Amgen Tour of California

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2017 Toyota Prius Prime: Fuel efficient, safety galore

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 miles. The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime is rated at 54 miles per gallon. I averaged 53.3 mpg on my first

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Driving the Tour of California in a Lexus SUV, #2

Navigation systems vary greatly. During 10 years of writing The Weekly Driver column, the best I’ve used is the system Hyundai vehicles called BlueLink. The overriding reason is its simplicity. The navigation system utilized by Lexus is also commendable. Lexus calls its navigation and technology integration package EnForm. It’s the system installed in my 2015 Lexus NX 200t F Sport, my vehicle during the Amgen Tour of California. The navigation has kept my good company since last Sunday. I’ve driven more than 650 miles so far and my appreciation for a GPS companion literally came into sharp focus last night. After stage 5 end in Santa Clarita, the media hotel was in Ontario. It’s  only about 70 miles, but in

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Driving the Tour of California in a Lexus SUV, #1

After driving the first three stages of the Amgen Tour of California in my weekly driver, a 2015 Lexus NX 200t F Sport, I stopped for my first refuel of the race’s 10th edition. Lexus is a sponsor of the event and it has provided vehicles for staff and media members. The Lexus NX 200t is a five-passenger, compact luxury crossover new for this year. The sport model I’m driving for 10 days embellishes the standard equipment with a half-dozen items to make the vehicle, well . . . more sporty. The upgraded features includes 18-inch wheels (instead of standard 17s) as well as summer tires, a sport-tuned suspension, transmission paddle shifter, performance gauges, upgraded interior trim and a sportier

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Driving the Tour of California #1: On the way to San Diego in a Hyundai Santa Fe

Hyundai‘s expanded lineup in recent years has received vast praise for its value, warranty and workmanship. It all adds up to increased visibility and sales for the South Korean manufacturer in the madness of the ever-complex auto industry. Arguably the most competitive auto segment is the growing SUV and crossover market, where Hyundai‘s Santa Fe is an emerging option. I’ll be reviewing the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe (Limited) for the next two weeks during the Tour of California. The professional bike race is now in its eighth year and features Tour de France-caliber riders, Olympians and world titlists from many countries. It begins May 12 in Escondido, California, and will progress north through more than a dozen starting and finishing

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Tour of California, stage 1: Sacramento to Santa Rosa via 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe

The start of the 2012 Amgen Tour of California is in Santa Rosa, about two hours from my Sacramento home, and it was my first freeway driving with 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe. My weekly driver edition is the Korean manufacturer's 348-hp 3.8L V6 sports car with stealth looks and surprisingly quick acceleration — and an under $30,000 price tag. Like other high-powered sports cars, the Genesis Coupe does certain things quite well. It's nimble and fast, which affords impressive lane changes and bolting along freeway ramps to merge into traffic with little effort. The Genesis Coupe has a six-speed manual transmission and it shifts through gears adequately, but not smoothly. One frustration: Shifting into reserve is a struggle, although at

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