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…
When the United States became involved in World War II, Willys-Overland Motors and Ford Motor Company won a government contract to produce the military’s first general purpose vehicle. The result would soon become known as Jeep. The little workhorse won the hearts and rattled the…
Toyota plans on blowing minds at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show this month with the reveal of their FV2 concept. The super-futurist ride steers, brakes, and accelerates in accordance with the body movements of its driver. If that isn’t Sci-Fi enough for you, it also…
Tomcar Australia is causing a stir this month both in automotive news and the emergence of digital currency. The startup Australian off-road vehicle manufacturer announced that in addition to good old fashioned Aussie dollars, they will now also accept payment for their products via Bitcoin.
Dodge announced this week at the 2013 SEMA show plans to jazz-up a core piece of their MOPAR heritage with the reintroduction of their legendary Scat Pack packages. In honor of the 45th anniversary of the “Scat Pack” Dodge enthusiast club, which led Dodge to…
Driving subjects from the past few columns have generated a wealth of reader email. That’s a good situation, and here’s a sampling. A note from reader P.Y. addressed an issue by writing, “An item in your October 13 article caught my eye. It had to…
LIke seeing an old friend after a long absence, it was good having Mazda’s CX-9 back in my driveway. The CX-9 is Mazda’s largest vehicle, a midsize, three-row crossover with all the expected virtues -- a comfortable, high-tech cabin, abundant cargo capacity, available all-wheel-drive. What…
Looking out my window this morning, I see a car -- a midsize Japanese sedan -- painted a dark and sober shade of gray called Polished Metal. Last weekend, in the grocery story parking lot, I led the young man pushing my cart to another…
Yet another example of James Bond gadgetry come to life is beginning to surface in police departments around the country. The new technology is threatening to ruin quality daytime programming such as Fox’s “Wildest Police Chases” in an attempt to make hot pursuit a thing…
What I learned yesterday driving the all-new, 2014 Rolls-Royce Wraith in Phoenix: Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy a damn fine car. Rolls-Royce sells about 3,500 cars a year around the globe. A quarter-mill will get you into the “most affordable” Rolls, the…
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