92 Flying Miata Turbo on 2040-cars

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A case for the Eclipse Cross | Autoblog Podcast #508

On this week's podcast, Mike Austin joins David Gluckman to new cars they're driving and supercars that have just dropped. Mike also stands up for the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross in the face of some negativity, and the episode wraps up with the traditional doling out of Spend My Money buying advice. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast at autoblog dot com. (If you record audio of a question with your phone and get it to us, you could hear your very own voice on the podcast. Neat, right?) And if you have other questions or comments, please send those too. Autoblog Podcast #508 Topics and stories we mention Our long-term Mazda Miata Honda Civic Hatchback Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross Geneva Motor Show coverage Used cars! Rundown Intro - 00:00 What we're driving - 02:15 Eclipse Cross and Geneva Show recap - 16:45 Spend My Money - 43:58 Total Duration: 56:27 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show on iTunes Podcasts Geneva Motor Show Honda Jeep Mazda Mitsubishi 2017 Geneva Motor Show honda civic hatchback mitsubishi eclipse cross

Cars with the most reckless drivers are full of surprises

Insurify is a site for comparing auto insurance quotes. Because insurance shoppers need to submit information like the vehicles they're driving and the infractions they've compiled while driving those vehicles, Insurify has quite the database of correlations tying certain models to a habit of breaking certain laws. When the site's data analysts decided to compile a list of the top ten models for reckless driving citations in the decade from 2010 to 2019, the ranking contained a few wild entries. The Dodge Challenger making the countdown will surprise precisely zero people. But the Saturn L200? First, a definition: USLegal.com defines reckless driving as "driving with a willful or wanton disregard for safety. It is the operation of an automobile under such circumstances and in such a manner as to show a willful or reckless disregard of consequences." So this list is a caution about particular drivers more than the cars. For a baseline, according to Insurify data, for any random model, 15 out of 10,000 people who drive that model have picked up one citation for reckless driving. Back to that Challenger, then. No shocker for being here, but it's actually number 10, with 44 out of 10,000 Challenger drivers nabbed for a willful disregard of consequences on the road. That's better than the first surprise entry, the Saturn L200, a sedan only on sale for six years, with the least horsepower on the list, and out of production since 2005. The data set put drivers of GM's extraterrestrial sedan at 45 reckless pilots per 10,000 drivers. There are two pickups on the list, the only modern one being the Ram 1500 at eighth, with a rate of 46 in 10,000. Somehow, drivers of the third-best-selling pickup in the U.S. outrun the overwhelming numerical superiority of the best-selling vehicle in the States, the Ford F-150. The other pickup is the Chevrolet K1500 at number five, with a rate of 56 in 10,000. This is not only the oldest vehicle on the list, it went out of production in 2002, before any other vehicle on the list. Between the trucks, the Volkswagen CC slotted in at seven with 47 in 10,000 reckless driving chits, the Cadillac ATS slipped into sixth with 48 in 10,000.  The top four is a bag of unexpected. The Nissan 370Z is the first hardcore sports car on the list at number four, with 61 in 10,000 Z drivers flaunting their Fairladys in the face of Johnny Law.

Alfa Romeo takes Spider in-house, Mazda-Fiat roadster partnership not dead

It's officially off. Following a report in March of this year that the marriage of Mazda and Alfa Romeo to produce a MX-5-based Spider was in trouble, the Italians have confirmed that it will take development in-house. "As far as the Spider goes, the final version is of course no longer the two-seater FCA co-developed with Mazda but a derivative of Project Giorgio," Maserati and Alfa Romeo brand boss Harald Wester told Car. For those not in the know, Project Giorgio is Alfa's codename for the rear-drive platform that will underpin the next-generation Spider, not to mention the replacement for the 159 sedan and a few other products. All is not lost for the Japanese-Italian partnership, though. "The Far East import will probably find a new home with Fiat-Abarth," Wester told Car. Yes, you read that correctly, Mazda is still working with FCA, and the result will eventually end up with Abarth's scorpion badge. If anything, we're more excited over this news than the idea of an Alfa MX-5. But we want to know what you think – would you rather Alfa build a new Spider on the Miata's bones, or does an MX-5 Abarth sound like more fun? Have your say in Comments.