Rolls-Royce unveils most expensive new car ever made

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If money is no problem in your car-buying habits, why not purchase the most expensive new car ever made — a one-of-a-kind Rolls-Royce? An unnamed buyer, seeking a vehicle styled after the Rolls-Royce offerings in the 1920 and 1930s, spent a reported $12.8 million on a Rolls-Royce Sweptail. The car took four years to make and was unveiled to the public recently at the Concorso d’Eleganza in Italy. The custom coach was designed via the customer’s wishes: a coach-built coupe with a glass roof. The buyer is described in the carmaker’s press release as a “connoisseur and collector of distinctive,

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2017 Honda Civic hatchback: sporty value gem returns

A small percentage of the car-buying public still enjoys the mechanics of driving. But manual transmissions are increasingly rare. Meet the 2017 Honda Civic hatchback sport. Honda decided this year to make its perennially top-selling compact more versatile, via an imported hatchback. The 10th generation of the sedan, manufactured in England, is available with a six-speed manual transmission. While the efficiency of continuously variable transmissions has simplified driving and Honda is at the automotive forefront with its version, the carmaker also appreciates tradition. Thirty years ago, about 25 percent of new cars sold in the United States featured manual transmissions.

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Forget Elio; How about a simple $5,490 T3-1 Micro?

Micro vehicles are nothing new. But they’re getting more innovative, including the newest electric scooter from ZEV (Zero Emissions Vehicles), the T3-1 Micro. A miniature car, or as one prominent tech site called it, “a quarter of a minivan,” the T3-1 in an enclosed, three-wheel trike. It’s ideal for short commutes or as a light delivery vehicle. The Micro has one door, one front seat and a parking brake. It’s is fully shielded from the weather, including a windscreen wiper. It also has “luxury items,” windows you can wind down and an optional sound system. Space isn’t cavernous, but two

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2017 Toyota Prius Prime: Efficient new hybrid shines

The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime, a plug-in gas-electric hybrid, is a new addition to the country’s largest selling hybrid family. It replaces the Prius Plug-in and it’s the most ambitious Prius on the market. Its exterior design, full of sharp angles and a unique narrow exterior light design in the mainstream automotive industry, removes the stodgy image of previous Prius models. The Prime is chock-full of technology, most visibly the navigation system and infotainment center. It’s an 11.6-inch vertically oriented high-resolution touchscreen, and it dominates the dashboard. It’s standard on the Prime Premium ($29,965) and top-line Prime Advanced ($33,965). It’s

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Ford Mustang dominates internet vintage car searches

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Vintage car enthusiasts all have their favorites. But there’s one iconic vehicle that dominates internet searches — the Ford Mustang. According to the website classiccars.com, the Mustang generated 3,736,942 unique searches in 2016. The Mustang pushed the Ford to its status as the top manufacturer searched for vintage vehicles, followed by Chevrolet. In its state-by-state calculations, the Mustang ranked first in 13 states, followed by the Chevrolet Impala (7) and the Chevrolet Camaro (5), Chevrolet Corvette (3), Dodge Charger (3) and Ford Thunderbird (3). ClassicCars.com, which specializes the research and purchase of classic cars and trucks, registers 330,000 searches daily

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2017 Toyota Prius Prime: Into the mountains with ease

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Eleven days into coverage of the Amgen Tour of California, I’ve surpassed 1,000 miles while driving the 2017 Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid. My trip began May 10 in Sacramento, and the race just ended in Pasadena. The women raced for four days, including two days in South Lake Tahoe and two days ending in Sacramento. The men raced for seven days from Sacramento to today’s concluding high-speed finale from Mountain High to downtown Pasadena. As the newest and most technologically advanced Prius since the hybrid debuted in the United States in 2000, the Prius Prime is among the few

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Consumer Reports’ 10 2017 Worst Cars To Buy

Consumer Reports has published car and truck lists for decades. Among its recent compilations is its worst cars for 2017 in 10 popular segments, subcompacts to luxury sedans, compacts to hybrids. The list is based on the lowest overall score in each category and based on a complete overview of each vehicle. The criteria combine a road-test score, predicted reliability, owner satisfaction and safety — including government and insurance industry crash-test results. In conjunction with each worst car in each category, Consumer Reports lists its suggested best choice in each category. Here’s what the publication said about 2017 Chrysler 200.

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A Guide to Choosing A Tow Truck Company In Your Area

SPONSORED CONTENT Drivers share a fear of mechanical issues wreaking havoc with our vehicles. Whether you’re on the freeway home after a long day at work, preparing to take the kids to school, or simply letting your car warm up on a crisp winter morning, having engine problems is a pain. It happened to me recently. Eight endless hours spent at the office in front of my computer, and the half-hour drive back home was doubled because of a simple, unexpected issue.   There’s no need to go into specifics. But without the humor and speedy work of the tow

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3 important things to consider when buying a used truck

Does your truck have constant mechanical problems? Has it outlived its usefulness? If so, start thinking about the purchase of a more dependable vehicle. It’s a big purchase for a considerable amount of money. Carefully consider the factors that will go into your purchase. It will allow you to make an educated decision that you will not regret. Here are some of the most important factors to consider when you are going to purchase a used truck. What is the condition of the used truck? This is an important detail because buying a used truck that has not received proper

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2017 Toyota Prius Prime has short shift, not short shrift

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The transfer today for stage 4 of the Amgen Tour of California took me from Morro Bay to Santa Clarita, California, and I’ve now driven a 2017 Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid for a week. I’ve covered 775 miles and averaged 55.9 mpg, nearly two miles per gallon more than plug-in hybrid’s rating. The route from Morro Bay was a coastal trek on Highway 1 and then a diversion to Highway 101 south for about two hours. The route then turned inland on 154 through small hamlets before rejoining 101. The final short stretch into Santa Clarita was a switch

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Jerry Seinfeld set to auction rare Lotus super car in Texas

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Jerry Seinfeld is known for his passion for Porsche cars. But the comedian has a vast interest in all kinds of automobiles, including a rare Lotus he used to own that’s now about to be auctioned. The 2009 Lotus Exige S260 sports coupe will be among 16 former celebrity owned cars in addition to 175 other vehicles set for the auction of May 27 in the Dan Kruse Classics Midland-Odessa Car Auction in Midland, Texas. The fastest to, from and around the track model, the 2009 Lotus Exige S260 Sports Coupe was among the vast collection that the car enthusiast

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2017 Toyota Prius Prime: Fuel efficient, safety galore

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After nearly six full days of driving the 2017 Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid during the Amgen Tour California, I stopped for my first refuel about two hours into a 3 1/2-hour evening drive from San Jose to Morro Bay, California. The route was primarily a long, straight haul north-south along Highway 101 before an undulating, often single-lane finishing 17-mile trek on Highway 41 into the ocean resort city. I stopped with about 90 miles left in the drive. I filled up the Prius Prime with 9.3 gallons at $3.09 per gallon for a total of $29.00. I’d driven 499

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2017 Toyota Prius Prime fares well on the long, winding road

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After two days of brief, round-trip commutes of only a few miles each way from Harvey’s to Heavenly Mountain Resort, I returned today from South Lake Tahoe to Sacramento in my test vehicle, a 2017 Toyota Prius Prime. It’s a plug-in hybrid. I’m driving the new vehicle, the most upscale Prius ever made, for the entire Amgen Tour of California. The women’s race began May 11 in South Lake Tahoe and ends May 14 in Sacramento. The men’s race begins May 14 in Sacramento and will advance to its May 20 conclusion in Pasadena. Driving the reverse route of the

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Elio Motors sputters again, will miss promised job deadline

As if Elio Motors hasn’t had enough setbacks, now Paul Elio, the company’s owner and founder, says he’ll miss the deadline for the hiring of 1,500 jobs he promised for workers to staff the fledgling company’s manufacturing plant in Shreveport, Louisiana. A report in the Shreveport Times, the city’s newspaper, details that Elio still plans to build this three-wheel vehicle in the former General Motors plant. But he’s also running up against a possible financial per-job penalty from RACER Trust. The financial company was appointed to run the GM plant in 2011 by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, according to the

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24 Hours of Le Mans documentary featured on Amazon Prime

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is arguably the most iconic event in automobile racing. Now subscribers to Amazon Prime will soon have an unprecedented access to the entire 24 hours of the race. Le Mans: Racing is Everything will be available for streaming on June 9. In addition to the footage of the event, the documentary will examine the history of Le Mans as well as the legendary riders who have competed in the race and added to its lore. Le Mans: Racing is Everything embeds with teams Porsche, Audi, Nissan, Toyota, Aston Martin and Rebellion as they race

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2017 Toyota Prius Prime: Cool technology for modern hybrid

The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid is the most upscale addition to the Prius family. Its exterior design removes the stodgy image of many of the models in the country’s best-selling hybrid lineup. The Prime’s interior is chock-full of technology, most visibly the JBL navigation system. It’s an 11.6-inch vertically oriented high-resolution touchscreen. While not available on the entry-level Prime Plus, it’s standard on the Prime Premium ($29,965) and the top-line Prime Advanced ($33,965). I’m driving the Advance trim for two weeks during the Amgen Tour of California, May 11-20. It will take the women’s field from South Lake

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