Archive for May, 2017
Test Drive: 2017 Lexus RC 350
2017 Lexus RC 350 in Atomic Silver
2017 Lexus RC 350
Class: Premium Sporty/Performance Car
Miles Driven: 540
Fuel Used: 22.7 gallons
2017 Toyota Tundra Limited TRD Off-Road in “Inferno” orange
2017 Toyota Tundra Limited Double Cab TRD Off-Road
Class: Large Pickup Truck
Miles Driven: 429
Fuel Used: 33.0 gallons
The Buicks of 1986
1986 Buick LeSabre Coupe
For Buick, 1986 was a transitional year; it was also a down year saleswise. The transition came in the form of an all-new LeSabre. For ’86 Buick’s bread-and-butter big sedans and coupes migrated to a front-drive platform, joining the higher-end Electra models that were downsized the year before.
1986 Chrysler Limousine
I was pumping gas for a living in 1986, a job that enabled me to do more than my fair share of car watching. Thus, it saddens me a little to compile this list of forgotten rides.
2016 Cadillac ATS-V Coupe
By Don Sikora II
Note: The following story was excerpted from the December 2016 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.
When the Cadillac CTS-V made its debut in 2004, the idea of a finely honed high-performance Cadillac sedan was pretty audacious. Now, little more than a decade later, racy Cadillacs are accepted, perhaps even expected, by driving enthusiasts.
Ford Tempo All Wheel Drive
by Don Sikora II
Note: The following story was excerpted from the December 2016 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.
The Tempo was an overlooked Ford sales success of the Eighties. Introduced as a 1984 model in two- and four-door varieties, Tempo wore the Blue Oval’s then-trendsetting aerodynamic “jellybean” styling pioneered on the 1983 Thunderbird. The front-wheel-drive chassis shared some elements with the U.S.-market Escort, but rode a longer 99.9-inch wheelbase. Tempos ran a “new” 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine that was a descendant of the Sixties-era Falcon inline six.
1986 Chevrolet Chevette
By 1986, car shoppers were looking for a little more than basic transportation. And while cheap/affordable cars were still the best-selling models, they were generally equipped with such conveniences as automatic transmission and such niceties as FM radio and air conditioning.
Test Drive: 2017 Kia Niro
2017 Kia Niro Touring in Deep Cerulean
2017 Kia Niro Touring
Class: Compact Crossover
Miles Driven: 307
Fuel Used: 6.7 gallons
We recently had a 2017 BMW M760i in through the Consumer Guide fleet for our usual rounds of editor test drives and evaluations. We’re no strangers to high-end luxury vehicles at CG HQ, but even by premium-brand standards, the M760i was one of the most lavishly equipped (and priciest) vehicles we’ve tested in quite a while.
First Spin: 2018 Acura TLX
2018 Acura TLX A-Spec
Maybe Acura saw it coming.
Back in 2015, the company replaced its TSX compact and TL midsize sedans with the singular TLX that slotted between the two in size and price, offering both the TSX’s 4-cylinder engine and the TL’s V6 (and available all-wheel drive) to cover the spread. Considered a midsize, it was on the small end of that class, which always hurt it in comparisons of interior space.
