The 2021 Toyota Mirai has officially set the world record for the longest distance by a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle without refueling. The Mirai achieved 845 miles driven on a single, five-minute complete fill of hydrogen during a roundtrip tour of Southern California as it set the record. The Toyota Mirai’s record sets a new distance milestone for zero emission vehicles.

“In 2016, the Toyota Mirai was the first production fuel cell electric vehicle available for retail sale in North America, and now the next generation Mirai is setting distance records,” said Bob Carter, executive vice president, Toyota Motor North America. “We are proud to be leaders of this exciting technology, which is just one of a growing lineup of zero emission vehicles in our portfolio.”

The official record attempt was closely monitored by Guinness World Records, adhering to its strict rules and documentation procedures. On its efficiency-focused August 23 and 24, 2021 journey, the Mirai logged an152 MPGe with water as its only emission. Guinness World Records adjudicator, Michael Empric, validated the Mirai’s tank with a seal at both the beginning and end of the journey.

How does NASCAR follow up a historic weekend at Talladega?

With a weekend full of drama at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite tracks in all of NASCAR (The track’s been so much fun since it’s arrival, I honestly feel like sending Marcus Smith a thank-you card for coming up with the idea in the first place).

It was a very newsworthy weekend, both on the track and off. Here are my initial reactions to some of the big news that we got to take in this weekend.

Harvick vs. Elliott

Well, this rivalry certainly came to a head this weekend. After several weeks of openly holding a grudge against Elliott for the way Elliott raced him at Bristol, Harvick acted on those feelings at the Roval, punting Elliott during Sunday’s race. Unfortunately for Happy Harvick, Elliott was able to continue on (despite a flapping bumper cover that should have gotten him black-flagged), eventually securing a place in the next round of the playoffs while Harvick ultimately did not. Harvick’s day, perhaps in a bit of karma, ended when he wrecked himself while Chase was lurking in the background and no doubt ready to give payback. Before he could get there, Harvick froze up and did the job himself. 

After the race, Harvick basically confirmed he had spun Elliott on purpose, but Elliott had the ultimate last wor, saying he wished Harvick a “Merry Offseason and Happy Christmas”. My first thought after hearing the comment was the “Y’all wanna see a dead body?” meme, as Harvick’s got nothing he can say in response.

As a fan, it was great drama, and I’m pretty sure that puts an end to their on-track battles for this year. I don’t expect any more shunts between the two, but you can bet Harvick will do his best to hold up Chase and prevent him from winning the title, if they are ever near each other in the final races.

Either way, whether you like Chase or Harvick or neither one of them, the fans are the ones who are coming out on top here, as we’re seeing genuine rivalries play out in a sport where those are mostly a thing of the past.

After the long weekend we experienced at Talladega — with three wild races all ending with first-time winners, and the ultimate capper of Bubba Wallace making history with his first career win after a strong charge to the front before the rains hit — there’s a lot that can be said.

I could talk about all the “firsts” that happened with Bubba’s win at Talladega, and there’s a lot of them, but that’s been covered ad nauseam. 

I could talk about the historical importance of Bubba’s win — but all you have to do is watch Bubba’s emotional interview after the win was announced and you’ll see in his eyes and hear it in his voice as he absorbs the reality of what he’s achieved and why it matters. I couldn’t say it any better than he did in that interview, nor would I try. And if you as a fan can listen to that interview, and still try to claim that this isn’t a significant win, I suggest you learn a little bit about history. 

The two big stories I see coming out of this weekend are that the underdogs can come out on top with enough dedication and hard work over many years, and that our nation still has some work to do until the type of milestone achieved by Bubba on Monday is no longer a newsworthy event.

Since launching the hybrid craze years ago with the Prius, Toyota has been a leader in eco-friendly vehicles. Hence their recent emphasis on plug-in hybrids, the next step toward the inevitable arrival of electric-only vehicles for the masses.

One such offering in this vein that I recently got to test is the 2021 Toyota RAV4 Prime, a plug-in hybrid version of their wildly popular RAV4 SUV. With an electric range of 42 miles, and strong fuel economy when in hybrid mode, it’s definitely one of the plug-in offerings getting a lot of attention in this changing automotive landscape.

I recently spent some time in the RAV4 Prime, which serves a good landing point for people who want to move beyond standard hybrids but are not yet comfortable with electric-only options.

Despite the seemingly unstoppable trend toward SUVs and other larger vehicles, the class of small but fun-to-drive cars still has its share of devotees.

One such contender in this niche category is the Mazda3, which comes in sedan and hatchback models.

This vehicle hasn’t had a full redesign since 2019, but the 2021 version does introduce some new engine options and make other slight refreshes.

I recently got a chance to test out the impressive 2021 Mazda3 Turbo Premium Plus hatchback model, and I’m back with a full report on how it measures up, and who might be a good fit for this vehicle.