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A car writer's year in new vehicles [w/video]

Christmas is only a week away. The New Year is just around the corner. As 2014 draws to a close, I'm not the only one taking stock of the year that's we're almost shut of. Depending on who you are or what you do, the end of the year can bring to mind tax bills, school semesters or scheduling dental appointments. For me, for the last eight or nine years, at least a small part of this transitory time is occupied with recalling the cars I've driven over the preceding 12 months. Since I started writing about and reviewing cars in 2006, I've done an uneven job of tracking every vehicle I've been in, each year. Last year I made a resolution to be better about it, and the result is a spreadsheet with model names, dates, notes and some basic facts and figures. Armed with this basic data and a yen for year-end stories, I figured it would be interesting to parse the figures and quantify my year in cars in a way I'd never done before. The results are, well, they're a little bizarre, honestly. And I think they'll affect how I approach this gig in 2015. {C} My tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015 it'll be as high as 73. Let me give you a tiny bit of background about how automotive journalists typically get cars to test. There are basically two pools of vehicles I drive on a regular basis: media fleet vehicles and those available on "first drive" programs. The latter group is pretty self-explanatory. Journalists are gathered in one location (sometimes local, sometimes far-flung) with a new model(s), there's usually a day of driving, then we report back to you with our impressions. Media fleet vehicles are different. These are distributed to publications and individual journalists far and wide, and the test period goes from a few days to a week or more. Whereas first drives almost always result in a piece of review content, fleet loans only sometimes do. Other times they serve to give context about brands, segments, technology and the like, to editors and writers. So, adding up the loans I've had out of the press fleet and things I've driven at events, my tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015, it'll be as high as 73. At one of the buff books like Car and Driver or Motor Trend, reviewers might rotate through five cars a week, or more. I know that number sounds high, but as best I can tell, it's pretty average for the full-time professionals in this business.

FCA recalls 894k total vehicles worldwide in two campaigns

FCA is recalling a total of 893,698 vehicles worldwide in two campaigns to fix problems with inadvertent airbag deployment, failure of the anti-lock brakes, and stability control systems in the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Liberty, Dodge Journey, and Fiat Freemont. 559,703 of these vehicles are in the US. The larger recall affects 284,089 examples of the 2003 Jeep Liberty and 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and there are also 13,411 of them in Canada, 6,277 in Mexico, and 48,212 outside the NAFTA region. Because of "electrical noise beyond the tolerance of the airbag electronic control module", part of that component can fail, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This can cause the front and side airbags to deploy and the seatbelt pre-tensioners to activate inadvertently. FCA US has seven reports of alleged injuries from this problem. To fix the situation, the Jeeps need their Occupant Restraint Control modules replaced, as well as the front- and side-impact sensors. According to the NHTSA, the replacement parts won't be available until early 2016. Still, FCA US will advise owners about the problem in a letter by the end of December and will send a second notification when the components are ready. The second campaign affects 275,614 examples of the 2012-2015 Dodge Journey in the US; plus 78,148 of them in Canada, 36,471 in Mexico, and 151,476 left-hand drive units outside of NAFTA where it's sold as the Fiat Freemont. On these vehicles, water intrusion can disable the anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control, although a warning light often illuminates when this issue occurs, and the problem doesn't affect regular braking. There are also no reports of injuries or accidents. To fix the issue, dealers will seal the ABS wiring harness and will replace any already affected components as necessary, like the ABS module or the headlamp and dashboard wiring harness. Statement: Occupant Restraint Control Modules October 30, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC is voluntarily recalling an estimated 284,089 older-model SUVs in the U.S. to replace their Occupant Restraint Control (ORC) modules and front and/or side-impact sensors, as required. Within this vehicle population, FCA US became aware of seven injuries caused by inadvertent air-bag deployments and advised NHTSA accordingly. The affected vehicles are not equipped with Takata Corp. air-bags. The Company is unaware of any related accidents.

Dodge Challenger Hellcat valet mode angers parking attendant

I spent over three years as a valet. It was good money and an excellent second job when I was getting my start as a writer – ten hours per week at the small restaurant I worked for was good for anywhere from $150 to $250. Over those years, I can say with absolute confidence I never goofed off in someone's car. Unfortunately, not all valets are so trustworthy. Like these idiots. Apparently, a Dodge Challenger Hellcat owner captured the valets at Universal Studios in Florida on his dashcam messing about behind the wheel of his 707-horsepower muscle car. One valet is behind the wheel and there's another riding shotgun as they aimlessly wander about the parking lot, lamenting the fact that the owner (wisely) engaged valet mode before handing over the keys. "We can't do anything," they whine. The owner, for his part, seemed pretty cool about the whole thing, writing in the YouTube description that he purposely kicked up the exposure at the end of the video to hide the identities of the valets. He also added that they didn't do anything wrong – this former valet agrees to disagree, based on the over four minutes it takes to actually park the car – and that he was thankful for valet mode. You can check out the video above – be warned, though, there is some language in it. And remember, if you valet your car, use valet mode, check the odometer when you drop off and pick up, and if everything checks out, give the poor guys a tip. Want more recent Hellcat news? Check out the Wrangler Trailcat concept headed to the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, photos of a possible Hellcat HD Ram pickup, and spy shots of the Hellcat-engined Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. It's been a good week for 707-hp Mopars. Related Video: