If one were to heed the bleating of certain corner offices and C-suites, it would seem that the compact car culture has been #cancelled, evaporated from the landscape like a fleeting Instagram story or ill-considered tweet. Those suits assert that SUVs and crossover (read: tall wagons) are the Way Forward.
The crossover boom is inescapable, even for Mazda, a marque long revered as the maker of fun-to-drive, reasonably priced cars. Its Mazda3 compact sedan formerly served as a gateway into the brand, but even it waned in popularity with the rise of enthusiasts’ least-favorite mildly lifted segment. Thus, the CX-3 crossover was born to woo…
It’s raining. Normally that’d only be a mild annoyance on a car launch, scuppering more complicated photo ops. But I’m in Finland. Just inside the Arctic Circle. In December. It’s the sort of situation that even the ever-ready Porsche PR team might secretly chalk up as a win. After all, we’re in this normally punishing…
The ride back was to be a laborious and deflating one. And had I not been in the new 2020 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn, I think I would have had less time to ponder over the dismal 10 days we had in the bush.
Hot dogs. Wine. Chainsaws. Jewelry. That’s what the sign read outside a gas station in rural Alabama, not long after setting off from the Hyundai manufacturing facility, just off the I-65 in Montgomery. It put the exclamation point on how a single shop can wear many hats. A commentary about how those four items might…
Nearly twenty-five years ago, the creators of Star Trek decided to go back to the well one more time in search of TV gold. Riding high on the recent success of The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine series, Berman et al launched Voyager, a third show which was a similar – yet unique –…
Two segments growing faster than any other in today’s market are crossovers and EVs. The former has been growing like gangbusters for ages, with everyone from Aston Martin to Volkswagen busying themselves with stuffing their portfolios full of these high riding wagons. As for electric vehicles, manufacturers need to simultaneously appeal to shoppers while offering…
Seems like just yesterday I was driving around in the Arizona desert behind the wheel of Nissan’s then all-new, second-generation full-size Titan pick-up as part of the truck’s media launch. But it wasn’t yesterday, of course. That first-drive event was in November 2015, and I must admit that I felt a bit of a déjà…
The Mitsubishi Outlander Sport has been given a refresh for 2020, adding the requisite styling updates to be sure, but also a few interior enhancements to better level it with the competition. But then, some might say the Outlander Sport or the RVR for Canadians has always existed in a strange parallel dimension above the…
I would also argue that from a design perspective, it’s a more pleasant place to sit than the M3 or even the latest 3 Series. I think it may be down to the fact that BMW wants to convey to you, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the i3 is a futuristic car. But…
Although the 1 is an extremely comely car, it is also a vaguely disappointing one. The quality of its materials, the ethos of its design, and the nature of its power delivery fail to live up to the promise made by its exterior. And although there’s nothing exactly wrong with the 1, it’s just that…
Question: do you remember the Volkswagen CC?
Typically, the hybrid badge on a tailgate is an instant clue that the car stretching fifteen-odd feet ahead is a total snoozer.
Kleiner GTI, du siehst prima aus…
I tried to get mom to buy a Prius. The mileage improvement would be ideal for her short suburban commute.
It seems that I’ve gone soft as I’ve aged. And, as it turns out, so have most things that resemble sports-utility vehicles.
One might say that the aptly-named Alltrack had quite the hill to climb when it debuted for the 2017 model year.
The friendly Toyota representative fairly choked on his water as he crossed the parking lot to correct us. “It’s not a snorkel, it’s a desert air intake.”
Lincoln hasn’t exactly had a smooth go of it in the last couple of decades.
The diesel engine is just about done with in North America, (at least in light-duty cars and trucks), which means it’s just about the perfect time for Mazda to bring us one.
More advanced, refined and capable, the 2020 Subaru Outback is better than ever.
Is there one vehicle that does it all?
“This is good,” I thought to myself about two minutes after swapping seats with my drive partner and settling in behind the wheel. “This is extremely good.”
The 2020 Ford Escape is brand new and that’s a huge deal.
