by Bryan Laviolette | Sep 9, 2011
It’s not surprising that BMW’s X3 xDrive35i loves to stretch its legs on the freeways and highways. After all, it was bred on Germany’s silky smooth and – in some places – speed limit-free Autobahn. In that arena, the twin-turbo inline six provides effortless...
by Bryan Laviolette | Sep 2, 2011
Ford has gone on record to say that it knows its Lincoln brand needs to step up its game. So what’s wrong? This MKX crossover offers a good chance to examine some of the issues. The MKX is the Lincoln version of the Ford Edge. Both vehicles were freshened for 2011...
by Bryan Laviolette | Aug 26, 2011
This is the second in a two-part series about retired auto designer Colin Neale. Click here to read part one, which looks back on Neale’s long career designing the cars we drive. Automotive designers have gotten really good at designing cars that barely tickle the air...
by Bryan Laviolette | Aug 25, 2011
This is the first in a two-part series about auto designer Colin Neale. Click here to read part two, which looks at an interesting aerodynamic concept Neale would like to see an automaker or academic institution test in a wind tunnel. Colin Neale tells a story about...
by Bryan Laviolette | Aug 19, 2011
It’s a familiar tactic, one employed by automakers the world over. Instead of coming up with a new name to attach to its latest offering, the marketeers just use the name from another vehicle with some sort of appendage. So, even though Mitsubishi’s new compact sport...
by Bryan Laviolette | Aug 10, 2011
It would appear Ford is getting serious about plans to revive its flagging Lincoln brand. The automaker will give Lincoln its own design studio within the Product Development Center in Dearborn. While Lincolns will continue to be based on Fords – something most...
by Bryan Laviolette | Aug 4, 2011
In some ways, the Chrysler Group and its Dodge brand and Northern Michigan’s Crisp Point Lighthouse have a lot in common. That both are with us is one part luck, mixed with a freighter full of determination. Both have survived – against all odds. To test Dodge’s new...
by Bryan Laviolette | Jul 29, 2011
We’ve all heard it before. “You won’t catch me driving a minivan,” the raffish 20-something says. Of course, that is before the invasion of the Little People, and all of their paraphernalia, from diaper bags to portable playpens. Some have turned to sturdier-looking...
by Bryan Laviolette | Jul 20, 2011
Bugatti Veyron, meet the Shelby SuperCars Tuatara ( (pronounced twu‐tar‐ah). SSC announced Monday that it will build the Tuatara, the successor to the Aero and Ultimate Aero supercars, which went back and forth with version of the Veyron for the title of world’s...
by Bryan Laviolette | Jul 15, 2011
Washington state wants you to take a ride on the Electric Highway starting in November. The state’s Department of Transportation said it has selected AeroVironment, a California supplier of new energy solutions, to manufacture, supply, install and operate a network of...
by Bryan Laviolette | Jul 14, 2011
Be careful, tooling around New York. The next time your speeding along the 9A – OK, it’s probably a rare day when it’s possible to actually “speed” on 12th Avenue – there might be a Chevrolet Volt silently tracking you. That’s because the Big Apple is adding 50 Volts...
by Bryan Laviolette | Jun 28, 2011
Another day, another company announcing expanded production of components for super-efficient vehicles featuring advanced battery technology. Johnson Controls will invest $138.5 million to convert its battery plant near Toledo, Ohio, into a battery facility for...
