Honda has never paid too much attention to how other car makers do things. In the past this led to many highly successful innovations. Today…well today we have the ninth-generation Civic, recently launched as an early 2012 model.

Detroit has a long, sad history of self-delusion when comparing its cars to premium imports. Could you tell the difference between the Ford Granada and the Mercedes-Benz 280SE? Murilee’s take: people on ‘ludes should not drive. But what choice does Buick have? The Regal Turbo I reviewed a few weeks ago lists for $35,185. So […]

You have your reasons. Gas prices might be high and headed higher, and car-based crossovers handle better, but you want your full-sized, full-lux, body-on-frame conventional SUV. GM and Ford, the segment’s traditional rulers, have had nothing new to offer in five years. But Infiniti has as much faith in the segment’s continued vitality as you […]

I firmly believe that it’s more fun to drive a (relatively) slow compact hatch fast than to drive a big, fast car well below its potential. I remain hopeful that someone will offer a car with five doors and rear-wheel-drive that weighs under 3,000 pounds. (I’d say under 2,700 pounds, but that’s clearly a pipe […]

[In this part of my West Virginia road trip five years in the making with my best friend, both of our fathers, and two RX-8s we complete our drive together.]

After lunch I’m compelled to revisit the crash site, dragging the others along. I take the car through the curve, keeping the speed under 40 to avoid any chance of a repeat. What would be more embarrassing than wrecking an already wrecked car? Doing so in the same exact place. At 38 the curve is easily navigated, leading me to wonder how fast my father entered it. In his defense, it’s now much warmer so the tires have more grip.

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I wasn’t planning to review the Chrysler 200. Renaming a lightly revised car to escape a well-deserved bad reputation always strikes me as a lame tactic. And the Sebring, on which the 200 is based, was so far off in so many ways that I didn’t see the point. We don’t just review cars to […]

When Chevrolet announced a few months ago that its new Cruze compact sedan would start at $16,995, more than a few people (who likely had not had a chance to personally experience the new car) were shocked. The Cobalt, which the Cruze replaced, had been priced nearly $1,300 lower—and had required incentives to sell at that price. Now Ford has announced pricing for the totally redesigned 2012 Focus, and it starts at…$16,995. (Read More…)

Sometimes love strikes at first sight. Other times it emerges more gradually over months or even years. When I first drove the new Buick Regal nearly a year ago, I found a fair amount to like, but love didn’t instantly happen. The Regal just isn’t that kind of car. Its strengths are subtle. Perhaps if […]

MINI (all caps required): the name itself inherently limits the brand. A large MINI would be oxymoronic. It would not be seen as a MINI. But most car buyers need something larger and more functional than the Cooper.  And, while MINI might be less intent on world domination than VW, it would still like to grow. What to do, what to do? When word leaked that MINI was working on a crossover, the brand’s fans feared for the worst. (Read More…)

With its minivans and conventional midsize SUVs discontinued, GM relies heavily on its large “Lambda” crossovers—the Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia, and Buick Enclave—to serve the family market. With over 230,000 sold in 2010, they’re easily the best sellers* in the segment. In comparison, Ford shifted only 34,000 Flexes. But, now in their fifth model year, […]

[In this part of my West Virginia road trip five years in the making with my best friend, both of our fathers, and two RX-8s we return from Summersville, WV, to Mill Creek, where I had, um, left my computer behind in a roadside restaurant.]

At breakfast I plan the day. Or at least attempt to. The judge doesn’t want to spend all day in the car. He wants to do some hiking. I know a good hike to a series of waterfalls along the route. I’ve also always had a thing for trains and there’s a state park not far off our route that operates narrow gauge logging locomotives. They have a Heisler and a Climax, but mostly run Shays. All three types of steam locomotives have unconventional running gear that I’d love to observe in operation. I call Cass Scenic Railroad State Park and find that trains leave at 9:30, noon, and 2:30. The first is too early, the last possibly too late. So we’ll aim for noon.

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It’s been over a quarter-century, so perhaps my memory grows hazy. But I recall enjoying the small, light subcompacts of the mid-1980s tremendously. They didn’t have much power. Power wasn’t a requirement, just a willingness to rev and to be tossed sideways through curves. I’ve spent the years since trying to recapture that experience. And […]

For years Chrysler owned the minivan market. It helped that GM and Ford kept trying much different approaches, failing miserably each time. Then, for the 1999 model year, Honda introduced the second-generation Odyssey. Though Chrysler continues to sell nearly twice as many minivans as Honda, many of these are to fleets. Also, even at retail the […]

If you want to become a leading player in a segment (say, minivans), you have a choice: Either do what everyone else is doing, only better, or do something entirely different, and hope that car buyers see the result as better. With the Mississippi-made 2004 Quest, Nissan attacked America’s minivan market using the latter strategy. […]

When Jack Baruth reviewed the 2011 Town & Country his praise for the minivan’s handling was so effusive that I wondered what sort of Kool-Aid Chrysler served at the launch event. Were mind-altering substances involved? To find out, I requested one of the new minivans for a week.