Season 34 of MotorWeek, television’s longest-running automotive series, celebrates the reinvention of the automobile. Upcoming 2015 and 2016 models will feature the highest level of infotainment, safety, and driver’s aid technology ever on four wheels and MotorWeek will cover all of it in exciting detail. This new technology is transforming how automobiles interact with consumers as well as how they drive, paving the way for the emergence of the autonomous, self-driving car. The new season of MotorWeek premieres on public television stations nationwide beginning Friday, September 5, 2014.

Season 34 of MotorWeek will highlight advanced functions such as Collision Mitigation, Lane Keep Assist, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, and other driver aids that are a step towards cars that completely drive themselves. While this approach may be somewhat alarming to automotive enthusiasts, it will be a boon for everyone that loves or needs the everyday freedom that driving an automobile provides. “The autonomous automobile will not only continue America’s love affair with the automobile, but move it to an even higher level of usefulness,” says John Davis, MotorWeek Host and Senior Executive Producer. 

One new technology, Collision Mitigation, which uses a radar aided braking system to slow and even stop a vehicle to avoid a collision, will become a special focus of MotorWeek’s continuing commitment to driving safety. In season 34 MotorWeek will inaugurate a new test for cars with automatic braking systems.  MotorWeek will  add a low speed barrier test, the first all-new test in our  Road Test regime in a generation.  This new  barrier test was created to measure the effectiveness of the various automatic braking systems among different makes and models.  MotorWeek Season 34 will reveal how automatic braking systems react in low speed collisions; one of the most common accidents causing billions of dollars in insurance claims for injuries and property damage.

The season premiere of MotorWeek features the newest addition to the BMW family, the exotic 2015 BMW i8 advanced hybrid, the compact 2015 Lincoln MKC utility, the 700-plus horsepower 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, along with the all-new  2015 Acura TLX.  Other highlights from MotorWeek’s new season include road test reviews of the 2015 Chevrolet Camaro Z28, designed and engineered to be the fastest street-legal Camaro ever built; and the new 2015 Lexus NX, the brand’s first compact luxury crossover.

MotorWeek’s line-up of popular segments returns with Master Technician Pat Goss offering do-it-yourself car care advice at Goss’ Garage. Yolanda Vazquez will continue to tackle consumer news and trends in FYI and Motor News. Roving reporter Zach Maskell goes Over the Edge with a quirky and fun look at the auto world in overdrive, while Brian Robinson reviews the newest motorcycles and scooters in Two Wheelin’. MotorWeek also continues its decade-long emphasis on the widening availability and practicality of hybrid and electric vehicles in Green Motoring.

To find out which public television station in your area airs MotorWeek, go to motorweek.org and click on find your station. MotorWeek can also be seen on pbs.org, Discovery’s Velocity channel and the V-me Spanish language television network. You can also find MotorWeek on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and iTunes.

MotorWeek is nationally sponsored by Die Hard, RockAuto, and Tire Rack.

DieHard

Introduced in 1967, Sears designed the DieHard automotive battery to produce 35 percent more usable starting power than other similar batteries. Featuring a revolutionary tough, thin-walled case of translucent polypropylene plastic, which was 50 percent thinner than conventional black rubber-type battery enclosures, the design's extra room meant bigger plates, more acid and extra starting power. During testing, not a single failure was reported in over 26,000 starts in temperatures ranging from sub-zero to more than 100 degrees, hence the name "DieHard." See more DieHard history and compelling "Battery Torture" Video at www.DieHard.com.

RockAuto

RockAuto, LLCwas founded in Madison, Wisconsin in 1999 by the Taylor family. Their engineering background, passion for old cars, and desire to liberate information hidden behind the auto parts store counter led the Taylors to start RockAuto.com. Today, RockAuto.com ships thousands of auto parts from over 200 manufacturers to customers on every continent except Antarctica. The RockAuto.com catalog is updated daily with mechanical parts like brake pads and shock absorbers, body parts like bumpers and mirrors, interior trim like door handles and carpets, and major assemblies like steering gears, CV axles, engine long blocks, and complete transmissions. The RockAuto.com catalog is expanding constantly. Someday, it may be possible to build an entire car using parts from RockAuto!

TireRack
Tire Rack, family-owned and headquartered in South Bend, Indiana, is America’s largest independent tire tester and consumer-direct source for tires, wheels and performance accessories. Their team of over 100 test drivers (their sales team) tests tires from every major tire manufacturer on the company’s state-of-the-art, 11.7-acre test facility. The findings are then posted on the company’s website, www.tirerack.com, where consumers can make an educated decision on a tire, wheel or performance accessory purchase.

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