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Call a doctor. The "zoom-zoom" brand has suffered a zoomectomy. The * *2013 Mazda CX-5 crossover SUV achieves outstanding fuel economy, but at the cost of the sporty performance that defined Mazda for years. It is, at best, a one-zoom vehicle.
Toyota will offer a hybrid version of its 2013 Avalon midsize sedan rated at 40 m.p.g. in combined city and highway driving when the new midsize sedan goes on sale late this year.
I spent a couple of days last week with the team that developed the 2013 Toyota Avalon in Michigan. The car is a potential watershed for the automaker, its American operations, and its evolution into a truly global enterprise.
The last Shelby performance car sanctified by the late Carroll Shelby, the * * * * 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 convertible is the fastest, most expensive and by far best Mustang from the maestro's decades of work with Ford.
Losing your spare tire is synonymous with losing weight, for people and now for cars. But will car buyers give up their spare tire in exchange for higher fuel economy and lower operating costs? Automakers around the world are weighing that question.
All the pieces of Ford's global strategy come together in the 2013 Ford Escape crossover SUV. The Escape's advanced features and futuristic styling set it apart.
A 250-horsepower performance version of Buick's Verano compact sedan goes on sale this fall. Buick hasn't revealed the price, beyond saying it will cost less than the 201-horsepower $29,200 2.4-liter Acura ILX, another newcomer trying to stake a claim in the market for upscale compact cars. Other competitors will include the Audi A3, Volkswagen Jetta GLI and Volvo C30.
Last year was, frankly, a bit lame in terms of the number of new cars and trucks that debuted, but 2012 is shaping up to be one of the best ever. Automakers are playing catch-up after delaying many new-model introductions during the Great Recession. They're squeezing about 18 months' worth of new vehicles into 2012.
Toyota would like the name of its Scion iQ minicar pronounced "I.Q.," as in "intelligence quotient." Who can blame them? During my test drive, though, I found myself alternating between "eek" and "ick" as my response to the car ranged from dismay to distaste.
Volkswagen will step up its presence in the crossover-SUV market in a big way as the automaker elbows its way into the mainstream of the U.S. car market. VW is in the early stages of an ambitious plan to boost its American car sales from 324,400 last year to 800,000 by 2018.
F uel-efficient and feature-laden, the * * * * 2013 Nissan Altima shoots to the head of its class and lifts Nissan to new heights. The Altima competes with the Chevrolet Malibu, Chrysler 200, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima, Toyota Camry and Volkswagen Passat.
Details have begun to emerge about the technology behind two eagerly anticipated performance cars: the Chevrolet SS and Porsche 918 Spyder hybrid.
I like to make it through most test drives with no open wounds. The * * 2012 Hyundai Azera full-size sedan foiled that hope.
What's the break-even point when you buy a hybrid? How long do you have to own a hybrid, and how far must you drive one, before the money you save on fuel offsets the additional cost? A new website from the U.S. Department of Energy has some surprising answers to those questions.
Acura, the first Japanese luxury brand, is reinventing itself. Not the mild, here's-our-new-car, hope-you-like-the-grille reinvention companies talk about all the time. No, Honda's upscale brand is having a Buick/Lincoln/Titanic-level, OMG/SOS what-went-wrong-and-how-do-I-fix-it moment.
My mother never got to see Cormac, never got to hold her newborn son in her arms. Times were different then. In 1961, in our small town in southern Georgia, the doctor thought that was the best way to deal with the death of an infant immediately after birth.
Catch the Buick Regal GS -- if you can. This time next week, a pair of GM engineers will be piloting one of the turbocharged sport sedans down a Nevada highway at speeds that could top 150 m.p.h. as the brand burnishes its performance credentials.
For decades, Carroll Shelby taught American automakers how to compete with and beat foreigners ranging from 1960s Ferrari exotics to the first fast-and-furious Asian tuners. Along the way, he became one of the world's oldest heart transplant survivors and never seemed to lose the capacity for fun that made the Texas chicken farmer and chili chef a beloved figure around the world.
For decades, Carroll Shelby taught American car makers how to beat foreigners ranging from 1960s' Ferrari exotics to the very first fast-and-furious Asian tuners. Along the way, he became the world's oldest heart transplant survivor and never seemed to lose the capacity for fun that made the Texas chicken farmer and chili chef a beloved figure around the world.
Unmarked doesn't mean unnoticed, I learned after moments behind the wheel of a * * * * 2012 Chevrolet Caprice Detective, the plainclothes version of Chevrolet's roomy and powerful new police car.
What if automakers could slash the weight of their vehicles 30%, 40%, even 50%? A panel of top designers will discuss that Thursday in Detroit as part of the annual Michelin Challenge Design contest. Reducing vehicle weight is one of the most challenging and rewarding areas in automotive development.
Chrysler threw in some of what Louisiana natives call lagniappe to sweeten the deal and get customers to try the automaker's first compact sedan in years, the * * * 2013 Dodge Dart. Lagniappe -- pronounced "lon-yop" -- is a little extra, something on the side to make sure the customer is happy.
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Mike Thompson
