Japanese Automobile History In America 101: The Accord-based Acura Vigor became the Acura TL. The third-generation of that car joined the first Euro Accord-based TSX in Acura showrooms. Both were eventually replaced by less attractive, less desirable sedans, cars which were so much less successful than their predecessors that a new sedan strategy was required […]

This will be the first winter since 2009 when I will not be driving an open top sports car. I can say with confidence that for a daily driver in the Snowbelt, the answer is not necessarily “Miata”.

Back in the spring of 2013, our sources told us that a CD-based Taurus was under development, but promptly sent to the garbage dump after its design bombed its consumer clinics. Marketing brass at Ford decided to kill the Taurus, due to dissatisfaction with the way it looked, and the shrinking mid-size car market. But the large sedan will live on in China.

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It’s an American tradition to help the less fortunate around the winter holidays. After the bell rings for New Year’s, however, many people who need assistance find themselves out in the cold. This weekend, the founder of Gearbox is trying to help a homeless veteran who needs a car — but not for the reason you’d suspect.

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The auto world may be on an extended vacation thanks to the timing of New Year’s day, but the energy markets are still moving. Matt Smith of the Energy Burrito blog (and energy firm Schneider Electric) discusses the impact of lower gasoline prices for the American consumer. According to Smith, the savings amount to $378 million per day, or $80 billion annually.

車輸送カルテル罰金、日本郵船７１億円で合意

OK, you probably can’t decipher that. The news – this headline from Yomiuri – is the latest in the supplier antitrust cases that ring the world, from Japan and Korea through the US to Germany. Even China has gotten into the act, slapping fines on firms that charge “excessive” prices for OEM aftermarket parts, though that is a reflection of price discrimination (selling for what the market will bear) rather than collusion.

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This is all very normal. I exited my driveway, turned left at the end of our cul-de-sac, then right onto our village’s main two-lane, low-speed thoroughfare, shifted into third and fourth, turned up the satellite radio’s volume, switched the driver’s heated seat on full blast, and finally came to a stop a few kilometres later […]