Mazda has hit it out of the park with the all-new 2016 MX-5 Miata roadster. Now in its fourth generation, the new car is lighter, smaller and quicker than the model it replaces while still offering affordable fun. Following the mantra of Jinba Ittai (pairing the driver as one with the car) designers and engineers have created a little masterpiece.
Update: We’ve been getting a lot of calls and emails offering us vehicles to restore. To be clear, Gear Diary is not the company doing the restorations, and we can not forward your requests to Martin Brothers. Thank you for your understanding. 🙂
It’s an age-old problem: you park your car, go walking down the street to shop or dine, come out — and you’ve forgotten where you’ve parked your car! Worse yet, there’s always the chance of missing the cut-off point when your parking meter runs out of time. The solution? A nonda ZUS Smart Car Finder and USB Car Charger.
No sooner does Scion release a couple of all new vehicles than its parent company Toyota Motor Sales announces the division will be mothballed. Fortunately it appears the Scion vehicles will be rolled back into the Toyota production lineup as they are all very worthy including the newest hatchback, the Scion iM.
I am constantly asked what the best three-row crossover vehicle is and for many years my answer has not waivered: a minivan. I am still a firm believer that the ultimate utility comes from a model that receives so little respect these days, and recently we got a (final) look at the granddaddy of them, the Dodge Grand Caravan.
Longer, lower, livelier…these are the three L’s to live by in the all-new 2016 Nissan Maxima. This is the eight-generation for the flagship four-door that leads the Nissan lineup and the automaker swears this four-door sports car – created by driving enthusiasts for driving enthusiasts – is its best yet.
Want something that looks like an SUV, handles like a sports car, that comes with all the bells and whistles without breaking the bank? You’ll want to look at the 2017 Kia Sportage CUV. I recently tried it out, and I came away impressed. Get this — the top of the line model with every option can be had for $34K!
The test driveway has been treated to a couple of hot little Italians in the form of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider and, most recently, the Fiat 500 Abarth Cabrio. They both reside under the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles umbrella, both feature a cloth top that opens, and they both have turbocharged, four-cylinder engines.
Crossover utility vehicles are to the new millennium what minivans were to the late ‘80s and early ‘90s: all the rage. It seems, however, that many CUV designs blend together, especially when friends try to describe one they don’t know the name or brand of. GMC’s latest, the Terrain, sought to step apart from that confusing landscape.
The Alfa Romeo 4C Spider is to driving what Fifty Shades of Grey is to Valentine’s Day. It is not subtle and it is not always pleasant. It is spank-your-ass driving that, when done, leaves you with a feeling like few other experiences in your life. This car is a seductress and it is a dominatrix.
As I eagerly await some more new vehicles to review (models I have not tested in the past couple of years) I will update you on some familiar fascias that have arrived in the test driveway recently. We first looked at the new Jeep Cherokee two years ago and the recent Trailhawk tester featured a couple of updates.
What is the longest-running nameplate in the automotive industry? If you said Suburban you would be correct. Now in its 81st production year, the Chevrolet Suburban Carryall offers all of the latest safety and infotainment technology available while still being the mother of modern land yachts to transport families and their stuff.
Toyota has been making trucks for fifty years and twenty years ago it introduced the Tacoma pickup. For the past ten years, Toyota has dominated the midsize truck segment and, for 2016, Tacoma is all new. Designers and engineers have rebuilt Tacoma from the ground up to make this model the best yet.
Despite the fact its light duty pickups all received overhauls just a couple of years ago, General Motors has given the GMC Sierra 1500 line a short-cycle refresh just as it did with the Chevy Silverado we recently reviewed. What a difference a couple of years makes with the new 2016 GMC Sierra Denali 1500!
Quite honestly I did not realize the Jeep Patriot was the lowest priced compact utility vehicle on the market. At under 18 grand it offers value along with the on and off-road capability folks have come to know with the Jeep name. Sure, you won’t be doing any rock crawling with this unibody vehicle but Patriot can go everywhere else!
On the day it was named North American Car of the Year, the all-new 2016 Honda Civic sedan was delivered to the test driveway. Civic is Honda’s longest-running automotive nameplate and it is one of the best-selling cars in the world period. This is Gen 10, and it may just be the best Civic yet.
The Toyota Land Cruiser is a living legend, and for 2016 that legend continues. Land Cruiser has been sold in the U.S. market for nearly 60 years now and this year it sees some significant upgrades including new interior and exterior design features, as well as getting some of Toyota’s newest safety technology.
This year marks the 90th year for Chrysler as an automotive brand. Not too long ago it was incorporated into the Fiat Chrysler Automobile global family and part of that new partnership meant new models rolling out that received global influence. The Chrysler 200 midsize sedan was one such vehicle.
BMW has launched the next chapter in its EffecientDynamics initiative and it arrives in the form of a plug-in hybrid on the X5 Sports Activity Vehicle. Arriving in showrooms is the X5 xDrive40e that mates the TwinPower turbo 2.0-liter I-4 gas engine to a synchronous electric motor powered by a high-voltage lithium-ion battery pack.
If spending an afternoon cruising along the California coast in December sounds like your idea of fun, you’ll understand why I had such a great time recently while taking the 2016 Chevy Malibu for a spin. Now only is the car fun to drive, it’s loaded with state of the art tech.
A few months ago we introduced you to a few new midsize vehicles from the Volvo portfolio, namely the S60 Inscription and Cross Country sedans and the V60 Cross Country wagon. The sedans were all new at that time while the V60 actually snuck in here midway through last model year, and recently we spent some more time in it.