You’ve decided you’re ready to buy a new car. You’ve even gone so far as to decide you want to spend your hard earned cabbage on an environmentally conscious hybrid. And because you plan to keep the thing until the wheels fall off you should be able to recoup the premium of the hybrid hardware sometime just short of the Second Coming. That decided, you’re ready to hit the dealerships. But which one do you buy? You aren’t sure you can handle the stigma of Toyota’s Prius. The Honda Insight is way out in left field and has no-features (or soul for that matter). How about the Lexus HS250h Hybrid? That might be alright as it has all the standard luxury car trimmings, but it’s a bit small and was designed by people who think Camrys and washing machines are cutting edge design. Not to mention all those tongue-tying h’s. How about the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid? Read more…
In what is now ancient and obscure automotive history, in the late 1960s American Motors decided to shorten the chassis of its pony car offering, the Javelin, in order to create a hard-to-categorize two seat AMX. A decade and a half later Honda seemed to have the same idea by abbreviating the chassis of the mundane Civic, creating a nimble and attractive two seater. Read more…
The 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid proved to the world that you didn’t have to drive a jelly bean to be efficient over the road. In fact it proved that you didn’t have to stick to a road at all because the Escape is still available with all-wheel drive.
The 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid proved that it doesn’t have to give up being an SUV to be frugal. The Escape returned 31.4-mpg during its tenure with the AT staff, and I’ll be the first to admit that our right feet aren’t the lightest.
The Subaru B9 Scrambler is oddly appealing with it’s polarized windshield and wide bug-eyed face. This hybrid drive sports car concept was shown off at the 2004 NAIAS.
As a traditional Cadillac enthusiast, I have felt Cadillac’s lineup has been somewhat incomplete since the departure of the magnificent Fleetwood at the end of 1996. While that car shared its powertrain entirely with the top-line offerings from Chevrolet and Buick, it was a car that was unmistakably a Cadillac. It was the ultimate car for being pampered and its sheer size made it the most imposing car on the road at the time. In its absence the smaller front-wheel-drive Deville had to hold its own against the likes of the Lincoln Town Car – a job it did well. In the decade and a half since Cadillac’s last body-on frame rear wheel drive sedan was built, the top end luxury market has erupted in an all-out war between the Audi A8, Lexus LS-variants, and the Mercedes-Benz S-class. While the Town Car is still in production, Ford threatens to discontinue it on nearly a yearly basis and does little to promote or improve it. Now Lincoln calls the Mercury-like MKS the flagship of its line. Yet another Taurus-based Lincoln, it is as if Ford has thrown in the towel as being a true competitor in the luxury class. Read more…
If ever a vehicle defined excess, it would be the Cadillac Escalade.
For years, this monster Caddy has represented the epitome in American automotive hedonism — so powerful, so luxurious, so big. Everything about it is over the top, from its tugboat engine to its hide-covered seats to its dinner-plate-sized Cadillac logo on the back. It’s extravagance on a grand scale. Read more…
It’s Not Easy Being Green!
The 2008 Ford Escape is like a breath of fresh air in a Ford lineup that has grown stale and boring. I dare say the Toyota Camry is more exciting than either the identity-crisised Taurus or razor bladed Fusion. Excluding the Mustang and its many special editions the bread and butter of Ford’s lineup is…well…bland. Read more…
No, you don’t have to plug it in.
That’s the answer to the question lots of people asked about the 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. They simply couldn’t figure how a big, muscular SUV with great power and acceleration could get the same gas mileage as some four-cylinder compact cars.
But, thanks to the miracle of gas-electric hybrid technology, that’s exactly what this SUV does. 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…
