by Bryan Laviolette | Feb 25, 2011
It would be easy to write off the Lexus CT200h is just a gussied up version of Toyota’s hybrid poster child, the Prius. It’s true that the CT 200h shares its platform and most of its hybrid mechanicals with the Prius, but where the Prius is a snooze to drive, the...
by Bryan Laviolette | Feb 24, 2011
For years, executives for the Big Three automakers have said that there wasn’t a viable business case for a small diesel car in the U.S. Now it appears General Motors is planning to test the waters with a diesel slated for the 2013 Chevrolet Cruze. GM Inside News...
by Bryan Laviolette | Feb 18, 2011
Add Audi to the growing list of automakers that are exploring carbon fiber to help improve fuel economy and emissions. But interestingly, two other marquees within the extensive Volkswagen empire are already working on their own separate carbon fiber projects....
by Bryan Laviolette | Feb 17, 2011
The minivan wars are on. All of the major players are either making major updates to their boxes or introducing completely new models. The timing could be a good right to push minivans. With the possibility of rising fuel prices on the horizon, many car buyers will be...
by Bryan Laviolette | Feb 15, 2011
So you thought the Town Car was dead. Think again. While Ford will end production of the Lincoln Town Car – and its platform mate the Ford Crown Victoria – at the end of the year, the automaker isn’t ready to let go of the Town Car name. Lincoln...
by Bryan Laviolette | Feb 15, 2011
Infiniti has released images of a small concept that seems to defy categorization. The concept will debut at the Geneva Auto Show in March. Infiniti’s ETHEREA concept is fairly small – just barely longer than a Nissan Versa – and has elements of a...
by Bryan Laviolette | Feb 14, 2011
Listening to Victor Muller, last summer, it was easy to hear the car enthusiast that, at his core, he is. He dreamed a little, while speaking at the Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, about building a new small Saab, returning the automaker he had just...
by Bryan Laviolette | Feb 10, 2011
For the better part of two decades Kia has made progressively better cars, but the design and styling still lagged. The designs were often boring (previous generation Sportage) and sometimes strangely ornate (Amanti). Not many people looked at a Kia, any Kia, and said...
by Bryan Laviolette | Feb 8, 2011
A typical American will spend enough on car insurance to buy a Porsche 911 Carrera during their lifetime, according to a study released by Insurance.com. The website said the average U.S. driver will spend $84,388 insuring their car during their lifetime. That’s...
by Bryan Laviolette | Jan 31, 2011
Back in ’60s, BMW essentially created the modern sports sedan by slipping a 2.0-liter four cylinder under the hood of a car designed with a 1.6-liter. Long before BMW became synonymous with silky smooth inline sixes – and later ever-more powerful V-8s and...
by Bryan Laviolette | Jan 28, 2011
When the Ford Focus goes on sale later this year, drivers should notice the next level in transmission shift quality. The 2012 Focus will have what Ford calls Torque Hole Filling technology, a concept the automaker first patented a quarter century ago. While Ford has...
by Bryan Laviolette | Jan 25, 2011
Many pundits would argue that Acura’s design studio has sort of lost its way with its recent designs, but next month’s Chicago Auto Show could be a chance for the automaker to change course. Acura will show a “newly refined” 2012 TL at its...
