2004 Ford Excursion 4x4 One Owner Carfax on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Techstars Mobility brings transportation startups to Detroit

A new tech incubator is looking to combine the Motor City's automotive history with its evolving tech startup landscape. "Techstars Mobility, Driven by Detroit" kicks off its first round with 10 startups next week. Techstars is an established accelerator network with incubators around the world, and Detroit is a new addition. The projects center around mobility in some form, be it improving vehicles, moving goods, or working cars into the sharing economy in new ways. In return for a percentage stake in each company, Techstars provides mentorship, access to experts, seed money, and a collaborative environment. One startup we're particularly excited about is Motoroso. This site is like Pinterest for the car-obsessed, with boards replaced by garages that can contain photos and links to other projects. The site lets you follow brands – Chevy, Porsche, Ducati, and others already have profiles – as well as other users. For the Autoblog editors, Motoroso provides a new way to share stories, photos, and video, as well as a way to discover new products and interesting DIY projects. Take a look at the Autoblog profile and wander around the site to check things out. Another one of the startups, Classics & Exotics, is helping owners of interesting cars and would-be drivers connect in an Airbnb-style distributed rental program. Think of it as an auction catalog you can drive. Renters can specify the price, mileage, minimum driver age, and availability. Similar to Airbnb, Classics & Exotics provides each vehicle owner with $1 million in liability and damage protection. The company also vets renters for added peace of mind. Sounds like fun, and a cheap way to avoid a costly Craigslist or eBay mistake. Along similar shared-economy lines comes SPLT, a ride-sharing platform that finds people going where you're going and lets you hop in a car and split the costs. It's aimed at commuters but also has great applications for those looking for occasional one-way rides somewhere. SPLT notes that the system is a good way to meet new people – hopefully, good new people. Depending on how well SPLT keeps sketchy rides and riders out of the system, this could be a solid alternative to services like Uber and Lyft. This Techstars Mobility class has backing from corporate sponsors, including Ford, Honda, Magna, Dana, Verizon Telematics (Verizon has an offer pending to buy AOL, our parent company), and McDonald's.

Top Gear's latest trailer shows off a golden Bugatti Chiron

Top Gear is returning on March 5, and after a lackluster first series with the new hosts, the new group seems determined not to hit a sophomore slump. Chris Evans is gone, and the latest teaser trailer shows the new trio of Matt LeBlanc, Chris Harris, and Rory Reid strapped into some pretty fantastic cars, including the Bugatti Chiron and the Ford GT. All of the typical Top Gear segments appear to be present, though the quick cuts don't give us many details. The trailer shows a copious amount of powerslides from an assortment of cars, and even Chris Harris racing around Daytona. Aside from the Bugatti and Ford, cars from Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari, BMW, Aston Martin, and Alfa Romeo are all present. Co-hosts Eddie Jordan and Sabine Schmitz don't appear at all, so it seems their roles may be downplayed to focus on three guys, as was the case pre-reboot. We have some hope for this re-relaunched show and will be keeping an eye out for more details in the lead-up to the series premiere. Related Video: News Source: YouTube Celebrities TV/Movies Alfa Romeo BMW Bugatti Ferrari Ford Lamborghini Porsche Top Gear chris harris Bugatti Chiron matt leblanc

Caddy XT4, Subaru STI Type RA, and blazin' Elon | Autoblog Podcast #553

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor Alex Kierstein and Green Editor John Snyder. We talk about time spent with the Cadillac XT4 and Subaru WRX STI Type RA. Then we get into other topics, including the death of the VW Beetle, our thoughts on the state of the Nissan 370Z, cameras replacing mirrors, the trouble with the Ford Focus Active, and Elon Musk blazing a fat blunt. We indulge in a little conversation about the process of writing about cars. Finally we help a listener choose their next EV in the "Spend My Money" segment.Autoblog Podcast #553 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 Rundown Cars we've driven: Cadillac XT4 and Subaru WRX STI Type RA RIP, VW Bug What's up with the Nissan 370Z? Lexus to replace side mirrors with cameras RIP, Ford Focus Active You do you, Elon On writing about cars Spend My Money: electric edition Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Green Podcasts Cadillac Ford Lexus Nissan Subaru Tesla Volkswagen Car Buying Technology Coupe Crossover Electric Police/Emergency Sedan cadillac xt4 subaru wrx sti type ra