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Car Reviews

2013 Toyota Avalon

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Avalon XLE Premium aims for younger drivers

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Styling is dramatically improved on the 2013 Toyota Avalon.

An old automotive axiom goes that you can sell a young man’s car to an old man, but you can’t sell an old man’s car to a young man.Apparently Toyota didn’t know that, until now.

Toyota’s Avalon, long a senior citizen favorite, has been restyled and its suspension and steering firmed up to move it decidedly out of the old fuddy-duddy market in looks and performance. Its crisp new body with thin chrome-trimmed grille above a larger lower opening and its thinned taillights with chrome across the rear deck turn styling yawner into a sharply tailored machine.

At least now mature adults who are not yet AARP worthy may look at the Avalon. Continue reading 2013 Toyota Avalon →

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Car Reviews

2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe

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A Sculpted, Sensuous Styling Home Run

Hyundai’s new Genesis Coupe is a styling home run, sporty, sculpted and sensuous.

I’ve gotten in trouble before using sensuous to describe a car. But I’m just saying, this baby has all its curves in all the right places. Heck, a co-worker who saw only the 2013 coupe’s nose out our office window asked me if I was testing a Maserati this week.

Part of that perception of the Genesis Coupe as something special comes from the four creases in the hood and the way the blend into the nose. Helping are two angular air scoops (fake, sadly) that perfectly accent the hood’s lines too. Not so subtle creasing of the sheet metal along the sides also makes Genesis look quick, even sitting still. Continue reading 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe →

Car Reviews

2012 Mazda MX-5 Miata

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A Sports Car as Good as it Gets

This is the Miata I actually drove, but a few weeks before the test. Here it sits near the Carousel at Road America at a Midwest Autowriters outing.

To look at Mazda’s MX-5 Miata you’d think little has changed since its introduction nearly 25 years ago.It’s still the quintessential two-seater, a sports car for the ages with a simple layout, simple lines, simple controls and for today’s market, a simple price tag.

The base Sport with a soft convertible top goes for $23,470, but the tested Special Edition with a power hardtop lists at $31,225. Add in the $795 destination charge and you’re looking at $32,020, not an economy car, but there aren’t many convertibles available in this price range anymore.

Yet Miata is a pleasant mixture of change and stability. The petit, some might call it cute, styling has been cleaned up a touch through the years, so now it reflects a bit more crispness, like the former Honda S2000 roadster. Continue reading 2012 Mazda MX-5 Miata →

Car Reviews

2013 Ford Mustang V6 Coupe

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Mustang is Ford’s home run hitting all-star

Ford continues to belt home run after home run with its Mustang lineup and the newly freshened 2013 Ford Mustang powered by a stout V6 is the latest round-tripper.

Ford touches all the bases here, looks, speed, handling and ride. My test car was a light (Ingot) silver Premium model, so just up from the base Mustang. Both feature the same hot rod V6, a 3.7-liter motor that cranks an impressive 305 horsepower. But the base starts at a modest $22,200 and the Premium at $26,200.

The Premium model includes, among other upgrades, a 370-watt Shaker audio system along with Microsoft’s Sync system to help you select radio or other audio options via voice. Continue reading 2013 Ford Mustang V6 Coupe →

Car Reviews

Lexus GS 350 AWD

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Photos courtesy Lexus

Let the coddling begin!

Luxury cars make you feel special; they coddle you.

After a week in a gorgeous “mercury metallic (dark sparkling metallic blue)” 2013 Lexus GS350 I consider myself sufficiently coddled. The redesigned full-size GS comes as both a rear-drive and all-wheel-drive model, this being the latter.

All come with a strong 3.5-liter direct-injection V6 that delivers 306 horsepower via a seamless 6-speed automatic that allows you to shift manually via the console shifter or paddle shifters located behind the power tilt/telescope steering wheel. Everything feels silky smooth, belying the GS AWD’s $49,450 base price. Continue reading Lexus GS 350 AWD →