The Toyota Avalon has been with us for much longer than seems possible. When it debuted as a 1995 model, it was credited with being ‘Toyota’s Buick.’ Whether that was intended as an insult or a compliment depends on how you felt about Buicks at the time, but we’ll speculate those making the assessment weren’t referring to the LT1 V8-powered Roadmaster, but rather the somewhat smaller LeSabre or even the 13-year old Century. In any case, the Avalon has continued to be a plusher, larger, softer variation of the Camry. Like the Camry, the Avalon has remained fairly anonymous. Indeed, its styling was likely created with the intent of being used as a template for the ‘anycars’ used in various automotive supply advertisements. Read more…
Several years ago, 2004 to be precise, GM began to unload the original front wheel drive Chevrolet Malibu as a rental car by stripping it of its Malibu nameplates and slapping the vague Classic lettering on the deck lid. Having worked as a rental car lot attendant, I can attest that this car was the backbone of the rental car world. Unfortunately, its reliability and non-descript styling were its best points. It seemed Chevrolet had decided to join the Japanese in offering a forgettable midsize sedan except every facet was executed with mediocrity resulting in unsupportive seats, carpet that separated from its rocker sills and a completely lifeless driving experience. The revised 2004 Malibu that went to retail customers rather than fleets was hardly an improvement with its numb electrically assisted steering. If the outgoing Malibu/Classic’s styling could be described as vanilla, its replacement was nothing more than French Vanilla. GM finally stepped up to the plate with the well-received all-new Malibu for 2007. Five model years have passed, and though it was hardly looking old, GM realized that a timely replacement would be necessary to maintain the Malibu’s newfound competitiveness. Read more…
Spring has sprung and just as the last traces of snow disappeared from the landscape BMW handed us the keys to a 2012 Alpine White BMW X3 xDrive 28i. No matter, because even without snow there is still plenty of fun to be had testing the X3’s new 8-speed automatic transmission mated to that wonderful 3.0-liter inline-six engine.
Latest Addition to the Prius Family Goes Conventional
Having narrowly escaped a late February snow storm in Michigan and finding ourselves stepping off of a plane near the Atlantic beaches of lower Florida seemed like a dream come true. Certainly a trip to the beach town that curiously shares its name with a 1958 base model Chevrolet had a catch. Yes, that catch was that we were to sample Toyota’s newest and, as executives stressed, last planned member of the Prius family. While having earned a reputation in the industry as the leading hybrid, we have never been overly excited about the Toyota Prius. The Prius has managed to win over fuel misers and environmental advocates, but to say it has been generally disliked by driving enthusiasts would be a gross understatement. We were expecting that the smallest member of Toyota’s hybrid lineup, the Prius c, would be more of the same and figured our drive of the 98 hp fuel sipper would be the low point of our stint in Florida. Read more…
Toyota has had an enviable problem on their hands; how to capitalize on the brand equity that the Prius hybrid has gained. Last year Toyota announced plans to offer more Prius hybrids and introduced the world to the pluralization of the model with the designation Prii. With the Prius v, the world has gotten what seems to be a contradiction: a larger Prius. We drove a Barcelona Red Prius v to find out if bigger could be better. Read more…
We’ve been putting our share of hybrids to the test over the past year. We’ve sampled Toyota’s offerings in the form of the popular Prius and their luxury brand’s Lexus CT 200h. We’ve sampled the family wagon Prius v as well as Chevrolet’s extended range plug-in electric car, the Volt. While each of these vehicles delivers varying levels of reduced consumption of gasoline, not one of them truly puts the electric motor to use for the full benefit of the driving enthusiast. When hybrids first happened on the scene, the enthusiast community couldn’t help but notice that the electric motors that assist (or in the Volt’s case, exclusively provide) propulsion had mountains of instantly available torque. We enthusiasts have had to settle for varying degrees of improved fuel economy with barely any fun thrown in. Finally, an automaker has stepped up to the challenge to use hybrid technology to actually make a sport sedan more sporting. Enter the Infiniti M35h. Read more…
Toyota’s Highlander has never been a vehicle to grab the attention of our automotive hearts. Its subdued styling and midsize packaging just doesn’t stand out in the crowd. Our all-wheel-drive test example was even painted a nondescript shade of beige. But setting out with low expectations can be good, because it’s then hard to disappoint. Read more…
Toyota dropped off an all-wheel drive Highlander Limited at the Automotive Trends garage this week. Timely since Mother Nature also stopped by with about two inches of snow for us to play in. Watch as Design Editor Gernand gives us a quick walk around of this beige family crossover.
Scion’s Basic Coupe Fails to Meet Some Basic Expectations
The low priced sporty coupe segment has been creeping upward in price during the last decade. The market used to be speckled with the likes of the Saturn SC, Ford Probe, Chevrolet Cavalier Z24, Mitsubishi Eclipse and Toyota Celica. Not one of those models exists today, but Toyota thinks it has an answer for the niche with the Scion tC. Starting at $18,275 the tC isn’t the cheapest coupe one can find, but does it offer enough sport to lure youthful car enthusiasts from straying to the used car market for their budget minded thrills? We tested a completely base tC to find out just how the Scion fares. Read more…
