Automotive Trends

Hey, This Thing Only Seats Five!

    A few years ago, when the “XL-7” descriptor first showed up attached to Suzuki vehicles, it represented a special stretched version of the Grand Vitara small SUV. The longer wheelbase made room for a third row of seats that brought the seating capacity to, you guessed it, seven. The ability to seat seven passengers in a vehicle roughly the size of a Grand Cherokee and sell it in the low $20,000 range was a unique strategy that put Suzuki on the forefront of the race to stuff a third row of seats into every SUV larger then a RAV4. Read more…

      Until now, it’s been easy to compare the Mercury Mountaineer to its near-identical twin, the Ford Explorer.
     Mercury’s new 2006 Mountaineer, though, would make a better comparison with the bigger Lincoln Navigator.
     The Mountaineer is still based on the same platform as the Explorer. It looks pretty much like the Explorer, has the same amount of space as the Explorer and is even assembled in the same factories as the Explorer — Louisville, Ky. and St. Louis, Mo. Read more…

A Small Car With A Good Warranty Is Still A Small Car

    We’ve been seeing a lot of red lately, and I’m not just talking about the AT tax forms. Of the last six vehicles that have circulated through the office five have been red, or a variation of the sort. So receiving our Cobalt Blue Suzuki Reno was like a breath of fresh air, mostly. The powertrain is something like that of a smoker’s cough and the compact dimensions act like a resistor in the circuit powering our smile muscles. But hey, I did say I liked the color. Read more…

     If you’re the shy type, don’t ever ride in this Chevy.
     From the moment you step inside this wild truck — a power-top convertible, no less — you become the center of attention wherever you drive.
     People roll down their windows at stoplights to ask what it is; you can’t fill the gas tank without being interrupted at least twice; little kids stare at it with open-mouthed amazement; and cops pull you over for no apparent reason. Read more…

The G6 Makes Pontiac Competitive In Small Cars Again

    With the G6, Pontiac is setting a new direction for its vehicles. No longer will they be superfluous designs with yesterday’s dynamics but clean, contemporary vehicles with varying degrees of the driving excitement Pontiac is supposed to offer. Thanks mostly to heavy incentives, the Grand Am sold in healthy numbers, but it wasn’t a vehicle that could take on today’s ever-more-impressive small car competition. Thankfully, when it came time to replace the Grand Am, GM started with its excellent Epsilon architecture and built from there. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that when you build with better components, you end up with a better vehicle. That’s exactly what Pontiac has done. Read more…

This Isn’t Your Typical Vee-Dub

    There might be a cute face on the front of this one, but there is no Bug hiding behind that smile. Underneath that gentle demeanor is more grunt than any Yank bargained for. At least according to the spec sheet. But numbers don’t contact the pavement, rubber does. So what happens when a homegrown Red, White, and Blue farm boy gets behind the reigns of a German steed on western soil? Read on and find out. Read more…

    When Chrysler introduced the Pacifica in 2004, it was a fantastic family vehicle with only one problem.
     Many families couldn’t afford it.
     Chrysler tried to make the Pacifica an upscale station wagon with leather seats, fancy technology, and lots of luxurious features to guarantee people knew that Chrysler was now owned by Mercedes. It was a great vehicle — still is — but its starting price over $30,000 was more than many families could stomach. Read more…

The Handsome Newcomer Proves Talented Too

    Before the arrival of the Equinox, Chevrolet was sitting on the sidelines of the Small SUV game. In fact, the sidelines would have been an improvement, considering they never let the Tracker out of the cheap seats. Yes, the Tracker was ugly, underpowered, incapable and uncomfortable. Even so, it couldn’t have been that bad, could it? Actually, it was, and Chevy knew it. A lot of valuable time passed before the bow-tie boys got a replacement in the showroom, but now that the Equinox is available, is it a serious player in the still-hot small SUV field? Luckily, for GM, it is. Read more…

A 2004 Lincoln Aviator rests in front of a Northern Michigan harbor.

I’m Getting Too Old For This

     “I’m getting too old for this,” I said.
     “Good, cause I’m assigning you the Buick,” replied Master Chief Dye.
     Yeah, I walked right into that one. Accordingly, I got out my cane, my overcoat, and my bowler hat and strolled out to the garage—at an appropriately adjusted pace. The Cardinal Red Metallic LaCrosse parked there like a mother goose watching the little ones play. I think its BINGO night down at the local VFW hall. Read more…