Posted by Dave Sullivan on December 10, 2012 at 10:01 pm
The last time I drove an “entry level” luxury car that shared bones with some of Ford’s European DNA was my 2002 Jaguar X-Type 2.5 Sport with a manual transmission. Haters can hate but I liked that car because it was more Ford than Jaguar. Before the X-Type I had a 2001 Focus ZX3 and before that I had a Mercury Cougar. The front-wheel drive one that was made in Michigan and exported to Europe. Before that I had a 1996 Contour Zetec 5MT. A 1999 SVT Contour was also in there somewhere. Regardless, I’ve always been jealous of what Ford has offered in Europe. I did what I could to get my hands on the closest thing to a European Ford, even if it wasn’t always the real deal.
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Posted by Dave Sullivan on November 14, 2012 at 7:22 am
What if I told you you could buy a vehicle that had the capability to haul seven people, could hit at least 30 MPG on the highway, and had all of the creature comforts you would want, such as navigation and Bluetooth; would you buy it? What if there was a catch? Would sliding doors break the deal for you? Would riding in a jazzed up cargo van send shivers down your spine?
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Posted by Dave Sullivan on August 24, 2012 at 10:19 am
BMW opted to bring back their M6 Convertible for 2012, and as expected, it offers up more horsepower, better looks, and increased fuel economy.
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Posted by Dave Sullivan on July 24, 2012 at 7:24 pm
Who will win? Front-wheel drive? Rear-wheel drive? All-wheel drive? Some don’t care who wins! And we have the enthusiasts, who begrudge anything with front-wheel drive and performance in the same sentence.
Let’s fast forward five years…
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Posted by Dave Sullivan on March 25, 2012 at 8:50 am
When was the last time you can honestly say that you’ve driven a full-size car with 140 horsepower and it has been more than adequate? Maybe the 1986 Ford Taurus with the venerable Vulcan V6? Well, I was given the opportunity for some seat time with a 2012 Passat TDI clean diesel and it is Volkswagen’s newest sedan to hit American soil, err, actually be built on American soil. While the styling may not be anything to get excited about at first glance; like a jelly donut, it’s what is inside that counts.
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Posted by George Peterson on January 5, 2012 at 5:08 pm
An annual pilgrimage for the auto industry is to attend the press days at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit each January. Unfortunately, this year I cannot attend because my physicians caution that I should not be heaving carry-ons into and out of overhead bins and baggage carousels.
So, I’m jealous.
One of the primary businesses of AutoPacific is to keep on top of what is the latest in the auto industry worldwide, so AutoPacific will still be well represented at Detroit.
I asked each of our staff members to remind me why I should or should not be jealous of them attending instead of me. Read below the break for their input.
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Posted by Dave Sullivan on December 11, 2011 at 11:13 pm
There are a few Volkswagen models that seem to resonate highly with women. One was the ‘New Beetle’ that was an instant hit. Maybe it was the flower pot? Maybe it was the cartoonish styling? The second was the Volkswagen Cabrio. I hate to stereotype here but I’m going to. The Cabrio was a chick’s car. An anemic powertrain and powder puff looks had me thinking back to the last time I rode in one in college. Oh and that picnic basket look was just a major eyesore. Urban Dictionary even calls the Cabrio the Bitch Basket. It was embarrassing, noisy, and not something I wanted an encore of. So, is the Eos an improvement over the defunct Cabrio with better styling, powertrain, and design or is the Eos still the flagship for the feminist movement? Let’s find out…
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Posted by Dave Sullivan on November 10, 2011 at 12:04 am
Honda just can’t seem to catch a break these days. With the fallout from the tsunami, a profit sucking Japanese currency issue, the floods in Thailand, and the media in an uproar over the new Civic, well, Honda’s public relations team is working overtime. So, is the Civic really the worst car out of Honda in years or has the segment just gotten that good?
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Posted by Dave Sullivan on November 2, 2011 at 12:28 am
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I need to give you full disclosure: I love engines with forced induction. Turbos and superchargers make me smile, well, most of the time. My father had a Lincoln MKT EcoBoost when they first came out and I appreciated the idea of a turbo V6 but wasn’t particularly impressed with the the package. The front-wheel biased all-wheel drive torque steer and transmission calibration never seemed to be as polished as I had hoped for in a vehicle of that price point. It could use a dose of that torque vectoring system from the Focus to balance out the massive amount of power. My opinion of the V6 EcoBoost from Ford was basically “meh”, as I never felt like the refinement was all there. A stint in a Taurus SHO confirmed this fact for me. Sure, it’s a stupid powerful powertrain but it was missing the harmony that made the engine mate up to the car like peanut butter and jelly.
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Posted by Dave Sullivan on September 28, 2011 at 10:20 pm
When Ford announced that the 5.0L V8 was coming back to life for the 2011 model year, the Boss 302 rumors immediately followed. We haven’t seen the Boss 302 name grace a Mustang since 1970. It’s back for the 2012 model year and after a few days in one, it is safe to say it is the must-have Mustang since the last Boss 302.
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