Optima Hybrid a looker with spunk, yes a hybrid with spunk! Let’s put this right out there, I like Kia’s Optima. Optima is one of the best looking mid-size cars on the market, looks like a luxury sedan and rides and feels like an entry-level luxury sedan. It also is well equipped for its price,... Continue Reading →
2014 Ford Fusion Energi SE
Plug-in hybrid Fusion Energi touts impressive fuel economy Ford’s midsize sedan, Fusion, has been well received both because of its high-end somewhat sporty looks and its driving characteristics. Fusion may prove to be Ford’s biggest hit since the Taurus was new. Fusion melds, or should we say, fuses the looks of an Aston Martin or... Continue Reading →
2014 MINI Cooper S Hardtop
New MINI Hardtop maximizes motoring fun  MINI has a deceptively simple message for its potential buyers, Let’s Motor! Yet it delivers exactly that, simple motoring fun. A new, larger MINI was reintroduced in 2002 by BMW, the former Mini was a British make. Now, a dozen model years later, its third and again larger (about... Continue Reading →
2014 Cadillac CTS Vsport
CTS Vsport kicks butt on the sport luxury sedan front Cadillac is beyond just being back, it’s now about kickin’ butt and takin’ numbers. First, unlike most sporty luxury brands, Cadillacs now exude style. The new CTS is the beauty queen of luxury sport sedans leaving others only to compete for Miss Congeniality. CTS’s... Continue Reading →
2014 Mazda MX-5 Miata Club
Miata still sets a high bar for sports car market When it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Mazda’s designers and brain trust have shown great wisdom to follow that axiom with the Miata sports car. For 25 years now the MX-5 Miata has made its mark by NOT changing much. There have been tiny body... Continue Reading →
2014 Toyota Highlander Ltd. Platinum hybrid
New Highlander may threaten Lexus it's so luxurious Toyota better be careful. It might be cutting into its Lexus sales with its latest Highlander. Who needs a Lexus when Toyota’s Highlander is so darned luxurious? First, the styling is sharp for a sport-ute. Everything from the hood creasing to the elongated swept-back lights to the... Continue Reading →
2014 Scion tC
Scion's tC edges out some competitors with style, quickness ... a fun drive I know the street racers out there, and many of my media colleagues, will disagree, but I like the Scion tC sports coupe better than Scion’s base FR-S, for a couple reasons. I think its styling is edgier and more fun, and... Continue Reading →
2015 Chrysler 200C AWD
Fiat gives Chrysler a fine mid-size car with new 200C The former Chrysler 200 was so long in the tooth you may have wanted to nickname it Snagglepuss. It was updated a couple years back by Fiat, after it snaggled Chrysler away from bankruptcy and the U.S. government. Mostly, that change in ownership has done... Continue Reading →
2014 Dodge Dart GT
Sporty, high-value Dart GT has power, but ride is too sporty My previous test of the compact Dodge Dart was near perfect. That was the Limited model, this metallic red beauty was the sportier GT. Blame it on age or our increasingly decrepit roads, but this one was harder on the derriere. Oh, I still like the Dart... Continue Reading →
2014 Subaru BRZ Limited
Fun, Fun, Fun till daddy takes the BRZ away! Rarely have I driven a sports coupe that was more pure fun to drive and garnered more attention than the Subaru BRZ, and yet … The BRZ, a kissin’ cousin to Scion’s F-RS, is far from perfect. But it’s so much fun you might overlook most... Continue Reading →