Cars

2012 Kia Optima Hybrid Review

“Wow, nice car! “Whoa, what car is this?” “Holy crap, THIS is a Kia?” These are the questions I have gotten repeatedly over the last week, because I have had a Kia Optima Hybrid to review. To say this is a nice car is an understatement. It’s an amazing car. The Optima was a pleasure to drive, and had every feature and luxury you could ever imagine or want in a high-end sedan. What made it such a standout vehicle? Read on to find out! First, let’s talk aesthetics. The Optima is a gorgeous car. It has some very sporty…

Vehicles & Gear

First Drive: 2013 Subaru XV Crosstrek

Subaru is preparing to launch the 2013 XV Crosstrek as the latest member of the All-Wheel Drive family, entering a growing yet crowded compact crossover utility segment, one Subaru already competes in with other models. Crosstrek, the made-for-America moniker added to its new global XV model, appears as an even more “cutting-edge” model for the brand, slicing another segment into bite-size pieces for the consumer. We spent a little time getting to know the new Subie on the block on the beautiful island of Oahu and despite the weather or terrain, the new XV Crosstrek performed wonderfully. Crosstrek is aimed…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

2013 Chevrolet Malibu Eco with eAssist Is a Very Mild Hybrid

For 2013, the Chevrolet Malibu enters its eighth generation and the first version released is the Malibu Eco. Let me begin by saying I love what Chevy has done with the Malibu of late. Vast improvements have been made to styling – inside and out – and the overall driving experience. It was not too long ago when the automaker gave Malibu its due attention, but for 2013 the vehicle needed to be hitched to a new global architecture as this is the model soon to be seen ‘round the world. All that said, I believe this Eco version and…

Gear Bits, Vehicles & Gear

Dragon Drive! Messaging Arrives in BMW 7 Series This Month

A short time ago we brought word that Nuance Communications, the company behind Dragon Dictation and many other voice-to-text technologies, was bringing even more woeful voice to the case through Dragon Drive! Messaging. Dragon Drive! Messaging ‘is Nuance’s new automotive-grade connected car service that lets people speak emails and text messages”. Now word comes that it will be available in the new 2012 BMW 7 Series, BMW 3 Series Touring and BMW 3 Series ActiveHybrid vehicles. Better still, the 2012 BMW 7 Series will be the first car ever to feature Dragon Drive! Messaging and it is coming to market…

Vehicles & Gear

First Drive: Forget-Me-Not 2013 Lexus ES 350 and ES 300h

“Impossible to ignore, impossible to forget.” That is the marketing phrase Lexus is using to launch the next-generation ES premium midsize sedan. The 2013 model ES will arrive as the sixth generation of the popular model line. Once a sales leader in the segment, Lexus is pinning its hopes of returning to the top with the new ES that includes – for the first time – a hybrid variant. Lexus anticipates the luxury market to grow this year, especially the entry luxury segment where the ES resides. Currently it has a 17 percent market share between its CT 200h, IS…

Events, Vehicles & Gear

My Day at the Ford Testing Track

I’ve spent the last three days with Ford in Michigan. We learned about their green tech, their company philosophy, and much more. The complete writeup is on the way, but I wanted to get this post and video up now before I leave. Why? Because I got to spend the morning with Ford at their test track driving some of their newest vehicles. There’s the Raptor, which was awesome off-road. Then there was the Interceptor. It is super-fast and a lot of fun to drive. Finally I got to take a Mustang GT out on the course. I had fun,…

Vehicles & Gear

First Drive: 2013 Nissan Altima

Quick, name the No. 2 best-selling car in America last year. Difficult, isn’t it? I, for one, did not realize the Nissan Altima was the second-best selling car in the U.S. in 2011, nor have I really given it much thought (or digital ink) save for the coupe we took to New Orleans a couple of years ago. Altima has been on sale here in the states for two decades now and for 2013 Nissan has decided to lean a little heavier towards revolutionary (as opposed to evolutionary) for what will be the fifth-generation of the car. Granted, they have…

Vehicles & Gear

2012 BMW X3 ‘Simply The Best’

I know what you’re thinking, “Oh, here we go, another fanboy litero-gasmic rambling extolling BMW as the king of the blah, blah, blah…” Yep. Only I am not your typical “drank-the-Bimmer-koolaid” automotive journalist, in fact, it took me a long time to even recognize some of BMW’s prowess in the driving arena, and I still believe there are many other vehicles out there in their respective categories that outshine these Bavarian crèmes. Not so in the case of compact crossovers. After a week with the new BMW X3 I believe this is the best little CUV on the market today….

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

2012 Kia Rio Review

For the last several days, I have had the opportunity to tool around in a 2012 Kia Rio. It’s a cute, sporty, very compact car, and it has been quite a difference from my usual car, a Toyota Prius, and Sarah’s car, a Volkswagen Jetta. It has a lot of impressive features, and a few things I found to be annoying. Read on to learn more! So, let’s start with the basics. This is what Kia calls an “entry-level” car, and it retails for around $18,000, making it very affordable. Now, to get the price that low, there are certain…

Vehicles & Gear

Ford Adds EcoBoost to the 2012 Edge Lineup

The Edge crossover utility vehicle paved the way to a new segment for Ford to compete in and since its introduction several years ago the model line has proved very popular. Last model year, Ford raised the bar a bit higher by updating styling and technology while also adding the Edge Sport model aimed at customers wanting a fresher, hipper crossover. This year, Ford gives consumers a broader choice for powering their Edge by adding EcoBoost technology to the model lineup. For 2012, Ford drops a 240hp turbocharged 2.0-liter GTDI four-cylinder engine under the hood bringing near V-6 performance with…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

2012 Grand Cherokee SRT8 Most Powerful Jeep Yet

With gas prices continuing to drop across the U.S., perhaps it is time to start thinking about that “impulse” purchase you put off when a gallon of the precious fuel rose to near 4-bucks-per. I recommend Jeep’s new “MUV” or Musclecar Utility Vehicle. Recently we spent a week in the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, the most powerful production Jeep on the road, period. SRT has released an SRT8 Grand Cherokee previously but for 2012 the hot rod gets the beefier 470hp 6.4-liter V-8 HEMI that also delivers 465 lb. ft. of torque. And get this – the new Jeep still…

Vehicles & Gear

Plugging Into the 2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV

My knowledge of and experience in electric vehicles has grown exponentially this past weekend as I spent time with the new all-electric entry from Mitsubishi – the 2012 i-MiEV. Mitsubishi would like the world to simply call the little EV “i” but since even its own paperwork and fender badging utilizes the “MiEV” (Mitsubishi Electric Vehicle) nomenclature I am sticking with it as well. The automaker has been testing the MiEV for a few years with this 2012 model being its first full production unit. Availability is still a bit limited but consumers nationwide should be able to get one…

Gear Bits, News & Features

Father’s Day Gifts: A Dashboard For Your Wrist

Express your auto-enthusiasm with the Max Speed Speedometer Car Watch. If you’re one of the few people out there that stills wear a functioning watch, innovative retailer Gadgetsandgear.com has the piece for you. Why bother pulling out your smartphone when you can check the time at lightning fast speeds, right on your wrist? Obviously inspired by a modern dashboard, this fashion accessory could be the perfect gift for the Forza fan or Top Gear freak in your life. Hidden behind the speedometer design is a standard Quartz movement, protected by a water resistant case for all of your auto-scuba expeditions….

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

Is the 2012 Scion iQ the ‘Smart’ Choice?

Move over smart car, Scion is taking over the micro-subcompact car segment with its iQ. The new Scion iQ is being touted as the world’s smallest four-seater and adds yet another model to the funky spinoff division of Toyota. I had been looking forward to testing this new little urban go-kart. I find its design much more appealing than Daimler’s smartfortwo U.S. model and its onroad experience is light years ahead of the smart car. But I do have two requests for Scion in the iQ: First, please stop calling this a four-seater – it ain’t. A third occupant maybe…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

The 2012 Buick Regal GS Is a ‘Hot Wheels’

Growing up it seemed as though it was all about my “Hot Wheels,” riding backwards in the rear-most seat of the family truckster, and watching the Indy 500 on Memorial Day weekend. Since then, not too much has changed really. Substitute the Daytona 500 for the Indy race, and I hardly ever ride anymore as I am always driving news cars to review, but it is still all about the “hot wheels” and I don’t just mean the kids’ toy. Sure I have a sizable collection of the little metal cars (including many I owned as a child) but being…

Reviews, Vehicles & Gear

2013 Scion FR-S Is One Friggin’ Really Sweet Ride

No sooner than we took our seats in the movie theater-turned presentation room at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas that we knew this was unmistakably a Scion program. Thumping music, flashy images and video – and everything product-centric. Scion is the new, trendy little division of Toyota and we were here to experience the all-new rear drive sport coupe co-developed with Subaru and marketed as the Scion FR-S here in the States. With the exception of its Lexus luxury division, Toyota has been out of the rear wheel-drive car segment in the U.S. for quite some time. Well,…

Editorials, Vehicles & Gear

How I Fell for a Muscle Car

This is the story of how a sensible, middle-aged guy fell from sensible car grace. Have mercy on me. Let me be honest right up front here: I am most assuredly not a “muscle car” fan. I was a nerd/geek/dork in high school (in spite of doing two sports–do you think being in Drama and the Computer Club had something to do with it?), and the guys who had, or wanted to have, muscle cars were the kind of guys would give guys like me wedgies, stuff us in lockers, turn us upside in trash cans, and all that kind…

Testing Nissan's 2012 Armada Platinum 4x4 Brought on Some 'Vuja De'

Vehicles & Gear

Testing Nissan’s 2012 Armada Platinum 4×4 Brought on Some ‘Vuja De’

As soon as I slid behind the wheel of Nissan Armada full-size SUV in Platinum 4×4 trim I was overcome with a weird sense of deja vu, as in, “Didn’t I just review one of these?” Yes – and no. I have had the Nissan Titan pickup and a 2011 and 2012 Infiniti QX56 luxury SUV (which, by the way, received a makeover) in the past year so technically one could surmise I had reviewed the Nissan Armada already. The Armada utilizes the same F-Alpha platform underpinning the Titan pickup and the QX models but to be fair (and as…

Vehicles & Gear

2012 Honda Ridgeline puts ‘Sport’ in Sport Utility Truck

I seem to be taking delivery of a lot of trucks here lately but I don’t mind one bit as I reside in the No. 1 truck market in the world (AKA Texas). Texans use pickups for much more than just work vehicles. For many families these are the only vehicle as they have become that utilitarian. And manufacturers have broadened the choices across the pickup lines to meet individual needs of as many buyers as they possibly can. Down here you would think it is the Texas version of the “New Deal” paraphrased to “a pickup in every garage.”…

Vehicles & Gear

Jaguar XKR-S Convertible: The Big Cat Daddy in the Texas Hill Country

It’s been no secret that the convertible hot rod coupes from Jaguar have been some of my favorite cars to drive. Most recently I spent a week behind the wheel of the newest, baddest cat on the block, the XKR-S Convertible. Jaguar released the R-S series to stand above the already improved “R”-designate cars and I would volunteer that the “S” implies spectacular as that is what I found my driving experience in the big kitty to be. While the supercharged 550hp XKR-S in coupe form begs for track time, our tester convertible screamed “Road Trip” – and that is…

Vehicles & Gear

Spring is (Always) in the Air in 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK350

Ah, spring is in the air and for many our thoughts are turned towards taking short (or long) weekend getaways as we welcome back warmer weather, higher pollen counts (and fuel prices) – and top-down driving. Here in the sunbelt states we are already enjoying our first sunburn of the season but for those of you not fortunate enough to be shedding woolen attire yet I invite you to “cheat” convertible season a bit in the new Mercedes-Benz SLK roadster. The 2012 model year is the third-generation of the cute little hard-top convertible that I affectionately refer to as a…

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