Automotive Reviews

2020 Hyundai Palisade Review: Worthy newbie SUV despite odd name

With the debut of the Nexo as a 2019 model and the Palisade as a 2020 offering, Hyundai now sells five sport utility vehicles. The South Korean manufacturer doesn’t do much wrong. But making more SUVs isn’t much different than making more traffic. There’s nothing good about more driving congestion. And how is it possible to find some area of the SUV segment that hasn’t been addressed? Hyundai‘s answer? The Palisade is the biggest vehicle it’s made. The carmaker’s flagship SUV, the mid-sized Palisade features a 3.8-liter V6 engine with 291 horsepower and an eight-speed automatic transmission. Gas mileage averages are 19 miles per gallon in city driving, 26 miles per gallon on the freeway. Available with all-wheel drive and

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2019 Lexus IS350 Review: A worthy sporty sedan failing

Comfort, superior ride quality and luxury aren’t often strong sports car characteristics. Feeling the road, shifting gears and making the best of a rugged minimalist interior provides a good chunk of the appeal. The 2019 Lexus IS350 rejects the norm. Defined as a five-passenger small sedan, the IS350 matches a quiet, relaxing and comfortable sedan with an aggressive-looking sports car. It’s ready for some country road shenanigans or long, smooth freeway hauls. The Lexus IS (Intelligent Sport) debuted in North American in 2000; the 350 variant arrived in 2008. Its third and current generation was unveiled in 2013, with a revamp in 2016. While 2020 models have just emerged, the still-available 2019 offering remains largely unchanged from recent years. Three-beam

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2019 Honda Civic: lagging sales, still rules as top-rated compact

The Fit, Civic and Accord, sub-compact, compact and midsize sedan siblings, collectively represent nearly everything right in the automotive industry. If value, durability, functionality, fuel economy, repair efficiency and resale value are important, there’s nothing better than the Honda trio. Yet the threesome, all rated at or near the top of their segments, are rapidly losing new buyers. It’s not logical. The 2019 Honda Civic defines the ideal compact. It’s now in the fourth year of its 10th generation after debuting in 1972. But between generations, Honda, like most manufacturers, makes model adjustments, subtle to substantial. With the 2019 model (the 2020 model is also now available), the Civic’s front end has been restyled; it’s less drastic and more attractive.

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Aptera Motors touts an industry first, a no-charge EV

Range anxiety will disappear in electric vehicles if Aptera Motors can make good on its latest promise to offer an EV that never needs charging. The San Diego, California-based maker of the self-advertised “world’s most efficient passenger vehicles,” has introduced Never Charge. It’s an integrated solar-charging option that means never having to charge your car again. Aptera says it’s going to offer the first solar vehicle-charging system capable of meeting well over the mileage needs of most drivers. The carmaker further says: “Power required for most driving comes from the sun, not the grid.” The Aptera, which can go 1,000 miles on a single charge, is four times more efficient than the average EV. At 100 watthours per mile, it

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Nissan concept EV defines brilliantly bizarre city car future

Concept vehicles are polarizing, preposterous and brilliant, and sometimes simultaneously. Nissan has added to the wacky category with its new, all-electric IMk. Designed with the ideas of Japanese “city cars,” the IMk has been defined by Nissan as a chic vehicle and with the clever marketing phrase, “reduces driver stress.” What car has ever reduced driver stress? Built on a new electric vehicle platform, the IMk features ProPILOT advanced driver-assist technologies and seamless connectivity features. The carmaker reports the concept “gives a glimpse at what urban-oriented cars might look like and feel like in the near future.” The design and proportions of the IMk are meant to reflect a minimal aesthetic drawing on the Nissan design philosophy called Timeless Japanese

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2019 Mazda6 Review: Worthy sedan struggles against Honda, Toyota

The 2019 Mazda6 is among several manufacturers’ offerings presented in recent years to infiltrate the dominance of the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. It’s automotive competition at its finest. Beyond the Mazda6, consider the Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima, Nissan Altima, Subaru Legacy and Volkswagen Passat. Reasons abound for any of the alternatives to the midsize monoliths as solid choices. Honda and Toyota sedans remain the definitions of consistency and have among the industry’s best resale values. The Mazda6 in 2018 sold about 10 percent of the Accord and Camry tallies, and its best annual sales season was 15 years ago. It can’t match the resale leaders. Little has changed on the Mazda6 since a mid-cycle refresh

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2019 Nissan Titan Review: Tough competitors, tough road ahead

Pickup trucks for many years have topped annual sales charts. With their sport utility vehicle cousins as co-conspirators, several manufacturers did what seemed unfathomable — abandon their sedan lineups. Poor gas mileage, difficult entry and exit and sometimes clunky rides don’t matter. Masculinity and versatility reign in new automotive purchasing. The top six best-selling vehicles in the United States in 2018 were either pickups or SUVs. Good reasons abound. In many instances, pickups are luxurious small apartments. The Nissan Titan is among the few trucks struggling. Sales slipped to just over 50,000 in 2018, a loss of nearly 5 percent from a peak year in 2017, according to Kelley Blue Book, the automotive research company. The manufacturer is trying to

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Auction backfire halts rare Porsche sale after $53 million mistake

What’s a $53 million error among friends, collectors and vintage Porsche fanciers? It likely what was the biggest blunder in car auction history, an auctioneer with a hard-to-decipher Dutch accent at RM Sotheby’s on Aug. 17 during Monterey Auto Week began bidding on a 1939 Porsche Type 64 at was heard at $30 million. The starting bid for the one-of-kind vehicle was actually $13 million. It’s what was expected for the spacecraft lookalike. Only three of the cars were built and the prototypeup for auction is the only survivor. But monitors in the room showed the bid at $30 million. It quickly escalated to $40 million, $50 million, $60 million and then $70 million. While a stunned and quickly confused

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2019 Chevrolet Camaro defines muscle car in shrinking market

One of the most compelling automotive industry competitions occurred more than 50 years ago with the debut of the Ford Mustang. It was followed in quick order by the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird. The trio represented affordable sporty coupe sensations. The Firebird ceased production in 2002, but the Mustang and Camaro remain rivals. The Dodge Challenger is a newcomer foe now in its third iteration. As muscle cars, the trio represents a polarizing segment. Loud, powerful, masculine gas-guzzlers have loyal followers and equally passionate detractors. Sales figures give the latter group some boasting clout. Ford sold 75,842 Mustangs in 2018, followed by the Challenger (66,716) and the Camaro (50,963). The Pontiac’s sales increased three percent; Ford and Chevrolet‘s options

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2019 Mazda3 Review: Can hatchback help rally poor sales?

Nearly every mainstream manufacturer has a basic car marketed to appeal to budget buyers and a flagship model touted to redefine luxury. Competition is fierce, and the extremes of success and failure can often be defined by Mazda. The former Mazda Miata (now the MX-5) is 30-years-old and is the best-selling sports car in history. But the carmaker’s overall sales and industry influence continue to stumble. Individual models, like the CX9, are highly respected. But Mazda sales fell in 2016 to 1.7 percent of the U.S. market share — the carmaker’s lowest tally. More than two dozen compact crossovers are available in 2019, among including the Mazda3 hatchback. It’s fully redesigned this year as the manufacturer tries to regain its

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2020 Kia Telluride Review: Steller SUV debuts in saturated market

More sport utility vehicles cruising down the road look alike. Even high-end, niche manufacturers that once disdained the idea of combining luxury and utilitarian characteristics in one vehicle offer SUVs. And they all look the same. Bentley, Maserati and Porsche sell SUVs. What’s next? Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce SUVs? Yes, they would be the Verekai, Purosangue, Urus and Cullinan. It’s hard to fathom how they’ll fit into the crowded marketplace. The 2020 Kia Telluride debuted in February as a three-row SUV that looks like it could be part of the supercar SUV fraternity. But it costs about 10 percent of some prestigious machines and has a better chance of survival. The Telluride also looks like other SUVs. Designer

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2019 Honda Insight Review: Comes of age as handsome four-door hybrid

The original Honda Insight debuted as a 2000 model and received more mockery than respect. It was a far-from-perfect, two-door subcompact that looked like a mechanical peanut on wheels. With its unique appearance, the Insight garnered more attention as an oddity than it did for its now-important legend. It was the first mass-produced hybrid available in the United States. It was ugly, simultaneously cool and it got whooped in sales a few months later when the Toyota Prius debuted. Key Takeaways Insight grows up into a midsize four-door hybrid sedan: Honda replaced the two-door subcompact hatchback with a mainstream four-door design that finally looks like a conventional sedan rather than a mechanical peanut on wheels. 151-hp hybrid powertrain with 1.5-liter

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2019 Nissan Armada Review: Powerful, safe, guzzles gas

The Nissan Armada is a well-adjusted teenager. It’s positioned firmly in the mix of large sport utility vehicles that remain popular with their massive engines, family comfort, safety and putrid fuel efficiency. The 2019 edition is the vehicle’s 16th year, and its technically and oddly named after a fleet of warships but used in the singular form. It’s also the third year of the Armada’s second generation after Nissan introduced the current model in 2017. Sales doubled. With an unyielding variety of SUVs entering the market as crossovers and other large SUVs improving, the Armada’s sales fell a few thousand last year. Yet there’s still a solid corps of buyers who don’t seem concerned about driving a vehicle that weighs

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2019 Hyundai Ioniq Review: Odd name, worthy EV wheels

The 2019 Hyundai Ioniq, the third model year of the South Korean liftback, is unique in the ever-evolving, alternative fuel segment. It’s the least expensive mainstream electric vehicle available in the United States, and it has the best fuel economy. Cheap and economic don’t always equate to quality. But the five-door Ioniq provides another example of why skeptics of Hyundai and its close relative Kia should be forever enlightened. The manufacturers’ lineups have vastly improved in recent years. Key Takeaways Only alternative-fuel vehicle offered as hybrid, plug-in hybrid, AND all-electric: The Ioniq was the first car to offer all three powertrains in one model, letting buyers match the variant to commute profile without switching nameplates. 57 mpg city, 59 mpg

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#20, Vintage firetruck gets new life as mobile party pub (video)

Kevin Mullan owns a 1987 E-One first pumper. It’s a fascinating vintage firetruck. And he’s made it further intriguing by converting it to a mobile pub. Mullan, 38, of Toledo, Ohio, purchased the truck, had a walk-in cooler with 10 beer taps installed, and named the business-on-wheels Ladder 419 beer truck. The name is a nod to the city’s area code. As co-hosts of The Weekly Driver Podcast, Bruce Aldrich and I are now bonafide members of the Mullan’s fan club. He’s our guest on Episode #92 of our weekly discussion of all things automotive. The beer truck, which debuted in late June in Blissfield, Michigan, is unique. Its walk-in cooler was installed after the 1,500-gallon water tank was removed.

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2020 Jeep Gladiator Review: Stands alone among truck malaise

Lots of new vehicles look similar cruising down the highway. One family sedan is likely related to another. The flood of SUVs, with rare exception, could all be made by the same manufacturer. Tesla and pending electric competition from Byton and Rivian are non-conformists. A Porsche Panamera stands out anywhere. Hummers stand alone in gaudiness. A few gimmick cars get attention. And now there’s the industry’s first convertible truck, the 2020 Jeep Gladiator. It’s a midsize vehicle that resembles its sibling, the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, but simultaneously looks nothing like its relative. Beyond its signature spindle grille, an extended wheelbase and a five-foot cargo bed, the Gladiator is unlike any other mainstream vehicle. When it literally gets unhinged (the doors

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