From the Passenger's Seat

The Hyundai Sonata made a splash with its debut back in 2010. Its sleek exterior design and fluid, yet quality interior made an caught people's attention so that people would explore more of the Sonata's good virtues that carries over from the last generation, such as a comfortable ride, stable and quiet highway cruising, and good value. Design and Quality There's no arguing that the exterior design of the Sonata makes and impression. Prominent lines highlight the coupe-like shape of this sedan. Exaggerated lighting elements complete the fashionable look. I prefer more cab-rearward  proportions (the Sonata looks to front wheel drive in my opinion), but this bold design really captures your heart. I would recommend a darker color though, as my rental's white made it look somewhat cheap. Inside, the textures of the plastics were excellently luxurious. Controls were easy to use and elegant, but the blue backlighting can hard to see at night. I especially like th...

Are these new models not yet unveiled? Did I make an exciting discovery? Or is Audi just obsessive about having their cars completely clean when they arrive at a dealership?

I recently took a 9 day road trip to Yellowstone National Park. As you all know, Yellowstone is a giant tourist place. That means it's a great place to observe some common rental cars. Here I have compiled a list of the most common type of rental car to the least that I saw in rough order.  1. Chrysler Town & Country/Dodge Grand Caravan. Most were black. 2. Chevrolet Impala (unsurprisingly) 3. Toyota Camry 4. Chevrolet Captiva (rental car companies are the only customer for this) 5. Chevrolet Cruze 6. Dodge Journey 7. Chevrolet Traverse  8. 2013 Ford Taurus 9. Hyundai Elantra 10. Chevrolet Suburban  11. Chrysler 300 12. Kia Sedona 13. Hyundai Sonata 14. Ford Focus  15. Chrysler 200  16. Ford Flex 17. Toyota Sienna  18. Mitsubishi Galant 19. Nissan Maxima 20. Nissan Quest (tie, only saw one rental) 20. Toyota Venza (tie) 20. Infiniti FX35 (tie) 20. Buick LaCrosse (tie) 20. Infiniti G37 (tie) 20. Buick Enclave (tie) Now, you...

Volvo is being nice right now and giving you better deals. Only they aren't really better deals if you just scratch a little bit deeper. In the post, I will cover and give details about the deals Volvo is implementing for more interest.  First, the free maintenance coverage has been expanded to 50000 miles/5 years from 45000 miles/5 years, but Volvo's actually the one getting the deal here. The outgoing free maintenance plan had 6 service stops, while the new plan only has five stops at 10000 miles each, with the reason being a switch to synthetic oil. This may be more convenient for most people, but it isn't much of a value. If you lease or finance your car, two payments will be waived. However, those waived amounts can be up to $450; the bank will pay up to $450 for each of those payments. In addition that that sneaky little fine print, you have to finance or lease through U.S. Bank in order to get this incentive. July 31 is the expiration date for this offer. A...

With the Elantra GT's sales going to commence this month, Hyundai has released the pricing information for the compact wagon at last.  The cheapest Elantra GT will cost $19170, including a $795 destination fee. That may sound a tad expensive taking into consideration that this is a compact station wagon, but most every other competitor starts around the same point. Besides, the Elantra GT had heated front seats, fog lights, a USB port for the six-speaker audio system with satellite radio, heated power side mirrors, 16-inch aluminum wheels, 7 airbags (including a driver's knee airbag, a first for the Elantra lineup), a cooled glove box, a tilt and telescoping steering wheel with stereo controls, an adaptive steering system that has three modes of varying sportiness, and Bluetooth integration.  A six-speed manual is standard, while an automatic transmission with the same number of speeds will require another thousand dollars. There will also be two option packages that you...

Along with a host of updates to the Verano lineup, like standard backup cameras, optional blind-spot and cross-traffic alert and a modifies grille, a turbocharged model is added.  It is powered by a 250-horsepower 2 liter four cylinder engine that also produces 260 pound-feet of torque. This is actually 30 more horsepower than the Regal Turbo, a bigger and more expensive car. But it still falls short of the Regal GS's 270 horsepower. Buick thinks this car will go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 6.2 seconds, a full two seconds faster than the base with its 182-horsepower 2.4 liter naturally aspirated engine. It's worth mentioning that this is the one Verano model to offer a manual transmission, though most buyers will most likely opt for the six-speed automatic. The only visual changes are a small "T" badge, an unpretentious rear spoiler, aluminum gas and brake pedals, and twin exhaust tips. Suspension and steering components have supposedly been tweaked for mo...

Diesel Beetles are back with a base price tag of $24065. Keep in mind this price is only for the TDI coupe, and that the convertible Beetle should arrive in the earlier months or 2013. The new Beetle TDI will use the same turbocharged and direct injected 2 liter four cylinder engine other smaller diesel Volkswagen models use (Jetta TDI, Golf TDI etc.).  People who endorse manual transmissions will rejoice at the fact that manual transmissions are standard across the Beetle TDI lineup that is made up of the base TDI, TDI with Sunroof ($25665), and TDI with Sunroof, Sound and Navigation ($26965). Spectacular trim level names, aren't they? A dual-clutch automatic is optional on any one trim level for $1100.  Even the base TDI trim comes well equipped, as you would expect for a two-door car with a manual transmission that starts at nearly 25 grand. A regular Beetle starts at just under 20 thousand dollars, for comparison. Anyways, one-touch power windows, fake leather upho...

Not to be lost in the new Fit EV's record setting EPA figures, Chevrolet has updated the Volt's batteries to hold more electricity and be more durable over the long run. Total battery capacity has ticked up by .5 kilowatt-hour (kWh) to 16.5 kWh. The usable electricity from the battery (the Volt never completely depletes the battery) has also risen by .5 kWh to 10.8 kWh. The newly added electricity thus allows the Volt to travel 3 miles farther on electricity to 38 miles. Overall range is up to 380 miles, about four to five times more range than most solely electricity powered car. Mileage is pushed to 101 MPGe in the city, while the highway rating is still 93 MPGe. For reference, the new Fit EV's mileage is 132/105 city/highway.

The Honda Fit EV has taken the honors of having the highest ever miles per gallon or miles per gallon equivalent rating the EPA has ever given out. On top of that, it also has the longest range of any electric vehicle as rated by the EPA at 82 miles a full charge, so it can go 9 miles more than a Nissan Leaf, 6 miles more than a Ford Focus Electric and a whopping 20 miles more than a Mitsubishi i EV. The 20-kilowatt-hour battery pack holds less juice than a Leaf's battery pack or a Ford Focus Electric's battery pack, so the charging time on a 240-volt charger is 3 hours, much lower than the Leaf's seven hours or the Focus Electric's four hour charging time. Meanwhile, an i EV has a smaller 16-kilowatt-hour battery pack, yet needs roughly 6 hours to fully charge with a 220-volt charger. Pricing for the Fit EV is $575 more than a Nissan Leaf, and about $8000 more than a base i EV. It is about $3000 less than a Focus Electric. Keep in mind that the Fit EV will only b...

I thought the SLS AMG was a nice name for a car, but Mercedes apparently thought it was too short. Now, for the 2013 model year, the SLS becomes the horribly redundant SLS AMG GT. However, the name isn't the only change. The horsepower from the 6.2 liter naturally aspirated V-8 engine is up by 20, to 583, the result of better combustion. Combined with new software from the 7-speed, dual-clutch, the SLS  AMG GT will accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 3.6 seconds, a decrease of one tenth of a second. For the record, certain automobile magazines have achieved quicker acceleration times with the 2012 SLS AMG. Despite the gain in power, top speed is 197 miles per hour, the same as the outgoing version. Quicker acceleration is accompanied by "more passionate acoustic feedback" without any artificial exhaust noises coming from the stereo like BMW does with its new M5. An updated adaptive suspension will provide better cornering speeds, and less comfort. Glossy b...

A mild refresh to the F-150 for the 2013 model year brings a slew of minimal changes. Okay, maybe not all the changes are minimal. Take the grille, for instance. The lower two trim levels get an equal symbol grille congruent to the one on the F-250 heavy duty trucks. The higher trims have an old school three bar setup like then one on the first generation Ford Fusion or last generation Ford Taurus. Except with little mini grilles inside the three bars. The dashboard has been redesigned. On higher trim levels, My Ford Touch is either available or standard equipment. Don't worry; there is actually real buttons in this one. I suspect most truck owners will just stick to pressing buttons instead of tapping around complicated menus in the screen. Speaking of higher trim levels, there is a new trim for 2013. It is the Limited. The Limited is essentially an alternative choice to the Platinum or cowboy-themed King Ranch.  New color choices round out most changes. The not-really-d...