Archive for December, 2014
Test Drive: 2014 Ford Fiesta ST
Consumer Guide’s test Ford Fiesta ST arrived in Envy Green Metallic, with a bottom-line list price of $25,610.
2014 Ford Fiesta ST
Class: Subcompact Car
Miles Driven: 155
Fuel Used: 4.9 gallons
Driving mix: 60% city, 40% highway
The Rallye Pack was one of three option packages that allowed buyers to dress up their 1979-1980 Ford Pintos.
A popular piece of career advice is to dress for the job you want, not the one you have. So, if you’re the associate assistant manager but you want to be the assistant manager, you probably want to show up for work in a tie and possibly a jacket, even (perhaps especially) if your peers aren’t doing so.
How Turbocharging Works
This belt-driven supercharger is designed to force more air into an engine than it would naturally take in.
“There’s no substitute for cubic inches.” This was a catch phrase during the muscle-car years when the quickest of the quick carried large-displacement V8s. At that time, torque was almost directly related to displacement, and—in another catch phrase—“Torque is what wins in the stock classes” (meaning street cars).
Consumer Guide’s test Ford Escape Titanium came to $35,625 including destination charge.
2014 Ford Escape Titanium AWD
Class: Compact Crossover
Miles Driven: 322
Fuel Used: 13.9 gallons
Driving mix: 20% city, 80% highway
Test Drive: 2015 Lincoln Navigator
Consumer Guide test 2015 Lincoln Navigator arrived in extra-cost Ruby Red Metallic paint and with the feature-laden Rapid Spec 101 A package. Including destination, our test car listed for $73,395.
2015 Lincoln Navigator 4WD
Dates tested: 11/13/2014-11/20/2014
Miles Driven: 174
Fuel Used: 13.2 gallons
Driving mix: 60% city, 40% highway
2014 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited
Chicago radio legends Steve and Johnnie take the 2014 Toyota Highlander Hybrid for a video test drive. What did they think of their nicely equipped test vehicle? Watch and find out.
Stretching 230.3 inches stem-to-stern, the Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight ranks 3rd on our list of the longest sedans of 1973.
As a follow up to our Hard to Park: The Longest Cars of 1975 blog post, we looked back two years further, to 1973. As it turns out, the average car on our 1973 list is almost an inch and a half shorter than those on our ’75 list (231.4 inches versus 232.9), but the longest single car is a ’73 model.
With the 2015 Murano, Nissan is seeking out empty nesters looking to indulge a little.
It was not the expected marketing spiel. Instead of the belabored aim of attracting a “young, active-lifestyle” audience, Nissan came right out and said the unthinkable: “With the Murano, we’re going after 45-year-old empty nesters.”
Consumer Guide’s test 2015 Mazda 3 S arrived in Grand Touring guise. Our test car came to $28,385 including options and destination charge.
2015 Mazda 3 S Grand Touring 5-Door
Dates tested: 11/13/2014-12/01/2014
Miles Driven: 444
Fuel Used: 17.8 gallons
Driving mix: 80% city, 20% highway
2010 Cadillac CTS-V Wagon
I have very clear memories of discussing the Y2K threat with a buddy during the waning months of 1999. So clear, in fact, that I find it difficult to accept that 15 years have passed since the media freakout over what proved to be a non-event.
