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• Is Now The Smartest Time To Buy a 2014 Ford F-150? New Truck This Winter Bringing BEST… July 13, 2014, 10 am This is somewhat counter-intuitive for a car news writer to ask - but I'm sure the thought has crossed your mind at some point as well. Here is the scenario: You want and need a new truck. New F-150 looks awesome, so you have been waiting to see it come out before you decide whether to buy one. But here is an alternative scenario: Save yourself $10,000 or more buy snapping up one of the 2014-model-year trucks -- loaded to the gills and priced to move. Tempting, right? As new as the 2015 F-150 is, the 2014 truck is…
• 2016 Scion iA Review – Best Compact Sedan… Ever? 55 Pics + HD Drive Video July 30, 2015, 7 pm Quick: what are the biggest issues with compact cars? -- They are typically a total snooze outside -- And alarmingly depressing to drive Is that just an unbreakable curse, or can Scion engineer and design its way to greatness on its first attempt? INTRO Scion has a double threat of new compacts for 2016: the all-new iA sedan and iM hatchback take over for the discontinued iQ, xD and xB. After years of wild niche models, Scion is refocusing its mission to speak to 2015 buyer wants and needs via far more traditional body styles. The iM is a…
• 2015 Chevy Sonic RS Sedan and LTZ Dusk Join Cool RS Hatch With Dark Rims, Body Kit and… July 21, 2014, 8 am The Chevy Sonic RS is by far the coolest and sportiest in the Sonic compact lineup from Chevy. A relatively unexpected hit with buyers, the Sonic line from about $15,000 comes as standard with a naturally-aspirated 1.8-liter engine. Uplevel trims bring the much quicker, much more tune-able and slightly more powerful on-paper 1.4-liter Turbocharged engine upgrade. With the RS package, the Sonic Sedan now benefits from the RS Hatchback's exclusive style, handling and equipment enhancements. All good news - and great to see the sedan benefit from some cool style. This is an area where the Ford Fiesta sedan…
• 2015 BMW Concept Compact Sedan Teases Upcoming 135i: $25k Base Price, Standard Turbo, RWD? November 21, 2015, 1 pm   Here is a bit of a mystery concept from BMW: the 2015 Concept Compact Sedan. Debuting at the Guangzhou auto show in China this week, the Concept CS is not mysterious about its production intent. One look inside the cabin of even the renders shows that this car is nearly finalized already, and likely to be in some global Bimmer showrooms by the end of calendar 2016. From there, things line up with logical powertrains in 120i, 128i and 135i, mirroring the two-door 235i, etc. Pricing for the eventual 1 series is likely to start at about $25k,…
• 2014 Scion iM Concept Car Takes Shape as WRX-ified 5-Door Hatch!? November 16, 2014, 4 pm Updated 11.16.14   Something about the fat rear tires and floating wide-body fenders of this Scion iM concept just screams WRX, does it not? In all likelihood, this is just a sportified version of a future Scion xD -- reborn from the bones of the Toyota Matrix. But how sweet would a Scion WRX hatchback be.....! We thought it was a tC previously... so why not go for being wrong twice =]   2014 Scion iM Concept PREVIOUS First look this morning at the very promising Scion iM concept car for Los Angeles! The 'iM' name of this hot…
• Road Test Review – 2014 Mazda3 S Grand Touring 5-Door Drives Like BMW! October 19, 2014, 11 pm By Special Contributor Ken Glassman Mazda has been making some great cars for a long time. And Mazda has been setting themselves apart from the crowd by dialing in more driving excitement. You can always count on a Mazda to offer outstanding handling and excellent performance into all their models. And the 3 series Grand Touring is no exception.  EXTERIOR The styling of this 5-door hatchback is slick and unique. Hatchbacks are not nearly as popular in the US as they are everywhere else in the world, but this one may change how Americans look at a hatchback, and…
• Road Test Review w/ Pricing and Specs – 2014 Mazda3 Grand Touring May 7, 2014, 3 pm We were amazed with the all-new 2014 Mazda3 from the moment we laid eyes on it - especially the slinky and low-slung sedan variant that just arrived this Spring to Mazda dealers nationwide. After some joyful driving of the loaded 2014 Mazda3 s Grand Touring model, it is clear that the praise we shared in the "2014's Smartest Compact" article was not sufficient. This might be the best car on the market in general, with no caveats for size or price. It is that good. I am struggling to convey how outstanding a machine it is in all regards…
• 2013 Kia CUB Concept Is Retro-Futurist Hatch With Surfacing and Stance To Best Even MINI Cooper September 25, 2014, 9 pm   Here is a real charmer of a concept - one that shows what the aesthetic of the Soul might look like in a traditional five-door hatchback. The retro portion of the design is in the low hood and steep windshield glass, while the futurist element comes with the lack of gaudy chrome detailing or a big grille up front. Rounding takes over in the front corner vents and the smooth flow of the rear canopy and hatch region. A shark-fin element appears in three-dimensional relief in the front door panel, while the rear glass incorporates a CHMSL LED…
• 2017 Chevrolet CRUZE HATCH Reveals Unique 5-Door Design, Massive Trunk Ahead of Fall Arrival January 7, 2016, 12 pm Here is a nice surprise reveal from Chevy: the upcoming Cruze Hatch. This new bodystyle builds on the massive improvements of the 2016 Cruze sedan with unique styling for the nose and tail, a giant cargo area of 18.5-cubic-feet with the seats up, and wagon-like utility with them folded down.  How big with the seats down? Nearly 50 cubes!  That is SUV-big. It is great to see Chevy offering this variant in the home US market.  Favorite details?  The bumper designs front and rear -- with their swirl of painted surface forming claw-like accents to the black lower bumpers.…
• 2016 SEAT Leon CUPRA 290 – GTI-Beating Coupe, Hatch and Wagon Gain New Sport Exhaust… February 15, 2016, 2 pm A new sport exhaust for the five-door and SC Cupras for 2016 opens up a shouty new bellow on throttle -- and ramps up max power by about 10 ponies. The wagon appears to miss out on the new sport exhaust -- but is bumped up to 290 all the same.  Vmax?  156MPH!  0-60?  5.7-seconds on its best day, and 6.2-ish like clockwork on other days.  Both are a half-second beyond what the fastest GTI can deliver. As before on the Cupra 280, this wagon/coupe/hatch family is the quickest front-drive production car to ever lap the Nurburgring.  Standard LED lighting…
• PART ONE: 4.5-second 2015 Audi RS Q3 Priced Out of Compact SUV Market in USA July 3, 2014, 9 am 2015 Audi RS Q3 The Audi RS Q3 is not coming abroad to the United States market - on what has been deemed cost grounds. This makes sense if you start adding up what the showroom sticker would be for Audi of America. With the new Q3 priced in the $35,000 to $45,000 range with options and the upgraded 2.0-liter turbo engine, there is little headroom for the price premium that Quattro GmbH models command. Based on the RS5 versus the S5, we are talking a full $10 to $15,000 price bump - which would lead the RS Q3…
• Hyundai Teases Venue Compact CUV Ahead of Big Apple Debut March 28, 2019, 12 am Typically when an automaker unveils an important model, they usually pick the perfect venue to help give it maximum impact and appeal. The New York Auto Show is no exception, but in the case of Hyundai, the Korean automaker has decided to flip the script, and has formally begun teasing a new small compact CUV that will make its debut in the Big Apple.   Taking inspiration (perhaps a bit too literally) from the venue it will be debuting in, the new model (dubbed the Venue) will be the smallest Hyundai utility offering, and it will be positioned below…