Tag: VehicleVoice

We overwhelm our research assistant with the glory-side of an auto show. Little does she know, it only gets tougher from here!

Motor Week's Drivers' Choice Awards 2008

VW Wants to Hit the Big Time in the US Market
Like so many other second tier brands today, Volkswagen is talking publicly about big goals in the US. True, Volkswagen is a huge player in many world markets, particularly Europe, China, and Latin America. Here in America, however, Volkswagen is definitely something of a niche player, despite its enviable brand image. Apparently, Volkswagen wants to become a mainstream player in the US as it is in the rest of the world, rather than a marque that appeals primarily to fashionable hipsters as it does now. By about the middle of the next decade, Volkswagen wants to be selling 800,000 vehicles in the US, up from about 230,000 last year.
With that in mind, what could possibly be more mainstream than a Chrysler minivan? It’s the ultimate symbol of traditional family values, a paragon of responsible and sensible thinking. And, despite the fact [...]

Find out how GM's Harlan Charles compares the ZR1 to late model Ferrari track cars, and why this Corvette is as wonderful on your daily commute as it is flowing through the chicanes at a race track near you.

The singularly underperforming Acura RL Executive Luxury Car receives a facelift for the 2009 model year. Shown for the first time at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show, the RL becomes more distinctive and less anodyne, but arguably at the cost of good taste.

Aimed at Small Businesses Feeling the Strain from High Fuel Prices
Now here’s an idea whose time has come. Today at the Chicago Auto Show, Ford unveiled its new Ford Transit Connect, a small European cargo van that has the potential to fill what could be perceived as a pretty big gap in the marketplace. If you’re a business owner that needs to haul stuff around, you have two main choices: a full-size van or a pickup truck. Both of these vehicle types represent capability and toughness, no doubt. However, they also use plenty of fuel, and are in many cases too much vehicle relative to their usage. For instance, does a flower delivery service really need 10,000-pound towing capability? Does an IT specialist really need 4,000 pounds of payload capacity? As fuel prices keep creeping up, many businesses are finding that their cost of doing business is going up significantly, and having too [...]

Ford Transit Connect re-opens small van niche with a commercailly targeted version

Chevrolet gives up the TrailBlazer for a thoroughly modern package, the 2009 Traverse.

Dodge's Challenger takes on the Mustang this spring.

Chevrolet gives up the TrailBlazer for a thoroughly modern package, the 2009 Traverse.