2017 Mazda6: Major family sedan rival for Honda, Toyota

As the best-selling vehicle in the manufacturer’s lineup, the Mazda6 is part of arguably the most competitive car segment — family sedans. For 2017, the 16th year of the vehicle, the Mazda6 continues its strong market position. It’s a performance-oriented option among iconic more tradition rivals like the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion and Nissan Altima. The Weekly Driver Text Drive Equipped with a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine with 184 horsepower, the 2017 Mazda6 has a six-speed automatic transmission. Acceleration seems peppier than the car’s specs, largely because of the sport-oriented tuning and responsive steering. While technically a family sedan,

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Winter Driving Safety Tips, Part 4: On The Road

With the arrival and dominance of inclement weather is your vehicle prepared for the season of winter driving conditions? Are you following the best winter driving safety tips? Planning and continuing preventative and ongoing maintenance are the best solutions to keep your car or truck safe in heavy rain, snow and icy condition, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Here’s the fourth of a four-part series on Winter Driving Safety Tips: Stay Alert • Keep your gas tank close to full, even with a hybrid-electric vehicle. If you get stuck in a traffic jam or snow, you

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Winter Driving Safety Tips, Part 3: Safety First

Are you following the best winter driving safety tips? With the arrival and dominance of inclement weather is your vehicle prepared for the season of winter driving conditions? Planning and continuing preventative and ongoing maintenance are the best solutions to keep your car or truck safe in heavy rain, snow and icy conditions, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Here’s part 3 of a four-part series on winter driving safety tips: Protect Yourself and Your Loved Ones • Always wear your seatbelt and ensure every on else in your vehicle is buckled-up in age-and-size-appropriate restraints. • Remember

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Winter Driving Safety Tips, Part 2: Safety Checklist

Planning and continuing preventative and ongoing maintenance are integral components of following the best winter driving safety tips. It’s the best solution for keeping your car or truck safe in severe rain. It’s the best solution for keeping your car or truck safe in heavy rain, snow and icy condition, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Here’s part 2 of a four-part series on winter driving safety tips: Battery When the temperature drops, so does battery power. For gasoline and diesel engines, it takes more battery power to start your vehicle in cold weather. For electric and

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Winter Driving Safety Tips, Part 1: Car Service

With the arrival and dominance of inclement weather is your vehicle prepared for the season of winter driving conditions? Are you following the best winter driving safety tips? Planning and continuing preventative and ongoing maintenance are the best solutions to keep your car or truck safe in severe rain, snow, and icy conditions, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Here’s part 1 of a four-part series of winter driving safety tips: Get Your Car Serviced No one wants their car to break down in any season, but especially not in cold, icy or snowy winter weather. Start

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2017 NEW CAR PREVIEW: BMW to unveil lineup in Detroit

BMW will offer a varied new selection of vehicles, including the world debut of the 2017 5 Series sedan as well as the M Performance and plug-in hybrid electric iPerformance variants January 9 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The BMW X2 Concept, a compact Sports Activity Vehicle first unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in September, will make its North American debut. With the introduction of the 530e iPerformance, BMW now offers a family of plug-in electric hybrid vehicles including the 330e iPerformance, the 740e xDrive iPerformance,  X5 xDrive40e iPerformance as well as the i3 and

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2017 Auto Trends: Driverless shuttle Olli, no more shifts

You’ve coordinated an outing with friends or a business meeting with colleagues at a restaurant. Parking options are limited. Perhaps alcohol will be served, and supplies or equipment are needed for the occasion. The best solution: Phone Olli. Call it an autonomous chartered shuttle, a friendly neighborhood mobility solution or forward-thinking transportation. The 12-passenger vehicle with the unusual nickname is at your disposal via a smartphone app. It will transport the group to its desired location and back — without human navigation Unveiled in June by Local Motors, an Arizona-based innovation company, the autonomous electric vehicle utilizes the integration of

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2017 Acura MDX: Enduring SUV gets a new look

It hardly seems like the Acura MDX has been around for 17 years. But while competition has increased with the ever-expanding popularity of sport utility vehicles, the mid-size luxury crossover has retained its strong pace among three-row SUV options. Honda, which manufacturers Acura via its luxury nameplate, states the MDX was the first and current best-selling three-row SUV in history. More than 700,000 had sold by the end of 2014. The 2017 Acura MDX faces strong competition from Lexus, the best-selling luxury crossover SUV, as well as Audi, BMW, Porsche, and Volvo. The Acura has the same platform as its

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VW pays more for pollution scandal (all cars listed here)

Another chapter in the long saga of Volkswagen and its scheme to hide emission levels in some of its vehicles has resulted in the manufacturer offering to buy back more tainted diesel cars and spend an additional $1 billion to settle the air pollution scandal. The German automaker agreed to buy back tainted 3.0-liter engine vehicles sold between 2009 and 2012. The company will fix newer 3.0-liter cars. Volkswagen will pay $225 million into a “national mitigation fund” to address air pollution effects from its tainted 3.0-liter engine vehicles. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) said $66 million would go

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2017 cheap cars abound, average new car price climbs

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The average price of a new vehicle in the United States has increased for several years. It’s now more than $31,000. But quality new cheap cars are readily available, too. Pushed by competition in the automotive industry, improved safety and technology innovation, there’s and abundance of new cars available for, most for about half the price of the average new car price. Personal preferences vary, of course. And recently a list compiled by Car and Driver details the diversity of the country’s 10 cheapest 2017 new cars. Here’s the list, cheapest to the most expensive among the cheapest. The prices

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Elio Motors Timeline, 2014-2016: Plans, Promises, No Cars

In early 2014, The Weekly Driver reported on the ambitious plans of Elio Motors to debut about a year later an unnamed three-wheel vehicle conceived by company founder Paul Elio. The attraction was startling: the futuristic-looking contraption was touted as costing $6,800, and it could achieve 84 mpg. Further, the company promoted the vehicle as featuring an eight-gallon gas tank with a 672-mile range and a top speed of more than 100 mph. The small front-mounted engine in the Elio was promoted as 1.0 liter, with three cylinders and 70 horsepower. It would feature two seats, with an optional fold-down

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EVgo expands profile with country’s fastest charging station

Construction of the first high-power public charging station in the United States has begun in Baker, California. It’s under the auspices of EVgo, the nation’s nation’s largest network of public electric vehicle (EV) fast-charging stations. The new station’s chargers will be capable of charging at a rate of up to 350kW. The rate is seven times faster than any fast chargers currently available and represents a new level of convenience for EV charging. When completed, EVgo’s High-Power charging station at the site of World’s Tallest Thermometer will link Southern California to Las Vegas, furthering EVgo’s position as the leading national

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Bugatti As Kinetic Art? Rare Pedal Cars Honor Iconic Brand

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Bugatti is often considered the world’s most prestigious automobile. The French car company was founded in 1909 by Ettore Bugatti. Throughout its more its now nearly 108-year history, the craftsmanship of its vehicles is unmatched. Despite the beauty and legend of Bugatti, the exclusive company has endured its pitfalls like nearly every other high-end manufacturer. Ettore Bugatti died in 1947 and was preceded in death by his son Jean. The elder’s passing marked the beginning of the demise of the original company. The company was in such financial disarray in the early 1960s, its inventory was sold for use as

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2017 Bentley Bentayga: Plush, Powerful, Fit For A Queen

Two friends recently joined me for a weekend morning drive to breakfast in a 2017 Bentley Bentayga. One buddy wore a fedora for the occasion, the other a touring cap. Another friend dressed up for a lunch meeting. It wasn’t for the restaurant’s stature, but for his passenger’s role in the plush sport utility vehicle. (All images © Michael Kahn, https://www.mklibrary.com) Bentley does that to people. It’s the manufacturer of cars for royalty, including the Queen of England’s 2002 limousine. It’s the original car author Ian Fleming selected for his James Bond character to drive while wearing his custom-tailored suits.

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Lyft offers one-day tip bonus to drivers, debuts sweet film

About a year ago, I used the Lyft platform for the first time on a business trip to Long Beach. I relied on the service five times in three days, including on two occasions in which the drivers told me they’d left their jobs to take care of their aging fathers. They’d become Lyft drivers part-time while becoming full-time caregivers. One driver said his father was on the mend, but he preferred driving the Lyft rather than returning to his corporate job. The other driver said his father had died, but he remained a Lyft and Uber driver because he

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If Elio Motors fails, Canadian EV start-up will honor deposits

As Elio Motors continues its fledgling future, another start-up is seeking the opportunity to capitalize — if the long-promised but undelivered three-wheel fails. Elio Motors’ website lists more than 62,000 reservations for the futuristic-looking 3-cylinder vehicle its founder Paul Elio claims will get as much as 84 mpg. But a recent report on the website Gas 2.0 details Elio Motors loss of more than $123 million in its filing with the Security Exchange Commission (SEC). In the filing, Elio further reports its future is in jeopardy without additional fundings. In reaction to the most recent post on TheWeeklyDriver.com (we’ve written

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