More Than Just A Pretty Face
The XJ hasn’t been a contender for years. Even when the last generation stepped forward with advanced aluminum intensive construction for the 2004 model year, a ho-hum base engine, tired styling and uninspired interior guaranteed it would never light up the radar of discriminating luxury sedan buyers. The XJ’s disastrous reception forced Jaguar management to sever its retro stranglehold and turn to maestro of design Ian Callum to develop a modern design language, which we first saw on the svelte, but still traditional, XF. For the flagship XJ Callum pushes the envelope even further and blesses the big cat with a distinctive presence that we think will finally draw curious consumers to Jaguar showrooms. After a week with a long-wheelbase XJ we’re confident they’re going to like what they find. Read more…
Kia Delivers a Stress Free Way to Dash Through the Snow.
It was a blustery cold and snowy afternoon when I took delivery of the latest Kia crossover, the Sportage. Beneath the snow this 5-door crossover looked far different from the Sportage Kia introduced to the US market in 1995. That vehicle was offered as a 5-door SUV or 3-door ½ roof convertible similar to a Suzuki Samarai/Sidekick or an Isuzu Amigo. The days of a genuine rock-crawling, wind in your hair, 4-cylinder SUV are all but gone; replaced by bulbous vehicles designed with an emphasis on handling and cargo carrying abilities while neglecting outward visibility or even tasteful styling. The 2011 Sportage is no exception to the trend. In fact, it takes the small crossover category farther from its SUV ancestry than any other competitor. The original Sportage was a two-box design with a long hood and short overhangs. For 2011, the Sportage has a relatively short hood and eliminates the side windows in the cargo area giving the impression of a VW Golf that has morphed from mild mannered Dr. Bruce Banner into the Incredible Hulk. Thankfully, for 2011 Kia has finally managed to develop a family resemblance amongst its entire line up – Sportage included – with the implementation of a barbell shaped opening in the grille complete with floating Kia badge. Read more…
Buick Injects a Bit of Sport Into Mainstream America
When General Motors introduced the Opel Insignia in Europe a few years ago, American auto enthusiasts took notice because it appeared to be the replacement for the well received Saturn Aura. The Insignia-based model promised to be the sporty front-wheel-drive midsize sedan that GM had consistently failed to offer Americans. That promise was broken in 2009 when GM killed off the relatively short lived brand as part of its bankruptcy restructuring. The promise broken by Saturn would curiously be kept by up-market Buick. Read more…
Best If Used By 2007
The little Versa washed up on our shores back in 2006 as an ‘07 model looking pretty much like the same car you see here. But dig into history a bit and you will find that the Versa first went on sale in Japan in 2004. The little Nissan has gone by the aliases Tiida, Tiida Latio, Latio, Versa and the Dodge Trazo. It has been sold in Japan, Latin American, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Canada, a select smattering of European countries, and likely a few more places we just don’t have the space here to list. So to say this car is getting a bit long in the tooth is a bit of an understatement. Nevertheless, when the Versa showed up in the AT Garage we had a road trip assignment ready for it. Read more…
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 6th 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…
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…
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!
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…
