We often make plans to better our lives at the start of each succeeding year. Since that time is upon us for 2014, let’s all give better driving a top spot on our list of resolutions. After all, vehicular crashes are the number one cause…
Minivans may have been last century’s big news, but you wouldn’t know it from behind the wheel of the 2014 Honda Odyssey. A mid-cycle refresh has the Odyssey feeling as fresh and contemporary as any of the crossovers that have displaced vans in the public’s…
I’m regularly a “sounding board” for readers’ pet driving peeves. A couple good examples of these irksome driving deeds made it to my email inbox last week. Reader B.L. griped, “Last evening as I drove home, a huge pickup truck with those new flashlight-sized headlights…
Sandwiched between volume-minded Chevrolet and performance-focused Cadillac in General Motor’s post-bankruptcy landscape, Buick takes the middle way. It aims to satisfy the middle-class need for affordable luxury. Since the bankruptcy, the company’s persistent focus on comfort, reliability and affordability has produced cars of the quality…
Every so often, clever ( and slightly off-camber) visionaries remind us what a magical business tool the Internet can be. Australian entrepreneur Steve Sammartino and Romanian “self-taught technology genius” Raul Oaida are two examples. With the financial backing of 40 crowd-sourced patrons, Sammartino’s brainchild, dubbed…
Although Ikonic Films probably intended to launch a viral video with their advertisement for a worn-out 1996 Nissan Maxima, chances are they couldn’t have guessed Nissan would step up with an offer to buy it. Thanks to the vulture-like draw of successful viral marketing, that’s…
America’s favorite news anchor is proving he has the mustachioed charisma to sell a shocking number of Dodge Durango’s. With the release of ‘Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues’ fast approaching, Chrysler made the call to Ron Burgundy, better known as comedian Will Ferrell to help…
In the weeks before the redesigned 2014 Nissan Versa Note landed in my driveway, I’d driven a succession of not-inexpensive vehicles. The Note (from $14,800, including destination) is on the near end of the cost continuum and I admit to approaching it with a certain…
The Seattle Seahawks have the most dominate home field advantage in the NFL thanks to their thunderous fan base, aptly dubbed The 12th Man. To promote Jet Chevrolet, General Manager Mike Gates promised 12 contestants $35,000 a piece if the Seahawks shutout the New York…
Traditionally car dealerships have been taxed with overcoming a major schism in their business plan: Most people don’t like to shop at car dealerships, yet most people are sold on a car only after having a chance to test drive it. That’s where Seattle startup…
“By-wire” technology, as it applies to automotive engineering, is a concept in which a vehicle’s traditional mechanical functions are electronically linked and controlled by use of sensors, computers and other components. The principle has quietly been making its way into our cars and trucks for…
Outside of performing daredevil work or insurance fraud, rolling a car rarely has a positive outcome. Along with being terrifying and potentially lethal, a car rollover usually comes with a large side of embarrassment. That’s what makes the stone-cold lady in this dash-cam rollover video…
The core of automaker attempts to meet skyrocketing fuel economy requirements in 2016 are under the hoods of their cars. In the 20th year of Ward’s 10 Best Engines competition, only two winners are carryovers from last year. By the looks of the fresh top…
Many drivers seem uncertain of the laws regarding school bus interaction. Reader H.P. has given the matter some serious thought, writing and wondering, “I have a question about school buses and 4 lane roads. On 2 lane roads there is no problem. When a bus…
Among many updates to the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, none is more important than the return of diesel. Jeep deleted the diesel option in 2009 but restores it this year with a powerful new turbodiesel. The 3.0-liter V-6 can tow up to 7,200 pounds and,…
Reader input regularly “steers” this column — a condition exemplified by the following responses. B.M. reported some good luck with truckers by writing, “My wife and I recently completed a 4,000 mile road trip to Illinois and back home. All except maybe 100 miles were…
You’d never know by looking at it, but Volkswagen’s compact Jetta receives a batch of updates that make it the most desirable Jetta in recent years. For 2014: a new direct-injected turbocharged four replaces the five-cylinder engine that has powered the majority of Jettas sold;…
While driving northward on Highway 195 just before sunset last week, I noted varying driver behavior. Besides the typical driver speed variance — some fast, some slow, and some all over the place — there was a wide distinction of timing for use of headlights.…
If Crocodile Dundee comes to mind when you hear the words “Subaru Outback,” it’s time for a reboot. That car went away in 2009. The Outback debuted in 1996. A lifted version of the Legacy wagon, it was quick, nimble and durable and went places…
When a lane ahead “disappears,” requiring traffic to merge to adjacent lanes, it’s often anything but orderly. I’ve discussed here how the process regularly turns into one of conflict and anger, occasionally “regulated” by self-appointed referees who attempt to create order via traffic direction and…
This month creative genius surfaced in Volvo’s advertising department. The team's task was simple: Devise a commercial that demonstrates the precision and stability of Volvo Dynamic Steering that is now available in the automaker’s FM commercial truck. It appears that after several days of fasting…
I was prepared for a letdown the first time I drove the 2014 Kia Forte. It was not my fault. I’d been set up, first by an afternoon in the $285,000 Rolls-Royce Wraith and then a week in the Cadillac CTS ($39,990 base/$66,000 as-tested). Forget…
This year, our daytime temperatures fell from 90 degrees to 60 degrees seemingly overnight. With similar suddenness, we are now experiencing temperatures below freezing and facing the threat of accompanying snowfall. It’s assured that slick driving conditions will arrive and that many motorists will have…
Now that it has picked a fight with BMW, Cadillac has to put up or shut up. As a taxpaying GM shareholder, I’m pleased to report it’s putting up. Cadillac recently debuted the third-generation of its CTS midsize luxury sport sedan. It debuted in 2002…
Unbelievably, four days passed before someone asked the question. Halloween day, I flew to Arizona to drive the newest Rolls-Royce, the $295,000, 624-horsepower, two-door Wraith. Not until the following Tuesday did a friend ask the inevitable: “Is it worth it?” Of course, a thing is…
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