Author Archive: mbmartin

I drove Ford’s New Maverick in late September in Nashville, Tennessee. Ford describes Maverick as “Unibody SuperCrew Pickup”. This means it has four doors and a spacious interior capable of carrying 5-adults. The cargo bed is a short 4.5 foot affair, but Ford has designed the bed with great flexibility.

The new Maverick is the latest vehicle to be spun off of Ford’s excellent and flexible C2 unit body platform. Others on the platform include the Ford Escape, Lincoln Corsair, Ford Bronco Sport and now the Ford Maverick. This platform gives Ford “go-fast” product development capability and also helps with cost efficiencies.

People will call the Maverick a small pickup, but it is not. It rides on a 119-inch wheelbase and has an overall length of almost 200-inches. A typical mid-size car has a 110-112-inch wheelbase and overall length of between 180 and 185-inches.  The Maverick is about a foot shorter than Ford’s Ranger mid-size [...]

The 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz is a Sports Adventure Vehicle establishing a new niche for Hyundai in the USA. Distinctively styled with a four-door cabin and short pickup bed, the Santa Cruz will appeal to a wide range of people wanting head turning looks, good utility and ease of use.

The all new 2021 Ford Bronco Sport is an impressive, and affordable, small crossover SUV with Bronco styling cues. It is very capable off road. It is easy to drive and live with off-road, on city streets and cruising on the freeway. It turns heads and gets smiles.

AutoPacific attended the press preview for the 2022 Hyundai Tucson in Tucson, Arizona in April 2021. The 4th generation Tuscon proves to be ust the right size. It is easy to drive, quiet, smooth riding and distinctively styled. Hyundai continues its string of well-done new models giving it one of the strongest vehicle line-ups in the market today.

AutoPacific compared a 2021 Lincoln Nautilus with a 2020 Lincoln Corsair.  They just happened to be at the same place at the same time.  It is pertinent to compare Nautilus vs. Corsair because they are the 5-seat entries in Lincoln’s all-XSUV lineup.  For the uninitiated, XSUV is AutoPacific’s shorthand for Crossover Sport Utility Vehicle.

Corsair Nits and Niggles  The Corsair is based on the Ford Escape platform and is all new for 2020.  Because it is all new, Corsair is executed with Lincoln’s new DNA.  There are small differences.  First, the Corsair is available with a brilliant color Head-Up Display.  Once you are used to a [...]

AutoPacific had a recent opportunity to spens some time in a 2021 Lincoln Nautilus Reserve.  Does the 2021 Lincoln Nautilus achieve Lincoln’s objective of “Quiet Flight” and “Sanctuary”.  Pretty darn close.

Lincoln Motor Company, the luxury brand for Ford Motor Company is now an all SUV brand:  Navigator, Aviator, Nautilus, Corsair.  The Lincoln lineup is a demonstration of strong group of products.  Even though the 2021 Nautilus is its latest update, in reality it is the oldest vehicle in the lineup.  Back in the bad old days when Lincoln thought alphanumeric naming was “the bomb”, the Nautilus was the MKX (the Corsair was the MKC).  (Funny, they never changed the Navigator’s name because it is “too strong” – Cadillac made the same decision with Escalade).  But I digress, back to the [...]

The all new 2021 Hyundai Elantra is an excellent example of a car maker still making great cars. With many automakers now concentrating on crossover SUVs (XSUVs), Hyundai continues to design and develop outstanding cars. While Hyundai's XSUVs are very competitive too, Hyundai understands the car business remains very important.

The 2020 Ford Transit van has become the ubiquitous delivery vehicle across America. AutoPacific was given the opportunity to drive one for a week. Here is a brief review of this outstanding commercial vehicle.

The 2021 Ford F-150 is Ford's most important product. Competition is gaining fast, so Ford is launching a new F-150 for the 2021 model year. The sheetmetal is new, but the styling is familiar. The interior is all new, substantially upgraded. It should be more comfortable, higher technology and more functional. This iteration of the F-150 keeps Ford in the lead over the Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado.

The 2020 Lincoln Corsair is an excellent compact luxury crossover SUV. It is the right size. It looks good. It goes fast. It is very quiet. It's not perfect. Getting ALL THE OPTIONS turns out not to be a good move. Some extra features are not as good as standard features.