NASCAR Cup Series Champion Joey Logano this week had a chance to feel the raw electric power of the Mustang Mach-E 1400 prototype along with Ford’s famed drift star Vaughn Gittin Jr. at Ford’s Romeo Proving Grounds in Michigan. Logano and Gittin were on-track to make a short film to showcase the Mustang Mach-E 1400 — developed in collaboration with Gittin’s RTR (Ready to Rock) Vehicles — that will appear for the first time Saturday...
Mark Maynard on cars
Vin Car Pic: 1954 Chevrolet Corvette Corvair concept
It was 1956 when the “Dinah Shore Chevy Show” debuted on TV, with Shore singing “See the USA in your Chevrolet” at the close of each show. The show grew out of Shore’s earlier 15-minute programs and she was the first woman to host her own TV show. Shore had sung “See the USA” since the early 1950s and the song was used in Chevrolet advertising after Shore’s show ended in 1963. Chevrolet is now...
Chevrolet to stage weeklong virtual cruise
‘Cruisin’ the USA in your Chevrolet’ a tribute to history, iconic vehicles, technological innovations and Chevy experts BY MARK MAYNARD While the summer car-show season has been socially distanced to near death, Chevrolet is reimagining shows and cruise nights through a weeklong virtual festival. Hosted on Chevy’s social media channels from Aug. 10-16, “Cruisin’ the USA in your Chevrolet” will be a tribute more than a century of the brand’s automotive history, technological innovation, design...
2020 SEMA Show cancelled
SEMA, the Specialty Equipment Market Association, announced Aug. 5 that due to COVID-19 and concerns that event facilities and services will be unavailable — and, therefore, the 2020 SEMA Show will not take place. While event organizers and industry members have been working to develop the sprawling trade show in Las Vegas, mounting uncertainty has rendered continuing with the event inadvisable. Recent SEMA Show survey results indicated interest in a possible virtual trade show with...
2020 Cadillac CT5 road test
Sized, contented and priced to conquest new customers — but its timing suffers from the syndrome known as “It’s not an SUV” BY MARK MAYNARD Cadillac has one foot on the gas and the other on a power inverter as it transitions to be General Motors’ electric vehicle division. And all this arrives with the release this year of two new gasoline-powered sedans that replace two very competent sedans. The new models, the CT5 and...
Yokohama Tire rewards sweat equity with Spartan Race Series promotion, through Sept. 30
Through Sept. 30, the promotion features free 2021 race entry, worth up to a $190 value with the purchase of four eligible tires BY MARK MAYNARD As the official tire sponsor for the U.S. Spartan Race Series, Yokohama is offering a summer promotion that highlights the brand’s tough tires and world’s largest obstacle race and endurance brand. Though the coronavirus has scuttled the 2020 Spartan race season, organizers are focused on 2021. And now through...
Bentley hews 3D wood for new Flying Spur
Rear-door inserts handcrafted from a single block of American Walnut or American Cherry BY MARK MAYNARD Wood is an organic element that adds natural warmth in an inorganic mode of transportation — but not all wood is equal. The ultraluxury car segment has long been a purveyor of unique wood veneers for vehicle interiors. And the types of woods used by some makers, such as Rolls-Royce, are archived, catalogued and identified by the vehicle, make...
Vin Car Pics: 1949 Mercury Eight convertible
The third-generation 1949 Mercury was the first new design following World War II, according to Wikipedia. Its “ponton” or pontoon styling help differentiate it from its Ford cousin. The ’49 also became the definitive “lead sled” for customizers, including the Barris brothers, Sam and George.
2020 AMG CLA 35 4Matic road test
Strategic precision in a compact four-door “coupe” BY MARK MAYNARD Highland Valley Road is a tangled black shoelace of two-lane country road in northeastern San Diego County. It’s a favorite for car-club runs and leisure drives to get some fresh air. The meandering road leads past acres of growing land for landscape nurseries and pine-tree farms before ascending to an area of vineyards and wineries. Mature scrub oaks form shaded canopies along stretches amid a...
Ford’s first Black designer helped pen the original Bronco
Young designer also contributed to concepts for a cab-forward truck, the Mustang and the legendary GT40 BY MARK MAYNARD The endearing and enduring success of the Ford Bronco has roots in its earliest design by the first African American designer hired at Ford Motor Co. In 1956, McKinley Thompson Jr. had just graduated from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., with a degree in transportation design. Among Thompson’s more noteworthy projects was the Bronco...
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