Power, handling, looks, Stinger as swanky as European makes ... Swanky European luxury sports sedans often crest $50,000, but they deliver the looks and performance that command a premium. Most also have earned a reputation for quickness and precision handling over decades of development. So what happens when a newcomer sidles up behind the established... Continue Reading →
2022 Subaru Forester Wilderness
Wilderness trim moves Forester further off road ... I’m not sure it’s ever totally fair to test a vehicle in Wisconsin in January, but then we all DO have to drive here in winter and Subaru designs its cars for our climate with full-time AWD. So I guess I shouldn’t feel too sorry for the... Continue Reading →
2021 Ford F-150 SuperCrew Lariat (hybrid)
Ford's hybrid F-150 SuperCrew is all the pickup a person can use ... Driving the new Ford F-150 SuperCrew Lariat was like déjà vu all over again. Doesn’t happen often, but I got to test drive the new hybrid version of Ford’s most popular (in fact North America’s most popular) vehicle for a second time... Continue Reading →
2022 Toyota 4Runner TRD Sport
Why should Jeep have all the nostalgic off-road fun? ... Jeep has been mining the retro vein of off-roading SUVs for decades, so why shouldn’t Toyota? This Y-chromosome packed market imagines itself crushing boulders and slopping through mud that’s butt deep for fun on weekends. Never mind that the family might like a comfortable ride... Continue Reading →
2022 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X Crew Cab 4X4
Horsey Frontier both civilized and off-road ready ... Pickups are becoming so civilized it’s possible that urban cowboys won’t want to sidle up to them pretty soon. All pickups used to be boxes on big knobby tires with a big ol’ floor-mounted stick shift, a metal bed and rusty (after a couple years) tailgate that... Continue Reading →
2022 Subaru Ascent Onyx edition
Biggest Subaru offers three rows, more comfort ... Subaru has this love-all thing going with the environment, and who can blame it. National Parks and dogs are universally loved and tying your sales to either seems a no-brainer. I mean baseball and apple pie had already been tried. Subie’s latest love is the Ascent, its... Continue Reading →
Diecast: Auto World 1971 Ford Torino GT
1:18 scale Torino GT oozes 1970s muscle, fastback styling ... Clint Eastwood loves his Gran Torino, both the car and the movie he made that revolved around one. But Torinos were mainstream, a lot of folks owned them in the late 1960s through the mid-1970s. That’s because they were the midsize or intermediate Fords, good... Continue Reading →
So that’s a Matador
AMC’s entry into the personal luxury market. American Motors almost always had to swing for the fence when it came to introducing new products because they didn’t have the big budgets to work with like GM, Ford, and Chrysler did. The same went for their marketing. Enter the second generation Matador in 1974 and with... Continue Reading →
2022 Acura MDX SH-AWD Advance
Acura doctors up its MDX , prescribing excellence ... Rare that an automaker skips making one of its best-sellers for a year, but Acura did that - sort of - with its popular MDX luxury sport-ute to ensure its 2022 MDX was a winner. It is. To be accurate, Acura didn’t skip a whole... Continue Reading →
2021 Mazda CX-30 2.5 Turbo, Premium Plus, AWD
Already a winner, new turbo elevates CX-30 to top tier ... Earlier this year I named Mazda’s slick new small crossover, the CX-30, as my Zoomie 2021 Car of the Year. Little did I know then that it was gonna get better. The original was sporty looking, featured responsive handling, a quiet near luxury interior... Continue Reading →