Automotive Trends

     After a barrage of new and updated product revealed by the Chrysler Group over the past few months, the Chrysler brand finally gave the world a live look at its next generation flagship model, the 300 sedan. While clearly evolutionary as compared to its award winning 2004 predecessor, the 300 appears to refine the model’s best attributes while correcting some of its most glaring faults: base powertrains and interior refinement. Read more…

      BMW fans are always happy when the magical “M” gets glued to the decklid of a new vehicle in the German automaker’s lineup and when that vehicle is a tidy little coupe we know the outcome is going to be full of driver satisfaction.

***Updated Gallery!!***  Read more…

     After boasting about Buick’s new found role as the US market’s fastest growing brand a cloud of smoke appeared. When the smoke cleared, Buick’s newest and smallest entry was rotating on the turntable, the 2012 Verano. Buick claims that this is the brand’s first compact luxury sedan. Apparently Buick officials are admitting that previous offerings such as the Special, Apollo, SkyHawk and Skylark weren’t really all that luxurious. Or perhaps they can’t seem to remember any of their offerings prior to 1996 when the last Skylark rolled off the assembly line. Read more…

      One of the few true surprises of the show was the newest production offering from Hyundai and what a delight it was. The Veloster may have a silly name but we’re convinced it’s anything but. Read more…

     Mini is on a quest to fill as many automotive niches as it can and the Paceman Concept is the latest alteration that may or may not be destined for production. What we can tell you is that Mini’s designers used “masculine design language” and the higher ground clearance and larger dimensions of the 4-door Mini Countryman to make this the first Sports Activity Coupe, or SAC, (their words, not ours) in the small car segment. Read more…

      With sales of almost one million units since its debut in 2000, the Toyota Prius is an unqualified success and Toyota can hardly be blamed for looking at ways to expand the Prius’ appeal to new customers. Which is exactly what we saw Toyota do at this year’s Detroit Auto Show. Read more…

     Late in the summer of 2010 BMW teased the automotive world with photos of their 6 Series Coupe Concept. Today, BMW made the unusual move of introducing the production 6 Series convertible without having officially shown us the production coupe first. Regardless of the semantics, BMW was willing to divulge just a few of the juicy details on their newest model. Read more…

     Porsche is one of the enduring leaders in motorsports and the German sports-car manufacturer chose to return to this year’s Detroit Auto Show, its first appearance in four years, to debut its most advanced racer yet. Read more…

     Unlike the upset in 2010 when the rudimentary Ford Transit Connect was named North American Truck of the Year, the selection of the 2011 Ford Explorer as this year’s winner came as a surprise to almost no one. The ‘is it an SUV or is it a crossover’ three-row family hauler proves to be a game changer for Ford’s once best-selling model. With votes divided between the corporate twins Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango it rightly seemed that the Explorer was a shoe in for the Truck of the Year honors. Read more…

      With its designation as 2011 North American Car of the Year the Chevrolet Volt has added yet another award to its trophy case. Up against the fully electric but limited range Nissan Leaf and the wonderful but conventional Hyundai Sonata, the Volt proves to be the most original car to be introduced in quite some time. We’re eager to get our hands on this new extended range electric vehicle to see how it stacks up in the real world. We’re betting there are plenty of consumers who are eager to try this new mode of transportation out for themselves. Read more…