Category: On The Road: Driving Impressions

Over the years, most Americans have considered small cars penalty boxes they were forced to drive because they couldn’t drive anything bigger or better. The Big Three concurred with their small cars designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator driver, at the lowest cost and at the lowest price. No wonder the Pinto/Bobcat, Vega, Omni/Horizon, Escort/Lynx, Cavalier/Sunbird, Cobalt/G5 never resonated. They sold in relatively large numbers because they had to to help their manufacturers meet CAFE requirements, but rarely did a buyer purchase one out of desire or lust. The Japanese partially solved the small car equation offering Civic, Corolla, Mazda3, Lancer, Impreza and more recently the Kizashi. All were desirable small cars with great quality offered at affordable prices. With their latest offerings, the Koreans are fully engaged with the new Kia Forte and Hyundai Elantra. So, the small car – C-Class – segment is now ready for more real competition this time [...]

A few months ago Chrysler invited me to check out their 2011 refreshed Jeeps at the Chrysler Tech Center in Auburn Hills. With the thought of a Dodge Avenger rental car fresh in my head I didn’t have the highest expectations for what Chrysler was getting ready to show me. Let’s be honest, Chrysler had gone through the ringer, lost a lot of engineering talent, had multiple owners, and had the the weakest vehicle line of any major OEM in the US market. Jeep has a strong customer following and a loyal fan base to keep happy. Could Chrysler deliver a Jeep that could impress even with all of these distractions? Keep reading to find out…

In a sentence the experience could be summed up as being analogous to driving a Scandinavian Audi A6 Quattro with hints of GM lurking here and there.

The Duramax is one stout stump puller of an engine! At 397 horsepower and 765 lb. ft. of torque the new 2011 Duramax diesel has 32 more horsepower and 105 more lb. ft. of torque than the 2010 model.

According to Wikipedia, “white van man” is a usually pejorative stereotype used in the United Kingdom to describe drivers of light commercial vehicles such as the Ford Transit. Such vehicles are commonly painted white in order to facilitate easy sign-writing on the paneled sides. The stereotype represents the drivers of such vehicles as having poor driving skills and / or an aggressive and inconsiderate manner. The stereotypical “white van man” is often self-employed or the owner of a small business such as builder, carpenter, or plumber. For one week I was able to play the part in a 2010 Ford Transit Connect.

If you were to ask anyone who knows me they’ll tell you that I never really like most vehicles. I always find something wrong with any of them. The best example I have goes back six years ago when I bought a 2004 Mustang Cobra convertible. It had all the horsepower one could ever want, independent rear suspension etc. but looked like it had been put together with duct tape and silly putty. It had loose screws, leaks, and an orchestra of squeaks and rattles. It’s amazing what six years has done for the Mustang. I must confess, I have been smiling more during the past week than I can recently remember and that says a lot about the 2011 Mustang GT and how much I like it. Let me explain…

Honda has been hard at work on a new Odyssey minivan. They want you to notice this one with it’s unique styling and a utopia of mom (and dad) friendly features. But is it enough to sway buyers out of a stylish crossover?

I’m rarely one to toot my own horn, but I’ll go ahead and get this out of the way: there’s a bit of me in the brand-new 2010 Hyundai Tucson. Once upon a time, not that long ago, I was a product planner at Hyundai who was tasked with finding and developing a new concept direction for the second generation Tucson. The first Tucson, which debuted for the 2005 model year, was a decent if uninspiring small crossover SUV, and Hyundai really wanted to hit the second generation out of the park.

We recently spent a day with the new Juke, just outside of Vancouver, to try to figure out if it is the new 'joke' of B-segment vehicles or the start of something beautiful.

We recently spent a day with the new Juke, just outside of Vancouver, to try to figure out if it is the new 'joke' of B-segment vehicles or the start of something beautiful.