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Reviews

2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E First Drive Video

While driving the 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E for the first time in late November, Sam ran the cameras to share his first impressions for an episode of Hands-On-Tech for the TWiT podcast network. You can also read a longer written story about the drive at Debugger on Medium Wheel Bearings has launched a Patreon. If you like the show and would like to chip in toward the cost of producing and hosting it you can join at https://www.patreon.com/wheelbearingsmedia

2020 Chevrolet Corvette stingray coupe

The 2020 Chevrolet Corvette is a Supercar Bargain

For more than half a century, the automotive world had its very own mythical creature akin to Sasquatch, Yeti and Nessie. Every few years there would be evidence released purporting to prove that this beast really existed, but yet no one actually managed to capture one in the wild. Even the great Don Sherman, long-time technical editor of Car and Driver and other publications virtually made a career of tracking this automotive myth. But it wasn’t until GM CEO Mary Barra emerged from a lightly camouflaged prototype in New York in April 2019, that we knew for sure that the mid-engine Chevrolet Corvette was real.  A condensed version of this review originally appeared on Forbes Wheels I recently got to spend a week with the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette and I’ll jump right to the chase. Even in its base form, it is every bit as… Read More »The 2020 Chevrolet Corvette is a Supercar Bargain

2019 Volvo XC40 – The New Small Swede With Surprising Value

The first-phase of the ground up revamp of the entire Volvo product portfolio is nearing completion. Like most brands, Volvo has shifted heavily toward utility vehicles such as the midsize and large XC60 and XC90 as well as the slightly higher riding car variants like the V90 Cross-country. This year Volvo finally has an entry in the fast growing compact utility segment as well with the new XC40 and it has a lot to recommend it. Read the full review over on Forbes Wheel Bearings has launched a Patreon. If you like the show and would like to chip in toward the cost of producing and hosting it you can join at https://www.patreon.com/wheelbearingsmedia

2018 Toyota C-HR XLE Premium: It Crosses Over, But It’s No Utility Vehicle

Over the history of the automobile, we’ve come up with a wide variety of descriptors that immediately give us a pretty solid idea of the type of vehicle being discussed. When we here pickup, station wagon or minivan, we largely know what to expect. But ever since marketers coined the term crossover utility vehicle sometime probably in the early 1990s, it has come to encompass such a broad array of designs so as to become essentially meaningless. A current prime example of that is the 2018 Toyota C-HR. Read the full review at Forbes     Wheel Bearings has launched a Patreon. If you like the show and would like to chip in toward the cost of producing and hosting it you can join at https://www.patreon.com/wheelbearingsmedia

2019 Hyundai Nexo – The First Really Complete Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle

Twelve years ago when I first started writing professionally about cars, the very first review I ever wrote for AutoblogGreen was a fuel cell electric car, the Ford Focus FCV. In the years since I’ve had the opportunity to drive a number of different concept, prototype and production fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) from Ford, GM, Honda and Toyota. While the technology has absolutely advanced over that time, all of them have had some compromises. Until now that is. Aside from the obviously limited network of hydrogen filling stations, the 2019 Hyundai Nexo felt like the most finished fuel cell vehicle yet. Read my full first impressions of the 2019 Hyundai Nexo at Forbes Wheel Bearings has launched a Patreon. If you like the show and would like to chip in toward the cost of producing and hosting it you can join at https://www.patreon.com/wheelbearingsmedia

2018 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara – More Civilized, Still an Off-Road Beast

From time to time, certain vehicles come along that attain an iconic status to such a degree that not only does the model stay in production for decades, but even the fundamentals of the basic design are retained even as the mechanicals evolve. The Porsche 911, the Volkswagen Beetle, the Mini and of course the Jeep Wrangler. For 2018, the Wrangler with its updated internal code of JL is all-new and yet it remains as ever a direct descendent of the utility vehicles utilized by the U.S. Army beginning in 1941. Read the rest of the review on Forbes Wheel Bearings has launched a Patreon. If you like the show and would like to chip in toward the cost of producing and hosting it you can join at https://www.patreon.com/wheelbearingsmedia

2018 Nissan Leaf

Checking out the 2018 Nissan Leaf With Leo Laporte

Last Sunday I got to hang out with Leo Laporte as we checked out the redesigned 2018 Nissan Leaf for episode 134 of The New Screen Savers Wheel Bearings has launched a Patreon. If you like the show and would like to chip in toward the cost of producing and hosting it you can join at https://www.patreon.com/wheelbearingsmedia

New Mercedes Raises Question: What’s The Right Amount Of Driving Automation Now?

Technological innovation is nothing new to the brand with the three-pointed star. Ever since Karl Benz drove his Patent Motorwagen for the first time more than 130 years ago, Mercedes-Benz has been a technological pioneer. Along with pioneering engine technologies like diesel and direct injection, active safety has been at the heart of the brand. From the debut of the first electronic anti-lock brakes in 1978, the Mercedes-Benz S-class has consistently been the launch platform for these technologies and the 2018 edition takes another step closer to automated driving. After a week in the refreshed S560, I have to ask, is this a step in the right direction? Read the rest of the article over at Forbes.com Wheel Bearings has launched a Patreon. If you like the show and would like to chip in toward the cost of producing and hosting it you can join… Read More »New Mercedes Raises Question: What’s The Right Amount Of Driving Automation Now?

Toyota Prius Prime Gets The Plug-in Hybrid Right, Now About That Design

Ok, let’s immediately deal with the elephant in the room. The Toyota Prius Prime is not an attractive vehicle. In fact, to my eyes, it’s quite homely. Now that we have that out of the way, I’ll leave the aesthetic judgements to your own tastes and move on to how Toyota’s sophomore effort at a plug-in version of its icon works. While the first-generation Prius PHV was a bit of a swing and a miss, the functionality this time is in most respects a home run. Read the rest of the review at Sam’s Thoughts Wheel Bearings has launched a Patreon. If you like the show and would like to chip in toward the cost of producing and hosting it you can join at https://www.patreon.com/wheelbearingsmedia

A Weekend With the Acura NSX

Sam was lucky enough to get an offer to spend a weekend with the Acura NSX. A full review is coming soon, but here’s a few pics. [portfolio_slideshow]     Wheel Bearings has launched a Patreon. If you like the show and would like to chip in toward the cost of producing and hosting it you can join at https://www.patreon.com/wheelbearingsmedia