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Showing posts from July, 2018

The Classic Car Show podcast with Steve Rinaldo and Jim Weber is back. And now I want to buy a Model A Ford and get DNA tests for my cars.

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Henry Ford drives the 20 millionth Model A Ford. Photo: Ford Media Center. Earlier this week, I was thrilled to find that The Classic Car Show podcast has returned to cyberspace, with new episodes posted on America’s Web Radio. Back in February, when we published a story on some of our favorite automotive podcasts, I mentioned that I was a little worried about the future of The Classic Car Show, distributed on America’s Web Radio and hosted mostly by Steve Rinaldo, Jim Weber, and occasional guest hosts.

10,000 Lakes Concours, set for Sunday, to feature ’35 Duesenberg, ’71 Hemi ’Cuda, a Batmobile, and more

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1935 Duesenberg Model SJ, photographed at the Louwman museum. Another example will be on display Sunday at the 10,000 Lakes Concours d'Elegance. Photo by AlfvanBeem (WikiMedia Commons). Tickets remain available for the 6th annual 10,000 Lakes Concours d’Elegance, set for Sunday, July 22, on the Excelsior Commons along the shores of Lake Minnetonka in Excelsior, Minnesota.

2017 Ferrari motorsports documentary set for wide video on-demand release July 24

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In case you missed the documentary Ferrari: Race to Immortality when it launched with mixed reviews to DVD last fall, you will soon have another viewing option. According to an announcement from Freestyle Digital Media, the film will launch widely to video on demand platforms on Tuesday, July 24. Auto Enthusiasts Newsblaster will publish additional details about viewing options as we receive them. Meanwhile, you can enjoy the trailer above.

So which U.S. automaker might be getting ready to make motorcycles with enhanced location-based services?

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Dodge Tomahawk concept motorcycle. Photo: Elambeth (posted to Wikimedia Commons). Yesterday, a technology company called Comtech Telecommunications Corp issued a press release boasting about a new $1.9 million contract with a leading U.S. automotive manufacturer to develop a new navigation product. What was odd about the press release is that the U.S. automaker involved was not named. But the press release did tease one tidbit: it said that the manufacturer will use Comtech’s navigation product “for two of its top vehicle programs, including motorcycles.”

Bridgestone confirms continued sponsorship of biennial 1,878-mile race of solar-powered cars

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Photo: Bridgestone media website. With some motorsports events and venues, you can be confident that nearly every enthusiast knows about them. Even if you’re a newcomer, it won’t be very long before you start stumbling across references to the benchmark events of the sport, like the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and 24 Hours of Le Mans.

It’s ba-aaaack! Toyota’s motorsports program makes it official: Supra will return to the track in 2019 NASCAR season

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Toyota Xfinity Supra. Photo: Toyota USA Newsroom Toyota announced last week that the automaker’s official racing program will return the Toyota Supra to the track next year, with the debut set for Saturday, February 16, 2019, in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona.

Are 9th- and 10th-generation V8 Ford Thunderbirds underrated?

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10th-Generation Ford Thunderbird. Photo by Charles01 (posted to WikiMedia Commons). So yesterday I was making a quick stop at McDonald’s, to grab my daughter a couple of McChickens and myself an Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich and a coffee, when what I eventually realized was a 10th-generation Ford Thunderbird caught my eye.

Meet the new 2019 Buick LaCrosse ST.

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Photo: Buick Pressroom Chevrolet may be moving in the direction of phasing out larger sedans like the Impala, but look on the bright side: we still have the Buick LaCrosse. Personally, my taste has always run most toward the first-generation Buick LaCrosse, which clearly shared many styling cues with the last-generation Buick Riviera coupe—an example of which I am a proud owner.

Industry group says car-care business owners, employees should be very afraid of Trump administration’s proposed tariffs.

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U.S. workers build cars at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing, LLC. Photo: Hyundai Media Center. If you’re an employee or business owner in the U.S. car-care industry, the Auto Care Association thinks you should be afraid. Very afraid. According to the trade group, based in Bethesda, Maryland, an economic study they commissioned finds that proposed tariffs of 25 percent on imported automobiles and car parts could cost the auto parts manufacturing sector 17,800 jobs, resulting in wage losses of $1.4 billion for affected workers.

Connected-vehicle tech company Autotalks scores a reported ‘several million dollar’ investment from Hyundai.

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Photo: Hyundai media center. In April we ran a story on Autotalks , an Israel-based semiconductor company focused on the vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications technology space, after they announced a collaboration with the Connected Motorcycle Consortium to enhance safety-related communication between motorcycles and other vehicles with which they share the roads. Yesterday, Autotalks revealed that they have embarked on a major new collaboration—this time with a major global automaker. Through a direct investment in Autotalks, Hyundai Motor Company seeks to drive chipset technology for connected cars into its next generation.