The Toyota Sprinter Carib was sold as the Tercel Wagon in North America for the 1983 through 1987 model years, and most examples rolling out of American showrooms came with the more fuel-efficient front-wheel-drive setup. However, the four-wheel-drive Tercel Wagons held their value for decades after the front-wheel-drive ones depreciated into oblivion and were crushed, and thus I don’t see many of the latter type in wrecking yards these days.

Here’s a now-rare FWD ’86 that held on past age 30, spotted in a San Francisco Bay Area self-service yard. (Read More…)

With the conclusion of the 2017 season, Formula One decided it was time to unveil its new logo at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The change underlines a “new era” for the sport under Liberty Media and, admittedly, does seem to be a bit more with the times.

While it was a fine race, Valtteri Bottas beat both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel, there was no upset in the final standings. Hamilton had secured ultimate victory for himself and Mercedes earlier in the season, while Vettel and the Ferrari team held onto second place. Bottas took third overall, leaving the new logo as the only genuine surprise of the day. (Read More…)

A quartet of suspected baddies were arrested on Friday after being caught with four vehicles believed to be stolen from a Tesla dealership in Salt Lake City. While an automotive theft ring isn’t anything special, the way in which this particular incident unfolded is beyond strange.

According to South Salt Lake police detective Gary Keller, the incident began around 1 a.m. when a Highway Patrol trooper conducting a traffic stop near the dealership noticed a sparkly new Tesla vehicle stop behind his squad car. Smelling something fishy, the patrol trooper assumed the driver wasn’t the owner of the car and called for local backup as he conducted another stop.

Keller said the man had a bag of keys on his person and told police he had come to return the vehicle to the dealership. “I don’t know if he had a guilt complex or whatever, but he claimed his name was Tesla and once [police] started talking to him, he didn’t want to talk to police; he wanted an attorney,” Keller explained. (Read More…)

Black Friday, the strange and alluring date that compels companies to push certain deals in a bid to firm up the bottom line, doesn’t end when the clock strikes twelve. Nor do the savings only apply to bizarrely non-car-related items that can leave readers of certain websites scratching their heads. Automakers, for example, regularly push Black Friday savings through to the end of the month.

With a handful of days remaining, there’s no shortage of car companies ready and willing to dent your new vehicle’s hood with a bag of cash. So, if you’re in the market, put down that bamboo oil diffuser and let your mind (and wallet) roam. Here’s what might be on offer at your local dealer. (Read More…)

There’s no automaker with an American dealer network that can’t make do with another high-riding utility vehicle.

If you’re Ford, four is most definitely not enough, so there’s two more on the way — one exciting, the other decidedly not. If you’re General Motors, you’ve already green-lit the import of a Chinese-built crossover to fill a hole in a lineup. If you’re Hyundai, well, you’ve just summoned a product army.

Mazda needs a new crossover. There’s simply too many sales going unrealized in the United States, where the brand is on track to record a second yearly sales decline. Knowing there’s only one surefire way to boost volume these days, Mazda is placing its hopes on a new crossover made for America, made in America, that somehow won’t gobble up sales of its existing utility lineup. (Read More…)

You’ve no doubt heard about net neutrality over the last few years. But, in case you haven’t, net neutrality is the principle that forces Internet service providers to treat all data on the Internet equally. It forbids them from discriminating on subject matter or charging different fees based upon the user, site content, website, platform, application, or method of delivery. Essentially, it makes the internet into a tap where you pay one flat fee for access to all content.

That could soon change. On Tuesday, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission announced plans to repeal the landmark neutrality order from 2015. FCC head Ajit Pai, a Republican appointed by President Donald Trump in January, said last year that he believed net neutrality’s “days were numbered.”

Pai has been criticized for being overly supportive of telecom companies. But a few automakers support his cause, as some of the FCC’s regulations have been at odds with autonomous car development.  (Read More…)

Nissan R32 GT-R owners in Japan will be able to enjoy wheeling their treasured rides around a lot longer, thanks to a program making new replacement parts available.

The parts will go on sale in Japan the first week of December as part of the new NISMO Heritage program, meaning that poorly modified R32 Godzillas hacked together in the wake of each Fast & Furious movie can now be properly restored.

(Read More…)

Now that Thanksgiving is over and the dishes put away, the real fun begins. Black Friday marks the start of the shopping season and with it comes a virtual boatload of the best Black Friday deals.

We scoured Amazon.com for all the best Black Friday deals we could find on everything from TVs and electronics to outdoor goods and automotive. Here’s what we found: (Read More…)

You saw a teaser the other day, but here’s the real thing. Infiniti’s next-generation 2019 QX50 midsize crossover has appeared online before its official unveiling at next week’s L.A. Auto Show.

The model’s uncloaking doesn’t yield any great design surprises, as this next-generation model — bearing Infiniti’s new “Powerful Elegance” styling — was preceded, somewhat oddly, by its own namesake concept vehicle. One surprise, however, is the model’s anticipated fuel economy.

With a 2.0-liter variable compression four-cylinder resting under the hood, the new QX50 sips less gas than initially claimed. (Read More…)

The leaks concerning Jeep’s next-generation Wrangler have been like a screen door on a submarine, with FCA itself fueling the fire by releasing a couple of official images during the recent SEMA show in Las Vegas.

Rumours of a Wrangler-based pickup began swirling ages ago, with Fiat Chrysler eventually assuring us that one will appear at some point during the new Wrangler’s product cycle. Now, in a report from Automotive News, there is speculation the new-age, four-door Scrambler will be offered as a convertible.

(Read More…)

Get a start on your Christmas shopping for the car person in your life (or for yourself) with these Black Friday deals. (Read More…)

Roland writes:

Hey Sajeev,

A few years ago I was looking for a midsized SUV for my business (kitchen renovations) and ended up with a ’07 4Runner Sport — which my son (and business partner) decided was for him. Not wanting to derail a business and personal relationship, I stuck with my ’01 Silverado pickup.

Recently I’ve been looking at midsized SUVs again (this time for myself), but don’t want anything new, being a firm believer in used vehicles. One option is the Saab 9-7X (here comes the derision!). I like the size, styling, don’t need seven seats, and if I can interpret various articles — it was the best GM SUV of its time, but Saab fans hated it for that reason. I can pick up an ’06 model for about a $1,000 (CDN, with 104K miles) with a blown 5.3-liter engine, no rust, etc. Question: Would this be an opportunity to drop a 6.0-liter into a 9-7X without the harsh ride of a TrailBlazer SS?

Or just find a 5.3-liter replacement engine and keep things as is?

Or am I nuts?

(Read More…)

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the U.S., aka Turkey Day, aka the high holy day of food (and booze-related gluttony), so we’re shuttering a little early today so our American crew can get a jumpstart on the holiday and our Canadian folks can get a little well-earned time off. We’ll be posting here and there over the long weekend, but expect a lighter content mix than usual.

(Read More…)

Just to clear things up right off the bat, Jaguar’s newest model, the E-Pace, is not the brand’s upcoming electric sport crossover. That’s the I-Pace. Because “I” stands for … ions, we presume.

No, the E-pace is the smaller answer to Jag customers looking for something less than an F-Pace, but not too much less. Riding on the Range Rover Evoque platform, the E-Pace boasts less overhang and a shorter overall length, while retaining the styling cues and handling of its popular larger sibling. However, despite being smaller in most dimensions, there’s one area where it actually tops the F-Pace: in consumption of fuel. (Read More…)

The 60-day auto delinquency rate continued to climb through the third quarter of 2017. Driven primarily by “relaxed” underwriting standards from years past and increasing subprime originations, TransUnion’s senior vice president and automotive business head, Brian Landau, said two-month payment lapses rose 7 basis points to 1.4 percent.

At the same time, the average balance of outstanding auto loans increased by around 5.9 percent, resulting in the lowest year-over-year growth rate since the third quarter of 2012. The group’s Industry Insights Report cited this quarter’s serious auto loan delinquency rate as the highest observed since Q3 2009 — you know, when nobody had any money to pay their bills. (Read More…)