Category: Technology & New Features

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 [...]

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 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.

What could make spending a few days in the beautiful northeast Canadian Province of Newfoundland better? Spending it driving the new 2019 GMC Sierra. Spacious, comfortable and smooth-riding, the Sierra Denali was a joy to experience, as a driver and passenger.

Steady and Smooth

Exploring the countryside through curves, hills, small towns roads and highways, it was easy to forget I was riding in a truck. The “brace yourself” moments when you expect to jerk to the side, or feel the dreaded bed bounce never arrived. Redesigned from the ground up, the new Sierra Denali has Adaptive Ride Control, a Denali-exclusive, that adjusts damping for exceptional control and ride.

Impressive Bed Access and [...]

The autonomous car puts a challenge on screenwriters to cope with the impact of more technologically advanced vehicles. Will the bad guys find ways to win? Or will autonomy yield a crime free utopia where the bad guys cannot escape using "modern" transportation and smart streets?

The all new 2018 Honda Odyssey edges Chrysler Pacifica out as best minivan. Cannot avoid minivan image, but that is OK with such a competent and well done family vehicle.

The Chevrolet Bolt EV is a compelling all-electric crossover vehicle with a 238-mile range. That range pretty much eliminates range anxiety for a majority of its drivers. The powerful 200-horsepower, 266 lb-ft of torque powerpack delivers acceleration worthy of a turbocharged small car. The Bolt EV is the real deal.

Plug-in electric vehicles are not needed to meet the Federal 2025 CAFE standards. The primary reason electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) will impact the overall vehicle fleet are to satisfy California's mandate for zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) in the fleet. California's regulations also are shared with northeastern states.

Ford's F-Series Super Duty pickups are all new for the 2017 model year. The Super Duty line includes the F-250, F-350, F-450 and F-550 heavy duty pickups. The term all new here is an actual fact because the last time the Super Duty was all new was over a decade ago. The high volume F-150 light duty full size pickup was all new and all aluminum for 2016. The Super Duty follows a year later, but Ford says the product update cadence should be shorter for both the F-150 and the Super Duties in the future.