POTEAU, Okla. — It looked like Christmas shopping season in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
Evidently there’s not much to do on a Friday night in Poteau — other than huntin’ and fishin’ in the nearby mountains — so it seemed everybody in town had shown up at Wal-Mart to meet their buddies and share a little gossip on this cool April night. I had to hike from my faraway parking spot to get inside, where the locals were talking a lot more than they were shopping. Read more…
The Original Standard of the World Crossover
The last SUV to occupy this space was lauded for not compromising, for retaining its body-on-frame roots, and for its V8 strength. But that SUV also felt more at home at a rodeo vs. Rodeo (pronounced Roe-day-oh, they tell me) Drive. However you say it, the Cadillac crossover is a compromise. A little bit of this, a little bit of that and whammo, a CTS off its diet. Read more…
Serious Zoom-Zoom
There are other turbocharged performance sedans on the market but the two we think of first, the Mitsubishi Evo and Subaru WRX, are considerably more manic than the thoroughly upgraded MazdaSpeed 6 we had the pleasure of driving a few weeks ago. We recently tested the Evo and were—not surprisingly—impressed by the sheer power of the tiny 2-liter and the fierce acceleration it provides. But the Evo is tuned heavily toward hardcore and not everyone wants to sacrifice a decent ride, sound insulation, and luxurious interior accommodations in the name of horsepower. Some will willingly trade a few tenths of a second in the 0-60 mph dash for something that can serve family sedan duty at the drop of a hat. Those people will find such a ride at their Mazda dealer. Read more…
Something MoRe
It’s probably appropriate that the high-performance version of Mitsubishi’s Lancer sedan is called the Evolution. Every couple years the die-hard speed junkies inside the three-diamond division tweak the look, and if we’re lucky, the turbo engine of this all-wheel drive monster and add one to the Roman numerals. Right now we’re flying around corners in the ninth version of the entry-level sedan cum serious sports car. Of course, when we think it can’t get any better the Evo will evolve again, and we’ll be blown away—again. Sadly, the 10th generation is still a ways off, but in the meantime the Evo IX is more than capable of serious entertainment. To be sure we were as amused as we could be we asked for the top dog MR edition. We haven’t had this much fun since the office Christmas party. Read more…
Categories: Reviews Tags: 2006, All-wheel drive, AWD, compact, Evo, Evolution, IX, Lancer, Mitsubishi, MR, sedan, turbocharged
Sedan of Elderly Leisure
Just two years ago this sedan would have been revolutionary in the family sedan market. Its extra-large proportions, elevated ride height, spacious interior and availability of all-wheel drive put this sedan into an SUV-like category when you consider all of these features’ marketability. Perhaps this is why the Five Hundred just doesn’t get the heart racing; we expect these niceties in all too many vehicular categories in this day and age. Read more…
A Case Of Mistaken Identity
This is an interesting SUV for sure. In my professional opinion I think the engineers built an SUV with a case of mistaken identity. Regardless, the Endeavor does live up to its nameplate, endeavoring to be more than merely the sum of its parts. Confused yet? No more than the editor writing this review, trust me. 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…
Starting this year, environmentalists will be a little more timid when they gripe about SUVs.
That’s because sport utility vehicles — long criticized for their gluttonous appetite for gas and dirty emissions — are turning green. Several manufacturers are planning more efficient models for the coming years, and the first to the market is Ford’s 2005 Escape Hybrid. Read more…
When you’ve got a sagging brand like Mercury, what do you do?
If you’re an executive with Ford Motor Company, you take the hot-selling Ford Escape, change a couple of things around, and rechristen it the Mercury Mariner. Read more…
