The Wonder & the Why of the Automotive World

The Petersen Automotive Museum has announced it will offer free admission to LAUSD students Monday through Friday until February 2, 2019. Students will have the opportunity to enjoy special programming in the Rob and Melani Walton Discovery Center and throughout the museum.

Driving the new Edge is undeniably a confidence-boosting experience. On the roads in Dallas, we had a chance to try out the driver-assist technologies in the Edge.

Next week at the North American International Auto Show, the Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI) will offer a three-minute virtual journey through a futuristic city landscape. During the journey, the (virtual) steel body of an autonomous vehicle builds around the driver. Riders will be able to explore the key components of the vehicle and learn how advanced high-strength steels in automotive design can address the potential challenges of autonomous transportation.

What does the movie Mary Poppins Returns and the 2019 Nissan Altima have in common? The designers at Nissan have combined technology and art to update the popular sedan, collaborating with Disney to get the word out.

When your work gives you the opportunity to give $1500 in wish list items to the local children’s shelter and shop for the goodies with fun friends, it’s a GREAT day. On December 12, Thrills and Wheels had the honor of leading an event with Austin Mazda dealership Roger Beasley Mazda to help SAFE Alliance.

Veteran auto journalist Steve Wheeler is moonlighting at Thrills and Wheels, where he’s offering a first look at Toyota’s brand-new 2019 RAV4.

Tabetha Hammer was only 15 when she won a tractor-restoration contest and met Mario Andretti in the same year. Now, she is the senior manager of car culture (great title, right?) for Hagerty, and her job is to support the collector community through youth and heritage.

Laura Pierce, the president of Toyota Racing, nearly went to school to be a teacher. Her father saw her potential for engineering and encouraged her to attend Purdue University, and brought her up on classic car shows and stock cars to cement her love of the automotive world.

Not long ago, I had the chance to test drive new Nissan Titans, back to back: one Titan XD PRO 4X King Cab, and one Titan half-ton Crew Cab. Nissan is proud of their truck line, and rightfully so: the half-ton model is projected to be the highest volume Titan in their history. They’re so sure of it that they offer the best truck warranty in the business (bumper-to-bumper coverage of 5 years/100,000 miles, whichever comes first). And that seems like a pretty good sign, to me.

On September 29, 17-year-old Hailie Deegan crossed the last goal off her list for 2018, just in time to celebrate over the holidays – she took the checkered flag and became the first female to win a NASCAR K&N race.