From the Passenger's Seat

I've ridden in my friend's mother's Lexus ES300 for a couple of times now, so I thought I might make a review. Granted, I've only ridden in the car for about 30 minutes a trip, and I haven't gotten any chances to poke around, but here's my overall impressions. First of all, the ride is like there are pillows between the wheels and the car. It's very soft and absorbent. Though you can feel bumps in the road, there's little to none high frequency vibrations and harsh bumps are soaked up more than in many vehicles (e.g. my father's Honda Odyssey.), but the Lincoln Town Car I had as a rental most definitely had the softest ride I've ever experienced.  These pictures are not of the actual car, but the wheels and colors are accurate. On the highway, the car is reasonably quiet. It's not super-quiet by today's standards, but it is more hushed than most vehicles, with subdued road noise and muted wind noise. Engine noise is almost nonex

I noticed recently that Japanese vehicles have been getting increasingly ugly for the past year or so. Here are two examples at the 2012 L.A. Auto Show:  1. 2014 Toyota RAV4 I don't know what the Toyota designers were thinking. From the robotic face to the black plastic fangs in the lower front fascia to the seemingly unfinished rear bumper to the bat-like rear to the blocky interior, the new RAV4 looks like a disaster. And so does all of Toyota's redesigned products from the 2012 Camry and beyond.  2. 2014 Acura RLX First of all, what is with the name? Did the RL really need a X following it? I feel that RL is a perfectly fine name, and adding an X made it seem less unique and harder to distinguish in Acura's lineup. The addition of the X in the name isn't the worst thing though, the RLX also has bug-like LED headlights. Even worse, those atrocious headlights are standard! And the rear looks like it was stolen from the Chevrolet Cruze, which is n

I was looking through some photos of the new debuts of the Los Angeles Auto Show, and I noticed one thing all of these cars had in common: the center air vents of the interior are all mounted to the side of the center controls! Well, not all of them, of course. Take a look:

Slated to go on sale next spring, the 2014 Impala aims to break its rental car past with its coupe-like profile, expressive styling elements, and a plusher interior. The seemingly improved 2014 Impala's base price is $27535 (including a $810 destination charge). That doesn't look like such a premium over the 2013 Impala's $26685 starting price (including a $825 destination charge), but sneaky Chevrolet put a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine in the base 2014 Impala. The 2013 Impala comes with a standard 3.6-liter V-6.  Nevertheless, you can still get the 3.6-liter V-6 in the 2014 Impala, though the cheapest V-6 Impala is $30760. Trim levels in ascending order are the LS, LT, and LTZ. The base LS can only be equipped with the 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine. The LT with the 2.5-liter engine is $29785, while the LT with the V-6 as mentioned before is $30760. The LTZ with the 2.5-liter is $34555, and the V-6 LTZ is $36580. Technologically advanced featured not offered on the

This is the 2012 RAV4, not the 2013 If you're just dying for a new RAV4 like the rest of us (the current-generation RAV4 first went on sale in 2005), you won't have to wait much longer. Today, Toyota has released a little teaser video of the 2013 RAV4, and announced that it will debut at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show on November 29.  You only get short little glimpses of the new RAV4 in the video, but it does give you an idea that the RAV4 will wear Toyota's new styling theme as shown in the Camry and 2013 Avalon. Expect the new RAV4 to go on sale shortly after its debut. Here's the link for the video: http://bcove.me/mnoapev1

If you have been following me consistently for a long time, you know that I always post 4 days a week, Monday through Thursday, every week unless I'm on vacation. Well, sadly, that has changed. With me being in school now, it gets hard for me to update consistently. So I apologize, guys. I wanted to post about the new Transit Connect yesterday, but I was caught up cooking for a project and then going to have fun at my friend's house (oops, I wasn't supposed to tell you that). Anyways, I didn't have much time to do anything, so I ended up not posting a new post. Thank you to all of anyone who has followed me, but my updates to this blog may be choppy and inconsistent.

The current Civic has gotten much criticism in its reviews. Honda doesn't want to take that, so they decided to hurry in a refresh for the next model year of this Civic. Today, Honda has put out 2 photos of the a 2013 Civic sedan.  This a fairly thorough refresh for the Civic, and it shows on the exterior. It resembles the new, 2013 Accord, which isn't all that surprising. You should expect even more obvious changes to the interior, where most of the critiques were aimed at.  Honda also promises chassis and comfort improvements as well. The same 140-horsepower 2-liter four cylinder engine should remain, however. The 2013 Civic will debut and at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show and go on sale at dealerships both on November 29.

The redesigned 2013 Ford Fusion has scored the highest score Good in all of the Institute's crash tests, including the roof strength test, where a vehicle has to uphold 4 times its roof crumples down 5 inches or more (the Fusion withheld 5.14 times its own weight).  As for competitors that have earned a Top Safety Pick from IIHS, the new 2013 Chevrolet Malibu has. The redesigned 2013 Honda Accord and Nissan Altima have both not been tested by the IIHS yet. 

The name might be a mouthful to say, but the Mini Cooper JWC (for short) GP is a serious performance car that demands serious money. As a hatchback, it costs $39950, or almost $40K, a price increase of $8800 over the last, 2006 GP. That is entry-level luxury territory.  In comparison to the regular John Cooper Works, the GP has the same 211 horsepower, but 53 more pounds-feet of torque for a total of 260 pounds-feet of torque, making it the quickest Mini ever.  You do get an adjustable coil-over suspension, 17-inch wheels, larger brakes, and a racier design in addition to the added torque. Also included in exclusivity; only 500 Mini Cooper John Cooper Works GP are going to be sold in the Unites States. 

It is no surprise that Suzuki is filing for bankruptcy. In America, Suzuki's cars have not been selling well at all. What does this mean? It essentially shuts down the automotive sector of Suzuki in the United States. Don't worry though, your Suzuki car warranties are still honored if they are valid, and Suzuki cars sold in America after the bankruptcy will still have the regular warranty.  While Suzuki car sales will cease in the United States, Suzuki will still focus on ATVs, motorcycles, and marine products. 

The 2011 Mazda RX-8 Many, well few, people weeped when the RX-8 was discontinues in 2011. Sales were minuscule, and the RX-8 simply didn't make any sense for Mazda to sell anymore.  Now, they rotary enthusiasts at Mazda are preparing another rotary-engined little sports car to succeed the ill-fated RX-8. Rumor has it will be called the RX-7, a name used until 2002. The engine will be a next-generation rotary engine from Mazda, and it will be 1.6 liters, yet produce an estimated 300 horsepower.  The new RX-7 is going to utilize aluminum for low mass. Rumor also has it that the next RX-7 wil be based off the next Miata's platform.  As for pricing, Mazda says that the next RX-7 will fall in between Nissan's sporty coupes, which are the Nissan 370Z and GT-R, both of which starts at  $43,810 and  $97,820, respectively. That means the next RX-7 will be a lot costlier than the RX-8, which started at  $26,795. In any case, the new RX-7 probably won't go int

Big news guys: Hyundai-Kia (they're actually loosely related, and their cars share many platforms and components) is paying 900000 owners money in debit card! It's because they've been advertising their fuel economy numbers incorrectly, and they're now trying to pay all of those people back for the extra fuel they've used relative to their vehicle's mileage. This thing affects many Hyundai-Kia vehicles from model years 2011-2013. Now, I've had a lot of homework this week, so I really want to relax today. That's why I didn't post anything in Wednesday and Thursday, and why I'm directing here http://blogs.cars.com/ for comprehensive coverage on this subject.

Toyota's Avalon has always been known for a comfortably large interior, a soft ride, and overall classic American luxury. Well, Toyota has certainly shot up the style of the Avalon for 2013, and Toyota claims a more fun driving experience.  And, for 2013, Toyota has lowered the Avalon's base price by $2205 to $31785. You can load the regular Avalon all the way up to forty thousand dollars with the Limited trim. The total trims for the 2013 Avalon are the XLE, XLE Premium, XLE Touring, and top-shelf Limited.  The XLE comes with leather seats, heated from seats, keyless entry, a touchscreen on the dashboard, and power driver/passenger seats. The XLE Premium adds a backup camera, an auto-dimming rearview mirror with a compass and garage door opener, an economical setting on Hybrid models called the "Eco Switch," and a moonroof. The Touring has fog lights, 18-inch wheels on gasoline models,  Toyota's Entune multimedia system, blind spot warning system with re

These pictures aren't of the actual vehicle, but the colors and trim level are correct. Those of you who have been following this blog since its inception know that my parents have two cars: a 2006 Nissan Sentra and a 2005 Mazda MPV. Well, we recently swapped our dear little MPV for a 2003 Odyssey.  The reason for that is, well, there isn't much reason. It's mostly to spice things up in our lives and have a different car for a change without spending any extra money. Our Odyssey came with every bell and whistle you could get in a minivan in 2003, including a factory-installed DVD entertainment system, leather seats, heated seats in the front, and dual power sliding doors.  First impressions were a mixed bag. The engine was very smooth, quiet, and powerful, apparently typical of Hondas, but there was a rough patch between 1000 and 1500 RPM or so. You can't feel the road textures at all while driving the car, but it crashed loudly over larger bumps. Loud can als

7485 7-Series are plagued by a problem where the optional soft-close automatic door-latching feature will randomly open the door due to a software glitch with the Comfort Access keyless entry system and the Soft Close Automatic features.  The cars that are under this recall are built from Aug. 23, 2004 to September 3, 2007 (you can confirm when your car was assembled by looking at the label in the driver's side doorjamb). Starting next month, BMW will commence notifying owners of this car about this terrible problem. If you have questions or concerns regarding this recall, you cal call BMW at 800-525-7417 or NHTSA 888-327-4236 for more information.

Volkswagen has had great sales with Americanized versions of the cars they sell. The U.S. Passat and Jetta have been selling way more than their much more European predecessors.  Since Volkswagen wants to become to largest automaker in the world, it is imperative that they have a full-sized family hauler in the United States that is not a minivan (a front-wheel-drive-based, 3-row crossover). Volkswagen's CEO, Martin Winterkorn, has said that there will indeed be a U.S.-focused SUV. Right now, Volkswagen has the premium compact Tiguan, and the luxurious Touareg in its SUV lineup. The next SUV, or "B-SUV" as it is called internally, will be very cheap. In fact, it could go as far as to match the Tiguan's $23820 starting price. Plus, the SUV will be made in the Unites States. Whatever the SUV will turn out to be, I won't been seen until 2014, probably. There hasn't been any final decisions yet, and there's currently no facilities capable of producing

The new Corvette logo. In the series of Chevrolet teasing, the car teased today is the Corvette, an American icon. It follows the single picture of the headlight of a 2014 Chevrolet Silverado . This time, Chevrolet has given the publisc a video featuring, in short glimpses, the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette. To watch the video, click here . Chevrolet has also announced that the Corvette will make its in-person debut along with the 2014 Silverado at the 2013 North American Auto Show in Detroit.

The last of the American big three's new pickup trucks to debut, the new Silverado now has an official date on which it will be unveiled. on December 13 of this year. It will still make its real debut at the Detroit Auto Show early next year.  Now to the juicy part of this post. The single picture Chevrolet put out of the new Silverado is of its headlight, which is very robotic. Robot-ness seems to be the new theme in headlight design for pickup trucks, as already shown by the headlights of the higher-trim new F-150 and Ram pickups. Another thing that jumps out at me is the hood gap: it's tiny. I don't know if all modern trucks' hood seams are that narrow, but that is as narrow as I've seen.  The miniscule hood seam symbolizes the next Silverado's expected refinement. Though there shouldn't be many drastic changes, the next Silverado will be massaged thoroughly for a more pleasant owner experience.

Though this news won't matter to 99.99% or more of the world's population, the Super Trofeo race car version of the Gallardo has been facelifted, as with the regular Gallardo. It's good for competing in Lamborghini's Super Trofeo racing series, sponsored by Blancpain.  Complementary to some exterior styling revisions, there's a new 10-position rear spoiler, new brake ducts for 50% better brake thermal performance, and that's it.

I've covered the new C-Max extensively more than once, I believe, so I'm just going to cut to the chase here and report that the C-Max Energi is rated by the EPA for 620 miles of range total, and 21 miles of electric range. Here's the link to my last post about the C-Max:  2013 Ford C-Max Energi Rated for Fuel Economy While that long range of the C-Max Energi is great news, what isn't so good is that 154604 Ford Fiestas from the 2011 through 2013 model years are being recalled, all of which were assembled between November 3, 2009, and September 21, 2012. It's no serious problem, but the owner's manual doesn't inform the reader that the passenger side curtain airbag might not deploy. That little bit of information left out of the owner's manual technically is against the law, so Ford is going to reprogram the software for that airbag free of charge. Got questions? Call NHTSA at  888-327-4236 or Ford at  866-436-7332.

With its cousins, the S40 sedan and V50 hatchback, dead and gone in the United States for two years now, it's not surprising that Volvo is cutting C30 sales now. The fun little hatchback is selling is minuscule numbers, and Volvo was already on a model drop to a few core models.  It's possible that Volvo would spin off a 3-door variant of the European V40 hatchback, but either V40 models is highly unlikely to make it in the United States. 

Aside from the misspelling of "energy," the C-Max Energi looks to be a promising product from Ford. It is set at 108/92 city/highway miles per gallon equivalent when on electric power (it can travel to a projected range of 20 miles on electricity until the gasoline engine comes alive). Combined, that's 100 MPGe, which trumps the Prius Plug-In in terms of efficiency and electric range (95 MPGe combined running on electricity, and 11 miles of electric range, respectively). The Volt can drive much farther on electric power at 38 miles per gallon, but its combined MPGe rating of 98 MPGe on electric power still falls 2 MPGe short of the C-Max Energi's.  The gas mileage of the C-Max once the electricity runs out is still anyone's guess, but expect it to be slightly worse than the regular C-Max's 47/47 city/highway miles per gallon ratings as the Energi has a larger, and thus heavier, battery pack. This is where the Prius Plug-In has the C-Max Energi beat, as i

The 2013 Nissan Pathfinder with have a starting price of $29095, which includes an $825 destination fee. That makes the new Pathfinder about a thousand bucks cheaper than the old Pathfinder, and a few hundred dollars to a two grand cheaper than most of its competing crossovers, like the Toyota Highlander, Mazda CX-9, Chevrolet Traverse, Honda Pilot, etc.  That base price gets you the S trim, which has standard features like a 3-zone automatic climate control system, 18-inch alloy wheels, a vehicle start button, and a [useless] 6-disc CD changer.  Upgrading to the SV trim gets you Bluetooth, a keyless entry system, a powered driver's seat, a 7-inch multimedia screen, among other goodies. That would cost you just over three grand more.  $35295 is the cost of the SL trim, who's highlight is leather upholstery. You can also add a panoramic glass roof to this trim along with a premium Bose sound system, plus a tow package.  At a five dollars under forty thousand dollars is

As a special incentive to sell more natural gas-drinking Civics, Honda has partnered with Clean Energy, America's biggest owner of public natural gas refueling stations, to give each 2012 Honda Civic Compressed Natural Gas buyer a $3000 debit card (which doesn't ever expire) that he or she can use at any of Clean Energy's 160 stations nationwide, a quarter of which are in Southern California.  Compressed natural gas vehicles appeal to some people because of its cost (only $2.05 per equivalent gallon as of this July), burns cleaner compared to gasoline, and can be refilled in a matter of minutes (as opposed to EV charging times, which are measured by hours). But the Civic CNG is significantly more expensive next to the gasoline Civics at $27095, including a $790 destination fee. Granted, the Civic CNG has more features than the base, $16745 Civic, but it might take a while to recoup your investment.  Factor in other compromises of the CNG Civic, it doesn't make fo

In the affected 268655 CR-Vs built from February 19, 2002 through July 16, 2006, the driver's side power window switch could overheat and cause a fire! If I remember correctly, Honda also had to recall the Fit for the same problem. If your car is involved in the recall, NHTSA advises you to park outside until this problem is remedied.  Beginning on November 2, Honda will notify the owners of the affected vehicles about this problem, and they'll have to go to a local Honda dealer to get this fixed for free. If you're dying for more information, you can call Honda at 800-999-1009 or NHTSA at 888-327-4236.

I'm really sorry I have to do this, but I'm putting this blog on hold, and it doesn't have anything to do with me taking a vacation. I just have a huge Spanish project this week, and I really don't feel like updating this blog. Besides, nobody comments or cares about this blog anyways, so it's not like this news would matter to anybody. But, I will still be monitoring comments this week, and if I get one comment, I'll update this.  I promise I'll be updating again regularly next week. Plus, I'll have some special posts on the Honda Odyssey we just got. Chao.

Oh, my dear little minivan. Alas, we might have to let it go soon due to the fact that we just a Honda Odyssey. It has served us well for seven years, never breaking down and leaving us stranded (well, once, but it was the tire's fault, not the car's). Let's start off with space. Compared to the Odyssey or Sienna, it's a lot smaller inside. However, the space is does offer is plenty usable. Comfort in the front seats is supreme, the middle seat forces your knees upward, and the third row is even worse. However, you never feel claustrophobic sitting anywhere in the van, and it's most definitely helped by gigantic windows all around.  The driving experience is pleasant. While it isn't super quiet by today's standards, I'm going ahead to say that there's less road noise at higher speeds than the second-generation Odyssey. The Sienna still ranks way up there in terms of quietness. I also found ride comfort to be exceptional; you never really feel t

The John Cooper Works (JWC for short) moniker for Mini has meant high performance. Now, the Cooper John Cooper Works is supplemented by the bigger John Cooper Works Countryman. An all-wheel-drive, 1.6-liter turbocharged four cylinder powered fun little hatchback might lead you to believe it would be sensibly priced, but the JWC Countryman instead starts at $35550, and that's only the beginning of the story for more options.  At that point, you can get a lightly equipped sports sedan than is more powerful and far more refined than the JWC Countryman would be. If you really want Mini's British charm and relatively go-cart like handling with more space than a regular JWC Cooper and an even costlier JWC Cooper convertible, this is it for you. The JWC package does get you 19-inch wheels and red trim inside and out, though. If you're looking at competitors, the Volkswagen Golf R will have to be the sole car. Its starting price is within $200 of the JWC Countryman's, and

Due to the lack of car news today, I'll just report about how the new Acura RLX will debut at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show. You might remember the RLX concept car from the NYC Auto Show this year, and the new RLX will look pretty much identical to that.  If you're unfamiliar with the RLX nameplate, it's because it's a new model! It replaces the RL in Acura's quest of having an X at the end of every model name. It's positioned as a midsize premium sedan, and should offer a new 310-horsepower 3.5-liter V-6 engine. 

While you most likely never thought about an electric iQ minicar, Toyota has just crushe your dreams if you happen to be hoping for one. Toyota says that electric cars are too compromised for now, and overall electric vehicle sales are incredibly low. Instead, Toyota will focus on have 21 new or enhanced hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicles on the market in  a couple of years. 

In the world of compact crossovers, they don't get smaller than the Buick Encore. The 2013 Buick Encore has a base price of $24950, including a $750 destination fee.  An $810 Convenience Group brings  things like dual-zone automatic climate control, remote start, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, remote start, fog lights, and a household power outlet inside the vehicle. Getting that package unlocks the Leather Group, which slaps on another $700 to the Encore's price tag. The Leather Group adds leather upholstery on the seats, a power passenger seat, driver's seat position memory, and heated seats.  The Premium Group tacks on mostly driver's assistance features like rain-sensing wipers, a lane departure warning system, front and rear parking sensors, a forward collision warning system, and finally it adds a Bose premium sound system.  $1500 is the cost for all-wheel-drive, chrome wheels are $995, Buick's IntelliLink multimedia system with navigation is $795, a

Recently, NHTSA  has updated its crash-test procedures. Under it, the following model-year 2013 vehicles have gotten scores:  Ford Escape- 4/5 stars overall, with rollover and side crash testing standing out as 5-stars.  Mitsubishi Outlander Sport- 4 stars across the board Hyundai Elantra GT (hatchback)- 5 stars overall BMW ActiveHybrid 3- Five stars overall, with only frontal crashes netting 4 stars. Mazda CX-5- Four start everywhere with the exception of the side-impact tests, in which it snagged a 5-star rating.  33 more cars, 16 SUVs, 4 pickup trucks and one van are to be crashed in 2013. Those vehicles will comprise over around the neighborhood of 85% off all new car sales.