Indy 500 will allow 135,000 fans in May return

When the Indy 500 returns to its traditional race day May 30, it will mark the country’s largest attended sporting event since the pandemic began. Speedway management, Penske Entertainment, recently announced 135,000 spectators will be allowed to attend the event. The total is about 40 percent of the famed raceway’s capacity. The 2020 Indy 500 was held last August without spectators. To date, the April 18 Alabama football game is currently the highest-attended post-pandemic event with over 47,000 fans. “The number-one thing fans can do to ensure a great race day is get vaccinated as quickly as possible,” Penske Entertainment

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2023 Cadillac LYRIQ: Carmaker’s first EV SUV pending

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If there’s any doubt about how quickly the automotive industry is changing, consider the former gas-guzzler reputation of Cadillac. Once the automotive beacon for bigger meant better and better meant lots of fuel, Cadillac has just revealed its 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ. With planning for the luxury SUV running ahead of schedule, the brand announced customers may place order reservations beginning in September 2021. Cadillac’s first EV luxury sport utility vehicle in its 2023 debut model, will be available starting in the first half of 2022. Cadillac LYRIQ: 300-mile range The future of LYRIQ debuted April 25 in several television commercials

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#177, Author details Indy car racing and its money-grab

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 37:12 — 51.1MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoreA long-time battle between racing organizations could have destroyed Indy Car Racing. It’s unlikely anyone has as much intimate knowledge of the chaos, anger, resentment and money-grab than John Oreovicz. With the Indianapolis 500 on the not-too-distant horizon, Oreovicz, author of the new book Indy Split, is our guest on this episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-host Bruce Aldrich and I discuss with Oreovicz the money battle between the competing organizations and the men who sought to control the sport. A long-time motorsports

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Volkswagen ID.4 first electric vehicle to claim world honors

COLLABORATIVE CONTENT Volkswagen can rejoice. Its flagship electric vehicle, the ID.4, is the World Car of the Year 2021. The stylish sport utility claimed the honor, voted upon by 93 automotive experts from 28 countries. Volkswagen claimed its fifth overall title and won this year against thr BMW 4 Series, Honda e and Mercedes Benz GLA. Previous Volkswagen Car of the Year award winner included the Golf Mk. 6 (2009), Polo (2010), up! (2012) and Golf Mk. 7 (2013) marking a pattern of Volkswagen usually winning five times in 13 years. Ralf Brandstatter, Volkswagen CEO, Ralf Brandstatter, commented: “We are

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2021 BMW 530e masters driving tasks

The Grapeville technically extends on Interstate 5 only from Fort Tejon five miles north to the bottom of a six percent and 1,600-foot ascent. More realistically, the challenging driving stretch covers 40 miles from just north of Castaic over the Tehachapi Mountains from northern Los Angeles County to the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County. It’s an ideal location to test drive a car, notably a recent 850-mile trip in a 2021 BMW 530e. The south-to-north Grapevine route seems more arduous than the north-to-south route. Eighteen-wheel trucks often form long, tightly packed convoys in the right two lanes. Speed limit followers

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Driverless Tesla crashes, two dead in Texas blaze

A Tesla Model S authorities reported wasn’t being operated by anyone in its driver’s seat advanced over a curb, smashed into a tree, erupted into flames and left its two occupants dead in Spring, Texas. The crash occurred April 17 when the Model S traveling at high speed, didn’t negotiate a turn and eventually stopped after it crashed into a tree. When the fire was extinguished, first responders found the bodies of two men, one in the front passenger’s seat, another in the back seat. Investigators at the accident said with certainty no one was in the driver’s seat at

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#178, Nvidia expanding the future of autonomous vehicles now

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:15 — 52.5MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoreNvidia, an American multinational technology company based in Santa Clara, California, began in 1993. It originally designed graphics processing units (GPU) for gaming, professional markets and mobile computing. Since 2014, Nvidia has diversified its business, focusing on three markets: gaming, automotive electronics and mobile devices. Danny Shapiro, Senior Director, Automotive, is our guest this week on The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and James Raia discuss with Shapiro the ever-evolving status of autonomous driving. The Nvidia GPU (GTC) annual event in San Jose

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PREVIEW: 2022 Nissan Pathfinder new, improved at age 35

Nearly two million Nissan Pathfinder sport utility vehicles have sold since the rugged, mid-sized automobile debut 35 years ago. For 2022, the Pathfinder is powered by a 3.5-liter V-6 engine with 284 horsepower and a nine-speed automatic transmission. It also features a best-in-class 6,000-pound maximum towing capacity with Trailer Sway standard. The new Pathfinder has a “boxed out” rear lift gate. It’s an homage to the original Pathfinder and features oversized satin chrome PATHFINDER lettering. There are now 14 available color combinations. Nissan Pathfinder: 2 million sales, 35 years All-wheel-drive models come with Nissan’s “Intelligent 4WD.” It features a seven-position

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Ford regains pickup truck towing capacity lead from Chevy

MotorTrend has just released a comprehensive look at all things related to 2021 trucks, payload to towing capacities, gas mileage averages to bed quality. One of the most coveted category titles is towing capacities for half-ton pick-up trucks. According to the publication, Ford has recaptured the lead among mainstream manufacturers. Towing capacity: Ford No.1, Chevy No. 2 Its F-150 has a maximum towing capacity of 14,000 pounds. Two-wheel drive F-150s fitted with the 3.5L EcoBoost V-6 and either SuperCab or SuperCrew can be configured to hit this maximum weight. Four-wheel drive Ford F-150 trucks drop 100 pounds to 13,900 pounds

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Consumer Reports: 2021 Jeep, Honda only recommended trucks

Pickup trucks continue to dominate sales in the United States. But the volume doesn’t impress Consumer Reports. Among the 17 pickup trucks tested by the leading consumer organization, only the Honda Ridgeline and the Jeep Gladiator were recommended. The Ridgeline achieved a score of 65, the highest mark among all trucks tested. Consumer Reports conducts about 50 different tests on the vehicles it evaluates. It evaluates braking to handling, comfort to safety and as fuel economy. Predicted reliability, owner satisfaction, safety technology and crash test results are also factored into overall results. Consumer Reports slams most pickup trucks The Gladiator

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Rivian pickup moves into battery warranty lead over Tesla

A few months before its first deliveries, Rivian has taken the electric vehicle battery warranty over Tesla among pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. The warranty for the Rivian R1T electric pickup and R1S electric SUV is eight years or 175,000 miles (whichever comes first). That covers all components of the battery pack and a minimum of 70 percent of battery capacity. Tesla’s longest warranty is also eight years or 150,000 miles, and also covers up to 70 percent of the original battery capacity. But that warranty is only available on the Model S and Model X, with other models

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#176, RVTravel.com expands, adds weekly podcast

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:33 — 39.2MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoreRVTravel.com is the country’s pre-eminent recreational vehicle website. It reports on every conceivable component of tthe ever-expanding industry. It has expert text and video, twice-weekly newsletters, daily tips, a huge social media presence and a forum. Its new feature is a weekly podcast. Scott Linden, a long-time television and radio broadcaster and an avid RVer, is the host of the podcast which debuted in early April. Linden our guest on episode #176 of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Co-host Bruce Aldrich and I discuss with

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New RV show and The Weekly Driver find way in heavy podcast traffic

A woman drove onto the lawn at The Santa Lucia Preserve in Carmel Valley in a dark blue new Rolls-Royce Ghost. Everyone attending the private event at Monterey Auto Week in 2017 simultaneously turned to look at the artwork on wheels. A few minutes later, the Rolls-Royce was humbled by a local guy who arrived in his pristine, bright red 1955 Ford F-100. The new $500,000 rarity of English workmanship was “runner-up” to a 62-year-old $12,000 pickup truck. The occasion, an interview with the truck’s owner, and visits to the Mecum Auction and other events were the subject of The Weekly Driver

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Tiger Woods driving nearly twice the speed limit in SUV crash

Tiger Woods was driving nearly twice the speed limit on a stretch of Southern California road infamous for accidents when he crashed a 2021 Genesis GV80 sport utility vehicle Feb. 23 and suffered several potentially career-ending leg injuries. According to Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, Woods was traveling between 84 and 87 miles per hour in a 45 m.p.h. zone. Villanueva said at a news conference Woods was traveling at an estimated 75 m.p.h. when it struck a tree. “The primary causal factor for the collision was Tiger Woods driving at an unsafe speed for the road conditions and

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2021 Mercedes-AMG GLB 35: Fills niche, who knew?

Mercedes-Benz doesn’t make it easy for luxury crossover and sport utility vehicle buyers. It’s not because the German automaker doesn’t offer quality vehicles. It does. But where does a shopper start with three levels of offerings, including the brand’s AMG and Maybach relationships. The 2021 Mercedes-AMG GLB 35, is a small entry-level luxury sport utility vehicle, and it’s a worthy choice. For drivers with a penchant for sportiness in their SUVs, the AMG GLB 35 is optimal. It expands on its GLB 250 siblings’ 2-liter, 221-horsepower, 4-cylinder engine. It’s matched with an eight-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive or 4Matic,

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Volkswagen pranks car industry; April Fools’ joke backfires

Sometimes, car manufacturers try too hard. The latest example is the Volkswagen non-announcement-turned-announcement-turned prank. A day after a pending name change was unveiled by USA Today and later confirmed by the manufacturer, the German automaker Volkswagen said it will not be changing the name of its U.S. operations to “Voltswagen of America.” As many automotive publications speculated, the March 29 missive was thought to be a premature April Fools’ Day joke to raise awareness about the company’s all-electric ID.4. Volkswagen confirmed to publications the report was legitimate. Volkswagen will get hurt by its own prank But The Wall Street Journal

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