Hybrids and muscle go together

April 27, 2018 David Zatz 0

Most car guys I know loathe hybrid-electric cars. You can probably blame the Prius — a hyper-efficient car that’s a bit dull to drive, like a four-cylinder Camry.  V8 afficianados, even if they only drive minivans, tend to get all worked up about the Prius, making rash assumptions about the […]

Ford to end U.S. sedan sales

April 26, 2018 Bill Cawthon 0

On Wednesday, Ford announced a new, more aggressive cost-cutting plan that will have a significant impact on its U.S. product lineup. 110 years after it began production of the first mass-market automobile, the Model T, Ford is exiting the mainstream passenger car market in the U.S. and Canada. In the […]

BYD electric buses

Tesla doesn’t matter much — BYD does

April 25, 2018 David Zatz 0

Thanks to mis-steps on the part of Henrik Fisker, Elon Musk’s Tesla was the first major modern electric-car maker — but were they the most important? It seems unlikely. Fisker was close to making electric cars before Tesla, but ran out of cash; Tesla has yet to turn an annual […]

car radios

Car stereo bugs that drive me nuts

April 23, 2018 David Zatz 0

Car stereos have the best sound and features we have ever seen. Scant decades ago, cars came with single speaker AM radios; today, we can play music from phones, pods, satellites, and thumb drives, ignoring AM and FM entirely. At the same time, we’ve lost a few things; many cars […]

classic vs new cars

Were classic cars better and cheaper?

April 16, 2018 David Zatz 0

My “parade car” is a 1974 Plymouth Valiant. I enjoy driving it, now and then, and it still runs beautifully. It has plenty of torque, so there aren’t any issues with lack of power around town, though highway ramps require a little planning. Built in Newark, in a plant which […]

Goodbye to the American car?

April 9, 2018 Bill Cawthon 0

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal (paid subscription required), Ford and General Motors are planning to kill off some well-known models in the near future. Ford, which has already moved production of the Focus to to its plant in Hermosillo, Mexico,  has announced that it will build […]

2019 chevy pickup

Comparing the car-show trucks

April 5, 2018 Peter Doll 0

We took the opportunity to compare the major American pickups at the New York Auto Show. These are, by far, the market leaders, accounting for nearly all full-size pickups sold in North America. Ford F-150 The aluminum-bodied Ford F-150, longtime sales champion, has a clean but conservative design. Of the […]

Cadillac CT6

Big March boosts Detroit three

April 4, 2018 Bill Cawthon 0

Double-digit gains reported by FCA and General Motors added nearly two percentage points to the Detroit automakers’ share of the U.S. light vehicle market. GM delivered the largest increase of any major car company with total sales up 16%, followed closely by FCA’s Jeep-fueled 14% growth. Ford sales rose about […]

Jeep sales surge 45% for best month ever

April 3, 2018 Bill Cawthon 0

According to figures released this morning, Jeep sales jumped nearly 45% in March as deliveries of the Compass exploded by triple digits and propelled the brand to a new monthly benchmark. Compass turnover skyrocketed 553%, and sales of every other Jeep model were up by double digits. Jeep Sales for […]