The Trailhawk trim, with its off-road tires and red-painted tow hooks, is the Jeep fan’s jewel of the 2020 Jeep Cherokee lineup. But it isn’t the most popular model—that’d be the mid-level Latitude trim. Now, those (many) who are looking for a Latitude but with a more premium feel have someplace to turn: The 2020 Cherokee Latitude Lux, a new trim level boasting leather seats and other upscale standard features for a pretty reasonable $31,395.
The new trim, first reported by MoparInsiders.com, builds on the ever-growing Latitude series (there is Latitude, Latitude Plus, and now this!). It adds a host of standard features above the $29,090 Latitude Plus, including heated front seats, leather seat upholstery, power lumbar for the passenger, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, remote start, rain-sensitive windshield wipers, and a windshield wiper de-icer. On the safety front, Jeep tosses in forward collision warning with automated emergency braking and a lane departure warning system. That’s [...]
The Humvee is an iconic military vehicle that has been at the center of many conflicts the world over the past 30 years or so. It’s also been at the center of a legal conflict between its manufacturer, AM General, and the video game developer Activision Blizzard—the company behind the Call of Duty first-person shooter series. Those games feature HMMWVs—Humvees—and, AM General alleges, have been helping Activision reap billions in revenue using their famous vehicle.
The trademark infringement case might seem pretty cut-and-dried to a casual observer. Humvee is a trademark of AM General, and Activision didn’t use the vehicle in its games with the company’s permission. But, the thing is, the First Amendment gives those who produce creative works—books, movies, and video games—broad leeway to use trademarks in their works. Basically, the judge in the case ruled, Activision’s use isn’t misleading. It’s integral to the company’s attempt to produce an accurate, realistic portrayal of [...]
If you go to Tesla’s website to order a car today, you’ll find that a new upcoming feature for the brand’s Full Self-Driving Capability (a $7000 add-on promising autonomous capability in the future, but not now). Is it full self-driving? No. But the new addition, dubbed “Recognize and respond to traffic lights and stop signs” is a step toward FSD’s promised autonomous capabilities, even if it’s not yet been officially rolled out.
What does the still-beta-phase feature do? Just what you’d expect, given its name: It allows Teslas to “see” traffic signals and and stop signs—essentially, detect intersections—and respond accordingly. This was put on display on Out of Spec Motoring’s YouTube channel, which shared a video of a Tesla Model 3 automatically stopping for a red light with Autopilot engaged and also claiming it halted at stop sign. Arresting, for sure, but Tesla hadn’t—and still hasn’t—announced anything about this new FSD component rolling out to [...]
It’s hard to believe Mazda’s been building cars for 100 years. Wait, it hasn’t. Then what’s all this talk about Mazda’s 100th anniversary? Despite only building its first four-wheeled passenger car a mere 60 years ago, Mazda’s been in the business of building various things (be it corks or three-wheeled motorcycles) for a grand total of 100 years. No surprise, then, that the Japanese automaker wants to celebrate such a feat.
One way it’s doing so is via a 100th Anniversary Special Edition trim for its various cars and crossover SUVs. Mazda thus far hasn’t committed to offering the special models in the United States, but we imagine they’ll be confirmed for American consumption at some point.
Those in other parts of the world, though, will soon have the opportunity to drive off in a Mazda that shares styling cues with the company’s original four-wheeled passenger car: [...]
The automotive landscape is constantly changing, with makes and models coming and going at all times. But there are a few nameplates that continue to be renewed generation after generation. Here are 14 of the longest-running nameplates in the U.S.
Honda Accord
In 1976, Honda introduced a compact car that was larger than the Civic. The company chose the name “Accord” because its goal with the model was to achieve harmony between society, people, and the automobiles amid the 1970s oil crisis. The first-gen Accord was offered as a hatchback, with a sedan model added in 1979. Many different body styles have been offered since then, including coupes, wagons, and the crossover-like Crosstour, but the Accord is at its best as a midsize sedan.
BMW 3-Series
It’s hard to imagine a time when there wasn’t a BMW 3-Series, but before 1975, [...]
