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Sam Abuelsamid

The Great Race 2017 Visits Ypsilanti

The Great Race is an amazing annual road rally for vintage cars sponsored by Hemmings Motor News and Hagerty Insurance. This year, the newest cars that were allowed are from 1972 with that year being represented by a first-generation Nissan Skyline GT-R and the oldest being a century old 1917 Peerless driven by Hagerty VP Jonathan Klinger. This event epitomizes the best of car culture. Despite their age, these machines aren’t museum pieces, they were built to be driven and that’s how they are being used today. Herewith is a sampling of the field as they made a stop in Ypsilanti, Michigan while travelling more than 2,000 miles from Jacksonville, Florida to Traverse City, Michigan. [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

Launching A Hybrid Supercar – The 2017 Acura NSX

It seems like a lifetime ago that I first took a stab at developing control algorithms for a new traction control system on a heated asphalt strip near the arctic circle in northern Sweden. The specific piece I was working on didn’t have a separate name in those days, it wasn’t until much later that it became commonly known as launch control. 24 years and countless launches later, I was back at a strip of asphalt in southeast Michigan to sample the way Honda engineers have tackled the same problem with the new Acura NSX. Read the rest of the article at Forbes [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

2017 Ford Focus RS – The Extra-Spicy Hot Hatch

It’s been just over four decades since the modern hot hatch was born with debut of the original Volkswagen Golf GTI. In the intervening years, most other automakers have produced higher performance versions of their compact cars but since the turn of the century a new class of even quicker machines has evolved. Until recently, with the exception of the Volkswagen Golf R, these machines have been forbidden fruit on American shores. Fortunately for enthusiasts, Ford finally homologated its legendary Focus RS and American Honda dealers will soon start delivering the latest edition of the Civic Type-R. Read the full review at Forbes [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

2017 Acura MDX Advance SH-AWD

2017 Acura MDX Advance SH-AWD Review

Cadillac -The Standard of the World. Built Ford Tough. Mercedes-Benz -The Best or Nothing. BMW – The Ultimate Driving Machine. Audi – Truth in Engineering. Well maybe not so much on that last one, but you get my point. Successful automotive brands have an image associated with them that may or may not be entirely accurate, but that’s what marketing is all about. Honda’s premium Acura brand has always struggled with trying to determine what it’s image should be, no matter how good its products have been and they have typically been very good. The latest stab at remaking the brand image image is the 2017 MDX SUV which I just spent a week with.  Read the full review here 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… Read More »2017 Acura MDX Advance SH-AWD Review

2017 Volvo XC90 T8 – The Big Swede Gets Plugged In

The launch of the second-generation XC90 marked the beginning of a new era for Volvo a couple of years ago. The XC90 is the first model to ride on the company’s all-new scalable product architecture (SPA), the first all-new platform to come from Gothenburg since Ford sold the Swedish brand to China’s Geely in 2010. After initially being available only with boosted four-cylinder engines, the XC90 is now the first regular production plug-in model Volvo is offering in America and I recently spent a week driving one. Read the rest of the review here 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

NHTSA Moves Ahead With V2V Mandate

More than two years after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) first issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking to mandate vehicle to vehicle (V2V) to communications in the U.S. the agency is finally ready to move forward. Following an extended comment and testing period, NHTSA today published the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for what is expected to become Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 150. Read the rest of the article 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

2017 Audi A4 2.0T Quattro – Autobahn Born and Bred

In Episode 5, Dan and I discussed the 2017 Audi A4 and now my full written review is available. Read the full review here [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