Tag: VehicleVoice

Times have certainly changed since the Hummer brand’s relaunch a few years back with the H2. Back then, 9/11 was fresh in Americans’ memory, and the H2’s military-inspired shape stirred up patriotic feelings among many. Heck, the fact that it slurped fuel with alarming thirst was probably a “badge of honor” among many Hummer owners. You took down our Twin Towers? Watch us take your oil!
Fast forward to 2008, and it’s a very different world indeed. The war that (at least in some small way) helped fuel Hummer’s initial popularity has reached an all-time low in terms of public support. Buzzwords like “foreign oil dependence” and “carbon emissions” are at the top of America’s collective mind. The values that Hummer stood for just a few years back are now far out of step with today’s national mood. Indeed, sales of traditional truck-based SUVs in general have declined significantly in favor of more efficient [...]

The Ford Edge Premium Mid-Size Crossover SUV adds a new Sport model for the 2009 model year. Normally, we would criticize the Sport because its features include only upsized wheels, a body kit and some interior tweaks. It does not include an uplevel engine… just its standard 3.5L V6 which is no slouch, but we’re lusting for the 3.7L V6 (Lincoln only, we understand) or the 3.5L Twin Turbo EcoBoost V6. Anything to give the Edge truly sporting credentials.



Still, the Sport model does add a dimension that Edge has lacked. If I were selecting an Edge, this would be the model I would choose. Probably with 20s rather than DUBs.
The Ford Press Release [...]

Bring marching bands to the Super Bowl and BCS Championship game. Abandon lame halftime concerts.

Okay, motorheads. Here's a story for you. The all new Corvette ZR1, introduced in Detroit at the North American Auto Show, is a work of art. But you probably already knew that

Super Bowl ads are the reason a lot of folks watch the Super Bowl. Of course, we usually pay most attention to car and truck ads, but these ads by Bridgestone and Budweiser rise above the rest.

GMC explores a new kind of pickup truck with the Denali XT, leveraging GM's Australian Holden division.

Much has been made of the recent onslaught of really great cars and trucks from General Motors. It’s particularly amazing for me, an automotive analyst in his thirties, to witness. You see, until very recently, GM – for my whole life – has always been the perpetual underachieving giant; in many ways a symbol of everything wrong with Detroit. I grew up in the 1970s and 1980s – a time when more and more of my generation’s Baby Boomer parents were abandoning GM clunkers in favor of far higher quality imports. Even throughout my adult years, GM hardly represented the “Mark of Excellence” its corporate slogan claimed. As long as I could remember, GM products (large trucks excepted) were rarely world class; in my mind, price and patriotism were the only real reasons to buy them.
For the last year and a half, however, I’ve been forced to rethink this notion that had been [...]

Automakers' commercials from the 2008 Super Bowl

BMW X6 promises to be among the most controversial of new vehicles introduced this year.

BMW X6 promises to be among the most controversial of new vehicles introduced this year.