Once upon a time, the vehicles populating high school and college student parking lots were a rangy mish-mash of beat-up hatchbacks, faded hand-me-down family sedans, the odd minivan (daughters beware!) and the obligatory Mustang or Camaro. Soon, it’ll be a sea of crossovers. Maybe it already is — your author, understandably, doesn’t make a habit of cruising by such locales at low speed in the interest of checking out rides.

As vehicular variety decreases, the need to stand apart from the crowd hasn’t. Maybe that explains this week’s Chevrolet Blazer SS thought experiment. Sure, a hotter two-row crossover, especially in Blazer form, might not turn your crank, but that doesn’t mean there’s no audience for such a vehicle.

Is this segment in need of more muscle? (Read More…)

For the past couple of weeks, Wednesday’s QOTD posts have asked a simple question: What was the most overpriced non-luxury vehicle of a given period of time? The first inquiry dealt only with 2019 vehicles, and last week we covered the 2000s — where I picked on the overpriced, retro Ford Thunderbird. Many of you thought I was wrong (I wasn’t). Today, we’ll head back to the decade we all like to discuss — the one that’s popular right now with youths.

It is, of course, the 1990s. I’m already wearing my blazer and shoulder pads.

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It’s a car-related desire most gearheads have had at some point in their driving years: holding the keys to a classic car. Whether that takes the form of a ’58 Impala, a flathead Ford, or the Gentleman Jim shown above, a good many of us have harbored a desire to own a vintage automobile.

Taking the thing out for a weekend cruise is a lot different than living with it on a daily basis, though. Here is today’s question: would you daily a classic?

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Cadillac’s decision to take the practice of boasting through badging into the future generated a fair bit of buzz yesterday, and no shortage of snark, either. Rather than go the time-honored displacement route, the brand choose to slap its upcoming models with a metric, rounded-up torque figure, thus allowing ICE-less electrics to get in on the game.

Is this the beginning of the end for fenderbragging … or the start of a new beginning? (Read More…)

I hinted at today’s QOTD last week, when the original post for this line of questioning got the ball rolling. Last time we asked which non-luxury vehicles of 2019 were the most overpriced. The subsequent comments reflected a wide variety of nuanced opinions, ranging from “Everything over $25,000 is overpriced” to “Cars should come used from the factory.” Just kidding (maybe).

Today we step back over a decade and talk about everyone’s favorite rounded and cheap plastic era: the 2000s.

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Despite the presence of the well-regarded, all-new Ram 1500 on the market, penny-pinching truck buyers still have the opportunity to save cash while remaining true to their preferred brand. The 1500 Classic, a “new old” pickup, keeps the previous-generation model alive as a lower-priced alternative. It’s looking like this won’t simply be a single model year experiment, either.

Not that Fiat Chrysler is the sole player of this game. For 2019, the previous-gen Chevrolet Silverado soldiers on alongside its fresh-faced successor. Ask for an “LD” model. And anyone remember the Volkswagen City Golf and City Jetta? Keeping decently popular old relics around beyond their best-before date can earn an automaker extra spending money.

But what if these so-called classics were actual classics? (Read More…)

Gearheads love to argue about stuff: Ford vs Chevy, Evo vs WRX, Senna vs Prost. There’s only one answer to that last one, by the way.

Inevitably, someone tells us we have an incredibly bad take on something, and we’re forced to defend our unpopular opinion. Click through and let us know yours in the comments. I’ll go first — and it involves the Porsche 911.

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The EPA’s annual fuel economy report showed a continued slow climb in the number of miles an average vehicle can travel on a gallon of gas, with 2018’s fleetwide figure expected to come in at 25.4 mpg. Weighted for sales, the picture might not be as rosy, as moar light trucks and fewer cars conspire to ensure real-world stasis.

But one man’s stable is not a fleet, so let’s judge our actions on an individual basis. How efficient is your current vehicle compared to your first? (Read More…)

It’s infuriating. Here I am, sipping a tall can of dodgy suds (I poured it into a glass for a modicum of elegance), and all around me people are buying vehicles I wouldn’t be caught dead in — and using their own hard-earned cash to do it, the buggers…

Corey Lewis is one of those culprits, so last weekend I got in the car, drove down to southern Ohio, and gave him a piece of my mind — if you catch my drift — for having the unmitigated gall to desire the wrong used cars. Let’s just say you won’t be seeing him in public for a while.

It never ends with these people! (Read More…)

Though much of the luxury vehicle segment is immune from the depressingly practical concept of “good value,” the less aspirational vehicles of the proletariat are not so fortunate.

Today we discuss overpriced non-luxury vehicles for sale in 2019.

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There are occasions when human beings need a bit of time to get used to something, such as when your teenager suddenly dyes their hair purple or you are suddenly forced to buy new work boots because your old ones have completely collapsed. I have experienced 50 percent of these examples in the past week and will leave it to your speculation as to which one it is.

Something else your author needs time to assimilate? New car names slapped on machines introduced to replace an outgoing model. It’s the automotive equivalent of daytime soaps suddenly hiring a new actor to play the same character. It’s jarring.

Here’s today’s question: should OEMs introduce new names with their new cars? Or should they hang on to the tried-and-true? As you’d expect, I have a couple of opinions.

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It already does, in a sense, but you’re only punished for exceeding a posted speed limit if the long arm of the law catches you in the act.

Flashing lights in the rear-view or a photo radar ticket in the mailbox can ruin our day, but the relative absence of cops and cameras on most roadways means most of us can still “make good time” on our journeys. However, with pedestrian fatalities on the rise (and governments across the country looking for easy fixes), some lawmakers might find inspiration from Europe.

Just the other day, Ronnie told us of the decision by European Parliament to mandate speed limiters on all cars. Are you willing to drive Miss Daisy, all the time, to help your fellow man? (Read More…)

In last week’s QOTD, we asked you to share the vehicles that pleasantly surprised you after spending some time behind the wheel. Whether your expectations were high or low to start, it’s always nice to recall transportation that impressed.

Today we turn in the opposite direction, and talk about cars that left you feeling disappointed.

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One man’s vision of untouchable beauty is another man’s 2019 Chevy Silverado 1500, or something like that. Each one of us filters a fellow human’s or vehicle’s looks through a network of individual biases and neuroses to arrive at a verdict.

Dishy. Stunner. Sort-of cute. Dog. We’re a shallow species, and only a select few of us can see the beauty in everything.

If symmetry is indeed a key aspect of perceived beauty, then it explains the particular revulsion I feel with a certain class of vehicle, one which numerous upstart automakers seem intent on returning to our streets. If buyers are willing, of course. (Read More…)

Even those with even the slightest passing interest in Hollywood movies know that the Oscars were doled out last night at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Films are fine, but anytime a screenplay involves copious (and sometimes gratuitous!) volumes of cars, well, gearheads like us tend to sit up and take notice.

Never mind Best Actor or Best Screenplay. What’s your pick for Best Car?

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