Autos

The IS sedan is the lightweight and affordable sports entry in the Lexus lineup, focused on drawing performance-oriented customers to the brand without breaking the bank. Compared to other comfy and luxury Lexus vehicles like the ES and the RX, practicality has been traded for nimbleness and a low, sleek profile. Power is presented through […]

Six autonomous car technology companies are in Ypsilanti making their pitch to companies from around the world to adopt their technology. Velodyne, whose cars can identify the trajectory of any car within 200 meters to 300 meters (660 feet to 980 feet), is the oldest company. Ouster, whose CEO says they make leaner and smarter […]

Toyota sponsors the Bassmaster Texas Fest every year, a large bass fishing tournament that draws over 100 top anglers from afar. With a fishing boat to tow and all sorts of equipment to bring, a reliable truck is an absolute must. For Toyota’s team, its own Tundra is the ideal truck for the task. The […]

A Minnesota teen’s day goes from bad to worse after failing to stop at a stop sign. It is a beautiful Minnesota day, as the West St. Paul police officer cruises through a neighborhood. Suddenly, the peace is shattered as a silver Ford SUV speeds through a four-way  intersection without stopping. The officer flags down […]

Burmester, a German audio producer, is restructuring to adapt to modern times. The company hopes to continue the quality synonymous with “Made in Germany.” The company, founded by Dieter Burmester, was started because he was dissatisfied with an amplifier he purchased. All of their products are produced by hand, something now uncommon for such luxury […]

More than a thousand people from around the world flocked to Detroit to attend the Intelligent Transportation Society of America’s annual conference. The latest driverless car technology was on display, as were the most recent innovations in autonomous connected technology. Bosch LLC was there, showcasing its plan to put eyes and ears all over any […]

Montreal, Canada—In the world we live in today, consumers are continually inundated with information from every conceivable angle and source. Unfortunately, not all that information is 100 percent accurate. In today’s political climate, a member of the current White House staff introduced a new phrase to the English language lexicon: alternative facts. A polite euphemism […]

Brand comparisons between tires are probably nearly as old as the tire business itself. However, as Michelin pointed out during a recent event, how often do you see a head-to-head between two sets of well-used rubber? The answer is,likely, not very. Which is why the French manufacturer in late April invited media to take part […]

With the 2018 Accent, Hyundai has created a superbly designed and cost-effective vehicle that is better than good. The 2018 Hyundai Accent comes in three trims: SE, SEL, and Limited. The top-of-the-line Limited, with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $18,895, will be my main focus for this column. Even though the vehicle is affordable, […]

The 2019 model year is the fifth generation for the Toyota Avalon, and this newest version was designed, engineered, and built all in the United States. Toyota offers four grade levels for this roomy mid-size sedan, with the XLE being the entry grade and the Touring being the premium model. The engine is a powerful […]

The definition of luxury is changing, evolving. Luxury, when it was initially defined eons ago, likely by those who were more fortunate than most, was, for the most part about the perception of status and ownership of things, objects—possessions. It was a differentiator, an imaginary line drawn in the sand to delineate an “us and […]

First off, let’s address the elephant in the room: Why is the Eclipse now a crossover? A valid question for sure, because Mitsubishi’s latest SUV doesn’t seem to resemble the former sport compact in any way aside from maybe the all-wheel drive layout. Let’s just say it has less to do with resurrecting an old […]

Many years ago, BMW understood that performance meant more than getting from point A to B in the shortest time possible. It was always about the journey. Back in 1985, BMW engineers understood that by improving handling and traction, especially on cornering and while driving on disparate road surfaces, that there was an opportunity to […]

You may be familiar with the English-language proverb, “Necessity is the mother of invention”—meaning, difficult situations inspire ingenious solutions. Well, that’s exactly what happened in the case of Joshua Lombardo-Bottema, CEO and Founder of GoWrench Auto. One day, when his calendar resembled a confusing display of multiple and disparate entries and deadlines, his car would […]

The story of the success of the renaissance, the rebirth of the Buick brand continues. In fact, Buick is now the 2nd best-selling General Motors brand globally, 4th vehicle brand in China (and growing with sales of over 1 million units in 2017) and, in 2017, as in 2016, the brand sold an astounding 1.4 […]

The literature on the 2018 Lexus GS F I drove said it was a sedan. However, after driving the GS for a week, I realized the GS F had the heart of a thoroughbred and the speed of Pegasus. This Lexus was born to run. The 5.0 L V8 features direct and port injection, VVT-iE […]

My assignment was to select a car for a seven-day travel writers’ trip to Springfield and Branson, Missouri, with a side trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. My mission was to write about the trip, and of course, focus on the car. The hardest part was choosing what to drive. After careful study, I chose the Toyota […]

Back in the first week of July in 2017, Volvo made an announcement that seemed to set the automotive world on its ear—if only for a very short time. Some pundits misinterpreted the news and the world thought that the upstart Chinese-owned Swedish-based automotive manufacturer had taken leave of their senses. All Volvo models sold […]

No word of a lie: as I was about to park the all-new Buick Regal GS at Nanaimo International Airport in British Columbia, a gentlemen leaned into the open window smiled and stated. “Now that’s not your grandfather’s Buick!” That brief statement proved two things. The power of marketing and advertising and, his observation was […]

The power of the Volvo S90 T6 Inscription is built around the 2.0 L direct-injected turbo and supercharged engine. The engine cranks out a peak of 316 horsepower at 5,700 RPM and 295 lb.-ft. of torque at 2,700 RPM. This power is carried to the wheels by an eight-speed Geartronic automatic transmission with start/stop and […]