Author: Tabitha

That’s what The Sleuth is hearing from his usually reliable sources. They claim that the piston-less powerplant, which was designed by German engineer Felix Wankel and successfully developed by Mazda of Japan, might be revived as the primary means of propulsion for a brand new sports model. The rotary was last used in the automaker’s RX-8 2+2 model that bowed out in North America in 2011. That car was lauded for its smooth power, although detractors felt the rotary’s thirst for fuel coupled with a lack of torque negated some of the benefits. Assuming that Mazda has addressed both issues,…

The Sleuth is aware that the car company founded by Henrik Fisker, which went bankrupt back in 2012, was purchased in 2014 by Wanxiang of China. Before its demise, the automaker had produced 2,450 electric Karma luxury sedans that sold for about $100,000 each. Wanxiang is setting up shop in California (the original car was made in Finland) and will resume production in 2016. This time around, the Fisker name has been dropped and the car will simply be called the Karma and the builder will be called Karma Automotive. Upgrades to the Karma include the latest 1.5-liter motor/generator developed…

As it did with the Prius hybrid that began as a single model and grew into its own line of vehicles, Toyota might eventually do with its limited-production Mirai hydrogen-fuel-cell sedan, currently available in North America only in California and in very small numbers. Mirai chief engineer Yoshikazu Tanaka hopes one day a model lineup of fuel-cell vehicles will be the case. He didn’t propose anything specific model-wise, in an interview with British car magazine Autocar, as that won’t happen overnight, he said. It likely will take 10 or 20 years before fuel-cell cars achieve sales volumes in the neighborhood…

Original technologies have made Honda’s tentatively named FCV fuel-cell vehicle – one of only a few hydrogen-powered sedans beginning to come to market – to house its entire powertrain in the same space that a traditional internal combustion engine and transmission would occupy. Just two decades ago, fuel-cell powertrains were on average the size of a minivan, making Honda’s achievement no small feat. The car was set to debut at the Tokyo Motor Show in late October, featuring a full cabin that seats five adults and a claimed range of 437 miles. “Exhilarating driving” is made possible by two high-output…

Instead of hauling your home vacuum cleaner to your garage, or depending on some weak hand-held unit that barely stays charged for more than a few minutes, why not equip your workspace with a Garage Vac. All you do is hang it on any wall, plug it in and take advantage of its five-horsepower electric motor, 40-foot stretch hose and full range of tools for cleaning up large floor areas (such as car floors and trunks) and tight spots around the dashboard and floor console. The entire unit weighs just nine pounds, which makes it easy to move around. The…

There hasn’t been a good drag-racing movie since “Heart Like a Wheel,” which was about the life of driver Shirley Muldowney. “Snake & Mongoose” tells the story of two equally famous drivers from the late 1950s-’70s, Don (the Snake) Prudhomme and Tom (Mongoose) McEwen. The real-life plotline sees both drivers hook up with toy maker Mattel in the early 1970s as the duo’s major sponsor. Mattel used both the drivers and their cars to promote its Hot Wheels car collection. Rather than recreate the drag races that McEwen and Prudhomme competed in, director Wayne Holloway used actual archival footage combined…

However, before you jump out of your La-Z-Boy, there’s a catch. According to The Spymaster’s sources, General Motors’ Holden division, which is closing its Australian production facility following the 2017 model year, is planning a limited run of Commodore sedans (sold as the Chevrolet SS here) fitted with LS9 engines for its home market. For the uninitiated, the LS9 is a supercharged 638-horsepower 6.2-liter V8 that was installed in the deceased Corvette ZR1. If true, the cheers from SS fans and Chevy dealers demanding that the hopped-up SS be available here will be audible from Anchorage to Adelaide (where Holdens…

A flat tire can be annoying, but when it happens on a deserted highway, or where there’s no highway at all, it can spell trouble.In this case, a tire-repair kit from Blackjack can literally save you. The company’s Kt340 kit provides everything you need for extracting whatever caused the flat, be it a nail, screwdriver, glass, etc. Also included are the special probes, needles and wrenches used for “dressing” the puncture and sealing it with the repair material (the BlackJack tire instructional video describes the entire process). Don’t forget you’ll need to keep a portable air compressor in your car…

Those who were fortunate enough to attend any of the Canadian-American Challenge Cup races, or Can-Am, as they were called, will never forget the absolute raw thundering power that these unlimited, no-rules racecars generated. The Can-Am series brought together the top drivers from around the world who wrestled these machines on North America’s most demanding circuits. Now you can relive those heady times from 1966-’73 with “Can Am, The Speed Odyssey”. The DVD is narrated by former driver Sam Posey and Jim Hall, who built and raced his Chevrolet-powered Chaparral in the series. The 95-minute film features interviews with the…

Mazda says its next line of fuel-efficient SkyActiv engines could be as much as 30 percent more frugal than the current generation of its more eco-friendly powerplants. The new engines should appear in Mazda vehicles by 2018, and represent the main component in the company’s fuel efficiency strategy, president Masamichi Kogai told webmag Auto Express at the recent Frankfurt Motor Show. Meanwhile, Mazda is feeling out customer interest in hybrid and electric cars, and has appointed a special team to investigate the feasibility of reviving the Wankel rotary engines that were once a Mazda calling card. An earlier promise to…