Archive for April, 2015
First Spin: 2016 Honda HR-V
Honda’s 2016 HR-V will join the rapidly growing “subcompact SUV” class when it goes on sale May 15, with prices starting at about $20,000.
As compact crossovers have grown in popularity, they’ve also grown in size. That has resulted in a dimensional gap that is being filled—in rapidly increasing numbers—by what are becoming known as “subcompact SUVs,” or sometimes, “mini SUVs.”
Consumer Guide’s test 2015 Hyundai Santa Fe arrived in Limited trim with all-wheel drive. Including the destination charge, our test crossover came to $41,695.
2015 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited AWD 
Class: Midsize Crossover
Miles Driven: 213
Fuel Used: 10.1 gallons
Chevrolet Impala Midnight Edition
Presented here is an unedited press release from Chevrolet issued today.
DETROIT – Chevrolet announced today it will sell a special edition blacked-out package for the Chevrolet Impala based on a concept shown at the 2014 SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
Stretching 233.0 inches, the Lincoln Continental was one of the longest passenger vehicles of 1977.
A funny thing happened on the way to Eighties: Cars got shorter. The “shortening” of the American automobile didn’t happen all at once—it came in staggered bursts, as individual manufacturers downsized the platforms that underpinned their largest cars.
Consumer Guide’s test Mini Cooper S Hardtop 4-Door arrived loaded with optional equipment. Including the destination charge, our test car came to $35,900.
2015 Mini Cooper S Hardtop 4-Door
Class: Sporty/Performance Car
Miles Driven: 151
Fuel Used: 6.4 gallons
Although the redesigned 2016 Kia Sorento starts at about $26,000 (including destination), our top-line all-wheel-drive SXL tester with optional Technology Package bottom-lined at $45,095.
2016 Kia Sorento AWD SX-L Limited
Class: Midsize Crossover SUV
Miles Driven: 654
Fuel Used: 29.5 gallons
Consumer Guide’s test 2015 Range Rover Sport HSE arrived loaded with options. Including the destination charge, our test truck came to $82,027.
2015 Land Rover Range Rover Sport HSE
Class: Premium Midsize Crossover
Miles Driven: 673
Fuel Used: 35.4
Consumer Guide’s test 2015 Dodge Challenger arrived in R/T Scat Pack guise. Including the destination charge, our well-equipped test car came to $46,165.
2015 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack
Class: Sporty/Performance Car
Miles Driven: 343
Fuel Used: 21.9
Ronald Will’s national-award-winning 1961 Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild model will be among those displayed at the GSL-XXV International Scale Vehicle Championship and Convention.
A rare chance to view the work of participants in the historic Fisher Body Craftsman’s Guild (FBCG) model-making program is coming up in Salt Lake City, Utah. A number of advanced-design scale models made for the national competition, which was sponsored by General Motors from 1930 to 1968, will be on display during the GSL-XXV International Scale Vehicle Championship and Convention.
Don’t mistake your friendly, helpful salesperson for an advocate. He/she is likely incentivized to charge you as much as possible for your new vehicle.
I was a terrible car salesman. Part of my problem in plying said trade was my disdain for confrontation. In the early Nineties, when I was peddling the metal, the new-car buying process was still very much an “us versus them” proposition. Giving a shopper a decent deal within 20 minutes of beginning negotiations was not only unacceptable in the eyes of my managers–it was grounds for dismissal. Salespeople were expected to wear customers down, and “leave no money on the table.” It was a brutal business, and one I wasn’t cut out for.
