BMW delivers spunky small crossover starting below $40k ... Small crossovers are a dime a dozen, but spunky luxurious ones are a bit rarer. And spunky ones starting below $40,000 are as precious as that last hidden Easter egg found before the cat discovers it. BMW offers several luxury spunkmobiles, as do a couple of... Continue Reading →
Car Spot: The AMC Mighty Mite
The Jeep before they bought Jeep. Being an AMC guy, I get a fair amount of abuse but I remind those abusing me of the innovative vehicles the company came out with in response to the market. One example is this week's car spot, the Mighty Mite. Found this example at the Russell Military Museum... Continue Reading →
2023 Toyota bZ4X XLE FWD
All-electric crossover features a funky name, and interior ... Electric vehicles are growing in number, range, and pricing options. That’s all well and good, but not all feel like a big step forward. When that feeling comes from a Toyota, it simply feels odd. It’s especially weird since Toyota and Subaru, two long-time winners in... Continue Reading →
Car Spot: Chevy Cobalt SS
A supercharged rocket Introduced as a 2005 model, the Cobalt was GM's most ambitious attempt to go fender-to-fender with compact Asian imports. It had a tough act to follow replacing the Cavalier. Motor Trend loved it saying it was solidly built, suitably refined, and attractively priced, it's an American car that can compete with its... Continue Reading →
2023 Volvo S60 Recharge AWD Ultimate (Black Edition)
High-horse plug-in hybrid rekindles joy of driving a sedan ... Sedans are such a rarity now that it’s a special treat to drive one, especially when it’s a sophisticated looking, high-horse plug-in hybrid from Volvo. You may recall a time when Volvos were boxy and boring, but safe as the vault at Fort Knox, assuming... Continue Reading →
Car Spot: The Nissan Cube
You can see the French influence in its design ... Every time I see one of these I expect that when it stops a bunch of clowns will jump out of it. Kelly Blue Book loved the Cube naming it one of the coolest cars under $18,000 in 2009 and the following year listed the... Continue Reading →
2023 Mazda CX-5 2.5 Turbo Signature AWD
Perfect sized CX-5 Turbo continues to excel, remain a bargain ... Only a year separated me from my last review of Mazda’s top-seller the CX-5, a snazzy looking compact crossover, but only a week separated me from testing its new stablemate, the CX-50. There’s going to be confusion in the marketplace with such similar names,... Continue Reading →
Fun Stuff: I drove the fastest Jeep
OK, I was the only Jeep:) This past Saturday I was up at Road America, just about my favorite place in the world next to AirVenture in Oshkosh, taking part in the third race in the Winter Autocross Series presented by David Hobbs Honda. 120 drivers came from as far away as South Carolina and... Continue Reading →
Mercedes-AMG
Minichamps Mercedes-AMG Petronas W11:Lewis Hamilton, 2020 Eifel GP Record 91 wins ... Another Formula 1 season starts this weekend and to mark the season’s launch it seems appropriate to review a Minichamps 1:43 scale model of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas driven by all-time F1 race winner Lewis Hamilton, when he set the record in 2020. Sir... Continue Reading →
Car Spot: 1974 AMC Hornet
This spot has quite the sting ... During the late 1960s and early '70s, American Motors was looking to shake the stodgy look. You know, great economy, but a car maybe my parents would drive. Among the cars introduced were the Javelin and Hornet. While both could come with AMC's inline-6s, they also could be... Continue Reading →