Archive for August, 2013
“The Tail of the Dragon” is a twisty ribbon of asphalt just outside of Knoxville that contains 318 turns in 11 miles. While a Toyota 4Runner – or any SUV, for that matter – is hardly the utensil of choice for carving through these corners, it managed to hold its own in this motorcycle mecca.
Its official designation is U.S. Route 129, and though it runs through four states along the Appalachian Mountains, it’s most renowned for an 11-mile stretch of tightly twisting asphalt known the world over as The Tail of the Dragon.
Cars of Walmart, Part 2
One wonders if more Cadillacs or Mercurys have been forced to suffer the indignity of a thickly padded, after-market chrome-ringed vinyl top. This Cougar looks to have lovingly received the deluxe treatment, only to be later passed along to less caring owners.
A suggestion left by a reader of the Cars of Walmart post we shared yesterday suggested that were we to revisit the same parking a few hours later, we would find an entirely different collection of interesting vehicles worth sharing. Why not?
Cars of Walmart
Spotted this morning in the Walmart parking lot. Hanging from the bumper? A product known commercially as Truck Nuts™.
Inspired by the People of Walmart website, I present the Cars of Walmart. The five rides shared here were all found this morning at the same time at the Walmart closest to our Chicago-area office.
According to the text, this 1970 AMC AMX is priced comparably to a “loaded Mustang or Camaro.”
Automakers tend to avoid talking price at the national level. That’s why it was relatively uncommon to see prices in magazine ads. At the local dealer level, however, that’s where the haggling begins. There’s little more entertaining to a car guy than to find the car ads in an old newspaper. We’ll have to post a collection of those some time soon, too.
With the average transaction price of a new vehicle hovering around $32,000, the prices in these ads now seem a little quaint. But the real charm is in the small print. Apparently “loaded” once meant that a car came with headrests (see the AMC ad above).
Our test Wrangler Unlimited came in Sahara guise and with the removable soft top.
2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited “Sahara”
Miles driven: 183
Base price: $31,495 (not including $995 destination fee)
Test Drive: 2014 Fiat 500L Lounge
The top of the line Lounge trim level (shown here) comes only with an automatic transmission.
2014 Fiat 500L “Lounge”
Miles driven: 317
Base price: $24,195 (not including $800 destination fee)
Price as tested: $27,455
2013 Hyundai Sonata Limited
Steve King and Johnnie Putman, Chicago radio personalities and car enthusiasts, are longtime friends of Consumer Guide Automotive. Click the video below for their latest car review.
Test Drive: 2013 Lincoln MKZ
2013 Lincoln MKZ
2013 Lincoln MKZ
Miles driven: 353
Base price: $38,710 (not including $895 destination fee)
Though the Zap! Xebra boasts four doors, it has a stated load capacity of just 500 pounds.
Visit the Zap! website and poke around for a while, it’s kind of fun. What you’ll see is a dozen or so electric vehicles that fall readily into three categories: those that look like farm implements, those that look like crappy low-end Chinese cars (which they are), and those that look like seventh-grade concept-car design contest runner up drawings come to life.
A small fleet of ForTwo Electric Drives lined up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The electric Smart starts at $25,750
In an automotive world where many vehicles look too much alike, the Smart ForTwo stands out. Like a baby shoe surrounded by sneakers, wingtips, and cowboy boots, the Smart’s diminutive size almost always elicits a smile. But just like that baby shoe, it really doesn’t fit the needs of most American buyers.
