Manchester is a wonderful city to visit, especially now when you can lend your support and friendship to a community torn apart by a madman. Here are some notes from my own recent visit to this historic and vibrant city a few years ago: Manchester is where local businessmen Charles Rolls and Henry Royce met in 1904, and agreed to start building and selling motor cars together. Rolls was the … [Read more...]
Best Used Cars for Value and Quality
So you want a new car, SUV or truck, but can't afford one. So buy a used one. But which are the best for value, quality and reliability, including off-road? That's a question car shopping and research site CarGurus.com answers with its first Best Used Car Awards. As with new car awards, the top-rated used cars are based on projections of long-term value, including maintenance and repair costs, … [Read more...]
Racetrack driving for Mercedes-Benz owners
If you own a Mercedes-Benz vehicle, this perk is for you: get behind the wheel of a racecar and drive yourself around one of the legendary racetracks of Europe, including Hockenheim, with a professional race driver as your guide. The Mercedes-Benz Classic Trackdays experience is organized by the former racing driver Jörg van Ommen, a champion in the DTM race series, in a Mercedes-Benz, in 1994 … [Read more...]
Best 2017 vehicles for the money
It's awards season. We're not talking about the Oscars, Tonys or Grammys, but about the best vehicles of 2017. One of my favorite vehicle awards is the one for best overall value, because it is based on total ownership costs, including original purchase price, maintenance costs, even fuel costs via the model's MPG rating, when compared with similar models. Also included is resale value, an … [Read more...]
Motor Trend 2017 Car of the Year
And the winner is..... Nominees for the prestigious Motor Trend Car of the Year, SUV of the Year and Truck of the Year awards include Tesla S60 and Model X, Chevrolet Bolt, Volvo S90, Jaguar XE and F-Pace and Ford F-150. Winners are being announced during a live stream and gala event in Los Angeles on Monday, November 14. It's the kick-off event for LA Auto Show week. Ecoxplorer Evelyn Kanter … [Read more...]
Drive a 2017 Acura NSX supercar
This is a contest that should get you revved up: the chance for you and a friend to drive an Acura NSX supercar on a real racetrack. The contest is open to US citizens aged 18 and over, who register before midnight on February 18th. The Acura NSX brings a new experience to the supercar segment, with cutting-edge technologies and design, including being the first hybrid of its kind and the first … [Read more...]
Mercedes-Benz re-launches Maybach super-luxury brand
Daimler, parent company of Mercedes-Benz, is relaunching the super-luxury Maybach sedan. The company stopped manufacturing them in 2012 because there just weren't enough sales of the $380,000 car, even to Russian oligarchs or American rap stars. Maybach sold just 3,000 cars in a decade of competing against super-luxury limo brands Rolls-Royce and Bentley. Last time, Maybach was its own brand … [Read more...]
Saleen FourSixteen EV model Tesla S
What happens when two of the hottest names on the road join together? You get the Saleen FOURSIXTEEN Tesla S super performance electric car. That's a mouthful, and a garage full of technology, design and power. The Saleen FOURSIXTEEN is from the same automotive performance brand that designed and produces the Saleen S7 supercar. Saleen, of course, is Steve Saleen, the former race car driver … [Read more...]
Free app: 50 Years of Porsche
If you are a vintage car lover, racing fan, Porsche fan, or all three, this new FREE mobile app from the editors of AutoWeek magazine will make you very vroom happy. The Essential Sportscar: 50 years of Porsche includes articles, photos, even video of famous Porsche cornering and handling on windy mountain roads and tracks. Of course, there's video of the new Porsche 918 Spyder super car … [Read more...]
Four Seasons Hotels teams with Tesla
Four Seasons Hotels are getting charged up by installing electric vehicle charging stations at some hotels, and making the hot Tesla EV the official hotel car for airport pick-ups and local excursions. Hotels and ski resorts have been partnering with one brand or another for years to promote an "official car", but this is the first hotel chain I know of which has partnered with an electric car. … [Read more...]