2016 Fiat 500X, Bear Mountain State Park, NY, May 2015
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From The Car Connection: Ford F-150 tops pickup crash-test ratings; Ram 1500 needs improvement
Full-size pickup trucks, some might argue, have squared up the past few years. The competition is tight, and they’re ever closer in profile, appearance, and size, and hauling ability.
2016 Fiat 500X review
The Fiat 500X is brand-new this year, and Fiat says it brings good road manners, perfect urban size, excellent fuel economy, and cut-above safety technology to the growing class of small SUVs, which includes the Chevy Trax and Buick Encore, the Jeep Renegade (a platform-mate of the 500X) and soon will include the likes of the Honda HR-V and Mazda CX-3.
Volkswagen Dieselgate update: Fix deadline may pass again, Mercedes sued for diesel cheating, too
It’s tough to keep up with all the news about Volkswagen’s 11 million illegally equipped diesels, so we’ve summed up some of the biggest Dieselgate stories of the past week.
2017 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet – First Drive, April 2016
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From Motor Authority: 2017 Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet first drive review
Talk up the feel of the wind in your hair and the natural high of sunshine as you will; but in the world of convertibles, there are those that cruise the scene, and there are those that help make the scene.
Mazzanti EV-R to feature twin-turbo V-8, 2.7-second 0-60 time
Mazzanti is about to launch a new supercar, one that could be faster and more powerful than anything we’ve previously seen from an Italian firm, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Pagani included.
BMW launches ReachNow car- and ride-sharing service
BMW’s DriveNow car-sharing program receives a new name in the United States: ReachNow. In other markets, the program is still being called DriveNow but the rebranded ReachNow is ready to roll in the U.S., with the first city on the list being Seattle, Washington.
From Green Car Reports: 2016 Dodge Dart lineup cut to 3 models as small sedan simplifies
As part of its revised, five-year plan, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) announced in January that it will end production of its smallest sedan, the compact Dodge Dart. Along with the Chrysler 200 mid-size sedan, the Dart will be phased out rather than replaced, to free up production capacity for trucks and SUVs.
Could Uber be the best form of mass transit: disruption or dysfunction?
A Florida city has become the nation’s—and presumably the world’s—first to subsidize Uber rides beginning or ending within its borders. Altamonte Springs, a suburb of Orlando, will cover 20 percent of any ride that starts or finishes within its city limits.
Reusing electric-car batteries: great idea, lots of practical challenges
In theory, it’s a wonderful concept: once their tenure in an electric car is over, lithium-ion battery packs with as much as 70 percent of their energy capacity remaining can be sold and reused. In practice, however—especially at scale—the idea turns out to have some practical challenges that must be overcome.
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