Google looks to be stepping their whip game up with the addition of a lexus RX450h. Joining the fleet of Prii is the luxury crossover, which Wired Magazine’s Damon Lavrinc discovered thanks to a tipster. According to Wired, Google claims that
“In the course of our work, we experiment with testing our algorithms on various vehicles to help us improve our technology,”
Which is a fancy way of saying “we got a Lexus for R&D reasons”. Lavrinc notes that the new car was spotted just days after California passed a bill mandating regulations for autonomous vehicle testing. If someone could explain to us why the Lexus has no license plates, that would be a start.
This week we introduce another TTAC commenter-turned-contributor, Cameron Miquelon — JB
Good morning gentlemen. My name is Cameron Miquelon, and I’m an independent fashion blogger from Louisville, Kentucky; my blog’s name is 33 avenue Miquelon, if you’re curious to check it out.
That being said, I’m also a car geek, which is why I’m here.
What is a Buick? Having saved the brand, GM must now figure out what to do with it. Traditionally Buick occupied the middle ground between Chevrolet and Cadillac, originally closer to the latter but from the 1970s onwards dangerously close to the former, which had expanded upwards in lockstep with archrival Ford. Aesthetically, Buicks have […]
An executive of a large carmaker that is very proud of its alternative energy offerings lately sighed into his drink: “If my customers would be anywhere near as interested in green cars as journalists, we would have long ditched the ICE.” I am reminded of that sigh when I read the news today.
“Americans are buying record numbers of hybrid and electric cars as gas prices climb and new models arrive in showrooms, giving the vehicles their greatest share yet of the U.S. auto market.” This according to the Associated Press, and papers from the Washington Post to The Bellingham Herald that reprint it. Really? Let’s have a look. (Read More…)
If you’d like, you can read about my father’s MGB here, or find my thoughts on our Land Rover Series III here. The first taught me of the unspoken bond a father and son can feel when working side-by-side on a restoration project. The second’s lessons were mostly about swearing.
Both cars are still in faithful-if-intermittent service, the Landie as a sort of farm tractor, the MG as the tinkerer’s delight. However, if you’ve the patience, I’d like to tell you about my dad’s real car.
These days, the oul grey fellah pilots one hell of a boulevard-strafer: a six-speed-manual E60 550i M-Sport. It’s his sechste Funfer, and marks a quarter-century of 5-series ownership. To my mind though, he only ever had one. (Read More…)
JAC is the Chinese company that caused worldwide, well, at least American indignation with a fake F 150. JAC will premiere something at the Beijing Auto Show that is not prima facie fake: A sports car. According to Carnewschina, JAC will show the JAC Heyue SC coupe, or what Carnewschina calls “the biggest surprise for the Beijing Auto Show.” (Read More…)
Chrysler’s pavilion, with the mammoth engine is in the foreground. The giant US Royal tire in the background now sits just outside Detroit.
Mention the 1964 New York World’s Fair to a car enthusiast and they’re likely to associate it with the 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang, which was introduced April 17, 1964 on the fair’s opening day. As former Ford president Lee Iacocca told Mustang Monthly in a 2004 interview, “Where else could you introduce a car at such a world-class event?”. In 1964 and 1965, the New York World’s Fair was about as big as events got. (Read More…)
I see many Dodge Daytonas at high-turnover junkyards, even 20-25 years after the last of the crypto-K-body examples rolled off the line. This means that many of these cars lasted much longer than anyone expected. Here’s my latest find, a 1990 Daytona ES Turbo. (Read More…)
The Nikkei [sub] comes with the good news that “Japan’s automakers have finally resolved the inventory shortages that have hindered their sales in the U.S. market.” According to the Tokyo wire, Japan’s automakers “are in a better position to compete with their Western and Korean rivals,” now that lots are stocked again.
Well, not quite. Japanese inventories are still fashionably slim compared to some Detroit chubbos. Pop some Tums and have a look. (Read More…)
If you value your life, don’t get on the road on Tuesday. Your chances of getting killed in an accident will be six percent higher than on any other days. Why? Tuesday, April 17th is tax day. (Read More…)
This Studebaker is a good example of patience in a search for a rare car. Howard is a huge fan of the 53-64 Studebaker. and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow was this 1961 model.
As he said, “I’ve wanted one since I was 12 years old”. (Read More…)
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