See you at SEMA 2018?

Photo: SEMA.

Yes, it’s official. Auto Enthusiasts Newsblaster will indeed be represented at SEMA 2018 (October 30-November 2 in Las Vegas) this year, by yours truly.

I will of course want to check out the many cool builds scheduled to be on display, like the Maxlider Brothers/Union Pacific Industries 1966 Ford Bronco resto-mod and the Prestone Javelin AMX by Ringbrothers. Watch for photos of goodies like these to show up on our website and social media.  I plan to be posting throughout the show to our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

If you’re shopping for a $450,000 car, here’s some good news: Ford will make an extra 350 Ford GT supercars

Photo: Ford Media Center

Apparently, there are more people around with an extra $450,000 burning holes in their pockets, because Ford announced on Thursday that they will increase production of the current-generation Ford GT to 1,350, up from the 1,000 they had originally planned.

Eat your heart out, Tesla—check out this cool electric car that a Nissan predecessor company built over 70 years ago.

Photo: Nissan Official Media Newsroom.

OK. So it’s not quite as sleek and sexy as a Tesla Roadster.

But this vintage 1947 Tama electric vehicle built by Tokyo Electro Automobile Co., Ltd., has a funky charm of its own. And for Japanese car enthusiasts, it might be pretty cool to think that a company that is part of Nissan’s history was thinking this early about the benefits of electrification, in response to an energy crisis of its time.

Chevrolet set to show off new crate engines in delicious vintage Chevy builds at SEMA 2018

Photo: Chevrolet Pressroom.

If the term “crate engine” makes you think only of the “Put a 350 in it, man!” crowd, it might be time for you to take a fresh look.

While it may be true that, as Matt Farah observed during a chat with Jalopnik’s Kurt Bradley on The Smoking Tire podcast this week, a lot more people are talking on the Interwebs about doing crazy LS swaps these days than actually doing them, the Chevrolet crate engine lineup offers a considerable depth and breadth of swap-friendly options, with nearly 50 motors to choose from.

GM says optional extended ‘bumper-to-bumper’ warranty ‘breaks new ground’

Photo: GM Corporate Newsroom.

Coming off a rough third quarter that saw an 11 percent sales drop, GM now seems to be betting that an option announced today to purchase a “no questions asked” limited warranty offering an extended period of “bumper-to-bumper” coverage will be enough to entice more consumers to buy a new Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, or Cadillac vehicle.

If you’re interested in automotive industry jobs, FCA might make you very happy, survey says

Recruiters greet candidates at an FCA job fair.
Photo: FCA USMedia Website

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) stated this week that they have scored among the top companies in the United States—not just in the car business, but overall—in providing a positive, transparent, and insightful experience for career seekers.

The automaker’s performance as a prospective employer was good enough this year to earn them a 2018 North American Candidate Experience Award (CandE Award), in a competition organized each year by Talent Board, a nonprofit that conducts research on the quality of the job candidate experience.

Well, son of a DAT: Here’s one vintage Datsun/Nissan product that you probably won’t find a tuner chip for

Photo: Nissan USA Official Media Newsroom

My weekly travels often involve a stop at a strip shopping center where there is both an e-cig store and a Domino’s pizza location. No, I’m not patronizing either of those establishments—my weekly visits have an entirely different purpose that there’s no real need to go into.

Apparently, having both a vaping store and a mostly-delivery pizza joint in the neighborhood is the perfect formula for making a parking lot look like there’s a cars and coffee for the tuner-dudes crowd going on, even when there is not a planned car-guys event taking place.

Dammerman car collection helps drive Saratoga Auto Auction to nearly $6 million in sales

Photo: Saratoga Automobile Museum.

The Saratoga Automobile Museum has credited the 44-vehicle Dennis Dammerman car collection, consigned by the estate of the late GE Vice Chairman Dennis Dammerman, with an important role in propelling sales to nearly $6 million in the second annual Saratoga Auto Auction on September 21 and 22 in Saratoga Springs, New York.

We’re looking forward to seeing this stunning 1966 Ford Bronco resto-mod at SEMA 2018

Photo: United Pacific Industries.

To restore, or to resto-mod?

In the automotive hobby, it’s one of those eternal questions of nearly Shakespearean proportions. And it’s a question that can become very personal and emotionally charged depending on the point of view of the individual enthusiast.

The votes are in: and this year’s SEMA Award finalists are…

Photo: SEMA.

The Specialty Equipment Manufacturing Association announced yesterday that automotive-industry exhibitors of the upcoming 2018 SEMA Show (October 30–November 2 at the Las Vegas Convention Center) have voted to select finalists for the SEMA Award, which honors automakers for producing accessory-friendly vehicles.

Finalists for the 2018 SEMA Award were selected in five categories: car, truck, 4x4/SUV, sport compact, and powersports vehicle—the latter of which is a newly created category for the SEMA Awards competition. Awards will be presented to winners at the SEMA Vehicle Reveal in Las Vegas on Monday, October 29, the day before the official opening of the 2018 SEMA show.

RECALL ALERT: Toyota recalls nearly 170,000 Tundra, Sequoia, and Avalon vehicles

Photo: Toyota USA Newsroom.

Approximately 168,000 Toyota vehicles, including certain 2018–2019 Toyota Tundra pickups and Toyota Sequoia SUVs, as well as some 2019 Toyota Avalon passenger cars, are being recalled to address an airbag defect, the automaker announced today.

Citing “inappropriate programming,” Toyota states that the airbag electronic control unit (ECU) may erroneously detect a fault as the vehicle starts, potentially disabling one or more of the crash-detection sensors. If a crash occurs in these conditions, the result could be the failure to deploy of side curtain airbags, front and knee airbags, or both, increasing the risk of injury.

RECALL ALERT: Toyota recalls more than 800,000 Prius and Prius v vehicles

Photo: Toyota USA newsroom.

Toyota announced a safety recall today that affects some 807,000 vehicles in the United States, including 2010-2014 model year Toyota Prius and 2012-2014 Prius v vehicles.

The automaker states that, in certain situations, the affected vehicles may not enter failsafe driving mode as they are designed to do in response to certain hybrid system faults. In this situation, the vehicle may lose power and stall. Although Toyota states that power steering and braking would remain operational, a stall at higher speeds could make a crash more likely.

Automotive safety technology might save your life… but it might not save you much money on your car insurance, study finds

Photo: FCA Media website.

Research organizations such as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety are now compiling evidence that automotive technology features like blind-spot monitoring and lane departure alerts are proving effective in preventing accidents, as reported in the Insurance Journal and elsewhere.

Fiat Chrysler reports record September sales, Ford and GM down

2019 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio. Photo: FCA Media website.

September sales reports from the automotive industry are out. Although it turned out to be a bearish month for two of the Big Three, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles boasted their biggest September in nearly two decades, with sales of 199,819 vehicles led by Ram and Jeep.

Auto Enthusiasts Newsblaster recognized on top automotive blogs list

Feedspot, a news aggregation and topic-driven content discovery website, has recognized Auto Enthusiasts Newsblaster on its international list of top automotive blogs that “every car enthusiast must read.”

Gaining entry to this list puts Auto Enthusiasts Newsblaster in the respected company of such widely know automotive websites as Motor Trend Magazine, Car and Driver, Autoblog, and Jalopnik.

In their evaluation process for inclusion on this list, Feedspot ranks blogs on a set of criteria that includes:

• Reputation and ranking in Google
• Popularity and influence on social media sites
• Content quality, consistency, and frequency

Each website is also individually vetted by Feedspot’s editorial team.

“It is delightful that Auto Enthusiasts Newsblaster, after less than one year of publishing history, has been able to make enough of an impact in the online automotive media space to gain entry to Feedspot’s list of top blogs in the category,” said Bill Hayward, Editor & Publisher, Auto Enthusiasts Newsblaster.

“As always, I am grateful for the support of the readers who are already enjoying our content, and hopeful that our presence on Feedspot will facilitate our discovery by more enthusiasts who share our passion for maximizing their enjoyment of automotive life and culture—no matter what they drive.”

Waking up to the debate about the efficiency and environmental impact of electric vehicles

I guess I really do eat this stuff for breakfast.

When I awakened this morning, the first things I saw in both my Facebook feed and my email inbox were highly relevant to the ongoing debate on the merits of electric vehicles. The first was a Facebook post featuring photos of a Tesla at a charging station, and the second was an e-mailed press release announcing a partnership between technology company Semcon and hydrogen fuel-cell producer Powercell.

In the mood for something retro? How about a new Fiat 500 1957 Edition?

Photo: FCA Media website.

It’s hard to keep up with the many flavors of Fiat 500. Clearly, a Fiat 500 is not for everybody. The basic characteristics of the variations that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) markets under the 500 nameplate invite a number of obvious criticisms—too small, too quirky-looking for some tastes, too underpowered.

And for a car that looks so bleepin’ little, they’re actually surprisingly heavy—not a great quality if you’re looking for a small car that you can have fun chucking around.

But, if nothing else, the Fiat 500 lineup adds a lot of personality to an automotive market today that, overall, from a design perspective, at least, is pretty humdrum and samey-samey. For the driver who simply wants to stand out as different or make some kind of a contrarian statement, a Fiat 500 fits the bill quite well.

Vintage car with no Bluetooth? Amazon’s new Echo Auto could be a good solution.

Photo: Tiffany Bailey (Wikimedia Commons).

Amazon announced a new device last week that could expand smartphone connectivity options to those of us who drive older cars that haven’t been upgraded with aftermarket stereos featuring all the fancy-schmancy Bluetooth technology.

As long as your car stereo has a 3.5mm auxiliary input, you’ll be able to plug in the new Amazon Echo Auto, which can then connect to your smartphone through the Alexa app, enabling you to use Alexa voice commands to access features available through your existing phone plan, such as music, navigation, and hands-free calling.

A car that we’re glad exists: Nissan announces pricing for the 2019 Versa Note

Photo: Nissan Media Newsroom.

With a 1.6 liter, four-cylinder powerplant that makes 109 horsepower, the 2019 Versa Note is not an enthusiast’s dream. It does not exactly qualify as a hot hatch that’ll take you on a thrill ride. That’s in spite of Nissan press materials that seem to be trying to hint in the direction of the hot-hatch vibe, with their reference to the vehicle’s “sporty hatchback design” appealing to buyers looking for “an added level of style to go with a hatchback’s 5-door utility.”

But new cars are expensive today. And with MSRPs for 2019 ranging from $15,650 to $18,360, which Nissan announced on Wednesday, the Versa Note gives you a lot for the money.

Don’t forget: the Dammerman Car Collection goes up for sale Friday at the Saratoga Auto Auction

Photo: Saratoga Auto Auction.

If you’re interested in bidding on pristine-quality mid-century American muscle cars, sports cars, or other collector-quality American vehicles of various vintages, you might not want to overlook the second annual Saratoga Auto Auction, which runs this Friday, September 21, and Saturday September 22, at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga Springs, NY.

‘Off-road cruise control?’ Ford’s new Trail Control feature for the F-150 Raptor actually sounds like a good idea—but maybe they should position it a little differently

Photo: Ford Media Center.

By Bill Hayward

If you’re like me, you use cruise control as a means of restraint in higher-speed situations, to try to keep the velocity a little lower and decrease the odds of your driving pleasure being interrupted by red-and-blue lights when you’re on a long roadtrip in your favorite silky-smooth, miles-devouring highway cruiser.

If you're not yet hip to the wonders of diesel culture, steer your cable box to Diesel Brothers on Discovery tonight

Photo: Discovery Communications.

According to Discovery Communications, tonight's episode of Diesel Brothers on Discovery Channel and Discovery Go (Monday, September 10 at 10 PM ET/PT) is a big one.

In the episode, the fun-loving, truck-building men of Dieselsellerz, known for crazy online videos and over-the-top diesel builds, will be showing a better side of the American spirit to a Hispanic-American family that, as graphically documented in a smartphone video that went viral, was unfortunately exposed to some of the worst of 'Murican behavior when their truck broke down at a campground.

It’s a little late to announce back-to-school specials, but for a college kid with around $20K to spend, the 2019 MINI Oxford Edition is a pretty cool idea

Photo: BMW Group Press Club.

Cars that are relatively inexpensive when new but still offer some level of an enthusiast-oriented driving experience aren’t exactly plentiful on the market these days.

And now that the industry—in the U.S., at least—seems to think everyone wants a crossover, “cheap sports cars” might become even harder to come by.

But there are a few around, like the Toyota 86 / Subaru BRZ twins and, of course, the Mazda MX-5 Miata.

And then there is MINI.

Lexus previews the 2019 RC Coupe, with official reveal promised for the Paris Motor Show in October

Photo: Toyota USA Newsroom.

Personal luxury coupes may be all but extinct among American automakers, but continuing apace with the category is Lexus, announcing refinements yesterday for the 2019 RC and offering a preview ahead of an official reveal set for October.

Ford says ‘Nothing to report’ on Mustang Mach 1 50th anniversary plans

Photo: Ford Media Center.

So it seems that it’s official: Ford won’t be doing anything in 2019 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the legendary Mustang Mach 1, which made its debut in 1969.

“I have nothing to report for Mach 1,” Ford spokesman Jiyan Cadiz told Auto Enthusiasts Newsblaster, in an email. “As you probably know, we played with the nameplate trim earlier this year. But as far as our current Mustang lineup goes, our focus for 2019 is Mustang Bullitt—celebrating 50 years of the iconic movie and movie car, plus an upgraded Shelby GT350.”

Be still, my heart: the Jaguar E-Type is coming back—sort of.

Photo: Jaguar Newsroom

By Bill Hayward

Three days ago, it was officially announced that the childhood dream car that I’ve never owned is making a comeback of sorts.

And I almost missed the press release in my inbox.

But I finally found it, and my heart almost skipped a beat when I read it: Jaguar Classic confirmed on Thursday that they will offer all-electric E-Types for sale, branded as E-Type Zero to emphasize the zero-emissions profile of the powertrain.

Can we talk about size for a moment? Car size, that is?

From top: 2nd-generation Toyota Yaris and
6th-generation Toyota Corolla.
Photos: Toyota USA Newsroom.

Size perception can be very, very relative and subjective. And if there is one thing that can demonstrate that for us, it’s the fluctuations that have taken place in car sizes over the years.

By car size, I’m referring to every dimension: overall and curb weight, overall height, overall width, wheelbase, you name it. And the relative nature of how we perceive car size can apply to all of these dimensions. Just how deceptive and relative our perceptions of car size can be was driven home for me recently, when I realized something about two vehicles my next-door neighbor owns.

GM’s Mark Reuss at Holden Headquarters: ‘Make no mistake, we’re moving to a driverless future’

Holden engineer Rob Trubiani. Photo: GM Holden Pressroom

So how do you feel about the future of autonomous motoring—or of a so-called “driverless future?”

If you’re reading Auto Enthusiasts Newsblaster, chances are you have mixed feelings at best about autonomous vehicles in general. And, looking 10 or 20 years ahead, you’re probably a lot more comfortable with the vision of a world in which you still have at least a choice about whether you or a computer will be in control of your personal vehicles.

T-Birds go up to 11: in defense of the 11th-generation Ford Thunderbird?

2002-2005 Ford Thunderbird. Photo by IFCARE (Wikimedia Commons).

By Bill Hayward

Although I do remember running across a short news story or two when the new, retro-styled 2002 Ford Thunderbird was about to debut, I have to say that these cars were essentially not on my radar at the time—even less so ever since, until very recently. 

Part of the reason for that, of course, is that at the time I was at a much more of a practical-minded lifestage when it came to vehicle needs. Transportation options like minivans and SUVs were top-of-mind, not two-seater roadsters. It was just this year that I started thinking again about the 11th-generation Ford Thunderbird and getting curious about what I might have missed by not paying attention when it was still in production.

Is Ford actually going to miss the 50th anniversary of the Mustang Mach 1?

Photo by Bill Hayward for Auto Enthusiasts Newsblaster.

By Bill Hayward

Fall is just a few weeks away. We’re already deep into end-of-model-year season and the new model-year launch season. The launch of the 2019 Mustang Bullitt edition has been essentially a year-long process, and the Bullitt press cars are out and working their way through the journalistic food chain.

But the model year we are entering is 2019. And 50 years ago, something very big in the history of Mustang happened: the launch of the first Mach 1. 1969 was an important year for Mustang performance packages. In addition to the Mach 1, the Boss 302, Boss 429, Shelby GT350, Shelby GT500 packages were available.

44 sports cars, convertibles, coupes, and more from the Dammerman collection up for no-reserve auction in Saratoga Springs next month

Photo: Saratoga Auto Auction

The Saratoga Automobile Museum in Saratoga Springs, New York, announced yesterday that 44 vehicles from the personal collection of the late GE executive Dennis Dammerman will be up for sale with no reserve at the Saratoga Auto Auction on September 21 and 22.