Archive for January, 2016
Test Drive: 2015 BMW i3
2015 BMW i3 with Range Extender
2015 BMW i3 with Range Extender 
Class: Electric Vehicle
Dates tested: 1/18/2016 – 1/25/2016
Miles Driven: 334
Fuel Used: 1.5 gallons
1971 Dodge Brochure
When the Dodge Viper became the SRT Viper in 2013, I became convinced that Chrysler—really Fiat/Chrysler—intended to kill off the Dodge brand. The evidence was there: Pickup trucks had been rebranded Ram. The Durango big crossover was—and is—in need of a full redesign, and none was in the works. Likewise, the midsize Journey crossover was—and still is—riding on the bones of a stormy previous partnership with Mitsubishi, and no update was imminent. Finally, there was talk of moving the Challenger sporty coupe over to the SRT brand as well. With the Avenger midsize sedan being phased out, this left Dodge with the Dart—a competent but slow-selling compact sedan—and the aging Grand Caravan to soldier along with.
First Spin: 2016 Buick Cascada
Buick returns to the ragtop market after a 25-year absence with the 2016 Cascada, a compact-sized four-seater with a power-folding soft top. It’s due on sale next month at a starting price of about $34,000.
When it goes on sale in February, the Cascada will be the first convertible to grace Buick showrooms in nearly a quarter of a century. So why would the company return to a market it had long since abandoned? There are a couple of reasons.
Cheap Wheels: 1987-88 Mercury Cougar
1987 Mercury Cougar
by Don Sikora II
Note: The following story was excerpted from the February 2016 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.
Introduced for 1967 as an upscale Mustang cousin, the Cougar quickly became the shape-shifter of Mercury’s cars. First it morphed into an intermediate-sized personal-luxury coupe, the success of which tempted Mercury to extend the Cougar name to four-door sedans and station wagons. For 1983, Cougar returned to its two-door roots as a conservative variant of the highly aerodynamic Ford Thunderbird. While that ’83 is important in the Cougar saga, it’s the 1987 and ’88 versions that we’d like to suggest as your next set of cheap wheels.
Test Drive: 2016 Toyota Prius
2016 Toyota Prius
2016 Toyota Prius Three
Class: Compact Car
Dates tested: 1/14/2016 – 1/21/2016
Miles Driven: 306
Fuel Used: 6.4 gallons
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne.
Since the shotgun marriage of Chrysler and Fiat in 2009, Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne’s annual press gathering at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit has become a much-anticipated event highlight.
2011 Ram 1500 Tradesman Hemi
By Don Sikora II
Note: The following story was excerpted from the December 2015 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.
Luxuriously equipped and extravagantly priced ½-ton pickups are common today, but a back-to-basics workaday hauler still has its charms. Among modern-day work trucks, the 2011-15 Ram 1500 Tradesman has the intriguing distinction of being able to pack a near-400-bhp Hemi V-8 engine at a bargain price.
Simca 1000 Sedan
by Don Sikora II
Note: The following story was excerpted from the December 2015 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.
Back in the Fifties, when Americans started buying imported cars in significant numbers, the Big Three responded with “captive imports” made by their European branches. Ford and GM looked to West Germany and the UK, but Chrysler’s earliest imports came from France. One of them, the 1963-68 Simca 1000 sedan, is the subject for this installment of Cheap Wheels.
For 2016, the Hyundai Sonata Sport can be had with a normally aspirated 185-horsepower 2.4-liter four or the 245-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged engine fitted to our test car. Opting for the turbo version adds $5525 to the sticker, but it brings with it a long list of extra features that help justify our tester’s $29,760 bottom line.
2016 Hyundai Sonata Sport 2.0T
Class: Midsize Car
Dates tested: 12/28/2015 – 1/11/2016
Miles Driven: 454
Fuel Used: 20.3 gallons
Quick Spin: 2016 Scion iM (manual)
One of the Scion iM’s strengths is its value equation. Despite its lengthy list of standard features (plus a few minor options), our manual-transmission test car came in at less than 20 grand.
2016 Scion iM with manual transmission
Class: Compact Car
Dates tested: 12/28/2015 – 1/11/2016
Miles Driven: 448
Fuel Used: 15.2 gallons
