In recent months and years, consumers have been greeted with significant price increases due to inflation, supply chain issues, and other factors. Car buyers, in particular, are feeling the pinch. Edmunds reports that in July 2023, the average person paid 33.7% more for a new car and 45.7% more for a used car than they […]
Category: Editorials
Seatbelts, Safety Testing, and Solar Systems: The Hard Truths for Female Drivers
Growing up, I remember seeing Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus on a bookshelf at home. At the time, I was too young to understand the topic and somewhat confused by the insinuation that my dad was from an entirely different planet than my mom and me. If that was the case, why […]
A Rider’s Greatest Asset: The Value of Motorcycle Dealerships
Think about how many car dealerships are in your area. Most major cities have what’s known as an “Auto Mile” or “Dealership Row,” where multiple automotive dealerships compete for business within a short stretch of one another. You can test drive a Chevrolet within minutes of leaving the Kia dealership across the street, then spend […]
Can Autonomous Driving Systems Be Considered a Safety Feature?
At this point, most of us have heard about the promise of self-driving cars: vehicles that can cruise down the highway and navigate city streets without the need for a human behind the wheel. Supporters of this technology dream of a future where fatal accidents caused by human error are completely eliminated, and our roads […]
Is A.I. the Future of the Auto Industry?
Few technologies hold as much promise- or instill as much trepidation- as artificial intelligence (A.I.). Perfect for fulfilling menial tasks that would bore a human worker to tears, A.I. has the potential to transform the world we live in, and the automotive sector is no exception. From prototyping new models and training autonomous driving systems […]
The History of Cars in Video Games (Part Three): The Modern Age
Here we are – the last part of our discussion. If you’re new here, I encourage you to read parts one and two and then return here to get the whole picture. For those returning readers, I’m glad to have you here, and this part of our discussion will bring us to the modern age […]
Is Infiniti Headed to the Great Garage in the Sky?
When I was a little kid, I knew my cars. I knew the Hot Wheels that I could push across a kitchen table for hours on end, and I knew the cars that I saw on the street. I knew all the usual brands, although I had no idea of the relationships they shared, but […]
Lotus: Enduring the Storm and Ready to Bloom
Mysteriously named for a beautiful flower that symbolizes overcoming adversity, Lotus Cars has overcome more than its fair share since being founded by Colin and Hazel Chapman in an unused horsebarn 75 years ago. It wasn’t always that way. In fact, Lotus is the most influential automaker that my wife has never heard of. Derivations […]
Rivian on the Ropes?
Everyone loves an underdog story, but one ambitious startup is having a tough year as it struggles to meet demand, and its stock price continues to plummet. Rivian started out with a promising business model, producing a line of luxurious all-electric pickups and SUVs, but market forces, recalls, and supply chain issues have seen the […]
The History of Cars in Video Games (Part One): Analog & Arcade Games
Can you think of any medium besides video games where escapism and realism seamlessly blend? One where the limits of our tangible world are melted into a sea of the utmost fantastical where anything is possible? What other medium has perfectly captured the imagination of billions, shaped generations, and created an entirely new way we […]
8 Essential Accessories You Need to Enhance Your Summer Driving Experience
Summer time is when you whip out the swimsuit, flip-flops, beach gear, hiking equipment, camping tents, boats, jet-skis, trailers, and everything else in between. It’s the time of the year where you enjoy your hard earned cash and vacation or adventure someplace fun. Getting there is one thing, but once you do get there you’re […]
Everything You Need to Know About Digital Car Keys
Car keys have come a long way over the decades that they’ve been around. Early keys didn’t look too different from a house key, with teeth on only one side. One of the first innovations in car key technology was the double-sided key, which let the driver insert it into the ignition in either direction, […]
The Bully, the Savvy Businessman, and the Risk Taker: Moving Beyond the Industry’s Highlight Reel
The automotive history is full of surprises, with many people skipping the finer details to highlight the successes and big-picture ideas that transformed the American automotive landscape. We see this in William Durant’s climb to success when he formed General Motors and later teamed up with Louis Chevrolet. But what about the details in between? […]
Breaking the Glass Ceiling: A Look at the Rebellious Side of Tesla
We live in a constantly evolving news cycle, with instant updates and a barrage of headlines at our fingertips. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and even easier for businesses to get lost in the shuffle, especially automakers that aren’t consistently updating their line-ups. Over the last few years, global lockdowns heightened our awareness of these […]
Heavy Metal Is (The Traffic) Law: Essential Driving Jams to Bang Your Head To
As with most musical stylings that operate outside the confines of the establishment, heavy metal has a maligned reputation as nothing more than a transgressive art form. One that thrives on an abrasive sound that, to the uninitiated, might seem like nothing more than nails running down a chalkboard with utter contempt. The truth of […]
Tesla’s Practices Are Becoming Increasingly Worrisome
People love to talk about Tesla being the most valuable auto manufacturer in the world and about the substantial wealth of its CEO, Elon Musk. Some of us also like to talk about how controversial Tesla and Mr. Musk are – about the decisions they’ve been making and about how those decisions are not always […]
Tour America With The Entire Family In The 2022 Buick Encore GX
I was five years old when my family decided to travel from South Carolina to Wyoming to stay the summer at a ranch. After that summer, we made our way to California and then hopped on a flight to Hawaii. After our near-death experience with Hurricane Iniki in 1993, we drove back from California to […]
How the UN Killed Cool Cars
November 12, 2008: a date that will live in infamy for the unimaginably small number of automotive enthusiasts who are aware of it. That was the month that the death sentence was announced for automotive style by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). If you fondly remember the unique styling of the aggressive […]
8 Tricks to Get the Most from Your Hybrid
With gas prices hitting record highs and all signs indicating they might continue going up, a lot of people are looking for ways to boost fuel efficiency and skip the gas pump as much as possible. If you drive a hybrid, then the good news is that you’ve already taken the first step in boosting […]
Do’s and Don’ts of Hypermiling
I’ve got bad news, and I’ve got good news. The bad is that gas prices have reached record highs, and they’re likely to keep going up for a while. The good news is that each year brings us closer to everyone driving vehicles that don’t need gas in the first place. Until then, however, we’re […]