Author: admin
As a mark of respect for rally and “Gymkhana” icon Ken Block, who died on Jan. 2 in a snowmobile accident near his Utah ranch at the age of 55, the FIA in collaboration with World Rally Championship organizers will retire the number 43 for the sport’s 2023 season. Block competed under the number 43 from the earliest days of his motorsports career, including in some rounds of the WRC during the 2000s. He made his WRC debut in 2007 in Mexico and would eventually rack up 25 starts, mainly behind the wheel of M-Sport Ford cars. He also competed…
From the January 2023 issue of Car and Driver.London is a tourist’s delight, but we aren’t just any old travelers. Send the rest of the family on the “Palaces and Parliament” walking tour. We’re going to drive.Ace Cafe Located on the North Circular orbital road in Wembley, the Ace became a popular hangout in the ’50s and ’60s for youthful motorcycle gangs (think the Who’s Quadrophenia). Motorcycles congregate there, but cars are welcome too. The Ace does a superb breakfast; order the bubble and squeak.Tower BridgeNext to the Tower of London, this neo-Gothic Victorian suspension bridge is one of the…
It’s a new week, and I’m back with another German car Rental Review for your enjoyment! Today’s rental is one of two American market entrants into the premium compact five-door liftback segment, and not a car one expects to find in an Enterprise lot. Presenting a 2020 Audi A5 Sportback, two years and 50,000 rental miles later.The A5 Sportback runs in the oft-ignored liftback class alongside the similarly priced BMW 4-Series Gran Coupe. But the Audi’s name is a bit misleading: The real A5 is available as a coupe or convertible, has two doors, and rides on a shorter wheelbase…
Mercedes-Benz is in the process of updating its range of compacts, and the latest prototype to be spotted is for the EQA compact electric crossover. The EQA, which isn’t offered in the U.S., was only launched in 2021. The hasty update is needed because the older GLA-Class, on which the EQA is based, is due to receive its traditional mid-cycle update shortly. The updated GLA-Class has also been spotted testing and is expected to debut later this year as a 2024 model. It will become the new entry-level model in Mercedes’ U.S. lineup following the demise of the A-Class at…
The Suzuki Ignis is a real breath of fresh air in the city car class, offering desirable crossover-style looks and a distinctive character that sets it apart from rivals. Love or hate the exterior, you have to accept that there’s little else at this price with so much personality.The Ignis also sticks to Suzuki’s usual traits of offering tonnes of equipment for not an awful lot of money, and despite the dinky dimensions it’s actually very versatile and spacious. It’s light, and feels agile and nippy around town, but the market’s best small cars are both more comfortable and more…
You might already have heated seats and possibly a heated steering wheel in your vehicle. Are you ready for a heated seat belt? That’s what ZF, one of the world’s top automotive suppliers, announced this past week at CES. The innovation is focused toward electric vehicles. While it might sound extravagant and unnecessary, ZF has a point with its so-called Heat Belt. Each heated accessory in an EV isn’t solely for convenience and luxury. It helps to steer the burden away from conventional cabin heating. In cold weather, cabin heat is the second major energy consumer, ranking only after the…
A legend among muscle cars is set to go under the hammer for the first time. The 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T SE known as the “Black Ghost” will appear at Mecum’s sale at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis running May 12-20. The car was originally owned by Godfrey Qualls and was passed to his son Gregory in 2015. It has officially been part of the National Historic Vehicle Register since 2020. Gregory Qualls has now decided to part ways with the car. The Challenger R/T SE is special in its own right, due to a one-of-one specification with a gator…
Pros: Elegant styling and beautiful cabin; excellent plug-in hybrid option; solid value Cons: Middling handling; pricey and strange Polestar performance model The 2023 Volvo XC60 is the bread-and-butter SUV for Volvo since it’s in the very popular compact luxury segment. Thankfully for Volvo, the XC60 is a good, solidly competitive offering and one of our top-recommended choices in that segment. The most enticing part about the XC60 is its superb plug-in hybrid “Recharge” option. With 36 miles of range, a very strong electric motor and tons of power on tap from the gasoline engine, there’s no luxury compact SUV plug-in…
Heated seats and heated steering wheels are common features in new cars, but supplier ZF is now hawking heated seat belts, and it claims they might help increase EV range. In cold weather, heated seat belts could increase range by up to 15% by reducing the amount of energy needed to heat a car’s cabin, ZF said in a press release, although the company noted that seat-belt heaters are most effective when used with other contact heaters, such as heated seats. ZF heated seat belt By applying heat directly to a person’s body, both heated seats and heated seat belts…
As Ford and GM appear poised to go big on a range of battery electric full-size pickups, Stellantis and its Ram brand are readying more than BEVs as they shift to cleaner trucks. The range of Ram possibilities that became a little clearer last week, surrounding the reveal of the Ram 1500 Revolution BEV Concept at CES, includes an electric light-duty truck with a gasoline-powered range extender and, perhaps, future hydrogen fuel-cell versions of its U.S. heavy-duty pickups and vans. As reported on Thursday, Ram CEO Mike Koval stated to DriftBreath Reports that a range-extended version of the upcoming Ram…