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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.

Ford delays North American production restart from coronavirus lockdown

Ford said on Tuesday it was postponing its plan to restart production at its North American plants due to safety concerns for its workers amid the coronavirus pandemic. To generate cash, the No. 2 U.S. automaker had said last week it was poised to restart production at some plants in North America as early as April 6, bringing back such profitable vehicles as its top-selling F-150 full-sized pickup, the Transit commercial van and SUVs. But on Tuesday, Ford said it had been aiming to resume production at several key U.S. plants on April 14, but would now instead do so at dates it would announce later on. "The health and safety of our workforce, dealers, customers, partners and communities remains our highest priority," Kumar Galhotra, president of Ford's North American operations, said in a statement. Still, the automaker will open a plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan, during the week of April 20, that will make ventilators to treat patients afflicted by the coronavirus. Rival Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said last week it plans to resume production in North America on April 13. General Motors has shuttered its plants indefinitely and has not provided a date for vehicle production to restart. It is facing a delay in the production launch of its redesigned large SUVs and is delaying work on other SUVs. "Once it is safe to resume production, we will do so," a GM spokesman said. As of Monday, Volkswagen was shooting for an April 5 reopening at its Tennessee plant. Honda, Nissan and Subaru facilities in North America will remain closed through April 6, and Hyundai through April 10. Toyota was planning to reopen its North American plants April 17. Plants/Manufacturing Chrysler Fiat Ford GM coronavirus

Facelifted 2019 Fiat 500X features new lights front and rear

Jeep has been testing an updated 2019 Jeep Renegade, so it should come as no surprise that its Fiat-badged cousin, the 500X, is also going to be refreshed for 2019. The new Fiat has finally been spotted, testing alongside the Jeep, and it's going to be a mild update. Most of the changes appear to be in the lights. Up front, the headlights and the fog lights appear to be sleeker. The main headlights have been slimmed down a bit. The fog lights have shrunk all around and have lost a little bit of the roundness of the current model. At the back, the taillights retain the same shape, but they have much more depth now. Instead of having a smooth round plastic housing, the lights are concave, starting with a red outer ring. Inside that is a clear ring that may be turn signals and/or reverse lights. Then, in the center, at the deepest level, is a light we're not totally able to identify. It does appear to have lights arranged in a plus shape. It may just be a basic taillight that stays on with the headlights. We expect the 500X to be revealed sometime this year. Considering how little is changed on the outside, we're not expecting any major changes to the powertrain, which includes either a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder or a naturally aspirated 2.4-liter four-cylinder. The former is currently only available with front-wheel drive and a six-speed manual, and the 2.4-liter engine is available with front- or all-wheel drive but only with a nine-speed automatic. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 Fiat 500X spy shots View 16 Photos Spy Photos Fiat Crossover SUV Economy Cars fiat 500x