Auto Lovers Land

The 1951 Jowett Jupiter in competition in Lisbon. Photo credit: RM Sothebys It was the unlikeliest of cars from the unlikeliest of automaker. It was the Jowett Jupiter, the only sports car built by Jowett Cars, Ltd. — a longtime British manufacturer of 2-cylinder automobiles. Introduced this week at the London Motor Show in 1949, it would go on to score class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Monte Carlo International Rally. But it did little to save the company from extinction.   A modest start Jowett Javelin ad, 1947 Our story starts when brothers Benjamin and William Jowett began manufacturing V-twin engines at the turn of the previous century. They went on to establish the Jowett Motor Manufacturing Co. in 1901 in Yorkshire, England, initially building bikes until they created their first prototype car in 1906. It would enter production in 1910. The company reorganized after World War I, becoming Jowett Cars Limited, building 3,500 vehicles ...

The 2024 Buick Encore GX continues to be an attractive, affordable option that is comfortable, offers a good tech package, and reasonable performance for about $35,000. That may sound like faint praise, but it’s not. SUV prices are crazy in this era, almost as absurd as pickup truck prices.  The 2024 Buick Encore GX continues to be an attractive, affordable option that is comfortable, offers a good tech package, and reasonable performance at a decent price. However, this Buick is a solid choice that you will enjoy long after you’ve made the final payment, and it won’t take your entire retirement account to buy it.  Overview The Encore GX is in its fifth year, after succeeding the earlier, smaller, and much less attractive Encore. The GX is a little bigger, and offers better performance, interior and features. In short, the Encore GX is what the Encore always should have been.  Buick starts the 2024 Encore GX at $25,600 — which is actually $300 less than the 2023 ...

A refreshed Tesla Model 3 could lift its sales in the fourth quarter, analysts say. Several Wall Street analysts caution that Tesla may miss projections for third-quarter deliveries, due to planned manufacturing shutdowns and lackluster demand that caused the automaker to hike discounts. The news may come as soon as Sunday, according to a Reuters report. In the third quarter, analysts predict Tesla to deliver anywhere from 439,200 to 455,000 vehicles. According to an average of 11 analysts’ forecasts gathered by British financial information company the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), that is less than the general Wall Street projection of 458,713 units. If LSEG’s predictions prove true, it would represent a 1.6% decline in sales from the second quarter, and Tesla’s first back-to-back slide in sales since the second quarter of 2022.  Softening sales may compel further price cuts to boost sales in the face of increased competition and a general downturn in demand for el...

Overlanding is the latest outgrowth of off-roading, and the practice has been  rapidly growing in popularity  during the past decade. Simply put, overlanding is traveling long distances over primitive roads or no roads at all, camping, and getting to places that civilization doesn’t reach.  The Hilt is designed to disrupt the market as the first adventure truck of its kind to be produced at this scale. Unlike conventional four-wheeling, overlanding isn’t limited to finding challenging obstacles within the confines of an OHV area or park made for the purpose. With overlanding, the journey is the point.  The popularity of overlanding has spawned an industry to support the hobby. Custom-built overlanding rigs can cost up to $250,000 and include enough amenities to qualify as glamping; there’s no rule that says you can’t be comfortable on your trip.  Coming to the party The most recent addition to the market comes from Storyteller Overland LLC, which recent...