CarMax, the nation’s largest used car retailer, is in hot water following accusations for selling recalled cars, according to an official statement released by the Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety.
In CARS’ latest press release, the group warns against buying used cars from CarMax. CARS alleges the company sold and “continues to sell unsafe, defective recalled cars.”
The group, or CARS in short, is an award-winning, non-profit organization advocating for automotive safety. It campaigns for the enactment of new safety laws to protect buyers of both new and used cars.
Click here for more news on Takata airbags.
This includes the sale of “vehicles with dangerous Takata air bags that have been linked to 10 deaths and over 100 injuries.” The statement is a follow up to allegations from 2015, where CarMax was first accused of selling Takata-tainted vehicles.
If you are left searching for a used car, AutoNation provides plenty of options, thanks to its extensive network of hundreds of dealerships around the country.
More importantly, AutoNation does not sell recalled vehicles. In fact, AutoNation is the only major automotive retailer that guarantees all cars sold are recall-free.
– By: egmCarTech Staff
Chevrolet’s in the midst of launching their new, highly-touted, high-performance Camaro ZL1 for 2017. Just last week, we heard the new ZL1 would come with 650hp and 650 lb-ft of torque from an all-new, supercharged 6.2L LT4 V8, thanks to a leaked ordering guide on some Camaro enthusiast forums.
To clear the air of any uncertainty, Chevrolet themselves issued a statement to confirm the Camaro ZL1’s power rating, in addition to its MSRP price. That said, if you wanted to land a brand new 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 in your driveway, you’ll have to set aside $62,135 to start, for the six-speed manual-equipped coupe. Should you be too lazy to row your own, the ZL1 comes with an all-new 10-speed automatic.
If you want to forgo the fixed roof option for the Camaro ZL1 convertible, that will hike the starting price up to $69,135.
Continue Reading
Ever hear of the brand Skoda? Probably not, and it’s not your fault. It is a small automaker that’s based in the Czech Republic and is owned by Volkswagen AG. Basically, they get by producing cars that are essentially restyled or reengineered Audis and Volkswagens. But they’re also on the more affordable side, winning some positive remarks throughout the European market as of recent.
For example, the Skoda Superb, is not just trying to loosely exude excellence without any substance just from its name. Top Gear UK, one of the hardest car outlets to impress, even went as far as calling the Superb an honest Audi A6 competitor, but for nearly half the price. The story is pretty much the same for the rest of the cars Skoda makes. The only thing with the Superb sedan is, we’re not sure as to why they’re calling it the Superb Hatch.
Anyway, because Skoda’s marking well in their respective home market, Volkswagen and Skoda themselves are debating on whether it’s a good idea or not to start expanding and selling cars in the U.S. market.
Continue Reading
Aston Martin’s in a bind right now given the fact that the company is facing a bit of an identity crisis as they seek to completely overhaul their lineup for the next generation of vehicles. Although Aston Martin has been able to more or less survive as a low production volume, high-end sports and luxury car maker, the times are simply changing and the competition is making it significantly harder for them to rely on their old formula.
So now, Aston and their executives are trying to figure out which course of action to take to make sure they can survive the onslaught of stiff competition.
The ultra-luxury and super high-end automakers have been getting a lot of attention and boost in popularity because many of them are beginning to branch out and produce cars they’d never would’ve made back in the early days. For example, Bentley produced their first crossover SUV, while Lamborghini is currently developing theirs. Porsche has had a few over the years, and Ferrari resorted to making oddballs like the FF shooting brake.
Even Aston themselves are looking into a new luxury sedan and luxury crossover.
Point being, even exclusive automakers are seeing the benefit to expanding their offerings, such as jumping on the crossover trend train, simply because crossovers sell like hotcakes, no matter the market.
Continue Reading
Volkswagen might be getting constantly kicked down for their Dieselgate scandal, but that’s not stopping them from shifting all of their efforts to produce more electric vehicles.
In fact, Volkswagen AG’s plans are so ambitious, AutomotiveNews reports VW could produce as many as 30 different EV models by 2025, which is becoming a possibility thanks to the development of three new platforms.
This seems like a move to counteract all of the negative happenings from the Dieselgate issue and in all truthness, that’s what it appears to really be. The program has been coined, “Strategy 2025,” and the plan was recently outlined at one of Michigan’s CAR Management Briefing Seminars, by Volkswagen Group of America’s chief engineer, Matthais Erb.
Continue Reading
Earlier this year at the 2016 Chicago Auto Show, Toyota revealed the latest rendition of their Tacoma TRD Pro pickup truck, which is modeled after the original TRD Pro trim revealed on the last generation Tacoma.
Geared towards the off-road enthusiast, the Tacoma TRD Pro comes with a nice list of upgrades to give it more of an all-terrain edge. It starts life as a standard Double Cab model with a manual transmission. The Tacoma is then given a slew of visual and functional upgrades, such as an upgraded suspension with a one-inch wider track, a one-inch lift in height at the front, and lots of TRD-exclusive branded parts and badges.
The insides receive a lot of upgrades to match the theme. You do get some slight technical upgrades too, such as TRD-tuned springs and shocks, a quarter-inch thick alunimum skid plate to protect the undergarments, and a TRD cat-back exhaust. There’s also an optimized four-wheel drive system, electronic locking rear differential, traction control, and hill-start assist. But all this stuff could already be found on the non-Pro Tacoma TRD Off-Road model.
Continue Reading
Elvis Presley might be known as the “King of Rock and Roll,” but he is also known for being a really avid car enthusiast and an individual who wouldn’t be seen in anything less than a fancy Cadillac or Ford. It’s why you think of him when someone mentions a “pink Cadillac.”
While his ownership history consists mostly of gorgeous American land yachts, one unique car he owned was a BMW 507, which he accidentally leased during his U.S. Army deployment in Germany for the price of $3,750 USD, or the equivalent to around $31,300 in modern day money with inflation adjustments. The price for a brand-new 1958 BMW 507 roadster was $7,160 USD, or close to the modern $60,000 value.
That car recently underwent a significant down-to-the-bone restoration through BMW’s Classic center, and the company just revealed the final result.
Continue Reading
Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles is facing a total PR-nightmare following the recall of their badly designed transmission shifters in recent cars, like the 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee that unfortunately killed actor Anton Yelchin. Now, his family just filed a lawsuit against Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles for a wrongful death in relation to the recall.
Yelchin was one of the highest-profile incidents involved with FCA’s recent recall for the shifter design when his Jeep rolled away and pinned him against a brick pillar and gate this past June.
Along with the Jeep Grand Cherokee, around 1.1 million FCA products were also recalled because of the faulty shifter design, citing this specific safety issue of accidental rollaways.
Continue Reading
Kia is in the midst of overhauling their entire lineup, including a new Rio entry-level group of models to succeed the current offerings. The Rio is most known as the company’s subcompact hatchback, a car that competes with the likes of the Honda Fit, Ford Fiesta, and the Chevrolet Sonic, just to name a few.
But a Rio hatchback won’t be the only variant returning for the next generation as AutoExpress says Kia will be adding a crossover variant as well. It doesn’t stop there because further rumors indicate said Rio crossover could even come with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, providing an interesting alternative to Toyota’s popular Prius variants. So yes, this means Kia is pretty much planning a smaller crossover to sit below the already compact Soul and that new Niro.
The next-gen Rio is anticipated for a reveal in October at the Paris Auto Show and the plug-in hybrid powertrain in question is rumored to be sourced from the recent Kia Niro hybrid compact crossover, consisting of a 1.6L naturally-aspirated four-banger with an electric motor mated to it, to net a combined output of 141hp and 195 lb-ft of twist. Electricity is stored in a 1.56-kWh lithium-ion polymer battery pack.
Continue Reading
Remember those guys who hacked a 2014 Jeep Cherokee and were featured on Wired as a way to raise awareness over security of software-based car control systems? Well, they’re back and they recently hacked a Jeep again to see how far they could go in a second attempt.
Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek programmed their way into the centralized computer systems in the same 2014 Jeep Cherokee as last time and were able to compromise the operation of some very vital parts again, but to a greater degree.
In the original experiment with Wired, the security researchers gained control of the Cherokee wirelessly, causing a bunch of systems to go haywire after they uploaded malicious code from 10 miles away. With enough digging, they were even able to disable both the brakes and the transmission since both are electronically controlled.
This forced Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles to recall nearly 1.4 million vehicles to issue a software update to patch the weak spots in the software of their UConnect infotainment system.
Continue Reading
