2009 Toyota Yaris on 2040-cars

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Sunday Drive: Subaru Ascends up to the hottest market segment in America

Utility vehicles – in other words, crossovers and SUVs – are so hot right now. Two of our top stories from last week revolve around the utilitarian vehicle, but besides their jacked-up, five-door bodystyles, they couldn't be more different. The 2019 Subaru Ascent is headed into an extremely crowded and competitive segment, where it'll have to go up against industry stalwarts like the Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot, not to mention upstart contenders like the Volkswagen Atlas. The Mercedes-AMG G63, on the other hand, has very little competition – there simply aren't very many ultra-luxurious, off-road-ready SUVs in the world vying to attract the dollars of the wellest-to-do customers across these United States. Moving on from crossovers and SUVs, our readers remain attracted to classic front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sportscars. The Toyota Supra's upcoming rebirth earns two places on our list of stories worth highlighting from the week that was; one with leaked information from a Japanese magazine, and another with rumors indicating that maybe we shouldn't be quite so excited. And finally, there's the strange case of the long-lost 2009 Chevy Corvette Z06 that one lucky individual happened to find squirreled away in a storage container with just 720 original miles. A high-horsepower head scratcher if we've ever seen one. As always, stay tuned to Autoblog this week for all the latest automotive news that's fit to print. 2019 Subaru Ascent vs Honda Pilot vs Toyota Highlander: How they compare on paper 2019 Mercedes-AMG G63 set to bare its 577-horsepower heart in Geneva Toyota Supra leaks in Japanese magazine ahead of Geneva debut Toyota Supra to be little more than a rebodied BMW Z4? Forgotten 720-mile 2009 Corvette Z06 emerges from storage Chevrolet Mercedes-Benz Subaru Toyota Coupe Crossover SUV Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance barn find sunday drive subaru ascent mercedes-amg g63

Momkhana goes drifting with a V8 minivan in the 'burbs

Ken Block probably never expected that he would launch countless imitators when he released Gymkhana years ago, but by now we've seen the concept broadened for everything from toy cars to Crazy Carts. The latest parody is Momkhana, and it moves the setting to the suburbs for a trip to the shoe store. Before you completely write off the idea, though, keep in mind the vehicle making the commute is a drift-happy, rear-wheel drive Toyota Sienna boasting an LS3 V8 with an estimated 550 horsepower. The significant increase in muscle certainly makes a drive to the strip mall a lot more entertaining. In addition to the engine transplant, the minivan gets a massive handbrake to allow for big slides through the neighborhood. The clip replicates many of the classic stunts from Block's Gymkhana videos but in new, rather absurd surroundings. So instead of long, smoky donuts in a warehouse, they happen at the end of a cul-de-sac. If you're curious to see how the video was done, Famous Footwear, which created the clip, also made a featurette showing off some of the van's preparation and filming behind the scenes. News Source: Famous Footwear via YouTube, Carscoops Toyota Minivan/Van Performance Videos gymkhana toyota sienna

2015 Toyota Sienna

It's hard to love a minivan, but it's very, very easy to use one. More than any other kind of vehicle - save a panel van, perhaps - the minivan is the most appliance-like of four-wheeled transportation devices. And most minivan buyers don't need to love their purchases; they just need to use them. So when it comes to a minivan's driving dynamics, who cares?
Well, we do. So we perked right up when Toyota talked about refinements it made to the 2015 Sienna, starting with some 142 added spot welds made to the body structure. Normally not stop-the-presses stuff, but Toyota says the added reinforcements prompted Sienna engineers to recalibrate the springs and shocks for improved handling, and our very limited wheel time along the (admittedly benign) roads on the Big Island of Hawaii revealed the 2015 Sienna SE model's handling to be tidier and more engaging than you'd expect for a porky, 4,560-pound, eight-passenger box on wheels.
Driving Notes