After 5 long years selling the rather boring 8th generation Accord Honda has finally released the next generation. After a disappointing reception to the ninth generation Civic (released late last year) Honda needs a hit with the Accord. And they just may have it. The 2013 Accord is, in most cases, only a few hundred […]
Ford Focus Electric Preview
The first electric car in Ford’s long history is the Focus Electric. The Focus Electric starts at $39,200 — almost the same price as the Chevy Volt. Unlike the Volt, the Focus Electric does not have an auxiliary gas engine to power the electric motor if the battery dies. This means potential Focus buyers, like Nissan […]
Ford 2012 Fusion Hybrid Review
The Ford Fusion has been around since 2009 when it was released as a 2010 model. At the time it was state-of-the-art, getting better mileage than the Camry hybrid at about the same price and with little competition (the Accord hybrid was available but had few takers). What a difference a couple of years can […]
Best. Hybrid. Ever.
The 2012 Toyota Camry is dollar for dollar, pound for pound, gallon for gallon the best hybrid money can buy. The Camry doesn’t match Toyota’s Prius for miles per gallon, but it is roomier, has much better visibility, is much quieter, has better acceleration, and more standard features… all for about the same price as […]
2013 Chevy Spark Preview
Small cars seem to be popping up everywhere. First there was MINI with the Cooper, Honda with the Fit, Smart with the FourTwo, Ford with the Fiesta and Scion with the iQ. The MINI Cooper, once the smallest car sold in America, seems large compared to some of these cars, so when we talk about […]
2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
The good: If you find the Ford Fusion Hybrid or the Camry Hybrid to expensive, the Sonata Hybrid is a cheaper alternative. Very good acceleration for a Hybrid and a great warranty. The bad: Lackluster MPG for a Hybrid, 35 city, 40 highway. Ordinary handling, unusual styling. The ugly: Lots of hard, black plastic suck […]
Honda Insight vs. Prius c
When Toyota released the third generation Prius in 2010 it was immediately ccompared to the second generation Insight that Honda released in 2009. In my opinion it was not a fair comparison, since the Prius was generally $3-4000 more expensive. Now that Toyota has released the Prius c, which is in the same price range […]
2012 Chevy Sonic
This year Chevrolet finally introduced a new car to replace the aging, and unloved, Aveo. The Aveo was not a horrible car, it was just below average (kind of like my GPA) when compared to other sub-compacts. It was bad luck that the Aveo had to compete with the likes of the Honda Fit, Ford […]
Premium vs. Regular
When gas prices rise the cost difference between premium and regular gas becomes much more noticeable. Being the frugal Scotsman that I am, I couldn’t help but wonder at what point does it make more sense to buy a car that gets lower miles per gallon, but uses regular gas, as opposed to the higher […]
2012 Nissan Juke
The good: handles well. Interesting interior, turbo engine standard, All-Wheel Drive available. Bluetooth and a USB port are standard. The bad: Turbo lag, harsh noisy ride. The ugly: The front-end, but you may find that after awhile it kind of grows on you. Lately Nissan has been building some rather odd looking cars. First there […]