A Dream Day for driving As members of the Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA) Mark and I make the trip to Road America where we get to drive new cars from the manufacturers. This year, we drove the Ford Focus ST, BMW M40i, Dodge Challenger Hellcat, and GT, Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, Lexus RC F,... Continue Reading →
Small scale slot car track with big details
The ultimate experience for F1 fanatics Slot Mods USA creates what could be considered the holy grail of slot car layouts for racers. I'm in for sure on that. These guys create over the top layouts which are all hand-crafted and museum quality. They create slot car tracks from vintage to modern-day circuits. The layouts... Continue Reading →
2017 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Ltd. Platinum
Highlander Hybrid excels at moving people, things ... A road trip to Louisville with a couple buddies, and plenty of cargo, proved Toyota’s Highlander Hybrid to be a perfect transport choice. Ours was a medium metallic brown, what Toyota calls Toasted Walnut Pearl. Probably should have been pecan since we were headed to the South. But,... Continue Reading →
2017 Hyundai Elantra Limited
Hyundai Elantra, perceptions change a bit ... Perceptions can shift and auto writers often perceive differences in similar models they drive. This happened on a couple fronts with my latest drive of Hyundai’s attractive Elantra Limited, its near top-level compact. I still like the car, its looks, its features, its gas mileage, its value. But compared... Continue Reading →
2017 Volvo S60 T5 AWD Dynamic
Volvo S60 OK, but doesn't distinguish itself ... Volvo’s S60 is a fine, but underwhelming, compact, entry-level luxury car. The S60 is nice looking and has all-wheel-drive, which will make it more useful to drivers in northern climes. It performs well, although its ride is rough, yet nothing really stands out. Some will argue that its safety... Continue Reading →
Diecast: Automodello’s 1974 Bricklin SV1 Scottsdale Police
Automodello retools its Bricklin SV1, adds cop car markings ... Bricklins were unique in their day, the mid-1970s, but even more unusual were three white over blue Bricklins with sirens, a bubble gum strobe and other police gear. They were part of the Scottsdale, Ariz., police. Malcolm Bricklin basically gave the Scottsdale police the three... Continue Reading →
2017 Ford Focus RS
Ford's Focus RS is a scorching hot rod ... Simply put, Ford’s Focus RS is a street-legal race car. Not many of those out there, and most that are require you to sell your house in order to make a down payment on said speedster. So here, for “just” $36,995, Ford will put a scorching... Continue Reading →
Plug and Play Motorcycles
Electric fun on two wheels It's not just the auto industry that has made major breakthroughs in electric power, so as the motorcycle industry. In less than a decade electric motorcycles have gone from garage-built prototypes ones that rival gas-powered superbikes (bike with 1,000 CC and above engines). While power isn't a problem, they suffer the... Continue Reading →
Die-cast: NEO’s 1932 Packard 902 Standard Eight Coupe
1932 Packard's beauty shines through in resin model ... You know you’re mature when you remember seeing Packards for sale at the corner used car lots and driving around the neighborhood, and mine was not a ritzy area. But for those of us who grew up in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Packard was still a... Continue Reading →
2017 Lincoln Continental AWD Reserve
Mr. Lincoln returns with statuesque Continental ... Lincoln’s new Continental, its first since 2002, has the type of curb appeal that will instantly allow it entry into the country club parking lot. It looks luxurious and that big chrome grille lets you know it’s a Continental. For those interested in making a luxury statement,... Continue Reading →