Two weeks ago, my column promoted the need for heightened seasonal driver awareness of pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists. Therein, I included a hidden pop quiz to test reader awareness of traffic laws. A few of you wrote in, passing the test. Within the previous column,…
For much of its 80-year lifespan, the Chevrolet Suburban was a blunt instrument. Heavy, inefficient and crude, it possessed a logging camp’s rustic charms. But as it enters its twelfth generation, the plus-sized SUV has evolved into a well-rounded rig, with virtues that extend beyond…
I like giving readers the opportunity to express their opinions and ideas whenever possible. Recent topics have generated some feedback containing some of their questions, thoughts and theories. R.T. wonders why 5 mile per hour variances are so necessary for speed limits around his (or…
In just its second year of sales, Subaru’s XV Crosstrek has become the company’s third most-popular vehicle. It trails only Forester and Outback in the sibling sales race and easily outsells the compact Impreza it’s based on. Following the trail blazed in 1994 by the…
Motorcycle awareness month (May) is nearly over, but the sentiment is valid all year. In climates (like ours) with a winter that generally prohibits motorcycle riding, the pent-up demand creates a dense “motorcycle season” during spring, summer, and fall. Please keep in mind that motorcyclists…
The EPA reckons you can drive your new BMW 3 Series diesel 678 highway miles between fuel stops. According to my highly non-scientific reckoning, that’s probably about right. The 2014 BMW 328d ($38,225) runs a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel engine that compensates for its meager…
What can unite caring drivers? Driving peeves. When I relayed some pet peeves of a retired Washington State Patrol Trooper earlier this month, reader feedback indicated that those peeves and others bind conscientious drivers together with a commonality. Mostly, it seems to be thoughtful, caring…
By the end of my week with Bentley’s Continental GT Speed Convertible, I had learned that, with exposure, the extraordinary can become, if not commonplace, at least comfortable. The $250,000 Speed Convertible is the flagship of Bentley’s historic Continental family. With a top speed of…
Honda’s CR-V made its US debut in 1997. For most of the intervening years, it has stood like a pint-sized colossus over the compact crossover class, piling up a succession of sales titles. Honda has proven remarkably surefooted as it tweaked its five-passenger crossover to…
I think we have all experienced speed limits that seem unreasonably low (45 mph “forever” leaving south Colfax, for example). On the other hand, I occasionally encounter a limit high enough to make achieving it a challenge, and unsafe if you do (75 mph through…
Though it has to yet find the sales chart’s upper reaches, Kia’s Optima has changed the rules of the midsize sedan market. Thanks to Kia and its corporate parent Hyundai, the family sedan segment is awash in technology that a short time ago was the…
The more one is exposed to driving, the more one has to accommodate drivers who are oblivious and/or inept. At times, I wonder if I’m overly critical, but then recall the inherent dangers of that sloppy driving and continue my criticism. And when a former…
Last year, for what seems like the umpteenth year in a row, Honda’s Civic was the third-best-selling passenger car in the US and its best-selling compact. This means that more than 350,000 Americans bought a car known for its reliability, not its flash. I find…
The topic of the short ramp and merge point at Highway 195 and eastbound I-90 generated a flood of reader feedback and even a response from the Washington State Department of Transportation. That ramp can’t be improved right now due to higher priorities and shortness…
If you still don’t believe Hyundai is the real deal, it might be time to check out the Santa Fe crossover. The midsize, seven-passenger Santa Fe (not to be confused with the smaller Santa Fe Sport), shines brightly in a segment that includes such luminaries…
Double yellow painted lines: We see them on highways, arterials, and city streets. Their main purpose is to separate lanes of traffic travelling in opposite directions. If there are both solid and dashed yellow lines between lanes of traffic, one may not pass if the…
I suspect that on some level toddlers know growing up isn’t going to be much fun. As in, “What’s going to happen when people realize my adorable personality is just a collection of annoying quirks?” What’s true for kids also holds for cars. There should…
Park it among a crowd of slope-roofed, slippery-sided competitors, and Honda’s Pilot plays the role of grizzled old-timer. Upright and boxy, it looks like the crossover that time forgot. There’s a method behind that madness, though. That old-school styling obscures one of the segment’s roomiest,…
A column about the too-short-chute that leads to eastbound I 90 at the entrance ramp from U.S. 195 touched off some lively reader dialog. After a follow-up column exposed drivers’ conflict, consternation and fright experienced there, an official response arrived. That response came from the…
When driveway shoveling gives way to lawn mowing, winter is over. I just witnessed the latter taking place on my block yesterday, so it’s now official. Amid that uptick in yard work, other things emerge besides tree buds and flower blooms. There is also an…
The 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage is the most fuel-efficient non-hybrid vehicle sold in America. With its base price of $13,790, including destination, the subcompact hatchback is also one of the country’s least expensive cars. Only Chevy’s Spark ($12,995) and the Nissan Versa sedan ($12,800) better its…
You should always reconsider your choice if you are tempted to drive after consuming alcohol. Besides being a major cause of vehicle accidents and death, your odds of being caught in the act have recently risen around here. There’s a new “sheriff” in town in…
Set your Wayback Machine to March 1998, and you’ll witness the first flash of a coming boom. Today, high-end crossovers lurk at every stoplight. But for a brief moment 15 years ago, there was just one, the Lexus RX 300. Its leather-and-fine-audio aesthetic opened new…
Two weeks back, I wrote of the concerns drivers have expressed to me about the freeway entrance ramp to I-90 eastbound from U.S. 195 northbound. That column elicited enough responses to demonstrate that those of us with concerns about that merge point are far from…
Just as the first robin announces spring, the arrival of a Special Edition Honda foreshadows the arrival of an all-new model. Honda’s short-bed Ridgeline pickup ($30,405, including destination) is due for its first full makeover since debuting in 2006. To sweeten the pot until the…
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