2022 Honda Insight Review
It’s interesting that partially electric cars (which are nearly “zero emissions” cars at the tailpipe) have fallen out of favor with government regulators because hybrids achieve nearly everything regulators insist is absolutely necessary, such as very high fuel efficiency and extremely low emissions at a price point that makes it feasible for almost anyone to afford one. That […]
Driving Safely They Aren’t
Are you a ‘passive passer?’ Some motorists seem to have been conditioned to regard a safely executed fast pass as “unsafe” and for that reason, most don’t even try to pass. Instead, they meekly follow. Their pace is determined by the pace of the car ahead of them, whose driver refuses to drive even the speed limit. […]
2022 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid Review
Is 15 or so miles-per-gallon more worth paying $3,900 more? It depends. Right now, the $3,900 more you know you’ll pay to buy the hybrid version of the Elantra, which goes about 15 miles farther overall on a gallon of gas than the non-hybrid Elantra, must be juxtaposed against the right-now cost of gas, which […]
Charge It Takes on a Whole New Meaning
When your customers cannot afford what you’re selling, you finance it. Literally, sell them the item, the interest, plus a bill of goods. This is Cadillac’s new business model for selling its soon-to-here array of electric vehicles, beginning next year with the 2023 (and $59,990 to start) Lyric. It’s a ride that not many can afford to buy, which […]
If “Safety” Really Mattered: NMA E-Newsletter #716
By guest writer Eric Peters In several objective ways, new cars are less “safe” than cars built decades ago. A strong statement. One that probably seems ridiculous, too, given all the “safety” features new cars have that old cars did not, and the fact that new vehicles must pass a battery of crash tests before […]
2022 Land Rover Range Rover Review
Before there were “SUVs,” there were 4x4s such as the original Ford Bronco, the Chevy K-5 Blazer and the International Scout. These were go-anywhere rigs but not gentleman’s rigs. You wanted a Range Rover, if you wanted something like that. The original model was also a 4×4. There were no “SUVs” back in 1970, when the first one was […]
Precious Metal
The 2022 Toyota Tundra no longer comes with a V8, even as an optional engine. Instead, it comes standard with a twice-turbo’d V6. With or without battery-electric assist. Not because this is what Tundra buyers want. Rather, it is because of government demands, which Toyota (like all car companies) must comply with the standards. The previously standard V8 wasn’t […]
2022 Mercedes S-Class Review
The measure of luxury used to be amenities–things like climate control AC, power everything, leather seats (heated, even), and, of course, power everything. The problem for luxury car makers is that everyone else has those things. Even $20K cars now usually come standard with most of those things. At the $30K point, they’re almost a given as hubcaps […]
The Non-Replacement for Displacement
Tesla thinks it has the replacement for displacement for the V8 engine in your classic car, truck or project car. It is a “turnkey” (if electric cars had keys) electric motor that supposedly bolts directly in place of a factory V8 engine and transmission, tying into the existing driveshaft and rear axle. It even has the general […]
2022 Jaguar E-Pace Review
A Jaguar crossover SUV is a strange cat. What’s next? KISS releasing a country record? But then, no one wants to see Gene Simmons in a cowboy hat singing about his pick-up truck. On the other hand, crossovers are the in-thing. They are becoming almost the only thing. Even for a company like Jaguar, which was known […]