​​America’s Most Popular Car Brand in Q2 of 2021

by Gabrielle DeSantis

It’s no secret that the last year or so has been quite a whirlwind for automotive industry sales. Between pandemic lockdowns, supply chain issues, and a wild ebb and flow of consumer demand, we could see some changes. So what is the most popular car brand in Q2 of 2021? 

2021 Toyota RAV4 | Toyota USA

The most popular car brand in Q2 of 2021 is no surprise. It’s Toyota. Toyota’s popular models like the Corolla, Tacoma, and RAV4 lend strength to the carmaker’s unit sales numbers. 

But what of the other automakers? Who else is on the podium for America’s most popular car brand? Let’s take a look at the data so discern which manufacturers came out on top. 

The most popular brand in Q2 this year is Toyota, which is really no shocking revelation. Next in line is also not surprising. The second most popular car brand in the U.S. for Q2 of 2021 is Ford. But there actually is something surprising about this. 

Last year in Q2 of 2020, Ford had a huge lead on Toyota. For Q2 2020, Toyota sold 347,571 units according to Good Car Bad Car. Ford sold 411,035 units in Q2 2020. 

This year, in 2021, Toyota sold 573,109 units in Q2. Ford sold 448,745 units. So both of the automakers sold more units in Q2 this year than last year, but Toyota surpassed the legendary American manufacturer for the most units sold. 

2021 Honda Accord hybrid parked outside of a home
2021 Honda Accord hybrid | Honda USA

Honda sold the third most units in Q2 2021. Last year, in Q2 2020, Honda sold 266,044 units. This year, the Japanese automobile manufacturer saw a huge uptick in units sold in Q2. For Q2 2021, Honda sold 435,923 units. 

One common trend we are seeing is that sales are definitely making a recovery from the low numbers we saw last year during the pandemic lockdowns. For now, Toyota is the top-selling car brand in America. But as new vehicles like the Ford Maverick hit production and land on lots across the country, there is no telling how much these numbers will fluctuate. 

There’s a chance the most popular car brand in America for the entire year of 2021 will surprise us. It’s either Ford or Toyota’s game at this point in the fiscal year. 

What about other automakers? 

A blue 2021 Chevy Silverado races down the highway.
2021 Chevrolet Silverado | Chevrolet

There are certainly other automakers in the U.S. that are also doing well. For example, Chevrolet sold 330,381 last year in Q2 2020. This year, Chevy sold 431,583 units in Q2 2021. 

In fifth place for units sales in Q2 2021 is another Japanese carmaker, Nissan. Nissan sold 161,317 units in Q2 last year. However, this year, Nissan sold 280,283 units. That’s nearly half of what it sold last year. 

Unit sales tell a story

The 2021 Ford F-150 driving on the road by trees
2021 Ford F-150 | Ford

If we compare Q2 2020 to Q2 2021, it’s easy to see that there’s a story there. Clearly, last year there was something going on. This year, the uptick is telling tales of success. Whether or not the success will sustain is as yet unknown. However, it’s likely that the full fiscal year of 2021 will see a much larger number of unit sales per automaker than last year in 2020. 

RELATED: Consumer Reports Recommends Every Model Year of This Mazda SUV It’s Ever Tested

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Why You Should Plan Your Next Motorcycle Ride in Eastern U.S.

by Gabrielle DeSantis

With summer in full swing, it’s time to get the motorcycle out for trips across the open road. Like traveling in an RV, it’s a great way to experience the outdoors while still practicing social distancing. With essentials like windshields and Bluetooth-equipped helmets, a motorcycle is even a viable road trip vehicle option.

So, where should you take your motorcycle ride? You can experience scenic motorcycle routes around every corner of the country, but the eastern U.S. has the most. Here are some of the best places.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee and North Carolina)

A man on a motorcycle ride on a highway | RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post via Getty Images

This park features 400 miles of paved roadway and 800 square miles in total to explore. It’s home to several popular long or short roadways, including the 43-mile Cherohala Skyway. The Blue Ridge Parkway also has some beautiful sights to see, like the 215-foot-tall Natural Bridge. Elsewhere, a trail leads up to Mount Mitchell, one of the most beautiful peaks in the area. Meanwhile, for those less adventuresome, you can take a leisurely motorcycle ride down the six-mile Greenbriar road. 

Skyline Drive (Virginia)

Located in Shenandoah National Park, this overpass stretches 105 miles along the Blue Ridge Mountains. You can’t go more than 35 mph, but that gives you even more time to enjoy the scenery. It’s open 24/7, except when closed due to inclement weather conditions.

The trail takes three hours to complete, but there are plenty of sights to keep motorcycle riders entertained. You might see deer, turkeys, or some adorable black bear cubs. Additionally, there are also 70 overlooks and multiple picnic areas if you need to take a break.

Tunnel of Trees (Michigan)

This is a 16-mile natural tunnel stretching from Harbor Springs to Cross Village. At the end of this evergreen and hardwood and tree trail, there’s a breathtaking bluff that overlooks Lake Michigan. Mackinaw City recommends visiting in autumn when the leaves have reached their peak. 

The road itself is narrow and twisty, so it’s the perfect place to see how well your motorcycle handles. Horror fans might be delighted here, as one of these turns, the Devil’s Elbow, is even believed to be haunted.

Route 100 (Vermont)

Obviously, this trail is one of the best places to see Vermont’s famous foliage in the summer. There are also plenty of stops along the way for other activities. USA Today recommends visiting the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream factory for a tasty refresher during your motorcycle drive.

You can visit several restaurants, country stores, and even massive tree houses along this route. The Green Mountain Forest is also a great place to bring your ATV or snowmobile during the winter.

Woodlands Trace National Scenic Byway (Kentucky and Tennessee)

This hidden gem lies in the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. “The Trace” stretches across 43 miles of rolling hills and plenty of greenery to appreciate. This area has some interesting stopping points, including Civil War sites.

In addition to your motorcycle, you might also want to take your canoe or motorboat along to enjoy the largest lake in Kentucky. Riders can stop and safely feed birds like eagles or waterfowls in the wildlife refuge areas.

Tail of the Dragon (Tennessee)

Motorcycle Roads highlights this trail as the best motorcycle ride in Tennessee. It’s actually located within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, taking up 11 miles of U.S. Route 129. It features 318 turns and reportedly attracts 250,000 bikers each year.

However, the Tail of the Dragon is also predictably one of the most dangerous paths in the country. 37 people have died on this route, with the latest death occurring in 2017. While this is only a handful of fatalities, you should still take extra precautions before attempting that motorcycle ride.

RELATED: 5 of the Best Motorcycle Rides in Northern California

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6 Things You Should Never Vacuum

by Gabrielle DeSantis

Many people have been credited for the vacuum cleaner‘s invention and modification. But we know for sure that the labor-saving device helps home and automotive maintenance in a big way. But despite the convenience, you should never, ever vacuum certain things. Here are six of them.

1. Fireplace ashes

Inventor James Dyson demonstrates his latest vacuum cleaner on March 14, 2005, in London | Bruno Vincent/Getty Images

Far finer than household dust, powdery fireplace ashes have no place in your vacuum cleaner. For one thing, those ultra-small particles are too fine for a typical vac filter to trap. Plus, still-hot embers can easily hide under a blanket of ash. Suck one of them up, and you could start a fire.

Instead, wait at least 12 hours before scooping ash into a metal bucket that you store outside away from anything combustible, Chimney Solutions advises. After that, sweep out the firebox with a whisk broom or use a specially designed fireplace vacuum to remove the remaining ashes.

2. Paperclips, coins, and other small items

As tempting as it may be to roll over and suck up small things while vacuuming your carpets, it’s in the best interest of your vacuum cleaner to bend over and pick them up by hand, Good Housekeeping reports. If a loose coin, a paperclip, or an errant Lego makes its way into your vacuum cleaner, it could easily damage the motor and even tear the filter bag to shreds.

3. Broken glass

So you’ve dropped a water glass, and shards are all over your floor. Your instinct might be to grab your trusty vacuum, but that’s actually the last thing you should do. Broken glass can get lodged in the hose, and even a tiny bit of sharp glass can tear the dustbag open and cause a mess. Broken glass can also scratch canisters in bagless vacs too.

Instead, use a broom to sweep up the biggest pieces; then gently wipe the area with a wet paper towel until all remnants are gone. Alternately, you could press a soft piece of white bread onto the finest shards to take them away without potentially damaging your valuable vacuum cleaner, One Good Thing advises.

4. Broken eggs and other wet food spills

No matter how much you want it to, household vacuum cleaners aren’t designed to handle wet messes. Try to suck up a spilled bowl of cereal and milk, and you put your pricey vac in danger. Even if it doesn’t electrocute you right away, a household vac with moisture inside is apt to form hard-to-remove mold and mildew.

Instead, use a paper towel to absorb as much of the spill as you can. Then use a second paper towel to wipe the floor clean and dry. If an egg breaks on your kitchen floor, cover the mess with table salt and let it sit for a few minutes before whisking it away with paper towels, The Kitchn explains.

5. Water

It almost goes without saying that a standard electric vacuum cleaner will fail if you use it to suck up any water or liquids. Nonetheless, a lot of people wreck their vacs doing exactly that. Besides the real danger of electrocution, a vacuum that gets wet may grow so much mildew that it becomes entirely unusable.

If you have a wet/dry shop vac, use that to remove water spills. If you don’t have one, grab a roll of paper towels or use microfiber towels or re-washable kitchen rags to remove all traces of a liquid spill.

6. Long hair

Whether it comes from pets or people, long hair can wreak havoc on your vacuum cleaner. One hair or two might not cause a lot of damage, but if you use your vac to clean up after an at-home haircut, it may wrap around the floor brush and jam up the works.

So, who actually invented the vacuum cleaner?

Known best for designing suspension bridges and building Ferris wheels, English engineer Hubert Booth created a floor-cleaner in 1901, explains the UK Science Museum. Oddly, the beta design blew air out instead of in. After numerous reworkings, Booth devised a suck-it-up trolley vacuum cleaner that was bigger than a Volkswagen.

Vacuum Cleaner History concurs, adding James Spangler, Daniel Hess, James Kirby, and Anna Sutherland Bissell to its list of vac inventors. Whoever it was that came up with a workable vacuum cleaner did a great thing for everyone who likes to keep a clean house and car. Just don’t use it to vacuum up any of the aforementioned things that should never, ever be vacuumed.

Related: 4 Best Roomba Robot Vacuums Under $600 According to Consumer Reports

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It’s Sophisticated, It’s French, and Jay Leno Loves Driving It

by Gabrielle DeSantis

Jay Leno’s garage might be full of beloved performance icons, but it’s also home to some obscure and unusual vehicles. And Leno likes to shine a light on the lesser-known classics just as much as he enjoys driving his Trans Ams. As such, his YouTube channel has been a stage for things like the Tatra T87 and the Wills Sainte Claire. And recently, Jay Leno featured the car he’s just finished restoring—a quirky and French 1967 Panhard 24 BT.   

The Panhard 24 was the last gasp of a dying, unconventional, innovative French luxury brand

Panhard CD LM64 at the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans | GP Library/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

While French automotive brands don’t have a monopoly on outside-the-box engineering, historically, they’ve introduced several innovative designs. Many of them, such as the DS and the SM, came courtesy of Citroen. And before either, there was the 1934 Citroen Traction Avant, which affordably bundled unibody design, FWD, independent suspension, and four-wheel hydraulic brakes.

But before Citroen, there was Panhard. Founded in 1890, Panhard arguably created the first modern car layout with the ‘System Panhard,’ the Lane Motor Museum explains. In 1891, the French company offered a car with a front-mounted engine, a rear-driven axle, and a transmission with a clutch. It also created the Panhard rod, which is still used by some live-axle cars today. And while it never won the 24 Hours of Le Mans outright, its streamlined racers won the Index of Efficiency trophy 10 times, Jay Leno says.

Jean Panhard and a black 1967 Panhard 24 BT
Jean Panhard and a 1967 Panhard 24 BT | Xavier ROSSI/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

However, rather like Lancia, after WWII Panhard was struggling to make ends meet. For one, the brand’s expensive luxury cars weren’t much in demand. It was also hamstrung in the raw materials department by the post-war French government, Hemmings explains. And while the company lingered for some time, Citroen ultimately absorbed it in 1967.

But before it disappeared, the company released what Autoweek calls its “last hurrah:” the Panhard 24. Designed to compete with the Volkswagen Beetle, the Panhard 24 was more expensive. However, as Jay Leno explains in the video below, in many ways, it’s also more sophisticated.

Jay Leno’s 1967 Panhard 24 BT is unusual, comfortable, and practical

If the 1967 Panhard 24 BT “looks a bit like the American Corvair,” Jay Leno says, “that’s sort of deliberate.” The Europeans, like Leno himself, had a great deal of admiration for the rear-engine Corvair which, incidentally, also competed against the Beetle. But the 24 BT’s styling doesn’t come at the expense of practicality: despite only having two doors, it can seat six people.

While the Panhard 24 BT is a front-engine, FWD car, its engine is rather unusual. Under the hood is an 848cc air-cooled flat-twin that can be lifted by hand. This engine design was a Panhard post-war trademark, Car and Driver reports. And for its time, was both fairly advanced and somewhat odd.

For example, the flat-twin’s aluminum cylinder heads and block are all one casting, so there’s no head gasket to blow. Also, instead of springs, the valves open and close via pushrod-actuated torsion bars, somewhat like Ducati’s famed desmodromic valves. Plus, it’s technically a ‘Hemi’ in that it has hemispherical combustion chambers. And the exhaust pipes also act as engine mounts.

Admittedly, it only makes 60 hp and roughly 56 lb-ft of torque, Jay Leno says. But then, the Panhard 24 BT only weighs about 1800 pounds. As a result, while the Beetle couldn’t even do 70 mph, the 24 BT topped out at over 90 mph. And it regularly gets 40 mpg, Jay Leno claims.

Out on the road, the Panhard 24 BT is “certainly faster” than the Beetle, Leno notes, and its engine “loves to rev.” The 1800-lb curb weight also makes the 24 BT “light on its feet…responsive,” he says. Then there’s the way the suspension lets it simply glide over bumps, making it significantly more comfortable than the VW. And with the 24 BT’s sizeable trunk, it’s little wonder that Jay Leno regularly uses it as an errand car.

Can you find one of these unique classic luxury cars today?

While the Panhard 24 has several advantages over the VW Beetle, it’s also more difficult to locate. According to the Lane Motor Museum, Panhard built fewer than 43,400 examples. And it never sold the 24 in the US. Jay Leno estimates his 1967 car is one of a handful in the US, and he’s never seen another 24 BT on the road.

That being said, these coupes are still fairly affordable. While pristine examples command a premium, even the most expensive 24s typically don’t go for more than $20K, Bring a Trailer says. And the typical asking price is closer to $10K-$15K. So, if you’re after a classic car that’s a bit out of left field, Panhard’s swan song might be a choice worth seeking out.

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