The world of alternative-energy vehicles is expanding virtually by the month, or week. Hybrid vehicles, electric cars, turbo-diesels, cars with tiny gas engines, and combinations of those, such as turbo-hybrids, all seem to have validity and are marketed to be better than the others. All we know is, there is no single answer to the problem of clean and efficient running, just a number of varied answers, all contributing to …
LOS ANGELES,CALIF. — The Fiat 500 is cute, fun, efficient, and economical, but nobody would really call it electrifying. Until now. For 2014, the Fiat 500 will come in a version called the 500e, with the “e” standing for electric. Before consumers in 49 states get too excited about the 500e maybe becoming their electric car of choice, however, the car will require a little California Dreamin’ because the only showrooms it …
A prominent note in my notebook will remind me to plead with the press-fleet powers at BMW to send me the new BMW 750iL for a second test-drive week, after the persistent snow and ice of this never-ending winter finally cash in their chips. As it is, the chance to experience the many wonderful features of the car, which is BMW’s flagship of luxury and class. It’s not as though I didn’t get a chance …
The Mazda 626 has always been a worthy midsize entry, just as durable though less-heralded compared to the Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and Toyota Camry. When it was renovated into the Mazda6, it moved higher on the artistic list and had an edge in sporty handling, but still didn’t match the hot-selling numbers of its competitors. Its last restyling,took the Mazda6 to a much more flowing look, although like the …
Rarely has a new vehicle been introduced with more confusion and criticism than celebration. Hmmm…confusion, criticism, and celebration. Maybe that’s how they came up with the name “C-Max.” Every automaker likes to boast about uniqueness, and how their new product defies categorization, but Ford seems to have mastered the trick with the new C-Max. It seems to be neither fish nor fowl, car or truck, small minivan or spacious mini …
ATS isn’t simply a car Cadillac wants to offer. It’s a car Cadillac needs to offer. Globally, the biggest category in the luxury field is the compact performance segment, and Caddy simply hasn’t been a player. Until now. Eight inches shorter and 500 pounds lighter than its CTS showroom mate, ATS is virtually all new; only its available V-6 is off the shelf. Everything else is consciously designed to target …
It’s a painful memory. But GM hopes it’s about to be put to rest once and for all by the 2014 Chevy Cruze diesel. For those too young to remember when Ronald Reagan was president and Michael Jackson was king, it was the 1980s that GM last dabbled in diesel passenger cars. Alas, those ’80s-era oil-burners were smoky, smelly and about as reliable as an ex-boyfriend while delivering 0-to-60 performance …
The car was a techy new 21st-century turbo so, of course, it reminded me of a 1944 Bing Crosby movie. In “Here Come the Waves,” I’ll bet you’ll recall, Crosby sings “Ac-ent-tchu-ate the Positive,” a song whose lyric advises: “Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative . . . don’t mess with Mr. In-Between.” And therein lies the irony. Fiat’s new 500 Turbo seeks to accentuate positives and eliminate negatives by …
