Etc : Car News And Reviews

Have you really put any thought into how strange it will be to be in a car that you can’t control? Not only that you can’t control, but a car that has no human at the wheel?

When I was recently handed some life-changing health news, along with a phone call a few weeks later explaining my grandmother’s passing, I flat-out lost all hope, and everything in my life was suddenly put on hold.

Some potentially bad news has emerged concerning the future of manual transmissions in Subaru vehicles. As many of you might already know, the company is in the midst of a big push towards safety and automation with their Eyesight system.

Mere months after witnessing Chevrolet reveal its all-new generation of Silverado trucks at the Detroit Auto Show, the Bowtie Brand has returned for another round of ruggedness. Referred to simply as “Silverado Class 4, 5, and 6 chassis cab trucks,” the American monsters pictured here are the brand’s first swing at hardcore conventional cabs, and are set to kick-start into production later in 2018, with order guides arriving this spring.

Ford has brought forth a lot of neat machines over the years, and has discarded quite a few as well. From the questionably named “Probe” to the bucking “Bronco,” Americans have bought, owned, and mourned the loss of a multitude of Blue Oval automobiles over the years, with the Ranger being one of the most sorely missed here in the US.

If cars are indeed your thing, then what is the equivalent of having tasteful amounts of sex appeal? Does it go beyond beltline curves, carbon fiber, Alcantara, and aluminum? The vehicular landscape is one that comes littered with both staggeringly good and bad design touches, and while concepts like Infiniti’s insanely sleek Q Inspiration stirred the Detroit auto show this year, there’s a lot to love about Chicago’s shindig a couple weeks later as well.

When opportunity comes knocking it is often best to answer. Preferably with a hearty “Hell yeah!” and especially when it involves a Nissan 370Z that’s been converted into an over-sized snowmobile on steroids. This is exactly what happened to Nissan’s chief Truck and SUV Brand Communications specialist, Kevin Raftery; who upon accepting the offer to take the snow-throwing Fairlady Z out for a spin in the Grand Tetons, found himself assisting in the creation of Nissan’s latest video adventure.

My first Audi was a phantom black 2011 Audi S4 with a manual gearbox and a V8 under the hood. In 2013, I traded the S4 for a 2014 Audi RS5 Cabriolet, also with a V8 (this time 450 hp), but with a dual-clutch transmission and soft top (I still miss that S4 stick at times).

Elon Musk has taken his red Tesla Roadster, put a “spaceman” behind the wheel (in a SpaceX spacesuit prototype) and then put both into the nose cone of the massive Falcon Heavy rocket. Both the Roadster and spaceman were successfully sent into orbit in spectacular fashion, and without so much as a hitch along the way.

In the past few years, it seems like automakers are competing to create the smartest cars on the road. From lane assistance and intelligent cruise control to parking assistance and – before we know it – wholly autonomous vehicles.

I have a strange affinity for unusual concept cars. One of the wackiest designs I’ve stumbled across in my travels has to be the American Motors Astra-Gnome, a “space age” concept that dates back to 1956.

When you think back just a few years, Jaguar was almost exclusively a maker of luxury sedans like the XF and XJ. Fast forward to 2018, and the Brits not only make one of the best sports cars on the road, but they’ve released not one, but two crossover SUVs.

Bugatti has announced that it will be making a change to new Chiron cars that will see the vehicles shed a bit of unsprung weight. The weight savings will come in the form of lighter brake calipers.

The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit is the most iconic OEM motor vehicle meet in the United States, every year drawing hundreds of thousands of car shoppers and members of the media alike through its doors at the Cobo Center.

Rarely do I get all antsy in my pantsy over a concept car, but when Infiniti rolled out its “Q Inspiration” creation at the 2018 NAIAS in Detroit, I was flat-out floored. Packing more smarts and sex appeal than Jennifer Lawrence at a wine tasting, and rolling out on stage under its own power, the sensationally shaped 2+2 sedan is exactly the kind of creativity many of us wish to see in the brand moving forward.