When you grow up in rural East Texas, you know what loyalty is. It’s what a man feels for his pickup truck.
As a boy, it wasn’t uncommon for me to hear someone say, “My daddy drove a Ford ’til he died, and I’m gonna drive a Ford ’til I die,” or some variation with either Dodge or Chevy. Texas men are more devoted to their trucks than to their wives. Read more…
Lexus has built its reputation on cars that are well-engineered, comfortable, refined, reliable and — let’s be honest — remarkably bland. Read more…
For a guy who grew up in Texas, I’m an oddball. I don’t like trucks.
It seems like pickups are divided into two distinct categories, neither of which tickle my automotive fancy. The first is the giant, full-size truck that can tow just about anything and drive just about anywhere, which is great for those weekends when you need the power and cargo space that only these brutes can offer. Only problem is having to drive them the rest of the week, which means spending a fortune in gas and barely squeezing into parking spots at the SuperMart. Read more…
When it comes time to test a low-priced SUV, I’ve learned not to expect too much. After all, most of them are just overgrown versions of cheap economy cars. Read more…
The Best Gets Even Better
Alas, our number finally came up for a chance to have a go at the latest edition of Ford’s top seller, the F-150. Upon taking delivery of our well broken in pre-production model Lariat SuperCrew 4×4 we promptly declared that this truck was huge and got the most obvious part of our evaluation done. Greenies, tree huggers, environmental wackos and otherwise small car weenies need not continue reading. Read more…
Just mention the words “Land Rover,” and you probably think of burly, khaki-clad British men driving through the wildest parts of Africa on a big-game safari. Read more…
Volkswagen executives must have looked at the Subaru WRX and Mitsubishi Evolution before coming to a conclusion: “We want one of those!” Read more…
Everybody knows the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry reign atop the family-sedan hill. They’re the cream of the crop, the best of the best, and a thousand other overused clichés. Read more…
What do you get when the practical, buttoned-down Toyota Camry puts on a string bikini? The new Solara. Read more…
Finally A Sports Car For Full Nesters
Not everyone has bags of disposable cash sitting around after their kids have moved out to pursue family, fame and fortune. Some people have responsibilities at home in the form of children, who are more interested in passing next week’s spelling test than working up the corporate ladder. And unfortunately—due to the need to transport their respective bundles of joy—mom and pop’s inner enthusiast just isn’t being satisfied by the sport-package equipped minivan. It would be nice if there were a sports car that could seat more than two people and be affordable at the same time. Nevertheless there are rules to the world we live in and that anomaly just doesn’t exist—does it? Well we’re happy to report it does, and it’s available at your local Mazda dealer for less than most minivans. Read more…
