NASCAR’s newest Next Gen cars may be designed to make these vehicles as symmetrical as possible, but some teams have already found a way around the rules. During this week’s test session at Daytona International Speedway, some cars have been running some fairly excessive skew — and right now, it could very well be totally legal.

Basically, skew refers to the angled nature of the NASCAR Cup Series car. The front end looks like it’s pointing in a different direction than the car is actually going, which gives the whole thing a sort of crab-walk look. The rear axle is mounted on a skew when compared to the whole chassis. For…….

The speed by which electric vehicles have taken over Norway has stunned even the cars’ enthusiasts. [Asya Demidova/The New York Times]

Last year, Norway reached a milestone. Only about 8% of new cars sold in the country ran purely on conventional gasoline or diesel fuel. Two-thirds of new cars sold were electric, and most of the rest were electric-and-gasoline hybrids.

For years, Norway has been the world leader in shifting away from traditional cars, thanks to government benefits that made electric vehicles far more affordable and offered extras like letting electric car owners skip some fees for parking and toll roads.

Still, electric car enthusiasts are stunne…….

They may ride just fine, but older drivers’ “retirement vehicles” lack many key safety systems.

Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

It’s almost a cliché, the sight of a aged motorist who can barely peer over the steering wheel, driving a well-kept, yet still dated older car. While holding onto a vehicle as long as possible can be a financial necessity, especially for those who are on fixed retirement incomes, it’s far from being the safest choice.

As it is, statistics show that elderly motorists are less likely to survive a serious crash than any other age group. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS),…….

Screenshot: YouTube

The dude that fought hordes of the undead with a chainsaw hand had to start somewhere, right? Well, in the case of actor Bruce Campbell (who research suggests may not actually have a chainsaw hand in real life?), that start seems to be doing films for automakers like Chrysler, and interacting with an actual, genuine Ford Tempo. Don’t just take my word — Bruce told us himself!

Here’s what Mr. Campbell told us, via Tweet, a sort of modern electric telegram that can include moving pictures and gramophone-quality audio:

Wow! Bruce Campbell’s first acting gig was as a …….

MARTA asked, you answered, and starting next year, the first batch of more than 250 new, modern rail cars will pull into a station near you.

Why it matters: Most of MARTA’s current stock of cars are older than 40 years old, and years of use, repairs, and getting wrapped in ads for personal injury attorneys can take their toll.

MARTA will spend $646 million on the new cars with cash from its capital programs budget, agency spokesperson Stephany Fisher tells Axios.

Flashback: Last year, MARTA asked the public to pick its favorite design for the next fleet of heavy rail cars.

Riders picked the minimalist exterior — the sleek design gives the sense of speed, MARTA said…….

Don’t make the mistakes that I or others have made. My poor Mercedes.Photo: Lalita Chemello

I’m not sure about you, but as a car person, I occasionally receive those texts or calls from friends, co-workers and the like that ask, “Hey, this happened with my car… is this bad?” In many cases, the problem is a simple fix that may require a quick trip to the auto part store or a mechanic. Sometimes, it’s a little more. And in many cases, an expensive issue could likely have been prevented, if they knew just a tiny, tiny bit about cars.

I received my most recent example of this text Sunday morning. One of my good frie…….

Image: American Motors Corporation

Everyone knows that weight is the enemy of car design, and yet oddly, in the 1970s, American automakers actually bragged about their vehicles being heavier than the competition. The whole thing is unbelievably idiotic and serves as just another reminder of the sad state of American cars during that era.

At Chrysler, where I used to work, folks would often talk about “Vehicle Demand Energy,” or the energy needed to move a vehicle down the road at a given speed and in different conditions. Things that affect VDE are aerodynamics, rolling resistance, and weight.

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Topline

Though long-rising gas and meat prices are finally starting to cool off, surging prices for a slew of critical goods—including used cars, food and housing—helped inflation notch a new 39-year high in December, reflecting the supply chain constraints still crippling the market amid red-hot consumer demand.

Meat prices fell for the first time in seven months, but used cars and trucks are now headlining a … [+] decades-high spike in inflation.

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Key Facts

Though concerns over the highly contagious omicron variant helped energy prices fall last month for the firs…….

Enlarge / The Porsche Taycan is one of the few new cars to exhibit anything we might recognize as steering feel. That wasn’t always the case.

Andrew Hedrick

In almost every regard, new cars are better than they’ve been at any time in their history. They’re safer than they used to be—though that is less true for women. Powertrains, particularly battery electric ones, are more powerful and more efficient, which helps to compensate for the extra weight of that added safety equipment. Vehicles are far more reliable, at least for their first 100,000 miles, and even cheap cars come with standard equipment that would seem like science fiction to drive…….

2021 was an unusual year for the automotive industry. While customer demand for new cars rebounded from the economic uncertainty of 2020, automakers found themselves unable to meet that demand because of semiconductor chip shortages and supply chain problems, and prices for both new and used cars skyrocketed. 

So what should car shoppers expect for 2022? Much of the same, unfortunately.

“Competition for new vehicles will be fierce as inventory shortages persist in 2022,” said Ivan Drury, senior manager of insights for the auto website Edmunds.

Along with shortages and supply chain issues, drivers also have inflation to thank for continued price hikes for cars i…….