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Hirakawa will become part of McLaren’s driver development programme, supporting the Woking team in its simulator as well as conducting a testing programme with its 2021 MCL35M car. The 29-year-old will dovetail his F1 testing role with his current drive for Toyota, with which he is currently leading the Hypercar class in the World Endurance Championship. Hirakawa and his team-mates Sebastien Buemi and Brendon Hartley are the reigning champions too, having won both the overall title and the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2022. “I’m happy to have joined the McLaren F1 team as a reserve driver,” Hirakawa said in the margin of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix. “It’s an exciting prospect to work with such a respected team and I’m grateful to Zak [Brown] and Andrea [Stella] for the opportunity. “I’ve already met the team and experienced the simulator at MTC which has allowed me to hit the ground running. I’m now fully prepared and focused for the remainder of 2023. “I am grateful to [Toyota

(L-R) Supporter Ryan Sullivan, and United Auto Workers members Chris Sanders-Stone, Casey Miner, Kennedy R. Barbee Sr. and Stephen Brown picket outside the Jeep Plant on September 18, 2023 in Toledo, Ohio. Sarah Rice | Getty Images DETROIT — With a deadline for expanded strikes by the United Auto Workers against the Detroit automakers closing in, the “serious progress” called for by the union seems all too elusive. The UAW and General Motors , Ford Motor and Stellantis are all holding their ground on demands, and it appears likely the union will strike additional plants at some, if not all, of the automakers at noon Friday — as it’s warned. While talks are ongoing, there has been little reported movement in proposals since the strikes were initiated on Sept. 15 at assembly plants in Michigan, Ohio and Missouri. Sources familiar with the talks describe a “big” gap in demands and the parties being “far apart.” Headline economic issues and benefits such as hourly pay, re

Mazda’s push upstream has officially come for the 2024 CX-30. The subcompact SUV is getting a large price hike for 2024, as it now starts at $26,370 (with destination) for the base 2.5 S trim. That represents a price increase of $2,045 from the 2023 CX-30 which started at $24,325. The range-topping Turbo Premium Plus trim has gone up by $1,400 to $38,175. The base 2024 Mazda CX-30 2.5 S comes with a few new extra features that offset its higher starting price, which include rear cross-traffic alert and blind spot monitoring. Previously, shoppers who wanted these safety features had to upgrade to the S Select trim. While $2,000 is a steep increase, most shoppers will be happy to see blind spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert added to the CX-30’s roster of standard features, as these features aren’t standard on a lot of vehicles. Mazda has also updated the CX-30’s lineup for 2024. Last year’s Select trim has been renamed the Select Sport, while the Carbon Turbo trim is new f

To wrap our heads around this, let’s take it back to 2019. The IIHS—short for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety—dropped some wisdom about pickup truck safety. Eleven crew cab pickups underwent trials by fire in a small overlap test. Cue the drum roll, the Ford F-150 was the undisputed champ. The F-150 was  like a rock in a storm, the structure didn’t budge. The airbags and seat belts worked in perfect tandem to keep the dummy passengers stationary. And guess what? No potential injuries were reported for these dummies. The Goliath Myth: Size versus Quality Here’s a juicy tidbit: the size of a rides doesn’t play a major role in mopping up the post-crash mess. Yes, you read that right, folks. It’s not just important—it’s crucial to understand this. Taking a gander at a unique risk analysis study—expertly conducted by a duo from the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the University of Michigan—we find that vehicle quality eclipses weight as a major safety factor. Most cars ar

You’ve probably never heard of British sports car specialist Frontline, but you won’t soon forget the name. The company has just revealed a pair of MG restomods benefiting from more than 30 years of experience. Like Singer is to the Porsche 911 and Eagle is to the Jaguar E-Type , Frontline is a re-invention specialist for the MGB and other British sports cars. The company was founded in 1991 by engineer Tim Fenna, and one of its latest creations takes it into the world of electric vehicles. Frontline’s new BEE is an electric version of the classic MGB , and like the original it can be ordered as a coupe or roadster. Impressively, Frontline has even designed its electric powertrain to work with a manual transmission. For buyers still with gasoline in their veins, Frontline also has the LE60 which somehow features a V-8 nestled under its low, narrow nose. Frontline BEE The BEE features an electric motor mounted at the rear axle and is powered by a 40-kwh battery under the hood,

Minivans fail to adequately protect rear-seat passengers, based on a new crash-test study performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released Tuesday.  The test simulates a head-on collision of two vehicles of similar weight traveling just below 40 mph, and measures the impact on a dummy seated behind the driver that replicates a small woman or 12-year-old child in the rear seat. None of the four minivans tested earned “Acceptable” or “Good” ratings, with the Chrysler Pacifica, Kia Carnival, Toyota Sienna earning “Marginal” ratings. The Honda Odyssey rated at “Poor.” “Back seat safety is important for all vehicles, but it’s especially vital for those, like minivans, that customers are choosing specifically to transport their families,” IIHS President David Harkey said in a statement. As part of the organization’s updated front overlap test, the rear dummy gets tested for excessive risk of injury to the head, neck, chest, abdomen, or thigh. Chest injuries are a particu

Brash styling, heavy weight, huge price tag and power specs that seem to exist to bluntly pound that weight into submission; the 2024 BMW XM seemed like a vehicle I’d despise on paper. And after my very first impression with the relatively stiff ride and large size, I began feeling grouchy. But the longer I drove it, the more I discovered some excellent aspects of it that turned my mood around. It quickly showed that it was more than just a powerful engine, with a remarkable chassis and some well-implemented hybrid features. I even found myself appreciating the surprising design. Note, these impressions apply to just the standard BMW XM. It has a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 and an electric motor making a combined 644 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. Power goes to all four wheels through a snappy and smooth eight-speed automatic transmission.  There’s actually an even more serious XM Label Red model that brings output up to 738 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque tha