of commercials for the World Cup soccer tournament. The first in a series of commercials shows a caravan of Hyundai vehicles on a pilgrimage to the World Cup in Brazil. The one-minute spot, called The Journey, briefly showcases the hotspots of the World Cup. Fans have painted faces and there are Brazilian players practice in the streets with impressive moves. There are children showing their emotional enthusiasm in anticipation of the globally popular event. There’s a huge gathering of fans watching the World Cup on a large outside television screen in Madrid, Spain, in a fan

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General Motors: low spark in massive recall rate

The latest chapter in the omnipresent woes of General Motors revealed that four months after the company began recalling 2.6 million small cars to fix ignition switches, only seven percent of the vehicles have been repaired. The reason: Switch maker Delphi has had delays in making the part for cars that are no longer being produced. General Motors reported through June 12, nearly 177,000 cars have been repaired and another 423,000 parts kits have been shipped to dealers worldwide. Spokesman Kevin Kelly said Delphi had only one assembly line building replacement switches, which slowed parts distribution. Kelly added the company now has two lines and a third will be running in late July or early August. General Motors expects to

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Miracle on Snow: Michael Schumacher out of coma

Michael Schumacher, who sustained serious head injuries nearly six months ago in a skiing accident in France, is out of his coma and has been transferred from a hospital in France to a hospital near his home in Switzerland. Schumacher, 45, the most accomplished driver in Formula One history, has been in a Grenoble hospital since his accident Dec. 29, 2013. He left the French hospital Monday morning. Schumacher “is not in a coma anymore,” his manager, Sabine Kehm, said. Kehm gave no further details of Schumacher’s condition or medical outlook. But she added Schumacher will “continue his long phase of rehabilitation.” Darcy Christen, a spokeswoman for Lausanne University Hospital, confirmed Schumacher was admitted. But she stressed the facility wants

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Elio Motors suffers further setback, debut in late 2015?

The future of the much-discussed Elio Motors three-wheeler has been further delayed — likely for more than a year — according to several website reports. The Dubai-based news portal, AirHerald.com report funding issues have stalled the pending start of manufacturer’s production site in Shreveport, Louisiana. The dilemma may push back the public debut of the vehicle to at least September, 2015. Officials at Elio Motors had hoped production of the $6,800 car would be last March. In addition to funding issues, uncertainly from regulators how three-wheel vehicles should be classified have further complicated the much-anticipated car. According to AirHerald.com, Elio Motors has plans to hire 800 workers in June 2015. Elio Motors reportedly has raised more than $55 million, less

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2014 Volkswagen Passat: Unheralded, worthy sedan

The 2014 Volkswagen Passat is a family sedan that for years has fallen into an odd category. It doesn’t turn heads via an overtly handsome exterior. And neither are its performance nor interior styling spectacular. But for more than four decades the Volkswagen Passat has done a lot right and little wrong. That places the car in a category among few family sedans, particularly those in the high $20,000 to low $30,000 range. It’s hard to find anything wrong with the car. The sixth and current generation debuted in 2011 and was named the 2012 Motor Trend Car of the Year. The Passat has a unique position the auto industry. Despite its Tennessee assemblage, it’s the only European-engineered family sedan

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Tracy Morgan wreck spotlights long-haul trucking woes

The crash last Saturday involving comedian Tracy Morgan, his entourage and a Walmart truck driver accused of overt fatigue, has again brought to the forefront the inherent potential dangers of long-haul trucking. Bill Briggs, writing for the website of NBC news, has filed a lengthy and compression article titled: “Tracy Morgan Crash: Why Are Some Long-Haul Truckers So Tired?” In the article, Briggs writes in part: “One year ago, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) installed several rules to try to keep weary truckers off highways, including mandating a 30-minute break during the first eight hours of their shift and reducing maximum workweeks to 70 hours over eight days — including a 34-hour break once per week.” “But federal transportation

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Muscle car madness: Corvette tops the power list

Muscle cars may be defined differently by different enthusiasts of the car segment. But it’s unlikely there’s a more diverse list of muscles cars than those outlined by the website autodesk.com. In an non-bylined article, the editors have chosen their list of the top-15 muscle cars still manufactured. In reverse order, the list begins with the Dodge Viper and ends with the Chevy Corvette. The list also includes some curious choices. Here’s what autodesk wrote in part about the Dodge Viper: “In January 1992, Dodge introduced the Viper to the public as a car that was unlike any other American produced car of its time. It set its own place at the muscle car table. Technically a sports car, the

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Jerry Seinfeld does coffee, cars with Jon Stewart

Eighteen-wheelers, station wagons, vintage AMC cars and Jaguars have little in common. Unless, of course, Jerry Seinfeld and one of his comedian friends are the occupants in one of the vehicles and they’re going for coffee. The fourth season of the web series, “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” will debut June 19. It will be the first episode in a new five-season deal with the Crackle network. The new season introduction video (see below) shows Seinfeld in short clips with his guests for this season, Jon Stewart, George Wallace, Sarah Jessica Parker, Robert Klein and Aziz Ansari. Since its debut, the show’s premise has been simple. Seinfeld drives fellow comedians around in rare and expensive cars (and sometimes not-so rare

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GM image enhancer: Test-drive a Cadillac, get $100

General Motors hasn’t been a beacon in the automotive industry recently. As such, the company is looking for new ways to market, like giving potential buyers $100 for test-driving a Cadillac. According to several automotive sites, the Cadillac promotion is simple. Customers would receive a $100 gift card after test driving a Cadillac. There are two “catches.” The new test-drive promotion is open to drivers over the age of 21 and who own a non-GM vehicle that’s newer than 2004. General Motors’ theory behind the promotion is simple marketing. The company believes potential customers will be so impressed with Cadillac showrooms (and the test drive), they’ll be more likely to buy a new vehicle. The $100 is delivered in the

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