2022 TRUCK PREVIEW: All new Toyota Tundra

With a more aggressive-looking front bumper and cutaways underneath the headlights, the all-new 2022 Toyota Tundra is expected to follow the path of the modern-looking Toyota TRD Pro models. The Tundra has had minor upgrades for years. But the 2022 edition will be all-new with a bigger payload, larger towing capacities and different interior and exterior looks. The new mid-size truck is expected to feature the manufacturer’s latest truck chassis, which will include high-strength steel and other lighter-weight materials. Current 1,730-pound payload and 10,200-pound towing figures will be improved upon. 2022 Toyota Tundra: No More V8 According to internet reports,

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#165, 2020 in car news: COVID-19, new Corvette, recalls

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:16 — 56.7MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoreThere’s never a dull moment in the automotive industry. Car news never stops. Competition is intense. The emerging electric vehicle market continues to emerge but with its future unknown. Recalls aren’t going away anytime soon. And how consumers buy and sell vehicles is further transitioning from in-person sales to the online marketplace. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything. Overall, the automotive industry, just like most businesses, endured a turbulent 2020. Car News Abounds The Weekly Driver reported on much of the car news .

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2020 Toyota Highlander improved, rivals abound

The 2020 Toyota Highlander celebrates the mid-sized crossover sport utility vehicle’s 20th birthday. The occasion also marks the family hauler’s continuing spree of prime sales years. Beginning in 2017, the Highlander has had three straight years surpassing 200,000 units sold globally. A fourth consecutive year of 200K sales will likely occur when yearly tallies are calculated in January. It won’t be surprising since the 2020 model was redesigned with worthy updates. The Highlander is now a further family favorite. A three-row crossover with seating up to eight, the 2020 Highlander is available in five trim levels: L, LE, XLE, Limited

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2020 Lexus RC F: Strong luxury sedan, rivals stronger

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Introduced in 2015, the Lexus RC F is the third vehicle in the Toyota luxury brand’s performance-oriented lineup. Like its sedan, SUV and speed-geared siblings, it has plenty to offer. The Lexus RC F has aggressive styling, 19-inch wheels, quad exhaust tips and a carbon-fiber roof panel. The engine is a naturally aspirated 472-horsepower 5.0-liter V8. It has Brembo brakes, improved and more aggressive suspension tuning and is rear-wheel drive. My test vehicle, which had a base price of $64,900, also had more than $15,000 in options and taxes, including Navigation ($2,725) and Premium ($5,350) packages. While expensive, the optional

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#164, The art of buying and selling used cars

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:20 — 49.9MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoreJim Brooks owns Approved Autos Bakersfield, California. It’s a used car business, a constantly changing segment of the automotive landscape. Brooks worked as a new salesman at a dealership for two years. But he didn’t like the sales practices and decided his own business was a better option. Fifteen years later, Brooks has witnessed lots of industry changes, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. Brooks is this week’s guest on The Weekly Driver Podcast. The used cars sales market has changed Co-hosts Bruce Aldrich and

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2021 Toyota Supra: looks great, rough road ahead

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Two decades after its original production ceased, a new old sports car re-emerged 18 months ago. Few consumers noticed the Toyota Supra. Less than 3,000 of the 2020 fifth-generation offering, a collaboration between the Japanese automaker and BMW, sold. The revised 2021 edition offers promise for a new wave of buyers interested in the luxury sports car first unveiled in 1978. A full year of sales will more than double the estimated 3,000 purchases from the vehicle’s initial six months back on the market in 2019. It’s encouraging considering the final year of the Supra’s initial tenure in the United

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Michigan truck owner: Have new 2-lane bowling alley, will travel

Terence Jackson Jr. has endured the COVID-19 pandemic with innovation — the world’s first mobile bowling alley and lounge. It’s built inside a 53-foot semi-truck trailer. Jackson, 34, spent two years working on the project and despite further delays because of the virus launch Luxury Strike Bowling on June 15. The private bowling alley on wheels is equipped with two lanes as well as a sky loft that can hold as many as 15 people. The trailer includes two 25-foot lanes, an automatic ball return, automatic pin-resetters and digital scorekeepers. Elevated seating for an 80-inch theatre screen is complemented by

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It’s the time of the year to thank the U.S. Postal Service

“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds” has long been associated with the American postal worker. The phrase’s association with the U.S. Mail originated with its inscription on New York City’s General Post Office Building, which opened in 1914. Perhaps second only to an ice cream trunk heading toward you with an upbeat jingle, mail trucks are always comforting. Yet, the U.S. Postal Service always seems wrought with controversy. Postage is going up — again? Mail is lost and stolen or delivered to the wrong address.

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Toyota Tacoma, Tundra claim top honors among used trucks

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Toyota claimed top honors for best midsize and best full-sized used trucks, according to the latest analysis of iseecars.com. The online automotive search engine and research website based in Massachusetts helps users find and compare cars for sale. Whether they are driven for business or pleasure, pickup truck drivers want a rugged and capable hauler, the site explains in its latest survey. Beyond performance, the best used trucks are proven to last long and retain their value so drivers can save money for their next pickup truck purchase. Toyota used trucks claim honors The Toyota Tacoma scored an overall rating

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Odometer fraud on the rise; stricter rules begin in 2021

Manipulating odometer readings is a well-known automotive fraud. Government agencies have attempted to curtail the cheating for years, but it’s getting worse. The increased practice has become so prevalent, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will engage stricter regulations beginning January 1, 2021. Beginning with the new year, disclosures will be required for every transfer of ownership for the first 20 years, beginning with Model Year 2011 vehicles. Model year 2010 and older vehicles will continue to be subject to the previous 10-year disclosure requirements. They’re exempt from extended Federal disclosure requirements. Odometer cheating rampant The U.S. fleet of

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2021 Nissan Rogue (Platinum): Much ado about the new

A new vehicle edition is sometimes difficult to differentiate from the previous model. Likewise, a current offering’s upgrade may be so extensive, a new generation designation seems warranted. The 2021 Nissan Rogue is a new edition of the sport utility vehicle and much is new. Nissan calls the new Rogue “completely reimagined” and all about “the modern family.” They’re marketing phrases. Translated, the debuting third generation has a healthy list of new stuff in varied areas: technology, connectivity, powertrain, rear multi-link suspension, steering, exterior and interior designs and a Platinum trim level. The manufacturer also reports the Rogue has a

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#163, The Weekly Driver Podcast’s Cars of the Year

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:04 — 48.2MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoreWelcome to the 14th annual Cars of the Year list, selected by TheWeeklyDriver.com. This year, co-host Bruce Aldrich and I announce the top-10 list on this week’s episode of The Weekly Driver Podcast. Bruce and I individually picked 10 vehicles from the nearly 40 cars and trucks in 2020 models I reviewed and Bruce drove. Neither of us was surprised. Our choices for cars of the year were nearly identical, including our No. 1 choice, the 2020 Corvette Stingray. Unlike many publications, we wait

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2020 Corvette Stingray chosen Car of the Year

The 2020 Corvette Stingray is rare in the automotive universe. Envisioned for decades and initiated eight years ago, the mid-engined sports car revitalized the faltering brand. It’s TheWeeklyDriver.com’s Car of the Year. Every new car is promoted with a mess of adjectives best-suited for romance paperbacks. The Corvette deserves the rabid praise. After years of diminishing sales, the new eighth-generation is unlike any previous Corvette, influenced by Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren masters. Specs are impressive: a 6.2-liter V8, top-speed of 194 mph and 0-60 mph in 2.8 seconds. It’s an exotic, equally well-suited on the track and as a daily

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Commuting during the COVID-19 pandemic

COLLABORATIVE CONTENT The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for many people to re-think their approach to commuting. While the government has been busy focusing on encouraging people to use public transport more, the pandemic questions whether this is the safest approach. After all, the problem with public transport is that there are a lot of people in a poorly ventilated space. This invites the spread of many different types of disease, including COVID-19.   Add the fact that a minority of people are refusing to wear masks and you could find yourself on public transport with someone not wearing

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#162, Chris Miller’s 3rd stone truck: 1929 Ford Model A

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:42 — 47.7MB)Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | MoreChris Miller has been a sculptor for several decades. He makes public art, primarily out of granite, marble and wood. But on Thanksgiving night, he returned home to Vermont from Maryland with swollen hands and tired from another creation of his latest passion — automotive art, as in a stone truck. Miller, who lives outside of Calais, Vermont, had just completed his third piece. The 125 percent-sized sculpture is located on the property of a business in Lexington Park, Maryland. The business owner is

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Diesel pickup truck drivers know how to cheat — a lot

Cheating on diesel trucks emissions standards is widespread throughout the United States. The results of a recent study conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Enforcement Division detail the removal of emission controls from more than 550,000 diesel pickup trucks around the country in the past decade.   States without regular vehicle inspections have the highest percentage of diesel trucks with defeat devices. North Dakota has 18.6 percentage of defeat devices. Idaho (15 percent), Wyoming (14.2), Maine (13.5) and Michigan (13) are also high on the cheat list. California, which has strict enforcement of emissions standards, has a 1.8

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