Tag: autopacific awards

Honestly now, who pays attention to the type of cup holder or tablet support a car has when interested in getting a new one? All you can think of now is how strong the engine is or if you can use an auto-pilot highway cruising system. But you will eventually want to be able to listen to music or your favorite audio books – so here’s a reason to want to connect your phone to your car stereo using an USB or aftermarket stereo. But…

  Why Use A Phone Inside Your Car

Besides the previously mentioned reasons, if you’re a serious business man, chances are you will want to keep track of everything going on with your projects. And one way of doing this is by picking up the phone and making calls even when you are on the highway. But because driving and using your cell phone don’t go work together [...]

Honestly now, who pays attention to the type of cup holder or tablet support a car has when interested in getting a new one? All you can think of now is how strong the engine is or if you can use an auto-pilot highway cruising system. But you will eventually want to be able to listen to music or your favorite audio books – so here’s a reason to want to connect your phone to your car stereo using an USB or aftermarket stereo. But…

  Why Use A Phone Inside Your Car

Besides the previously mentioned reasons, if you’re a serious business man, chances are you will want to keep track of everything going on with your projects. And one way of doing this is by picking up the phone and making calls even when you are on the highway. But because driving and using your cell phone don’t go work together [...]

Cruising down the scenic roads along the Columbia River near Portland, Oregon can be a real treat, especially while driving a Dodge Challenger Hellcat with its mean-sounding engine roaring through the twists and turns of this pristine wilderness road.

A few months back, Chrysler invited a few journalist to test drive the 2015 Dodge Challenger Hellcat, along with its entire Challenger lineup. The Challenger Hellcat was a blast to drive, and delivers so much power that it is almost scary to drive. And after our not-so-mellow morning cruise along the river, we were invited to test the Hellcat’s limits by driving laps around Portland International Raceway, trying hard to keep the car in a straight line. But the real fun was just driving the Hellcat around town [...]

Kia introduced the K900 premium luxury car for the 2014 model year. Based on Hyundai/Kia's rear wheel drive platform shared with the Hyundai Equus and loosely the Hyundai Genesis sedan, Kia's entry into the luxury market is controversial. Internally and externally there were concerns that the brand was not ready to take the leap into the $60,000 price range. But as is often the case in the life of an import distributor, the parent company demands that you take the "gift" of a vehicle you might not think fits the lineup at the time.

The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van was the first European-style full size van sold in the United States. Ford has added the European-style Transit van to its huge plant in Kansas City, Missouri. Ram is importing ProMaster vans from Europe. Nissan manufactures its NV vans in Canton, Mississippi and it is somewhere between a traditional American van and a European van. Only General Motors is left with a traditional American van with the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana. In the overall scheme of things, Ford is the top dog by a wide margin and Mercedes is in fourth or fifth place depending on the month.

Powered by a 707-horsepower 6.2L Supercharged HEMI V8, the Hellcat is a range-topping $64,000 handful. Dodge staged the review of the new 2015 Dodge Charger out of Washington DC and offered on-track driving at Summit Point Motorsports Park in West Virginia. On a chilly, drizzly day, taking the Hellcat out on the rural roads around Summit Point allowed only about 20% of what the car is capable of. Punching it on a clear straightaway spooled up torque that pushed the car sideways. Careful, careful, it felt almost as if you were idling and the car wanted to surge ahead. You always knew that there is more there that can be used.

 

Monticello Raceway, Monticello, New York

Lexus is pushing forward with the F. This time with the all-new 2015 RC F sports coupe. Outfitted with a 467 horsepower 5.0 liter V8 with a close-ratio eight speed automatic transmission, this coupe delivers on Lexus’ promise to continue the fight in the luxury performance arena.

The Look

Showing it’s relationship to the LF-NX Concept shown at the 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show, the RC’s exterior design is aggressive. The rising beltline and stretched head and tail lamps give the vehicle an athletic look. The spindle grille contains the “F” motif repeated in the mesh with cooling ducts moving air to the vehicle’s oil coolers. Of course, the front hood is raised to accommodate the V8 and send the right message to other drivers.

2015 Dodge Charger PursuitWith the demise of the Ford Crown Vic, Dodge has been winning the police patrol car fleet battle. Sure Ford has its Interceptors and Chevrolet is pushing its Caprice from Australia, but apparently Dodge makes a financially attractive pitch for its Charger Pursuit. We've been seeing more and more of them rolling around Southern California as Crown Vics are retired, uh, sent to taxi fleets. With the update of the 2015 Dodge Charger, the Pursuit has been updated as well. You can tell the 2015 Charger is different because the front end styling is clearly different. Other changes to the exterior styling are more subtle and it is a surprise when Dodge execs contend that every exterior panel is new with the exception of the roof and rear doors. Dodge continues with its distinctive LED racetrack taillamp graphic and adds LED daytime running lights to the front.

The Ford half-ton pickup, the F-150, is the top selling vehicle in the USA - car or truck. For the 2015 model year, Ford launches an all new F-150. And it is literally ALL NEW. In most model changes, there are numerous parts carried over from previous generations. The 2015 Ford F-150 is so completely re-done that there are probably no common part numbers with the 2014 model. The body is all aluminum with the exception of a "quiet steel" dash panel (between the engine compartment and the passenger compartment). You can lift the military grade front fender with one finger. The aluminum panels are not welded as in steel bodied vehicles they are riveted and glued. The result is a stiffer vehicle that feels even more robust than its predecessor. Ford says the use of aluminum has yielded a reduction in weight by up to 700 pounds.

It goes like this... Honda invites you to an event that is held locally to review a vehicle that is not scheduled for a meaningful change for a couple of years. What's up? Well, enough that Honda can make a pretty big deal out of it. The top selling sport utility vehicle is Honda's CR-V crossover SUV. The 2015 Honda CR-V looks pretty much like the 2014. Same profile. Same doors. Same window openings. What's the big deal? The front end looks more butch, more SUV-like. It has really cool running lights below the headlamps. Likewise, the rear end looks stronger. The effect is that the CR-V looks a little bigger even though it isn't. Ah, the story is pretty much beneath the skin. Honda calls it a MAJOR minor model change. Clever.