2014 Volkswagen Tiguan R-Line: Solid, versatile SUV

No matter how revered an old car model was, an automaker must offer the latest designs to remain popular. The beloved 1950s-1970s Volkswagen Beetle put VW on the map here, but offered little performance or practicality. While the Beetle operated in an auto world that’s vanished, the 2014 Volkswagen Tiguan R-Line is right in step with the times. The handsome Tiguan is contemporary partly because many Americans have tired of bulky SUVs and opted for carlike crossover vehicles such as the Tiguan, which won’t be changed much for 2015. It’s a tall hatchback based on Volkswagen’s popular, sporty Golf GTI

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PREVIEW, 2015 Toyota Camry: New design, more tech

The 2015 Toyota Camry and 2015 Toyota Camry Hybrid, featuring new exterior and interior designs as well as increased safety and performance features, will be available in four models beginning in September. The 2015 Camry will be offered in the value-driven LE, the sporty SE, the new XSE and the premium XLE. The XSE builds on the success of the SE and will have an edgier appearance and is being touted as the “sportiest Camry yet.” All Camry gas models will be powered by the standard 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine producing 178 horsepower and 170 lb.-ft. of peak torque. It’s teamed

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Route66 Cruisin’ Reunion: Mustang, GT0 homage

Thousands of vintage automobiles, highlighted by 50th anniversary celebrations for the Ford Mustang and Pontiac GTO, will be instrumental in the global gathering of the Route 66 Cruisin’ Reunion, scheduled Sept. 19-21 in Ontario, California. Plenty of vendors and three days of food, live music and additional entertainment are scheduled in addition to the more than 2,000 classic cars. Beyond the world’s largest nighttime neon light cruise featuring a dazzling “moving light show on wheels” for which some participants have spent years producing specially lit vehicles, other highlights of this year’s event include: Show-n-Shines; 50th Anniversary Celebrations of the Mustang

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2014 Buick Regal: New worthy mix of U.S. and Euro design

Some American brand sports/luxury sedans are edging closer to costlier foreign rivals as the auto world shrinks. A few minutes at the wheel of the 2014 Buick Regal gave me the feeling I was driving a foreign luxury sports sedan. It sure handled and rode much like one. Buick has made lots of changes, but the Regal’s behavior puzzled me. I soon found the Regal is basically an Americanized version of the high-line German Opel Insignia. No wonder it felt as if it would be happy humming along a German autobahn at 100 m.p.h. It’s got a decent size, with

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2015 Volkswagen e-Golf set for November U.S. debut

Volkswagen has announced the 2015 e-Golf, the carmaker’s fully electric vehicle, will be priced starting at $35,445 for the SEL Premium edition and will be available to the public in November. The zero tailpipe emissions vehicle will join the Golf family of sport hatchbacks. Built on the Modular Transverse Matrix (MQB) platform, the new Golf will be powered by a compact electric motor and lithium-ion battery Volkswagen has announced a collaboration with 3Degrees, a renewable energy services provider, to invest in carbon reduction projects to help offset the emissions created from production, distribution and charging of the e-Golf for up

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Hardtop convertibles unheralded but more worthy

The term hardtop convertible could be construed as an oxymoron. It’s not. By any name or derivative — removable hardtop to retractable hardtop — hardtop convertibles are an deal solution to their prevalent ragtop siblings. But for nearly the past decade, following a New York Times article touting the benefits of retractable hardtops, more car manufacturers have introduce and further promoted their hardtop trims. Still, hardtop convertibles often unheralded. The obvious reason is that with the top up, it’s difficult to know if the vehicle is a convertible. Several-dozen hardtop convertibles are currently available, many in the United States, including

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PREVIEW: 2015 Hyundai Tucson: More tech, new price

The 2015 Hyundai Tucson, which will feature an improve optional package, has a starting price of $21,500 is available now at dealerships nationwide. A Popular Equipment Package is now available on the 2015 Tucson GLS trim. It adds a rearview camera, 4.3-inch color touchscreen audio display, 8-way power driver seat with power lumbar support, leatherette seat bolsters with cloth insets and automatic headlight control for only $750. Tucson Limited models for 2015 now come with standard LED taillights. Hyundai added a choice of 2.0- and 2.4-liter GDI four-cylinder engines in 2014 and these options will also be available in 2015.

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2014 Lexus IS 350C: Day 4 driving the USA Pro Challenge

The third stage of the USA Pro Challenge, my fourth day driving a 2014 Lexus IS 350C, took me from Mt. Crested Butte to Monarch, Colo. What a day for a drive. After a few-mile descent from Mt. Crest Butte (Elevation, 9,898 feet), Hwy. 135 South progressed through long stretches of rolling terrain. A canvas of large rock formations, broken down ranch buildings, and a bright blue ski dotted with pillow-like clouds took me 27 mile to Gunnison, the start of stage 3. The 96-mile stage, the race’s only mountaintop finish, began at 7,793 feet. From Gunnison, it was 50

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2014 Lexus IS 350C: Day 3 driving the USA Pro Challenge

The navigation system in the 2014 Lexus IS 350C, my test vehicle during the USA Pro Challenge in Colorado, offered three options for driving from Aspen to Mt. Crested Butte during stage 2 of the weeklong pro bike race. The shortest route, about four hours, first took me about eight miles to Aspen, the start of stage 2 and the location of the finish of stage 1. Navigation system quality varies greatly, but the main priorities are intuitive, accurate directions, a crisp viewing screen, easy of getting instructions and prompt re-routing directions. Bike races often require closed roads in starting

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2014 Lexus IS 350C: Day 2, Driving the USA Pro Challenge

Retractable hardtop convertibles are the answer for car owners who like driving convertibles but who live in areas where ragtops can wear quickly or prove otherwise troublesome (like leaking or freezing) in inclement weather. The 2014 Lexus IS 350C hardtop convertible joined the increasing supply of retractable hardtops in 2010. The current 2014 edition is my vehicle for the weeklong USA Pro Challenge, a pro bike race from Aspen to Denver, Colorado. The mountain drive from Snowmass Resort to Aspen is only about 7.5 miles, but it was warm and sunny Monday morning, so after a nearly a five-hour ride

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2015 Hyundai Genesis: More car, less snob appeal

Would you prefer a well-known luxury car or saving thousands for a worthy but less-prestigious rival? The new, redesigned 2015 Hyundai Genesis is a fast, luxurious sedan designed to compete with foreign rivals (mainly German) that cost thousands more. This Genesis has slicker, more imposing styling. It’s highlighted by a new, very aggressive-looking hexagonal grille and dynamic rear design. The wheelbase is longer at 118.5 inches and there are shorter body overhangs than its predecessor. This big, imposing four-door is equipped with plenty of luxury and convenience equipment. It’s 196.5 inches long and weighs from 4,138 to 4,541 pounds. It’s

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Concours d’Elegance embraces rare, expensive cars

After a week of event overdrive, Pebble Beach Automotive Week will conclude, as per tradition, with the 64th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. It’s the Sunday finale to the yearly homage to automobile and motorcycle history. The full-day affair will begin at dawn when an estimated 225 vehicles, including eight featured car and motorcycle marques, begin to assemble on the 18th hole fairway at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Judging begins at 9 a.m. and the Concours is open to spectators beginning at 10:30 a.m. The award presentation will begin at 1:30 p.m. and continue until 5 p.m. Each year, Concours d’Elegance

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Rare Ruxton gets spotlight at Concours d’Elegance

Like other early automotive experiments, the Ruxton emerged via innovators and investors with big ideas and bigger egos. The marriages were creative, the cars extraordinary and failure quick. The short life of the exotic Ruxton, however, had more than its share of intrigue, resentment, failed financing and multiple layers of lawsuits. The result: the vehicle was named after New York stockbroker William Ruxton who was a friend of Archie Andrews, who owned the prototype. But the duo’s friendship ended when Ruxton, the project’s pending financier, scrapped the funding. He also sued Andrews to accentuate his lack of support for his

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Concept cars have long history at Pebble Beach

Concept vehicles, sometimes with variant names like show cars, prototypes and dream cars, are made by manufacturers for two related reasons. Car enthusiasts thrive on viewing new cars, the more outrageous the better. Carmakers also rely on concept cars to gauge the public interest in a new vehicle. Can it potentially advance from the bright lights of auto shows to dealership showrooms to public driveways? General Motors designer Harley Earl is generally credited with inventing the first concept, the Buick Y-Job, in the late 1930s. Earl took his increasingly popular concept on the road in the 1950s in Motorama shows

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Oldest Indy 500 car set to race at Monterey Historics

Forty years after it debuted as a gathering of old friends in old cars, the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion will again offer its yearly reverence to racing i n the Monterey Historics. This year’s edition, the fourth year with its new sanction and title sponsor, will likely feature the enduring event’s most diverse field. About 550 cars from nine countries and spanning 81 production years will participate April 14-17. Cars from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, South Africa, United Kingdom and the United States are entered. Vehicles are accepted based on the car’s authenticity, race provenance and period correctness.

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Jaguar global scoop: Project 7 spy photos

The much-touted F-Type Project 7, the fastest and most powerful car ever manufactured by Jaguar Land Rover, is debuting this week, but The Weekly Driver caught an early glimpse. One day before its launch during, we noted the 575-horsepower, supercharged five-liter V8 with a eight-speed automatic. It was the subject of test shoot along the Pacific Ocean in Pacific Grove. A film crew from Long Beach, California, and Great Britain equipped with a video drone, filmed the Project 7 on repeat loops on the curved back roads of the quaint town. The backdrop was ideal: blue skies, no wind and

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