Articles
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The News for July 12th, 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, Aston Martin and Zagato debut two stunning new coach-built wonders, Bentley talks future grand touring with an AI-controlled EV, and Robert Wickens is driving a parade lap before an IndyCar…
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Good Vibes: A flight into NVH
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I was absolutely delighted when I found it was a JetRanger. When my dad invited me as his +1 on a pleasure flight he received as a birthday present, I was fearful that it would be a Robinson R44 – the aviation equivalent of a Toyota Camry. A JetRanger, though, and a 1986 example at…
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2019 Mazda CX-5 Signature: Almost Famous
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Last year when I drove and reviewed this latest generation of CX-5 I gave it a favorable review as one of the best in its segment. That is, as long as you could deal with the engine, which was grossly underpowered. Of course, up sprung the apologists who claimed that the normally aspirated motor provided…
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I Replaced My Recalled Takata Airbag, You Should Too
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Any letter in the mail with “Saab” written as the return address will surely raise an eyebrow. Three will make you alert. This was the third “URGENT TAKATA AIRBAG SAFETY RECALL” notice bearing. Stubbornly rolling my eyes, I plugged in my 9-2x’s VIN on the NHTSA’s website to double-check. My car was in fact, stricken by…
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Your new Jeep will be late but the new roll-bars work well
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The delivery of your new Jeep Gladiator may take a little longer. A 33-car train derailed near Caliente, Nevada, on Wednesday. The derailment was so severe that the rail cars came completely off the rails, rolled over, and the train accordioned into a big pile. In those rail cars were cars, as in passenger vehicles, mostly pickup…
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2019 Acura NSX: Updated & revisited
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It’s kind of crazy to think that the current Acura NSX has been on sale for three years now. In that time it has proven itself to be quite a great sports car, if somewhat understated and possibly overshadowed by the world’s current lineup of so-called hyper-cars. And that is really unfair as this is…
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About that new turbocharged Wrangler engine…
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I used to own a TJ Wrangler with the 2.5-liter AMC four cylinder engine. It was a rather crappy engine, with all of 120hp on tap. On a good day, going downhill with tail wind, my soft-toped, 5-speed (3-speed automatic was optional!) Jeep could almost hit a speedo-indicated 75mph. The 4.0-liter in-line six was the…
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Hooniverse Asks: What’s your favorite body style and why?
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Truck. Wagon. Hatchback. Sedan. Coupe. Sportbrake. Crossover? Seriously, what is your favorite body style? If you say any style with the word “coupe” where the actual vehicle has more than two doors… we will consider banning you from this website.
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Romain Dumas destroys Goodwood record in the Volkswagen ID.R
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Way back in 1999, Nick Heidfeld drove the wheels of a McLaren MP4/13. He was racing along the Goodwood Hill Climb course during the Festival of Speed. Heidfeld set an amazing time of 41.60 seconds. That time stood tall as the fastest run… until 2019, when it’s been unseated by an electric race car. The…
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The Goodwood FOS hill climb… virtually, courtesy of Jimmy Broadbent
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Jimmy Broadbent, for those unaware, is a YouTuber who focuses on all sorts of racing games. He’s quite good at them too, even when spouting off hilarious bits of whatever pops into his head while still talking about the racing line on which he’s traveling. His latest video focuses on the insanity that is the…
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Hooniverse Asks: What car did you love but then hate once you drove it?
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Jeff and I were chatting sometime ago about his Montero. I was supposed to be in the LA area a few weeks back and offered to loan it to me for my time there. I never drove one but I always kind of, sort of, liked them. My father had a big poster of the…
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Last Call: Instant Infrastructure Improvement
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From the Massachusetts State Police: Ramp from Rte 128 northbound to Rte 95 northbound closed for extended period due to liquid asphalt truck rollover. No other vehicles involved. Non life-threatening injuries to the operator. This, folks is an easy and fast way of immediately upgrading all our roads. Spill so liquid asphalt, enough to cover…
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Who will be next to redefine the car?
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The black car you see silhouetted above, doesn’t exist. It’s a symbol — a graphical representation of A Car — and was devised in 1964 when the UK’s current system of road signage was dreamt up. The idea of it depicting any specific model of car was rejected in favour of something generic that wouldn’t…
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2019 Genesis G70 – This one is really good…
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Our attention was initially grabbed when Kia rolled out the Stinger. Now we’re paying even more attention because Genesis has a sports sedan of its own. The Genesis G70 is one sweet machine. You have to get the twin-turbocharged V6. You have to ignore the manual gearbox that’s offered and get the automatic. And you…
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New Shirt Alert! Time to spin the black circle
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We’ve got a fresh shirt for you. This one just landed in our Blipshift store, and we think you’re going to like it. Like our last shirt, this one sticks with our love of music. It also incorporates something we love doing when behind the wheel of pretty much any vehicle out there. Spin the…
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Pikes Peak 2019: The photographer’s perspective
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The second oldest race in America doesn’t need an introduction but, the intense week leading to race day does. This is my 16th consecutive year at Pikes Peak, and each year I’m blown away at what the competitors deal with to get to the line on race day. “Peak Week” starts with tech inspection on…