Archive for 2021
In June of 2017, my wife and I purchased a 2014 Nissan Juke for our teenage daughter. While this may sound like an extravagant present, it wasn’t really a gift at all. Truth be known, my kid wanted no part of driving, but my wife and I wanted no part of chauffeuring her to 6:00 AM water-polo practice five mornings a week. The car has served us well, and is now with our youngster at a college about 200 miles from our suburban Chicago home.
Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast
Whether you drive a car, need a car, or just occasionally bum a ride with friends, you’ve come to the right place. Join the editors of Consumer Guide Automotive as they break down everything that’s going on in the auto world. New-car reviews, shopping tips, driving green, electric cars, classic cars, and plenty of great guests. This is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast.
Favorite Car Ads: 1937 Cord 812
1937 Cord 812 Phaeton Convertible
Question: What’s the nicest graduation gift you ever received… high school or college? If it was a car, you’re one of those people that everyone else in your class hated. Still, kudos to you. Scoring a car as gift—for any reason—is pretty cool. I suspect your grades were better than mine.
2021 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road
2021 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road
Class: Compact Pickup
Miles driven: 306
Fuel used: 17.5 gallons
1965 Ford Falcon Squire
Note: The following story was excerpted from the June 2018 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine
The Ford Falcon was Robert McNamara’s baby. A practical “numbers guy,” McNamara hated waste and excess. The Edsel went against his core beliefs with its large size, superfluous decoration, and the fact that it competed with existing Ford and Mercury products. As the Edsel was failing, McNamara was campaigning for a compact Ford.
Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast
Whether you drive a car, need a car, or just occasionally bum a ride with friends, you’ve come to the right place. Join the editors of Consumer Guide Automotive as they break down everything that’s going on in the auto world. New-car reviews, shopping tips, driving green, electric cars, classic cars, and plenty of great guests. This is the Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast.
2023 Fisker Ocean
Upstart American electric-vehicle automaker Fisker officially introduced its Ocean all-electric SUV at the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show, with company founder and CEO Henrik Fisker presenting new details about the vehicle’s features, specs, performance, and technologies. Although the company has teased the public before with concept versions of the Ocean, this is the first time journalists were given a chance to look at what Fisker says is essentially the production version. The Ocean is the first production vehicle from Fisker Inc.—not the same organization as Fisker’s original namesake company that made the Fisker Karma plug-in-hybrid sedan.
2023 Nissan Ariya
Nissan introduced the U.S.-market production version of its first all-electric SUV this week at the Los Angeles Auto Show. According to Nissan, the new Ariya crossover SUV is the first production model that represents the company’s electrified brand identity.
First Look: 2023 Toyota bZ4x
2023 Toyota bZ4x
Today, Toyota officially unveiled the U.S.-market production version of its all-new-for-2023 pure-electric SUV at a press event in Encinitas, California, just ahead of the 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show. The bZ4x is a compact 5-passenger crossover SUV that kicks off a new sub-brand of Toyota pure-electric vehicles. The “bZ” portion of the name stands for “beyond zero”—in reference to zero emissions—and bZ4X is the first of seven bZ-branded vehicles Toyota plans to introduce globally by 2025. Eight other battery-electric vehicles are planned as well, and counting traditional hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, Toyota says they will offer about 70 electrified vehicles in various global markets by 2025.
First Look: 2023 Mazda CX-50
2023 Mazda CX-50
Mazda unveiled an all-new compact SUV in a virtual presentation this week, just in advance of the 2021 edition of the Los Angeles Auto Show. The 2023 Mazda CX-50 represents a noteworthy expansion in focus for the brand—whereas other Mazdas are primarily tuned for on-road driving dynamics, the CX-50 is more overtly aimed at off-road driving and active-lifestyle adventures than any Mazda in recent memory. Mazda says it’s “purpose-built for outdoor enthusiasts.”
