Auto Lovers Land

The University Club, San Francisco, site of the bet that led Jackson to drive cross country in 1903. It’s Memorial Day Weekend, the official start of the summer travel season, when Americans take time off and head for the open road. The ease of travel by car is something most of us take for granted, thanks to the Interstate Highway System, as well as the many gas stations, hotels and restaurants ready to cater to vacation hungry consumers.  But travelling by car wasn’t always easy. In fact, travelling across country wasn’t even talked about, let alone attempted, until this week in 1903. It’s the first epic road trip, one recounted in the  Ken Burn’s documentary “Horatio’s Drive.” The bar bet that made history It’s 1903 at  The University Club in San Francisco , where wealthy men are discussing the future of the automobile, which has only been in existence for little more than a decade. Dismissed by most members of the club as an unreliable fad, 31-year-old Dr. Ho...

The 2022 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE looks far more conventional than the Prius, yet matches its mileage. With gasoline averaging $4.60 a gallon nationwide according to AAA, our appetite for unwieldy, thirsty SUVs seems foolish and indulgent. Just as sky high interest rates are taking the air out of the housing market, Wall Street and NFTs, rising fuel prices are sure to drive consumers to seek something more sensible. Is the party over? And if we must drive something akin to a pair of sensible shoes, is the Corolla Hybrid worthwhile? Well, yes. Overview The Corolla lineup is expanding, now consisting of its classic four-door sedan , a cute little hatchback and the new Corolla Cross SUV . But the gem of the bunch may be the Corolla Hybrid LE, which prioritizes fuel economy – the Corolla’s raison d’être. In fact, it rivals the Toyota Prius when it comes to fuel efficiency without the penalty of styling that resembles an alien life form. The Hybrid comes solely in LE trim, a popula...

The ID.Buzz Light Side wheels. Volkswagen is hoping “the Force” will be with it when it launches the new ID.Buzz, betting on a Disney tie-up will give the all-electric microbus some added momentum. As Disney gets ready to begin the next adventure in the staggeringly successful Star Wars series, VW has rolled out two versions of the ID.Buzz “inspired” by that wise old Jedi master, Obi-Wan Kenobi. “The showcars, ID. Buzz ‘Light Side Edition’ and the ID. Buzz ‘Dark Side Edition,’ embody the Light and Dark side with eye-catching looks designed to delight and thrill Star Wars fans,” the German automaker said in a statement. Choosing between the Light and Dark Side It’s been more than 40 years since the original Star Wars movie made its debut. Since George Lucas sold the franchise to Disney, the Mouse House has ramped up production of spin-off series on its Disney+ streaming service. The latest is Obi-Wan Kenobi, which launched on May 27 as a prequel to the original Star Wars trilog...

Robot welders at Toyota’s Princeton, Indiana plant. Automakers continue cutting back production due to the ongoing semiconductor shortage, as well as the COVID-19 lockdown in Shanghai – but Toyota has the distinction of cutting back output twice in one week. On Tuesday, the Japanese giant said it would reduce global production by 100,000 vehicles, Now, it has slashed another 50,000 vehicles from its plans. That brings May output down to a planned 800,000. And Toyota warned there is the “possibility” it will make even further cuts during the rest of its fiscal year, which runs through the end of March 2023. As it is, Toyota already has reduced its plans for that period down to 9.7 million, the first time production has dropped below 10 million in some time. More cuts coming? If anything, it seems highly likely Toyota will have to make additional cuts, several industry analysts told TheDetroitBureau.com. It certainly would have plenty of company. Virtually every major automaker ...

The dream of hoping into an air-taxi and flying across the city, avoiding all the traffic on the roads and getting to your stop in record time just took another step toward reality as Joby Aviation gained approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to begin air-taxi operations this year. Joby officials celebrate securing the company’s FAA certification allowing it to operate an air taxi service — with conventional aircraft. There is a small catch. The approval is for service with conventional airplanes, not the company’s five-passenger electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft is developing. Joby’s not alone as several company, including General Motors, Hyundai and Toyota, are all at least dabbling in the space. The  approval puts California-based Joby  a step closer to its end goal, which is to being using its eVTOL for personal use and air taxis by 2024. The company applied for its Part 135 certification earlier this year and even thought it got ap...

Daimler Truck is building as many as 800 Freightliner eCascadias for food service company Sysco by 2026. Commercial trucking has emerged as the focus for the makers of electric vehicles with manufacturers such as Volkswagen’s truck subsidiary, Traton, as well as Volvo Truck and Tesla promising to deliver freight hauling EVs to customers around the world who are under pressure to scrap their diesel-powered rigs. Meanwhile Daimler Truck North America reached a deal to sell hundreds of big all-electric trucks to a major customer: Sysco Corp. Sysco is a leading U.S. foodservice distribution company and signed a letter of intent to purchase up to nearly 800 battery-electric Freightliner eCascadia Class 8 tractors by 2026, according to Daimler Truck North America. Trucks are coming The first eCascadia delivery is expected to arrive at Sysco’s Riverside, California site east of Los Angeles, later this year, Daimler said. Sysco employs more than 58,000 associates, and it operates 34...

Although automakers saw profits slide in the first quarter of 2022 as sales have been down each month due to low inventories and high prices, the companies actually selling the vehicles are enjoying record profits. Auto dealers are enjoying record profits, according to the Q1 2022 Haig Report. Not only are dealers enjoying record profits in 2022, the value of their businesses appear to be hitting new heights in the process, according to the Q1 2022 Haig Report. Helping to increase the value of their businesses is the fact since dealerships are profitable, more and more people want to buy them, helping stoke the competitive nature of the marketplace. Buy-sell activity is off to a strong start in Q1 2022 with many private and public dealers looking to expand their networks, said Haig Partners, which tracks trends in auto retail and the impact on dealers. Retailers have not been hurt by recent economic headwinds such as higher interest rates, higher gas prices, higher inflation and...