2016 Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T GLI SE

New Jetta reminds us of driving's pure joy ... Reminders are needed, from time to time, of the pure joy of driving, and Volkswagen’s Jetta is just the thing to pleasantly jog one’s memory. The conservatively styled Jetta’s exterior has been slightly smoothed and refined for 2016, but its mechanical workings needed no tweaks. The Jetta... Continue Reading →

July 1, 2016 2

2016 Volkswagen CC 2.0T R-Line

VW's CC a fine handling sedan with a stick! ... Why Volkswagen doesn’t advertise its CC sedan is beyond me. This sporty family sedan has been on the market seven years and is nearly invisible in the marketplace. I’ve never seen a magazine or TV ad for it. That’s particularly weird at this time when VW... Continue Reading →

June 24, 2016 0

2016 Kia Optima LX Turbo

Kia Optima, a better mid-size sedan ... When I last tested a Kia Optima I thought it among the best mid-size sedans I’d driven, plus it got 39.5 miles per gallon. Wow! But that was a hybrid model. Well, the refreshed 2016 Optima is even more impressive. My one major hesitation with the previous model,... Continue Reading →

April 15, 2016 1

2016 Ford Escape SE 4WD

Ford's Escape a looker and a handler ... Ford’s Escape is popular because it looks good, comes in a range of prices that meet a wide array of consumers’ needs, and is an extremely sporty handling crossover. None of that changes for 2016. Escape is handsome with enough of a swept-back look to appear quick and... Continue Reading →

March 25, 2016 0

2016 Honda Civic EX

New Honda Civic adds style, remains no-nonsense sedan ... Need good basic wheels? Make that better than basic, but at a no-nonsense price, a practical car that’s fun to drive with good ride and that will fit a family of four comfortably. Honda’s new 2016 Civic sedan has you covered, and then some. Civics, when first... Continue Reading →

March 12, 2016 0

Die-cast: Autoart’s 1958 Chevy Corvette

1958 Corvette another beauty in 1/18 scale ... While the early Corvettes were cute little underpowered sports cars, for my money they got serious and more aggressive looking for 1958 when Harley Earl and his design crew gave them quad headlights. To be honest, the Corvette had gotten off to a rather slow sales start... Continue Reading →

March 6, 2016 1

2016 Toyota Avalon Touring

Stylish Toyota Avalon long on comfort at good price Toyota’s Avalon is a breath of fresh air, a full-size sedan with stylish lines and oodles of comfort and features at a reasonable price. In days of yore, that would be enough to make it one of the top sellers in the marketplace, but alas, modern... Continue Reading →

March 5, 2016 0

2016 Kia Sorento SX Ltd. Turbo AWD

Handsome turbo-packing Sorento near faultless ... Several drives in Kia’s handsome Sorento crossover during the past couple years still has me searching hard for its faults. There aren’t many. Most test drives leave me wanting a little more, or less, of something, but Sorento just keeps impressing. First, it has the ability to carry seven... Continue Reading →

February 27, 2016 0

2016 Lexus RX350 F Sport

Snazzy Lexus RX350 leaves me wanting more ... The Lexus RX350 has set the tone for mid-size luxury SUVs, now mostly crossovers, for about 20 years and with the 2016 model being totally restyled inside and out, I was expecting more of the same. That is, I expected to be wowed by the segment leader’s... Continue Reading →

February 20, 2016 0

Die-cast: Auto World’s 1966 Chevrolet Biscayne Coupe

Chevrolet Biscayne was a go-to car for years While Auto World’s new 1/18 scale Chevrolet Biscayne Coupe is a lot snazzier looking in its Aztec Bronze paint scheme, it reminds me of some of the Plain Jane Chevy’s my great uncle and other relatives used on their Indiana farms. Those were usually white, tan or... Continue Reading →