Opinion

As we previously posted, Mercedes-Benz is doing a fine job in wiping out "entry level" from the 2012 C-Class' lexicon. The key is attention to detail. For example, that's real glass in front of the gauges, not plastic.  And the aluminum controller for the infotainment system pauses just ever ...    Read more

Let’s get this out of the way first: The interior plastics feel cheaper than the previous-generation Civic. But our intention with this post isn’t to set the 2012 Honda Civic up for a litany of potshots to make ...    Read more

General Motors today announced an exclusive relationship with RelayRides, the world's first peer-to-peer car-sharing marketplace. Under the deal, millions of car-less commuters will gain access to privately-owned but unused GM vehicles. RelayRides is currently building a Smartphone reservation app for GM's OnStar, where car-lords will be able to set their vehicle ...    Read more

Oh, how the mighty have fallen, or so it seems. This time last year as September sales numbers officially chimed in, Honda followed only Toyota in the compact segment, selling more than 18,000 Civics. Following the first-place Corolla and the silver-medal Civic were the Ford Focus, Volkswagen Jetta, and the ...    Read more

The Nanny State is at it again. According to the Auto Express, the Association of Chief Police Officers has introduced a new camera that scans a tire's tread depth as vehicles pass by. Using lasers, the high-speed cameras can determine whether the middle section of a motorist's tire has less than ...    Read more

Maine became, this week, the first state east of the Mississippi River with a stretch of highway allowing a 75-mph speed limit. There are lots of trees—and little else—on the straight, 110-mile stretch of Interstate 95 in the state's far, northeast corner. For years, many residents didn't even bother driving the ...    Read more

In an effort to take driving out of the hands of drivers, and to put it in the minds of those who have not driven, Nissan Europe and scientists from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland (EPFL) are developing a Brain Machine Interface (BMI) that would allow human ...    Read more

It's amazing what cars you don't know exist overseas until you end up traveling and falling in love with another country's domestic cars. Last week, while visiting the Hankook Tire development and manufacturing facilities around Seoul, South Korea, I had the opportunity to see many Korean-market vehicles not currently sold ...    Read more

Following Congressional scrutiny of its privacy policies, General Motors' OnStar division announced that it plans to drop its recently implemented policy to track vehicle data after customers have opted to discontinue their subscriptions. The controversy stems from a change in OnStar policy, which would have allowed the division to continue tracking ...    Read more

We don't mean to alarm you, but OnStar could be spying on your GM car. Of course, in this Facebook age, we're used to shady and constantly changing user agreements granting access to our personal information. Legal, maybe, but that isn't altogether comforting. And now, it seems, OnStar is following ...    Read more

Everyone loves lists—IntelliChoice and AutoPacific included. The two research firms partnered for the 2011 Motorist Choice Awards, which recognize "those vehicles that deliver the compelling combination of high consumer satisfaction and lower-than-expected ownership costs over time." The MCA is a collection of 15 "lifestyle segment" categories that IC and AP hope ...    Read more

Not every dad can rock the Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 as the family whip. Even with a disposable income, it’s occasionally necessary to haul groceries, store Little League equipment, and yes, take over the neighborhood carpool duties. Thus, for dads, the word "practical" and "car" are sometimes lumped into the ...    Read more

What It Is: A highly stylized, sporty three-door coupe, the 2012 Hyundai Veloster is meant to woo young professionals and students alike. What We Like: The bold, aggressive styling won't leave you without an opinion, which is a good thing for Hyundai. Lots of features that often are seen on ...    Read more

Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light.- Dylan Thomas Ford finally retired the Crown Victoria this week. Time was not graceful to the venerable land yacht. Its ancestry dates back to the 1970s, but ...    Read more

We Like: The car is eye candy. High-class build quality, inside and out. Grippy seats and fat leather-wrapped steering wheel look and feel the sports sedan part. We Don't Like: Low-cut roofline had us banging our heads on roof as rear passengers. Rear middle passenger legroom is nonexistent. For the money, it should have a backup camera. Why ...    Read more

A giddy Nissan Motors jumped a quick gun in proclaiming its all-new 2012 Nissan Versa sedan as the best-selling subcompact in its segment. There should be a very large asterisk on the press release it distributed, though. Selling 8566 of the subcompact cars, Nissan’s Versa most definitely took August’s crown. However, ...    Read more

An email survey conducted by the UK's "Bluebeards Revenge" yesterday revealed that the Ford Mustang is the "world's manliest car," beating out notable icons of testosterone, such as the Range Rover and BMW X5. Yeah, we're scratching our heads, too. Not because the Mustang isn't a fitting choice, but because of ...    Read more

We almost spilled our cafe lattes (with foam) driving into work today as we read this automotive tidbit on our smartphones. According to insurance agency Allstate, the Western states have the safest drivers in the union. Our reaction is understandable, given the driving habits here in the Golden state. But ...    Read more

Labor Day is the last chance people have to go camping, boating, or to hit the dunes with their ATVs before summer ends. Unfortunately, too many people buy trucks or other big vehicles thinking they're perfect for towing, but without knowing the details. What about payload? What does gross vehicle ...    Read more

Forget the iPad, print isn't dead yet! Researchers at Tulane University have discovered a new bacterial strain that turns cellulose from discarded newspapers into butanol, a potential fuel source. That's right, now we can continue grazing the rain forests and farm fields to run our SUV's on old newspapers—all in the ...    Read more

When a $19,000 subcompact car comes with a navigation system and keyless entry, it’s clear that the definition of "luxury car" has changed. While expensive premium nameplate cars attempt to offer more upscale design and increasingly complex technologies, just take a look at our top 10 list below to see ...    Read more

Now that the hyped-up hurricane Irene has blown itself out, police forces around the U.S. are turning from disaster relief to disaster prevention as they step up anti-drunk-driving campaigns for the Labor Day holiday weekend. And with good reason. Drunk driving continues to be the primary cause of injury and fatalities ...    Read more

Here's your Friday morning "warm and fuzzies," and a video, too! This year marks the fourth straight for Subaru America's Share the Love charity event. For 2011, that means Subaru will donate $250 for every new car sold from November 19th through January 3rd, 2012, to one of four charities. The interesting ...    Read more

Owners of Nissan midsize trucks and SUVs with problem-prone automatic transmissions may find a surprisingly high level of apathy from the Japanese automaker when they take their vehicles in for service. Reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in astonishingly high rates, owners of 2005 through 2010 Nissan Frontier midsize ...    Read more

The autosphere's a-buzzing with what may be the first exterior shot of the upcoming Mercedes-Benz B-Class scheduled to debut next month at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Roughly the size, and even shape, of the Mazda5 compact minivan, Mercedes has teased for months that it may bring the compact hatch across the ...    Read more