Best Cars for Uber Black: Window Shop with Car and Driver
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
On this week's Window Shop, we embark on a mission to find the best cars for Uber Black. This challenge came from a viewer and proved to be somewhat difficult, given a budget of $20,000 and the rather tight restrictions of Uber's vehicle requirements for this premium service. Eligible vehicles have to have a black exterior, a black leather interior, and be less than five years old (though some 2019 model-year vehicles are eligible).
As usual, our contestants took a wide variety of strategies for this task, and the resulting range of vehicles proved to be entertaining. Yours truly started off with a subdued long-wheelbase Swedish luxury sedan. Then, senior editor Elana Scherr took a sharp left turn with her sporty Italian SUV, which may not have a very big back seat but would no doubt impress riders with its fancy-sounding name. Executive editor K.C. Colwell was up next and found an impressively trimmed flagship sedan from an unlikely source. Contributor Jonathon Ramsey went the more traditional route with a rather anonymous SUV that nonetheless boasted both a luxury badge and a third row of seats, possibly opening it up for UberXL duty as well. And editor-in-chief Tony Quiroga presented a self-described "cynical" choice that was quite literally a former livery vehicle.
We don't want to give away too many spoilers, but this episode did feature a fun twist ending with a tiebreaker and an impromptu special guest. So we implore you to stick around until the bitter end and share your thoughts on which vehicle you thought was the winner.
You Might Also Like
Car and Driver's 10 Best Cars through the Decades
How to Buy or Lease a New Car
Lightning Lap Legends: Chevrolet Camaro vs. Ford Mustang!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Denny Hamlin plays the villain in Michigan after FireKeepers Casino 400 win
BROOKLYN, MI – When asked if he had disdain for Michigan, Denny Hamlin said no. You would not know that from his post race gestures, though. 'My friend Travis … he was like, 'Man, it'd feel good if you won from that school up north right in their backyard,' Hamlin said. 'I said, 'Well, I'm going to do it for you.' And so I did it just for my buddy.' What he did for his buddy was do a little "O-S-U" chant and arm gesture as a nod to the Ohio State Buckeyes. Advertisement Hamlin might not hate Michigan, but he does love playing the villain, and this weekend was a perfect moment for that. He's on the back nine of his racing years, his company is under threat from his NASCAR lawsuit and he's waiting on the birth of his son. Hamlin had a million reasons to lose the race this weekend. Instead, he came from behind in the waning laps of the race to snatch the win from the driver who'd led most of the race right after the hometown kid suffered a flat tire. Amid yellow and red flags, Hamlin emerged victorious – much to the crowd's displeasure. He did not mind, though. 'Until the crowd shifts to mostly cheers or boos, I'm always going to antagonize the booers like that,' Hamlin said. 'Until you really get the switch, which I don't think I'm ever going to in my career, what else is there? … I got to find ways to have fun doing this.' Hamlin did not seem like the likely winner when the race began, either. Despite his starting third, many eyes were on points leader William Byron, starting fourth, or Carson Hocevar, whose hot stretch coming into the race was a topic of conversation around the pit lane. Hamlin was still in third after a relatively uneventful Stage 1 for him despite several lead changes ahead of him and a fierce battle for fourth and fifth behind his car. Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 Yahoo! Toyota, celebrates winning the NASCAR Cup Series FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, June 8, 2025 in Brooklyn, Michigan. Starting in Stage 2, however, Hamlin's performance took a dive. Though he was second at the start, he began dropping down the race order, and while battling with Kyle Larson on Lap 58, he got loose and dropped five spots down to eleventh. It was a poor moment for Hamlin, who easily could have been buried down the order with the chaos of the restarts of the second stage. Advertisement Instead, Hamlin pulled himself back up the order, and by Lap 85, he had battled back to around the fifth position. He ended the stage eighth but he was still in the fight. As the third stage commenced, Hamlin was still back in the pack, at one point sitting around eleventh. He also sustained damage after a pit incident where he was stuck between two cars attempting to leave. As the laps ticked down, a comeback seemed increasingly unlikely. But he went to work, moving up one car at a time. By Lap 175, he'd reached fifth and knew that the drivers ahead of him were in much more dire straits regarding fuel then he was. Seven laps later, Hocevar went down with a flat tire and Hamlin was suddenly in fourth. Hamlin took down Ty Gibbs on Lap 185 and passed Kyle Larson one lap later. THE RACE: Denny Hamlin wins FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway in epic finish Advertisement All that was left to do was wait. Byron was nearly out of fuel and was desperately conserving while attempting to hold off Hamlin. Hamlin waited for his opportunity and began an earnest battle for the lead at Lap 196. He passed Byron on Lap 197 at Turn 3 where he had identified Byron as vulnerable and claimed victory two laps later. Byron ultimately had to pit on the second-to-last lap, out of fuel. Hamlin also ran out of fuel – it was just on his second round of victory burnouts. 'I never will assume someone's going to run out,' Hamlin said. 'And I always am going to assume when I get there to challenge for the lead, they're going to go 100%. And I think that was the case, they told me over the radio (that) they told him, 'You got to go, you got to hold the lead, and (if) we run out, we run out.' That's the right strategy to do, which in turn made it more gratifying to me to pass him when he was going all out.' Hamlin may be 44, but he's not done yet. He's already achieved something only twenty drivers ever have in competing in 700 races, but he wants more wins. He's not done showing the kids what he can do, either. 'I'm racing guys that are, you know, some of them pretty much half my age,' Hamlin said. 'And they're so good, and they're really, really good, and so it's really gratifying when I know I can run with them, and I know I can beat them. … It just feels really good to, 20 years later, still feel like this is the best that I've ever been.' Advertisement Matthew Auchincloss is a reporter with the Detroit Free Press. Connect at mauchincloss@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Denny Hamlin plays villain in Michigan win at FireKeepers Casino 400
Boston Globe
4 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Driver's licenses in limbo: Government debts jeopardize thousands of Mass. drivers
The number of drivers who lost their authority to drive under these circumstances is unclear. The Registry's data didn't specify how many drivers failed to settle their debts before their licenses expired. Those who do face limited choices. No payment plans are available, and unlike drivers who have been sanctioned for dangerous driving, there are no hardship licenses. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'They're really put in an impossible situation,' said Caroline Cohn, staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. Advertisement This is the predicament facing Angel, 43, who drove himself into debt passing through tolls. He had no E-ZPass transponder for his car, but, he said, he never received toll bills, and later learned they were mailed to a previous address. By the time he realized he owed money, his bill was $1,247 and that would balloon to nearly $6,000 as a portion of his balance was sent to collections, and fees and penalties mounted. Related : Without a driver's license, Angel said he's been spiraling, thrust into a seemingly endless cycle of needing to work to pay off the debt, but unable to work consistently without a valid license. Advertisement 'Such a little thing can have a huge impact in your daily life,' said Angel, a former Uber driver who now relies on public transportation. (The Globe agreed to identify Angel, an East Boston resident, by his first name as requested by him and his lawyer because of his debts.) From 2020 through last year, the Registry has prohibited driver's licenses from being renewed an average of 593,580 times annually because of unpaid tolls, excise taxes, and a court fee imposed on low-income people eligible free legal representation, according to agency figures. The Registry has also blocked the renewal of motor vehicle registrations an average of 120,883 times each year between 2020 and 2024 for unpaid excise taxes and tolls. Related : Without a legal option for driving, many drivers with debt find themselves exiled from the job market and unable to pay off the debts to restore their licenses or risk further jeopardy by driving illegally, critics said. Their earning options are greatly diminished because they cannot commute by car, perform driving-related job functions, or use that form of identification, advocates said. State Senator Julian Cyr, a Cape Cod Democrat, is pushing a bill that would limit the Registry's authority to impose sanctions on driver's licenses and vehicle registrations triggered by state taxes and certain fines. The bill, which is backed by state Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, would let drivers seek to have their fees waived or reduced based on financial hardship, and would direct the Registry to send bill payment reminders by email and text message. Advertisement The Registry would keep its authority to suspend driver's licenses for dangerous driving, operating under the influence of alcohol, and repeated unsafe driving infractions, according to bill advocates. Related : 'There is a real cycle of debt and legal entrapment,' Cyr said. 'We need to catch up to a number of states who have already reformed or eliminated debt-based license suspensions.' In a statement, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation said the law permitting the Registry to prohibit drivers with government debts from renewing their licenses has been in place since 1992. The assessments that can trigger the sanctions help to fund government services, including local aid to communities and highway maintenance, the agency said. 'MassDOT shares concerns about the fairness of the program and is open to discussions with our partners in the Legislature on any changes that could be made to minimize harm to people,' the statement said. Related : Massachusetts is out of step with other states that have limited or eliminated the government's authority to restrict driving because of debt, according to the Free to Drive campaign, a national coalition of organizations that favor reforms. Twenty-six states plus the District of Columbia have implemented changes to end or reduce restrictions for driver's licenses because of unpaid debts. Kristen Bor-Zale, a staff attorney at Greater Boston Legal Services who represents Angel, said the agency has been approached by other clients facing setbacks similar to his. According to a Globe review of RMV data, the agency placed licensees in non-renewal status more than 1.1 million times during a four-year period because of unpaid tolls. There are no options for payment plans or to petition for the debt to be reduced or waived; and legal protections that shield people receiving public benefits from being forced to pay consumer debts do not apply, Bor-Zale said. Advertisement By contrast, drivers who have been sanctioned for drunken-driving, driving under the influence of drugs, or have been designated as 'habitual traffic offenders' can apply Driving is vital for Massachusetts workers, with 70 percent commuting by vehicle to their jobs, 'If they can't legally drive they are getting cut out of the economy,' Bor-Zale said. 'It's pushing people to have to make very stark choices.' Another one of Bor-Zale's clients, Renata, said the Registry blocked her from renewing her license two years ago, claiming she owed more than $6,500 for tolls. The Hudson resident, who also asked that her last name be withheld because of her debts, said she had difficulty getting accurate information about her bill and was directed to debt collection companies. She accrued some of the debt, she said, while she was receiving cancer treatment and couldn't work. Renata lost her license because of unpaid tolls. Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff 'I can't pay this bill. It was [worth] more than my car,' she said. Without a valid license, Renata, a licensed cosmetologist and chaplain for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said her daily life came to a standstill. Renata said her trips into the city for medical appointments are now arduous, requiring hours of travel on local buses, commuter rail, and then an Uber or subway trip. 'It's all the stress,' she said. Jucemar Pereira, 72, said he returned to Brazil last year to live with his daughter for a time because he couldn't renew his license over unpaid tolls. Advertisement 'Not having a driver's license was certainly a motivation,' Pereira said through a Portuguese interpreter from his residence in Brazil. 'My entire life relies on this … document,' said Pereira, a naturalized US citizen who had lived in Massachusetts for about 25 years. A working group of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, a trade group for state driver's licensing agencies, wrote in a 2021 report that 'using a driver's license suspension for nonhighway safety violations should be avoided.' The Fines and Fees Justice Center, a national organization behind the Free to Drive campaign, has highlighted research from Yet there is concern about how potential changes could impact revenue collections. Adam Chapdelaine, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association, a nonprofit organization that represents municipal governments, said communities rely on the revenue from the Registry's fines to deliver 'essential services.' 'While we understand the intent of the legislation, we wouldn't support provisions that would make it harder to collect essential sources of municipal revenue,' he said in a statement. Meanwhile, Renata is working on paying off her debts. In March, the Registry agreed to reinstate her license but placed her vehicle registration in nonrenewal, giving her until the end of the month to pay about $3,400. She said she doesn't know how she's going find the money. 'This is very tough,' she said. 'I just need my life back.' Advertisement This story was produced by the Globe's team, which covers the racial wealth gap in Greater Boston. You can sign up for the newsletter . Laura Crimaldi can be reached at
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Miami Herald
Italy's ‘Ultra Fast' Hyperloop Train Reaches Major Milestone
One of Italy's most ambitious transportation projects is set to begin testing after passing its feasibility study. The Hyper Transfer hyperloop project, on which research first began in 2013, will commence construction work on a test track in Veneto, spanning 10 kilometers (about six miles) between Padua and Venice. The hyperloop project is designed to transport passengers and cargo at record speeds of up to 1,200 kilometers per hour, thanks to the use of magnetic levitation through vacuums. The vacuum means there is no air resistance on the front of the vehicle, allowing transport tubes to move at very high speeds. The technology has been tested in various parts of the world, including India, but the construction of a test site in Italy would be a major breakthrough for the concept in Europe. The hyperloop project has completed its feasibility study phase, with Luca Zaia, the president of the Veneto region, announcing that the test track would be built in his area. Zaia told the Transportation Logistics Fair in Munich this week: "It is not a futuristic vision but a concrete project born in Veneto...A revolutionary technology, strongly desired by the Veneto Region, which is now entering its operational phase." A consortium of four companies is managing the project: HyperloopTT, a Los Angeles-based technology provider and designer; Webuild, Italy's largest engineering contractor; Leonardo, a multinational aerospace and defense monitor; and Hyperloop Italia, the body that licenses the infrastructure. The test track will occupy a 10-kilometer stretch of land. It will be designed to carry both passengers and cargo, allowing the loop's safety systems and energy management technology to be properly tested. HyperloopTT CEO Andrés de Leónsaid in a statement to Newsweek: "This is the moment HyperloopTT has been working towards since 2013. We thank the Italian government, the Veneto region, and CAV for their vision and commitment to sustainable innovation. "We've partnered with some of the best engineering and transportation companies in the world, all with deep roots in the region. We look forward to bringing this first of many hyperloop systems to the world." HyperloopTT COO Andrea La Mendola said: "Italy has always been a cradle of creativity, innovation, and progress, from the artistic brilliance of the Renaissance to the engineering prowess behind their high-speed trains. Today, we stand at the dawn of a new era, poised to redefine mobility once again with the 'Hyper Transfer' project. "This hyperloop system is not just about connecting Venice and Padua in record time; it is a testament to Italy's unwavering spirit of innovation and their commitment to sustainable and efficient transport." The testing process is expected to take several years, although engineers hope that parts of the infrastructure will be operational by 2030. Related Articles How to Watch Norway vs Italy: Live Stream FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, TV ChannelAmerican's Trip to Italy Leads to Shocking Revelation About US: 'So Much Resentment'Mount Etna Erupts: Watch Live Feed of June 2 EruptionRule Change Hits Americans Seeking Italian Citizenship: 'Real Gut Punch' 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
