Automotive Trends

Chevrolet Packages Unbridled Spirit in a Corvette for the Country Club Crowd

      Appropriately built in Kentucky, a state whose license plates declare its ‘unbridled spirit’, the legacy of the Corvette is long, rich and detailed. A late addition to the 6^th generation (C6) Corvette, the Grand Sport model finally allows the Corvette buyer to upgrade to the suspension and brakes available on the Z06 model without being limited to a manual transmission and fixed roof combination. The first question many ask is why bother offering a Corvette with an automatic? The reality is that many Corvette buyers are retired gentlemen who have waited much of their long lives to buy a Corvette. To them it is an image car that lets them relive their childhood dreams. Many of these customers have spent most of their driving years piloting the family car with an automatic and have no desire to relearn how to shift for themselves. They simply want something fast and fun combined with the appeal of the Corvette name. If it weren’t for these buyers, GM likely wouldn’t be able to draw enough volume to offer a Corvette at all, much less one with a genuine manual transmission. Read more…

     If you want a new Italian car right now, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati will be happy to oblige — assuming you can afford the six-figure price. That’s about to change now that FIAT has announced its return to America with a cute little compact car called the 500. It’s set to be available on dealer lots by the end of the year, and it will be a test of whether Americans are ready to embrace affordable Italian cars once again. Read more…

Finally, A Hybrid That Handles

     Like John Cleese in a Monty Python production, when it comes to the Lexus CT200h we feel like announcing “and now for something completely different”. That’s because this new entry-level Lexus offers the same hybrid benefits that we’ve seen in one form or another for the past decade, but doesn’t sacrifice driving pleasure on the altar of ultimate frugality. And no, we’re not counting the poor-excuse-for-a-hybrid Honda CR-Z and its piddling mid-30s fuel economy rating. Yes, we too were skeptical when phrases like “fun to drive hybrid” and “a hybrid with attitude” were being dropped by sales executives at the vehicle’s press introduction. But after a day spent driving around Palm Beach, Florida, we found ourselves uttering similar summaries of Lexus’s fifth hybrid. And we didn’t see that coming. Read more…

EX-L Model Shows Its Athletic Prowess

      People often talk about the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry as if they’re interchangeable, like two different versions of vanilla. They’re not the same, though. They’re both from Japan; they both have great reputations; they’re both among the most popular cars in the world. But the similarities end there. Read more…

Kia Can’t Spell, But They Can Build An Impressive Sport Coupe

     Kia is known for a lot of things, but building beautiful cars isn’t one of them. As irrefutable evidence we submit the now (mercifully) departed Amanti. That four-eyed rolling catastrophe had a face only a blind mother could love. The good news is the era of the homely Kia is now behind us. As irrefutable evidence we submit the new-for-2010 Forte Coupe, err, Koup. This handsome little sport coupe borrows all the right stuff from clean, contemporary design leader Audi and comes loaded for $19,195 as-tested. Until very recently there wasn’t much in the under-$20k class worth getting excited about if you view driving as more than a required chore to get from Point A to Point B. After a week with the sporty SX model Koup, we think people like us might have a new option in the budget performance class. Read more…

       To say that your mileage may vary seems to be the understatement of the decade. The Environmental Protection Agency has finally finished the math it needed in order to produce what you see above, the offical EPA Window Sticker for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt. A bit confusing, eh? It actually isn’t so bad when you  break it down. On the left you have what the Volt is capable of using only its on-board electric motor and battery pack charged up via the grid. On the right you have your standard MPG once the battery pack has been drained of its nuclear or coal fired electro juice. You’ll note that beside each MPGe or MPG figure there is a per 100 miles figure, which calculates just how much energy it takes to move the vehicle 100 miles. And at the bottom there are some charts for estimating how your mileage will vary with charging and how the Volt compares to other vehicles. What does this all mean? Well, on electric power alone it will get the equivalent of 93 MPG for roughly 35 miles (according to the EPA offical number) and 37 MPG after that. We were hoping for a bit more fuel miserly once the battery drained, but considering that the curb weight is more on par with a full-sized sedan we’ll call it impressive nonetheless and report back our real-world fuel economy and driving impressions once GM tosses us the keys. Read more…

      Happy Thanksgiving from the Editors of Automotive Trends!

A Stylish Redesign Still Leaves The Tucson A Bit Short

     Hyundai’s aggressive product investment has rewarded the stalwart automaker with one of the freshest lineups in the business. We’ve already put our stamp of approval on the company’s killer new Sonata sedan, but there is tempting new product on the crossover front too. Last year the vanilla Tucson was the extra-strength sleep aid of the Hyundai lineup thanks to generic headlights, a homely grille and chunky plastic cladding that tried in vain to liven up the derivative profile. But the Tucson enters 2010 with swoopy new bodywork and a stylish interior ready to engage the hotly contested small crossover segment and attract new consumers that simply didn’t consider Hyundai just a few years ago. Read more…

     In this, the thirteenth installment of your ever-growing collection of Automotive Trends PODCASTS, we discover that someone really needs to monitor our crew’s intake of caffeine!  Nevertheless your hard working and ever dedicated autoscribes discuss the merits (or really, the lack thereof) of the SEMA Car Show, discuss whether Volvo’s got what it takes to deliver a 7-Series competitor, voice our displeasure over Gran Turismo 5 being delayed again, debate the 2012 Buick Regal GS’s lack of all-wheel drive and have a moment of silence for the officially departed Pontiac brand. To top it all off we discuss our week spent flogging a yellow 2011 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Convertible. Click through for a listen!     Read more…

      It’s no secret that Chrysler is playing catch up this year and rolling out plenty in terms of product refinement and refreshment. The latest batch of information goodness we have to share comes in the form of the pricing strategy on the new-for-2011 Dodge lineup. We were going to make mention of this in PODCAST Episode 13, but frankly we found that announcing a whole bunch of figures over the air just amounts to baffled expresions and silly blunderous commentary. So here is a post dedicated to the sole advancement of showroom knowledge. Oh, we’ve also included photo galleries of all the new sheetmetal, from the all-new Durango to the drag-strip-ready Challenger SRT8 392, for your view pleasure. Enjoy! Read more…