James Raia

Articles by James Raia

OnStar safety program soon ready for non-GM vehicles

The OnStar in-vehicle safety system has been available on select General Motors brands since 1996. But the technology, now in its ninth generation, will soon be available to a wider range of vehicles, GM or not. Within a few months, consumer electronics retailers will begin selling a standalone version of OnStar. It’s replacement rear-view mirror that can be installed in most “top-selling” vehicles from major manufacturers. Best Buy will be OnStar’s the first U.S. retail partner. The retail version on OnStar will offer the core features including the noted “blue button,” turn-by-turn navigation services, stolen vehicle location assistance, automatic crash response and one-touch access to roadside and emergency services. The device will also offer hands-free calling via Bluetooth. The replacement

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Volkswagen Jetta 2011 Car Review

The Jetta is Volkswagen’s top-seller, so the 2011 version has been substantially redesigned in the face of increasingly stiffer competition. The new front-drive Jettta sedan is sleeker, longer, roomier, quieter and more refined. Older Jettas have attracted customers across a wide range of age groups, being equally appealing to men and women. Volkswagen has found buyers believe the Jetta costs more than it does. That’s one reason it has lowered the price of the base 2011 model. The new Jetta was a blast to drive on winding Highway 1 along the winding Pacific coast during a San Francisco-based media preview of the car. The new compact Jetta looks like a costlier upscale European model. It has an extended wheelbase and

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Porsche Boxster Spyder 2011 car review

Porsche is among few automakers that can successfully charge more for a model with fewer features than a less-expensive model with more features. One of the classic Porsches is the 1950s Speedster, which was a bare-bones soft-top. It was fairly inexpensive (for a Porsche) to attract more American buyers. And its lighter weight helped it win races. The 1950s Porsche 550 Spyder was even more bare-bones, but was a successful competition car not really designed for comfortable road driving. Actor James Dean raced a Speedster and later got killed on a rural California road while driving his new 550 Spyder to a race in which he was to compete. Now we have the 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder, a throwback to

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Honda, Ford surpass Toyota as most reliable cars in 2010

Massive recalls severely hurt Toyota sales in the past 18 months and  thus relinquished the country’s former most reliable automaker to third place behind Honda and Ford, according to Consumer Reports. Honda rank in first place with 25 percent of car owners participating in the magazine’s survey naming the manufacturer with the best quality. Ford finished second with 23 percent, while Toyota finished third at 19 percent, 11 percent less than last year. Toyota‘s reputation plummeted in 2009 and 2010 and it paid nearly $50 million in fines last year to federal safety regulators for failing to promptly inform regulators of defects in its vehicles and delaying recalls. Chevrolet (19 percent) placed fourth in reliability while Mercedes-Benz (15 percent) was

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Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabriolet 2011 car review

Mercedes-Benz four-seat convertibles always impress, although most have bland styling. The 2011 Mercedes E-Class Cabriolet four-seat convertible radiates that old Mercedes luster with rakish styling. The new E-class two-door Cabriolet comes as the $56,850 E350 or $64,800 E550. They have a fabric soft top, when the trend has been to retractable hardtop convertibles. But that’s OK because this new Mercedes has a thick soft top that provides good protection and a quiet interior. Mercedes offers two retractable hardtop models, but they’re the SL and SLK two-seat sports cars. The E350 Cabriolet convertible is slower and softer than the E550 Cabriolet. It’s powered by a V-6 with 268 horsepower, at it’s no slouch. It propels the E350 from 0-60 mph in

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Kia Sportage 2011 car review

It never hurts to produce a vehicle with styling inspired by a striking auto show concept vehicle. That’s the case with the 2011 Kia Sportage crossover. It has styling inspired by Kia’s sleek Kue concept vehicle displayed at the 2007 Detroit auto show. The Sportage has Kia’s longest-running nameplate. With the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V, it was among the first crossovers sold in the United States. The 2011 Sportage — introduced at a San Francisco media preview — rips a page from the old Detroit strategy of making new cars longer, lower and wider than predecessors. It’s a bold “looker,” with dramatically swept-back headlights, sculpted hood, high beltline, sweeping angles and more pronounced wheel flares. The interior has easily

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Ford Mustang 2011 car review

Next to the Model T, which seems too old for history books, the Mustang is the best known Ford. It was snapped up by all age groups right after its mid-1964 introduction. There’s something to be said for automotive continuity. For example, while Chevrolet dropped its Camaro for eight years after 2002, the Mustang has been continued since its debut. A media preview of the new Mustang in the Los Angeles area involved everything from mountain driving to drag races with the rival Camaro. It showed the 2011 Mustang the best Mustang yet. It reaches showrooms in mid-spring. The 2011 Mustang looks much the same as the 2010 model and has minimal weight gain because the latter was redesigned with

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Kia Sorento 2011 car review

The carlike Kia Sorento is so dramatically changed one might wonder why it retains the name of the old truck-like Sorento, which arrived for 2003 and became dated. A test drive during the media preview of the new Sorento to Kia’s sprawling new, $1 billion assembly plant in a rural area an hour from Atlanta, Georgia, showed this crossover vehicle to be poised, quiet and comfortable. Kia‘s newest Sorento is the sporty “SX.” It has a revised front end, more luxury and sharper handling. The Sorento comes as an entry model and as the LX, EX and SX. It has front or four-wheel drive and a 2.4-liter four-cylinder or 3.5-liter V-6. Kia says rivals of the early 2011 Sorento include

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Ford F-Series top 2010 seller, extends reign to 34 years

The Ford F-Series pick-up, the country’s best-selling vehicle every year for more than three decades, continued its commanding position in 2010 with an increase of more than 27 percent in sales from 2009. The Ford F-Series trucks, one of two Ford products on the top-10 list for 2010, had sales of 528,349, more than 150,000 more than the second-best seller, the Chevrolet Silverado. It was the country’s top-seller for the 34th straight year. Honda had three cars among the top-10 sellers for 2010, the Accord, Civic and CR-V. Toyota (Camry and Corolla) and Ford (F-Series and Fusion) had two vehicles on the list. Despite the third and fifth positions on the top-10 list, the Camry and Corolla were the only

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Buick Regal 2011 car review

Now in its fifth generation, but first year in the United States since 2004, the Buick Regal is back in 2011 to meet the stiff competition in the midsize sedan category. Based on the Opel Insignia, the Regal re-emerged in China in 2008 as a 2009 model and is available in the U.S. in only a CXL trim level. It’s the latest offering of the midsize car introduced by General Motors for the 1973 model year. The 2011 edition is a departure and catapults the Buick into the modern age. Standard equipment includes: 18-inch alloy wheels, foglamps, heated sideview mirrors, keyless entry, dual-zone automatic climate control, cruise control, full power accessories, OnStar, leather upholstery, a power driver seat, heated front

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Tata Motors revamps strategy for struggling cheap car Nano

The Tata Nano, overtly published and praised in 2009 when it debut in limited locations in India as the world’s cheapest car, is now facing a different reputation — and an uncertain future. Lottery luck was originally needed to purchase a Nano, the most well-known original vehicle of Tata Motors. But sales are now slow for the $2,200 car, likely prompted by two reasons. First, several Nano models have caught fire since April 2009 via exhaust or electrical systems issues. Nicknamed “the people’s car,” the Nano has also had increased competition from sightly more expensive cars like the General Motors India and top-selling Maruti Suzuki. Neither are viewed yet like the  Nano as a “poor man’s car.” India is the

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Scion tC 2011 car review

The revised youth-oriented 2011 Scion tC has been long overdue and is improved enough to help boost sagging Scion sales. For instance, Scion sales fell sharply from 2008 to 2009 and were disappointing in 2010, too. Major improvements have been made to the oddly named tC. The front-drive, two-door hatchback has more power, better transmissions, a revised interior, improved chassis and larger wheels. Moreover, the 2011 tC provides lots of standard equipment, including a panoramic sunroof, air conditioning, cruise control, power windows and door locks with remote keyless entry and an AM/FM/CD sound system. Safety items include stability and traction control systems and a bunch of air bags. Prices are reasonable, at $18,275 with a manual transmission at $19,275 with

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Owen Wilson back as Lightning McQueen in Cars 2

Owen Wilson will reprise his voice over role as the character Lightning McQueen whose niche for racing leads him to find himself in adventurous moments the movie Cars 2 scheduled for release June 24, 2011. Jason Isaacs and Emily Mortimer have also joined the cast of the second installment of the animation film that began in 2006 with Cars According to the official press release, “Star racecar Lightning McQueen and the incomparable tow truck Mater take their friendship to exciting new places in Cars 2 when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world’s fastest car. “But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when

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BMW microcar Isetta still around 55 years after heyday

It’s not the most unique vehicle in the world, but the Isetta micro-car built in several countries and once owned by BMW, still attracts plenty of attention because of its bubble shape and diminutive size. Design by an Italian company, the Isetta was conceived because of a need for cheap, short-distance city driving following World War II. The BMW Isetta became the world’s first mass-production 3-liter car in 1955. Its low-friction, one-cylinder engine and low weight resulted in superior gas mileage — as high as 71 mpg. It is the top-selling one cylinder car in the world, with 161,728 units sold, according to Wikipedia. Matt Walsh, a friend and publisher of the irreverent cycling blog Twisted Spoke spotted a stunning

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Lexus CT 200h 2011 car review

The new, compact CT 200h from Toyota’s upscale Lexus division shares its hybrid gas/electric powertrain with Toyota’s Prius. But the Prius feels like an appliance, while the CT 200h feels and drives like a luxury car. The 2011 front-drive, four-door CT 200h is the first Lexus hatchback and thus is more practical than the Prius. Also, compared to the Prius, the new Lexus has an ultra-rigid chassis, better suspension and a body that, while somewhat chunky, looks rather sporty, partly because of a rakish roofline and short body overhangs. However, a low front end (for aerodynamic efficiency) could be damaged in certain parking areas. The CT 200h was mainly designed for Europe’s narrow streets and tight parking spots, which means

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Ferrari, Aston Martin, VW top NY Times' 2010 best cars

Ferrari, Aston Martin and the Volkswagen GTI top the New York Times automotive critics’ 2010 top-10 Cars of the Year list. Lawrence Ulrich, one several journalists who regularly report on the automotive industry for the newspaper, was direct in his top pick for the year, the Ferrari 458 Italia. “The world’s best sports car, a racing video game come to life in three gorgeous, thrilling dimensions. This is the car I would buy tomorrow if I inherited $250,000 today.” Jerry Garrett selected the Aston Martin Rapide: “The exquisitely executed Rapide is, like the sleek Jaguar XJ, a product of Ian Callum, designer extraordinaire. A sedan is a new offering for Aston, a tiny builder of British sports cars, as is

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