Articles
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Forbidden Fruit, Found: 1988 Toyota Land Cruiser BJ73
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A Series 70 Land Cruiser is a wonderful thing. We don’t get them though, which is sad. The 70 Series arrived in the mid 1980’s to replace the aging 40 Series trucks. Toyota wanted a version of its Land Cruiser to retain the tough, off-road capability of the versions that came before. Yes, the 60…
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2020 Toyota Corolla is all about #savethemanuals – but will you buy it?
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The Corolla sedan is all new for 2020. The big news is the availability of a hybrid system, a first for a Corolla. The less known fact is that the SE has a special version with a manual transmission called, drumroll, “SE 6MT”. Manual Corollas are nothing new except for the fact that the sticks…
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Hooniverse Asks: Do we still need inline six-cylinder engine options?
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This past week, I’ve been driving a 2020 Range Rover Sport HST. Those three letters on the end signify a unique powertrain setup under the hood. This Rover is fitted with a 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine. It’s paired with a turbocharger and a 48V mild-hybrid setup as well. The output is 395 horsepower and 406…
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I want to buy a Toyota GranAce
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It has never happened in the last couple of years that I saw a press release about a new car and actually wanted it. Toyota announced today that they are bringing to market an MPV slotted above the HiAce. Introducing the 2020 Toyota GranAce. The name is taking its meaning from the Spanish “gran” =…
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Out with the old: Bye-bye blue Benz
Some thoughts on the old beast/
Time, she is a flying. I bought my 1974 Mercedes-Benz 280 sedan back in the spring of 2017. The plan was to replace my 1965 Ford F100 with a machine that would accept a car seat. And still be old. Since Benz built tanks back in the day, the 280 sedan got the green light…
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Hooniverse Asks: Can a CUV be a good off-roader? I’m about to find out
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When Honda first showed its new 2019 Passport SUV they made no secrets that this was the vehicle was targeting the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Toyota 4Runner. If that seems absurd it’s because Grand Cherokee and 4Runner are very different vehicles than the Passport, even if their two-box designs and size seem similar. The…
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Ten Years Later: If Anyone Needs Me, I’m in the Garage
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So, first of all, Hooniverse came into existence October 1st, but our first post went live October 8th. I’m not late; everyone else was just early. I figure enough time has passed that I can give an unfiltered version of Hooniverse’s origins. To get a few things out of the way up front: 1) Rob…
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Yakima’s new platform rack and fishing gear transport
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When you’re serious about a roof rack, going with a platform rack is the only way. One can only do so much with some bars attached rails or pedestals. Platform racks provide a wider, flat mounting surface which yields not only more usable space but also additional means of securing cargo. A solid platform also…
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Alex Roy’s record run documentary “Apex” finally set for release
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In 2007, Alex Roy and Dave Maher drove across the United States. They left New York City and arrived in California, needing just 31 hours and 4 minutes to make the trip. That record has since been broken, but it was a big deal when Roy and Maher made their mad dash across the country.…
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Hooniverse Asks: Which bad car has the best owner base?
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A few weeks back, I asked you which good car has the worst owner base. It seems a lot of us feel the same way about Tesla owners at the moment. Others offered up Corvette owners, while Porsche 911 and Harley-Davidson owners seemed to round out the rest of the general consensus. Today I want…
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The “base” C8 Corvette Coupe can be optioned to over $100k
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Bored last night, I decided to toy around with the 2020 Corvette C8 Coupe configurator. It’s been live for a while now but I haven’t played with it much. And with pricing available, I figured it would be fun to subject Chevy’s newest performance halo car to the “how high can the MSRP go?” game.…
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Tanner Foust sips the season-ending champagne to claim the 2019 ARX championship
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The 2019 Americas Rallycross season has come to a close. This marks the second year for the fledgling rally racing series, and we have two different champions for both years. Scott Speed won it all in 2018. He had a nasty jump this year that put him the hospital and opened the door for the…
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The News for October 4th, 2019
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Welcome to the Hooniverse News! As always, this is a weekly recap of the biggest stories in the automotive industry without the fluff or bull. This week, Chevrolet debuts C8.R set for GTLM competition next year, Mazda joins the fun in TCR with the Mazda3, Chevrolet upgrades the Corvette Convertible with a folding hard top, and YOUR…
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The final word on Dodge splitter guards: Remove them!
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Friend of Hooniverse Brian Makse was just at the launch event for Dodge’s new widebody Charger Hellcat. While there, he produced a video highlighting the design details of the car. He grabbed Mark Trostle to walk him through the bits and pieces that make the look of the new widebody sedan special. Mark is the…
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Stop flipping your headrests around
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I have seen it so many times now; people removing the headrests in their seats, flipping them around, and inserting them backwards. The reason for that is simple – comfort. A lot of the new cars have headrests that are tilted forward, so much so that at times it feel like they’re pushing on the…
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We try out Cadillac Super Cruise
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Cadillac Super Cruise is basically very fancy cruise control, and it works well. We hopped behind the wheel of a Cadillac CT6 fitted with the tech, and put it to work. How’d it do? Click play and see for yourself! [Disclaimer: Cadillac tossed us the keys to its Super Cruise-equipped CT6 and included a tank…