Muscular Charger R/T Daytona offers kick-ass HEMI power Gone are the days of the crude old muscle cars that were horsepower heavy hogs good only for drag racing in a straight line. Welcome the new muscle car generation, summed up nicely by Dodge’s Charger, now a distinctly muscular looking four-door sedan, but with a hefty HEMI V8... Continue Reading →
2013 Nissan Armada Platinum Reserve 4×4
Armada beastly big with soft luxury interior With a name that promises size as well as exclusivity, the Nissan Armada Platinum Reserve delivers on both while coming in at what has become a mid-luxury large SUV price. The Armada, made in Mississippi along with Nissan’s luxury make Infiniti Q56, is a beastly big vehicle with... Continue Reading →
2014 Chevrolet Cruze Turbo Diesel
New Cruze Turbo Diesel promises great fuel mileage Give Chevrolet full credit on this one, it took a turbo diesel it uses in Europe, a hot bed for turbo diesels, and plunked it into its popular Cruze for the U.S. market. Why the accolades for Chevy? Well, it’s the first U.S. automaker to give us a... Continue Reading →
2013 Land Rover LR2
Land Rover's LR2 modest in price, but boasts off-roading capability Land Rover’s proud and adept off-roading history assures you that you’ll be getting a terrain crunching vehicle with any model, but the expectation of luxury is surely just as great. So it is with its entry-level sport-ute, the LR2. With a modest starting price of... Continue Reading →
2014 Jeep Patriot Latitude 4×4
Inexpensive new Patriot fills roll as soft-roader I like the Jeep Patriot for what it is, an inexpensive sport-utility truck that’s available with four-wheel-drive. In that, it’s simple and straight forward and has a much Jeepier look than its twin, the Jeep Compass. Let’s get this out of the way up front. Compass and Patriot are the... Continue Reading →
2013 Volkswagen Beetle Convertible 50s Edition
Beetle drop-top reflects heritage of 1950s models Simplicity is its own reward, but it’s often accompanied by modest cost and a style that stands out in today’s overwrought world.Such has always been the case with Volkswagen’s simply shaped Beetle. Now comes a new Beetle convertible, replacing the 8-year-old New Beetle convertible. THIS new iteration actually... Continue Reading →
Die-cast: LeMans-winning Ford GT40s
Ixo's Ford GT40 models offer good detail, value in 1:43 scale Ford’s GT40 is the most beautiful enclosed race car ever made, and one of the most successful too. That’s my design bias, but the GT40’s success can’t be argued. Funny thing, it was created to settle a score at the highest levels of the automotive... Continue Reading →
2013 Nissan Sentra SL
Sharp new Nissan Sentra has its mojo back A few years back Nissan’s Sentra lost its way. For years it had been right up there with Toyota’s Corolla and Honda’s Civic as a premier entry level sedan, great for young families. But then it started to look like a cheap little car, inside and out. Worse... Continue Reading →
2013 Ford C-Max Energi
Sayonara Prius, C-Max Energi more useful, drives better Families looking for superior gas mileage, a small crossover/wagon with generous cargo room and a roomy back seat with massive headroom will feel comfortable in Ford’s new C-Max. This is a tall wagon this is 100% hybrid, as in that’s all you can buy, although there are... Continue Reading →
2014 Subaru Forester 2.0XT Premium
Subaru adds some macho to its 2014 Forester Simply put, I have a new favorite small sport-utility vehicle, the 2014 Subaru Forester. While the rest of the small ute world is going toward crossover status and swoopy designs, the Forester, one of the early crossover/utes with AWD, is going away from that. It’s going all... Continue Reading →