Buying Guides

So you're a Jetta fan, but you can't quite wrap your head around the cheaper, decontented, less refined American-spec 2011 Volkswagen Jetta? Don't lose hope just yet--we may yet get the real Jetta--the European version--at the mid-cycle refresh, according to the latest report. So what are the...

The new 2011 Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger, revealed late last year and already on sale, both received new looks and a host of updates. Among the improvements are better safety devices and structures, enabling both cars to make the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick list...

I’m kind of ornery when it comes to affordable performance sedans. Above all, I’m looking for a car that’s fun, with the right mix of decent horsepower, but more, exceptionally good reflexes without a punishing ride. People buy sports sedans as daily drivers, so they have to be...

This will be a partial defense of the Scion tC. I find myself in this odd position having read Bengt Halvorson’s less than glowing overview of the car. Mind you, I get where Bengt’s coming from. The tC has been upgraded, but it’s a poseur in the cheap two-door sports car market;...

Your humble editor will be heading to sunny Southern California to drive the 2011 Camaro Convertible this week, and I'd like to know if any of you in readerland have any questions for myself or the Camaro engineers, PR folks, and designers, regarding the upcoming 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible...

Though we have yet to hear the official word from Lotus, reports of in-house design and construction of a new set of lightweight, high-output V-6s and V-8s from the Malaysian-British operation are growing in credibility. The latest adds some new detail as well. As we reported last December, the...

For just $15,500 you can buy yourself a slice of Fiat's proper return to America--provided you're willing to row your own cogs, at least at first. After the recent salvo of live shots from the Detroit Auto Show, the latest on Fiat's pint-sized 2012 500 is that the first units to show up in the...

The 49 jurors of the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards have spoken: the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and 2011 Ford Explorer are this year's best car and truck. The announcement this morning at the Detroit Auto Show drew a line in the sand for the contentious fan bases of the 2011 Chevrolet...

A few days ago we brought you the full details on the new prototype OnStar telematics/infotainment system launched at CES this week. Today, we have a screenshot tour showing you what it looks like, and an interesting tidbit of info from OnStar's senior systems engineer Mark Frye. According to Frye...

With a fresh but familiar face, an aggressive all-American profile, and more features for the dollar than ever, the 2011 Chrysler 300 presents a compelling argument for looking beyond Acura and Lexus for your next upscale sedan. Priced from just $27,995, you might even save some cash in the...

So a turbo V-6 Cadillac sounds like a great idea, right? How about if we stick a fairly tall, soft suspension under it, give it a crossover body and pair it with an automatic only? Not so much, eh? That's apparently what buyers of the Cadillac SRX felt, as well, as the 2.8-liter turbo model saw a...

Cadillac is out to bring the words "American" and "luxury" back together in non-ironic ways--to the public, anyway. We in the business already know what Cadillac's been up to for the past few years. The voice of Laurence Fishburne is what's selling the "red blooded luxury" theme, and it's a smooth...

The Chinese may have called 2010 the year of the tiger, but for us car geeks, it's been the year of the recall. With over 20 million recalled so far, the latest addition of 14,737 Ford and Lincoln pickups and crossovers is just the tiniest of drops in the bucket--but the problem could be huge. An...

We already knew the 2012 Porsche Boxster and Cayman would be built in-house at the Volkswagen Osnabrueck plant, bucking the trend of outsourcing construction to contract firms like Valmet or Magna. What we didn't know is that the next-gen Cayman and Boxster would be built alongside Volkswagens...

The first North American Ford to get torque vectoring control will be the 2012 Focus. Ford is pitching the system as a safety- and performance-enhancing addition that helps the car "carve through turns like a downhill skier." We're not convinced. First, we should understand how the system works...

Last August Toyota stood before a crested wave of accelerator and floor-mat related recalls, the matter brought to a head by the death of an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer and three members of his family in a dealer-loaned Lexus ES 350. The crash was caused by incorrectly fitted...

It looks like the cost of building the 2011 Fisker Karma under contract with Valmet is higher than the company expected when it set its initial prices in 2008. A price rise of $7,900 came first, and today the company has hiked prices another $8,000 to a final starting price of $95,900. That's just...

Restyled and redesigned slightly for the 2012 year model, the new C-Class offers a more fluid, smoother look than its predecessor on the outside, and a new theme inside that reflects some of the higher-range sedans in Mercedes' stable. Chief on the improvements list--a list 2,000 parts long despite...

Hot and bothered by the new 1-Series M Coupe? Then sink your teeth into the full ordering sheet, listing all the options and packages you can add to the car. Just beware: you'll end up with a bunch of stuff you probably don't want or need if you go after just two common add-ons: Bluetooth and...

As Honda and Acura continue to grope around in the dark, trying to find their way back to their former position of design leadership, the 2011 models are basically treading water: the ZDX, priced earlier to day, stays unchanged, while the mid-cycle RL adds a few updates but is largely the same as...