Month: July 2025

Maxell MCXP-P100S is another modern portable cassette player, this time with a speaker

Last month Maxell introduced a new portable cassette player for the Japanese market that combines retro features (it’s… a portable tape cassette player) with modern touches (like a rechargeable battery, USB-C port, and Bluetooth audio suppo…

Last month Maxell introduced a new portable cassette player for the Japanese market that combines retro features (it’s… a portable tape cassette player) with modern touches (like a rechargeable battery, USB-C port, and Bluetooth audio support). Now the company has added another model to the lineup. The new Maxell MXCP-P100S has all the features of the previously-announced […]

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Going chain-free with the Priority Apollo gravel bike

Gravel is even more fun when cleanup is a breeze.

In combining a belt drive with a gravel bike, Priority Bicycles has put a smart idea into action with the Apollo Gravel. The execution is mostly there, although the Apollo is perhaps best described as a fantastic commuter bike with a solid gravel upside—as long as the road isn't too rough.

The Apollo Gravel comes in both aluminum and titanium frames. I tested the $1,999 aluminum model; the titanium version retails for $3,999. The aluminum version weighs in at 24 lb (10.9 kg), about a half-pound more than the titanium version, and comes with 40 mm WTB tires, WTB i23 ST tubeless-ready wheels (our test bike had inner tubes), and semi-hydraulic disc brakes. Both models use the Shimano Alfine 11 hub and a Gates Carbon Drive Belt.

No mess, no fuss

At first glance, a belt drive and internal gear hub seem the perfect match for a gravel bike. But implementation is key, and Priority has largely nailed it. Regular gravel grinding means regularly washing your bike and lubricating the chain. While the Apollo got dirty and needed to be hosed off, there were no gloves or chain lube involved. There were also no worries about dirt and dust making their way into a derailleur or coating the cassette. Belt drives are also dead quiet and have an excellent reputation for longevity, lasting up to three times longer than a chain.

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The 2025 Audi RS 3 is a five-cylinder firecracker

The updated compact sedan packs personality into an accessible package.

First offered in a passenger car by Mercedes-Benz back in 1974, the five-cylinder engine has always been a bit of an automotive oddball. The unconventional configuration eventually gained a foothold in the 1980s with manufacturers who needed a transversely mounted motor that was narrower than a V6 but wanted something smoother and more powerful than an inline-four.

For a time, the engine, with its distinctive exhaust warble, became closely associated with Audi’s lineup, aided in no small part by the motorsport successes of five-cylinder rally cars like the Sport Quattro S1 E2. But as technology progressed and turbocharging became more prevalent, the need for a straight-five layout dwindled. Today, the $63,400 RS 3 is the final five-cylinder holdout—not just for Audi, but for production cars in general.

In an era increasingly focused on electrification and modularity, the improbable introduction of the second-generation RS 3 back in 2022 seemed like fan service—an apparition that would likely vanish after a handful of diehards got their fill. But despite the headwinds that traditional performance cars have faced in recent years, the RS 3 not only lives on, it has actually been refreshed for 2025. While the tweaks are more evolutionary than revolutionary, they make what was already a highly entertaining sports sedan even more compelling. Well, for the most part anyway.

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