Archive for June, 2015
Consumer Guide’s 2015 Ford Mustang arrived in Premium trim with the 2.3-liter EcoBoost engine and 6-speed manual transmission. A healthy list of options helped push our test car’s sticker price to $38,585.
2015 Ford Mustang Coupe Premium 2.3L EcoBoost
Class: Sporty/Performance Car
Dates tested: 6/16/2015 – 6/23/2015
Miles Driven: 522
Fuel Used: 22.4 gallons
Gallery: Cool Cars at Fun Places
Land Rover Range Rover Sport at Cedar Valley Cheese in Belgium, Wisconsin.
I don’t eat fish. I mention this because I recently snapped a picture of Consumer Guide’s test Audi SQ5 next to a fish shop. But Don’s Dock, a kitschy seafood restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, exudes an irresistible old-school charm that invites photography, and paying customers.
Consumer Guide’s test Mitsubishi Outlander arrived in topline GT trim. Including the destination charge, our loaded test truck came to $35,145.
2015 Mitsubishi Outlander GT S-AWC 
Class: Compact Crossover
Miles Driven: 310
Fuel Used: 14.9 gallons
Consumer Guide’s test 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee arrived in Altitude trim. Including the destination charge, our 4WD test truck came to $40,830.
2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Altitude 4WD
Class: Midsize Crossover
Miles Driven: 457
Fuel Used: 23.7 gallons
2015 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack
Our recent 2015 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack was one of the more photogenic test vehicles we’ve had through our fleet lately. There were more interesting visuals than we could squeeze into our normal review, so we’ve added a gallery of detail pics here.
The Challenger SRT 392 (top) trumps the R/T Scat Pack in terms of equipment and accessories, but not power; both Dodge coupes boast a 485-horsepower 6.4-liter V8.
Sometimes, one letter can make quite a difference.
Say, for instance, someone e-mails you to ask where they can get good premium-grade gasoline for their new high-end sports car, and you helpfully reply, “Go to Shell.” But if you accidentally leave off the “S,” well … that becomes a different answer entirely.
Consumer Guide’s test Jetta GLI arrived in top-line SEL trim. Including the destination charge, our test car came to $30,100.
2015 Volkswagen Jetta GLI SEL
Class: Compact Car
Miles Driven: 193
Fuel Used: 7.7 gallons
With 140 horsepower, this Studebaker’s 244-cubic-inch “Commander” V8 was muscular for its time, but it falls 225 horses short of the least-powerful engine on our top-5 list of current truck engines.
In 1990, Chevrolet rolled out the 454 SS, an outrageous performance-oriented version of the brand’s full-size pickup truck. At its heart was a tuned version of General Motors’ “big block” 454-cubic-inch (7.4-liter) V8. The engine was rated at 230 horsepower and a stump-pulling 385 pound-feet of torque.
2015 Kia Soul EV
Chicago radio legends Steve and Johnnie take the 2015 Kia Soul EV for a video test drive. What did they think of their all-electric test vehicle? Watch and find out.
1990 Mazda Miata
One of the stumbling blocks to justifying a joyriding car is the cost of licensing and insuring something you’re only going to drive occasionally. But both of those expenses can be greatly reduced by buying a “classic.”
In the eyes of many insurance companies and state licensing agencies, a car becomes a classic once it hits 25 years of age. To mark that occasion, they often give those cars extraordinary discounts; in fact, it usually costs a fraction as much to license and insure a 25-year-old car as it does a 24-year-old one.
