by Bryan Laviolette | Oct 1, 2012
Fans of the front bench seat in cars better scurry to their local Chevrolet dealership to get one of the last 2013 Impalas. That’s because the revamped 2014 model will do away with the bench seat option. You may have believed that the bench had died with your Aunt...
by Bryan Laviolette | Sep 28, 2012
When Ford debuted the F-150 King Ranch SuperCrew in 2000, the truck market had never seen anything like it. It was a match made in marketing heaven. Team the country’s best-selling truck with one of the largest and most famous ranches in the world, located in Texas,...
by Bryan Laviolette | Sep 26, 2012
Paris may be known for its fantastic food, delightful wine and beautiful sights but for two weeks beginning Saturday, cars will rule. That’s because the biannual Mondial de l’Automobile 2012 – better known as the Paris Auto Show on this side of the pond – takes center...
by Bryan Laviolette | Sep 26, 2012
Coming to a street near you – the car that drives itself while its human “driver” reads the newspaper. California Gov. Jerry Brown visited Google headquarters in Mountain View where he signed a law Tuesday to establish safety standards and regulations for autonomous...
by Bryan Laviolette | Sep 26, 2012
Sitting at a traffic light, we wait for the light to turn green, a Ford Focus driver sits nonchalantly in the next lane. When the light turns, we dump the clutch, floor the throttle … and hang on, tires squealing, head slammed against the leather Recaro bucket seat....
by Bryan Laviolette | Sep 26, 2012
Critics of electric vehicles always point to their limited usefulness for long-distance travel. With many EVs having a range of 80 miles, what do you do if you need to go more than 40 miles from home? And where will you plug it in? Tesla Motors may have an answer....
by Bryan Laviolette | Sep 25, 2012
Just days after saying that the company would miss its profit forecast for the third and fourth quarters, Daimler AG said it would trim production at its largest plant to help contain costs. After Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said that the company would look for $1.3...
by Bryan Laviolette | Sep 25, 2012
Just when many carmakers are downsizing their engines, it came as quite a shock when Acura announced at the Detroit auto show earlier this year that it was replacing the turbocharged four cylinder in the RDX compact luxury ute with its venerable 3.5-liter V-6. But...
by Bryan Laviolette | Sep 25, 2012
Automotive dreamers have coveted the notion of an amphibious car almost since the first autos started showing up on the world’s dusty streets. Several have tried, most notably Hanns Trippel, who designed several amphibious vehicle, including the most well-known, the...
by Bryan Laviolette | Sep 24, 2012
Volvo President and CEO Stefan Jacoby will take a leave of absence for about a month after suffering a mild stroke. Jacoby, 54, said in a statement that he was fortunate that the stroke he suffered last week wasn’t more serious. “I was lucky that it was a mild...
by Bryan Laviolette | Sep 24, 2012
Consumer Reports said it could not recommend the Fisker Karma following its test, which began with the car’s battery pack failing within the car’s first 200 miles. “Overall, the Karma scored too low in our tests to recommend,” the magazine reported in its review of...
by Bryan Laviolette | Sep 24, 2012
A new report from an automotive industry newsletter says nearly a quarter of all potential car buyers are concerned that General Motors will file for bankruptcy again within the next few years. CNW Research’s Auto Industry Summary reports that just 3½ years after...
