Opinion
73 articles in this category
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The grand plan was a separate new service to the house of 200 amps so that the garage would have plenty of power for charging multiple EVs and I would have a separate bill each cycle for knowing what I was spending for EV driving. Waking up in the morning to a full charge of power and never having to stop at a gas station due to having a Level 2, 240-volt home charger is a luxury everyone should have allowing you to smile as you drive by a gas station with folks outside dealing with their f
One user's experience setting up electric vehicle charging at home.
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Tired of the Voom, Voom, Voom of a performance Borla exhaust, the wife asked for a new ride. This is my journey of what I experienced in working to buy/lease an EV in 2024. Let me first start off by saying that I am in no way a normal sized human. At 6 foot 6 inches 300 lbs with a 40 inch long legs, I am much larger and big bone than most Americans. My wife being of Korean descent is also larger than most at 5 foot 8 inches compared to the average female height of 5 foot in Korea. The USA c
One person's experience of buying/leasing an EV in 2024.
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Back in December 2023, my wife mentioned to me that she was getting a little tired after 15 years of the Voom Voom Voom of her SS. The sound of the Borla factory exhaust was not what she wanted to hear in a daily driver. I had originally bought this in 2008 for her when, after our kids had finished college, she wanted to fulfill her life dream of getting an advanced education. She started her college career driving our Escalade ESV to the University of Washington campus and finding that a full-s
The impressions of my first EV, electric vehicle for the wife to replace an ICE or internal combustion engine auto.
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With the average transaction of a new vehicle reaching $48,247, buying a new car is quite expensive. And while this price gets higher each year, automakers still make inexpensive vehicles. We compiled a list of 10 models that come in at under $22,000, less than half the average transaction price of a new car. Even though these are the least expensive model year 2024 new cars you can buy, most have a good set of standard features and all come with reversing cameras, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, a
All ten vehicles cost less than half the average new-vehicle transaction price.
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In Chaos Theory, the butterfly effect is the idea that a tiny change can result in massive changes later. The simple act of a butterfly flapping its wings could set into motion a series of events that change the weather. In the summer of 2018, the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, the organization responsible for putting together the Detroit Auto Show, more formally known as the North American International Auto Show or NAIAS, announced that beginning in 2020, the show would move in the cal
- Editor-in-Chief
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It's time to roll back the clocks, and one of Cher's most famous songs, "If I Could Turn Back Time" debuted in 1989. That same year, automakers introduced at least 51 new models to the public. Each week for the next four weeks, we'll take a look at some of those cars, and you vote for which car would make you wish you could turn back time. The categories will be Family Car, Sports Car, Luxury Car, and Exotic. 1989 was a good year for people who liked sports cars as many fun new op
If you could turn back time, which sports car from 1989 would you chose?
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With yesterday's report that the Hyundai Sonata and Kia K5/Optima may not be replaced at the end of their cycle, it has become clear that the mid-size family sedan in the U.S. has become an endangered species. The current Sonata and K5 are expected to last until at least 2025, but if they do in fact end, the number of mid-size sedans offered in the market will dwindle to 4. For perspective, that is the same number of mini-van models currently on offer. (Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey, Chrysler Pa
.... and then there were six.
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While Hyundai owns a controlling interest in Kia and they share a significant amount of technology, they still operate as somewhat independent companies. For that reason, Kia needs a luxury brand to match. Hyundai officially launched its Genesis luxury brand in the US in 2016 with the G90, the replacement for the Hyundai Equus. Since then, Genesis has rapidly evolved into a true luxury automaker with three sedans and 3 SUVs. My recent drives in Genesis vehicles gave me the impression that G
Hyundai has Genesis, and Kia needs a luxury brand to match.
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In 2007 the auto media was projecting that GM might fall from being the worlds largest auto company in production terms. In 2009, the final numbers proved that Toyota Motor Corporation had surpassed GM as the worlds largest auto company by production numbers. Also Toyota was growing in sales of their Hybrid line under the Prius moniker. Fast forward to 2021, battery electric auto's are all the rage by auto companies. Toyota production of
In 2008 Toyota Motor Company surpassed GM for the first time in 77 years to become the #1 auto builder. Yet recent pre-sales / sales seems to indicate that time might be limited.
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Auto enthusiast have since the dawn of the car had a desire to go faster and in this, the 2 door, 2 person auto was the focus of go fast compared to the 4 door, 4 or 5 person sedan and especially in comparison to CUVs, SUVs and Trucks. Yet in the last few decades we have seen performance Trucks and SUVs / CUVs that have gotten close to what some call Muscle Cars. Even some specialty sedans like the Chevrolet SS of recent decades has also introduced performance fun to the family.
The onset of the electrical vehicle and Tesla success with super fast sedans, is the era of 2 door muscle cars coming to an end?
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The news came during dinner last Monday. My mother asked if I would be able to take any time off of work, and I said that I might be able to if the circumstances were considered important. She revealed that my grandfather, her dad passed away that afternoon. It wasn’t from COVID-19, but other complications that had put in him the hospital since early June. After dinner, I needed some time and space to begin processing the news. So I grabbed the keys to my car and went for a drive. The past
Driving To Provide Some Space To What Is Going On In the World
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*Note: this isn’t my opinion. This article is more to spark a discussion. I love #savethemanuals. With that, please enjoy a controversial article. Some people are fans of electric cars. Others regale the days of the glorious V12s which are now few-and-far in-between. Same goes for interiors. While the days of analog gauges, non-infotainment systems, and simple controls hearken back to an easier time, trends are making those just memories. Most people, car lovers or not, accept changes to
Live in the USA and want a new car? Get an automatic
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In my previous article, I praised four-door coupes. I love how they look in exchange for lost practicality while making up for the latter with charm and class. This is fine because they’re usually based on regular coupes or sedans. Great. Unfortunately, BMW had to mess things up. They had the excellent X5 and thought to themselves with a German accent: “We need to appeal to even fewer people. What if… we make the X5 ugly and harder to see out of?” Hence, the BMW X6 was born. Excellent, thank you
Style over substance and I’m not buying it.
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Thanks, Mercedes-Benz. You created a car that literally no one asked for. What did they do? Well, in the early 2000s, they went to their E-Class, removed the hideous body, and replaced it with a different body. The new body looked like a coupe, but it had…four doors. With this, Mercedes-Benz created the “four-door coupe.” Let’s be honest—this vehicle, called the CLS, was beautiful. AMG created powerful versions that made the CLS even more appealing. Mercedes-Benz created a segment that nobody re
They’re less practical than sedans, but does that matter?
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A friend of mine has a 2016 Subaru Legacy 3.6R. It’s a very safe car, has a good interior, and a rather weak engine. Oh, it also has a CVT or continuously variable transmission. When I talked with him while he took me for a spin, he told me he doesn’t mind the CVT and it is smooth for his Lyft passengers. While being a passenger in his car, the CVT did act like a conventional transmission, although it did dip in the rev range lower than usual. Then he floored it. Drone. It stayed at 3,000 RPM fo
Save the…no get rid of CVTs.
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Imagine you’re me: someone who has used 0-60 MPH to judge how fast a car is. If a car is slower than 8.0 seconds, I wouldn’t poke it with a 10-foot pole. If it’s faster than 4.0 seconds, I cling to it to feel the rush and acceleration. That was until I was a short-lived car salesman and automotive blogger. As a car salesman, I found out that people didn’t understand or care that their vehicle did 0-60 MPH in 6.7 seconds. As a blogger, performance enthusiasts did care, but there are other statist
...We use it as a gauge to judge car performance, but is it useful?...
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Germany. Known for impeccable engineering, German vehicles usually have cutting-edge technology and are status symbols. Sweden. The Swedish are known for safety, and even though the only brand from Sweden is Volvo, they want to have a sleek design while making vehicles easy to drive. South Korea. In my opinion, South Korea is doing a great job with their vehicles. Creating Genesis as a stand-alone brand was genius because they can have vehicles close to or competing with the Germans while costin
Which car from Germany, South Korea, or Sweden should be yours?
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EV-curious. That’s what I would call myself. Someone that is interested in EVs but just hasn’t found the right one. There are many aspects of an EV that is appealing to me. Instant torque, quick acceleration, the ability to charge at your house or apartment, and the continuation of creating semi-autonomous driving. It’s all so exciting! I’m ready to go out and trade in my 2016 Volkswagen GTI for one now! Or am I? Let’s take a quick look at a small field of electric vehicles, starting with the br
Curiosity about electric vehicles is sparking my interest, but am I ready for one?
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Since the launch of the XT4 with the rather anemic (if more refined) LSY engine, many (including myself) had questioned why GM does not offer the Tripower 310 bhp / 348 lb-ft (L3B) 2.7T 4-cylinder in the XT4 (at least) as an option. To a lesser extent some have also questioned why the LSY is putting out a mere 237bhp / 258 lb-ft whereas the outgoing LTG engine is good for 265~272 bhp / 295 lb-ft. Is it just so that it can have 258 lb-ft arrive @ 1,500 rpm? Now, we have the answer... It's th
...if you've wondered why GM's new 2.0T puts out such low numbers, we may have the answer.
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The reaction Peugeot’s return to the U.S. Market a couple weeks back falls into three categories. OMG! We're getting exciting French cars again Why is another automaker coming to the U.S.? Split between 1 and 2 I should say that I fall into camp three at the moment. Previously, I was in number one when the rumors began to swirl around about PSA Group - parent company of Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel, and Vauxhall - making a possible return in late 2014. The dreams about
Peugeot is making a comeback to the U.S.! Hooray?
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This year was to be the final Detroit Auto Show to take place in January before the big move to an indoor/outdoor festival of sorts next June. Despite a number of manufacturers announcing they would not be at the show, there was some hope for there be to a surprise. Something that would allow the current incarnation of the show to go out with a bang. That did not happen. It was thought that Chevrolet would roll out the long-awaited and rumored mid-engined Corvette. But those hopes woul
A water main break, concept car breaking down, and other issues made the 2019 show less than memorable
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I thought would be it easy. The front headlights on my new-to-me 2011 Ford Fusion were beginning to dim and I figured some new bulbs would solve it. Ordering the bulbs, I began to think this would be an easy process. Just locate the sockets for the bulbs, replace them, put the sockets back into place, and done. Little did I know this would be only a fantasy. Before fully diving into this, I opened up the owners manual to the vehicle to get an idea of what I was getting myself into. It
How hard can it be? Famous last words.
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“I can’t believe we’re going to make it” This thought passed through my head as I brought the vehicle to a stop on an off-ramp. Somehow, I was able to travel from my house in the outskirts of Metro Detroit to my hometown of Midland, Michigan on just a quarter-tank of gas. That may not seem like a huge accomplishment except when you look at the vehicle I was driving, the 707 horsepower Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. Originally, I wasn’t planning on traveling to Midland in the Trackhawk.
Is it possible to get decent gas mileage out of a 707 horsepower SUV?
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For the past month, I have been doing a bit of window shopping for a possible replacement for my current vehicle - a 2006 Ford Fusion with almost 270,000 miles on the odometer. Usually, whenever I go look at vehicles, I tend to have automotive ADD; tending to look at all kinds of vehicles with no set price or type. But this recent excursion caused me to notice that I had unknowingly set my sights on a certain group. All of the vehicles I was looking at were all compact cars and none were crossov
A recent bit of window shopping has us wondering about vehicle size
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In the coming months, one of the most anticipated and important vehicles will begin rolling off the production line. The Tesla Model 3 has a lot riding on it as there are over 370,000 pre-orders for the upcoming entry-level model. This is the vehicle that can either make or break the company. So it seems quite interesting that Tesla is trying to pull attention away from this important model. During Tesla’s first-quarter earnings call, CEO Elon Musk expressed dismay at the lack of attention
Why is Musk trying to pull away the spotlight from the Model 3?
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Last week saw the PSA Group (parent company of Citroen and Peugeot) purchasing Opel and Vauxhall from General Motors for $2.3 billion. This move would make the PSA Group the second-largest automaker in Europe. We already know some of the plans that PSA Group has for their new brands such as setting operating profit targets of 2 percent in 2020 (jumps to 6 percent by 2026) and the next-generation Opel/Vauxhall Corsa being the first new product developed with PSA. But as we alluded to in the origi
We have some questions concerning the Opel and Vauxhall sale
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This would have been my fourth Detroit Auto Show (or North American International Auto Show as some would like you to call it) for Cheers and Gears. But due to a leg injury sustained a couple of weeks before the show, I was unable to make it. Maybe that was a blessing in disguise as I would miss out on dealing with individuals who break out tape measures and clipboards to note every little detail, along with journalists complaining about why the show isn't held during a warmer month. But it woul
This year's Detroit Auto Show was a bit disappointing. We give some possible reasons as to why.
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2016… What a year. This year saw a number of things that no one thought would actually happen did. Not helping matters is the number of famous people that have sadly passed on. Here at the Cheers & Gears Detroit Bureau, it wasn’t such a great year for vehicles. For the 2016 review season, 44 vehicles came in for evaluation. Out of this group, only eight vehicles earned a spot of being my favorite vehicles from the year. Read on to see which vehicles made the cut. 2016 Cadillac ATS-V Cou
44 vehicles came in, only 8 were deemed to be favorites
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The past month at Mitsubishi Motors has been tumultuous with the announcement that they had manipulated fuel economy numbers on a number of small city cars sold by them and Nissan. It would come to light that this manipulation had been going since 1991 on a number of models sold in Japan. Shares in the company dropped like a rock and there were concerns that Mitsubishi Motors would have to borrow money from other companies in the Mitsubishi conglomerate. But soon a white knight would appear, Nis
Throwing out a crazy idea for Mitsubishi's future in the U.S.
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Whenever someone finds out that I'm an automotive writer, sooner or later I will get asked "I'm looking for 'x' vehicle and I was wondering if you could help me out," or some other variation. These are the times where I wish I could make a smoke cloud appear, allowing me to make an escape. But alas, that is only a dream. This is a common thing that a number of us - automotive writers - tend to get whether it is from family, friends, or some random stranger. We want to try and help, but most
Trying to figure out a better way of giving advice
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Over the past six months and numerous articles with the ‘As the Diesel Emits’ in the title, we are no closer to have a fix for the around 600,000 Volkswagen diesel vehicles with illegal emission software. Instead, we have been treated a first-rate performance of ‘How not to handle a crisis’. From Volkswagen’s delay of admitting the illegal software to CEO Matthias Muller seeming very oblivious to what happening in an interview. It seems the German automaker is getting one black eye after another
The diesel scandal and Volkswagen not understanding the U.S. market
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A couple of weeks ago, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne made headlines when he announced that the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart would run their course - i.e. no second generation. Instead, the company would focus on building utility vehicles. This threw everyone in the automotive press into a frenzy with equal groups calling Marchionne a genius or a lunatic. But Marchionne also mentioned that the 200 and Dart could continue on if a partner could be found and build vehicles under a c
Navigating the murky depths of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Possibility of Partner to Build the 200 and Dart
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By Cory Wolfe As another year falls into the grasps of history, a new one lands filled with drinks, dreams, and the Detroit auto show. With all its shiny cars, crazy automotive espionage, and endless cappuccino, Cobo might just be my yearly heaven. Or is it my own personal hell, taunting me with sore feet, pushy journalists, and a severe lack of sleep? This year may just pin it towards the latter... This show sure can make someone relatively young feel frighteningly old rather quickly. Then
An exhausted photographer gives us a report card from the 2016 Detroit Auto Show.
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At every auto show there are big headline grabbing releases. These are releases like concept cars (Buick Avista) and production high end luxury vehicles (2017 Lincoln Continental and 2017 Lexus LC 500) that draw crowds and clicks, but after the lights are turned off at the Cobo Center those vehicles mean little to the average car buyer. Then there is news that matters to more in everyday life… important, just not headline grabbing. One of those important news items from the 2016 Detroit Auto Sho
GMC takes the middle road.
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As I hinted in my two final review pieces for 2015, I would be picking my favorite review vehicles from the year. Thus, here we are. 2015 saw almost 80 vehicles being driven by yours truly. From subcompact hatches to heavy duty trucks. There seemed to be an endless variety of vehicles I got to lay my hands on. Trying to pick my favorite vehicles of the past year is a difficult task. To begin with, I have close to 60 vehicles to pick from. These are vehicles that spent a week with me, goi
What were my favorite vehicles of 2015?
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From 1957 through 1991, the Mercury Colony Park reigned supreme as the biggest and sometimes most expensive vehicle in the Mercury lineup. During the early years it was a hybrid of sorts, often sharing its platform with whatever full-size Ford sedan was in production at the time while occasionally plucking engines or suspensions from the Lincoln catalog. After 1978, the Colony Park's fate was forever tied to its Marquis sedan brother and the Ford cousins, no longer did it have equipment ties
The Mercury Colony Park went out of production after 1991, but that didn't stop a shop teacher from building a 1999 model of his own.
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This year's Los Angeles Auto Show proved to be much better than first expected. When the news hit back in October of some the vehicles that were to debut, the show's organizers listed the Buick LaCrosse and Nissan Sentra as the big stars. Oh dear, this year's show was going to be a snoozefest. But as we saw in the past week, the LA showed proved to be exciting. There were a number of surprises, along with vehicles that stole the show. Of course, there were the vehicles that maybe should have
Which Vehicles Earned A Place On the Honor Roll and Which Ones Need to See the Principal?
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Last Friday was a trying day for me. I was feeling quite overwhelmed by the large amount of work due the end of the year, along with trying to figure out what the holidays would bring forth. This would be joined by some personal issues that only added to the overwhelmed feeling. I needed an escape. Something that could let me get away from all these issues rolling around in my head, even for a few moments. That's when I made the decision to go out for a drive. I had no destination in mind. I
Whatever happened to using a car as an 'Escape Machine'?
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For the past week, I have been driving an Infiniti Q50 and for the most part, I have liked it. The model has the makings of an excellent compact luxury car with a powerful V6, expressive exterior, and a nice balance of sport and comfort for the ride. I don't even mind the direct-steer system which replaces many of the mechanical parts for an electrical system that turns the wheel based signals from the input on the wheel. But as I driving the Q50, I felt something was missing. It was only when I
What is the identity of Infiniti?
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The past week has been miserable at Volkswagen as allegations arose from the EPA that a number of models equipped with the 2.0L TDI four-cylinder were found to emit more emissions than were legally allowed in the U.S. thanks to software. Since the announcement came out last Friday, there has been a fair amount of news. Volkswagen admitted that 11 million diesel vehicles sold around the world had the software The company has set aside $7.3 billion for possible penalties and fixes EPA is loo
Trying to gauge and answer some of the unknowns in the Volkswagen Diesel Mess
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This one is a 'match em up' : see if you can match the names & the faces of these early GM figures! Try and not google them; challenge yourself, or just guess blindly (why not, most of the U.S. Government does )! A.) B.) C.) D.) E.) F.) - - - - - • Ransom Olds • David Buick • William Durant • Henry Leland • Edward Murphy • Louis Chevrolet
Who's Who in Automotive History? Do you know?
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Give these questions a try & see how much 'auto junk' knowledge you have packed in your 'brain shop'. 1.) What year was the final single-cylinder Cadillac built? 2.) The 2-seat version of the '62-63 Thunderbird was known as the ______________ 3.) In the relatively short span of 4 years, the American auto industry moved from 6-volt electrics to 12. Name 3 reasons why. 4.) Most people are aware of the 1960s emergence on the Federal level of automotive industry standards &
Give these questions a try & see how much 'auto junk' knowledge you have packed in your 'brain shop'
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Can you identify these oddball cars in this week's Trivia Tuesday? Identify these, if you please! 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.)
Can you identify these oddball cars in this week's Trivia Tuesday?
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1.) What is the most 'liked' automobile on Facebook? 2.) What American car pioneered halogen lighting? 3.) By the end of it's production run, how long did it take to assemble a Ford Model T? 4.) In 1969, every Chrysler Corporation passenger vehicle was in direct violation of federal law. What was that violation? 5.) Name the first automobile brand to use clay for styling their vehicles.
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1.) Most windshields are basically “parallelograms”, IE; though there is often a minor arc to a given side, they still present themselves as ‘rectangular’ to the eye. This is the 1954 Kaiser, which shows the feature Kaiser used since 1950; nicknamed the ‘Sweetheart’ windshield. Note the obvious double-arc’d top edge of the glass. For the sake of this question, we’re calling it a ‘non-parallelogram’. Is there a more recent vehicle with a similar “non-parallelogram’ windshield? If so; name it.
Why did Chevy not have a "Small Block" in 1955? Can you get this and the rest of our Trivia Tuesday questions for April 28th?
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1.) What's the deal with this vehicle on the right? 2.) True or false; Benz invented the automobile. 3.) Name two non-American brands to use Ford V8s and two non-American brands to use Chrysler V8s. 4.) How much wider was Pontiac's first year 'Wide Tracks' than it's GM siblings? 5.) Last one is a trick question, because I don't know the answer. Maybe one of you does. What year/make/model is this emblem off of?
Can you answer our Trivia Tuesday questions for April 21st?
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COME 'N GIT 'EM! 1.) What American car is credited as having introduced the plastic front grille? 2.) In the '50s and '60s, Chrysler built the 300 series of high performance cars. They began naming them in alphabetic order, starting in ’56 with ‘300-B’. By the time the run concluded, Chrysler had skipped a letter- why? 3.) What ‘obsolete’ engine configuration did Chrysler use in one of its 1990s concept vehicles? 4.) The first (2000) 1976 Cadillac Sevilles produced were all metallic silver w
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Sometimes, it's good to put things into perspective. Case in point: Last week I had the good fortune of riding in my friend Craig's 36 Ford sedan. This is a project that he has been working for the past few years and for the most part it's finish - just some slight paintwork and a few other odds and ends. Sitting in this car was a throwback. An example was the seats - they felt springy and cushy, not firm and supportive like modern cars. The dash is just painted metal with a set of dials and kn
Talking about old cars in this week's Sunday Column
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1.) What car was reportedly sketched on the back of an air sickness bag and released on April Fool's Day? 2.) What was automaker MG's octagonal badge shape modeled after? 3.) Dodge built 505 copies of the 1969 'Winged Warrior' Dodge Charger Daytona. Why did Plymouth build so many more copies of the Daytona's sister car, the 1970 Road Runner Superbird? (1,920 units)? 4.) Name an automobile model that every one made featured a dash plate that guaranteed it had been driven over 100 MPH. 5.) I
Can you answer our weekly car trivia?
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Happy St. Patrick's Day, now get guessing!! 1.) What type of brake is this & what production car was it found on? 2.) How were this Olds and this Mercury legally involved with each other? 3.) The 1969 Mercury Cyclone SPoiler II was built in versions honoring which 2 famous racers? 4.) Which of these early auto brands was NOT an actual intended/production car? Long Silent McQuestion Fear Naught Schluderschimdt Schworm Skiddoodler 5.) Which of these state names was NOT feature
Happy St. Patrick's Day, now get guessing for Trivia Tuesday!!
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Give this week's Trivia Challenge a go : 1.) What was the last production car available with a cassette deck? 2.) What’s an American nameplate that has appeared 4 separate, non-sequential times in production under the same brand. 3.) What vehicle did this emblem appear on, and what does it signify? 4.) Who knows the story on this Mustang? 5.) What’s wrong in this picture (NOT the text portion) from a Dodge ad? - - - - - Answers to last week's Trivia Tuesday : 4bbl carburetor
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In the last Trivia Tuesday we had a Thunderbird with a giant hole in the side. This week we have Flying Goddesses and Hatchbacks. Can you answer our Trivia Tuesday challenge? What was available on a 1941 Cadillac that you could not get again until 1952? For many years, Cadillac featured various 'Flying Goddess' hood ornaments, especially grandiose in the 1930s. When did the last Flying Goddess appear on a Cadillac (from the factory)? Name the earliest American production hatchback c
What option disappeared from Cadillacs from 1942 till 1951? Can you answer that and others in our March 3rd Trivia Tuesday?
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The past couple of weeks at the Cheers & Gears Detroit Garage has been interesting for the past couple of weeks. Last week saw a Fiat 500C Abarth and the week before was a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR. During a conversation with a colleague of mine, the question was asked which car would I feel more comfortable in pushing. The answer I gave surprised him when I said that I would take the 500. My reasoning for this choice comes down to this; the Lancer Evolution has a lot more exploitation
Making the choice between the Lancer Evolution and Abarth, along with other thoughts of this week.
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In our last Trivia Tuesday, we had a car painted with tiger stripes. This time around, we have a Thunderbird with a gigantic hole in its side! Can you answer our Trivia Tuesday questions? The 'Farm-O-Road' utility vehicle was produced by which automaker? All the GM car Divisions reached their V8 displacement zeniths in model year 1970… except for one which did so 2 years removed from the others. What nickname did Buick have for it's straight eight engine of the 1940s and 1950s? Wha
What the bird is going on with this Thunderbird?! See if you can answer our Trivia Tuesday for Feb 24th.
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In last week's Trivia Tuesday, we learned some interesting facts about the evolution of the Buick Riviera. The Riviera has an encore in this week's quiz. Can you answer the following trivia? The answers to last weeks Trivia Tuesday are below. 1.) What do the letters IROC stand for? 2.) What was the last year / make of a U.S.-built four-door convertible in regular production? 3.) The Edsel brand is often known as being a marketing failure, yet 3 of it's model names went on to be used by othe
The Riviera has an encore in this week's Trivia Tuesday. Can you answer the following trivia?
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We took a week off from Trivia Tuesday last week as it fell smack in the middle of the Detroit Auto Show. Can you answer the following trivia? The answers the last Trivia Tuesday are below. 1.) What singer needed a "Transfusion" after several musical car crashes? 2.) What make of car received its name from a famous American fighter pilot of World War 1? 3.) What name did Plymouth give to its new 1958 engine? 4.) What British firm was known for both sports cars and motorcycles? 5.) Buick's
Some of this week's quiz questions are tough! Can you answer our Trivia Tuesday questions?
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Nothing could have prepared Quick Quack Car Wash employees for the moment when a 94 year-old man suddenly careened through their Sacramento, California business last Friday. Security cameras captured the carnage as the elderly driver's white Oldsmobile sedan barrelled through the automated wash lane at speeds of up to 40 mph, risking the lives of employees and damaging equipment. After narrowly missing a Honda Civic, the driver's wash from hell abruptly ended after slamming into a car wash vacu
Nothing could have prepared Quick Quack Car Wash employees for the moment when a 94 year-old man suddenly careened through their Sacramento, California business last Friday.
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In a December 29th decree, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev states that people "with disorders of sexual preference" are banned from driving in the country. Identifying as gay, transgender or transsexual is considered one of the many "'mental disorders' now barring people from driving," according to the BBC. Fetishism, exhibitionism and voyeurism are also included, as are amputees and those under 4-foot-11-inches. This move further suppresses Russia's LGBT population, forcing people to
In a December 29th decree, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev states that people "with disorders of sexual preference" are banned from driving in the country.
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I have a number of new features planned for CheersandGears.com for 2015. The first new feature comes to us from long time member Balthazar. He has cued up trivia questions for us to answer each week. Some weeks, we will be offering prizes to the first to answer all 5 questions correctly. We will reveal the answers to this week's questions in next week's post. In the long-running TV series "Married with Children", what brand/model car was Al Bundy always bemoaning? Name 3 makes of American
Trivia Tuesday for January 6th 2015
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Found on Craigslist - This 1980 Camaro Mustang GTO Chevelle Charger Honda Prototype. What looks to us to be a thrown together combination of spare parts from the garage can be yours for the low price of $1,234 Canadian. That's right... 1,2,3,4. The owner believes it to be equipped with a rear-engine 450 (cc? ci? horsepower?) twin-cylinder. He also believes that keyword stuffing his ad's title will help interest some shopper looking for a Camaro or Chevelle into spending money on this. Three-w
What looks to us to be a thrown together combination of spare parts from the garage can be yours for the low price of $1,234 Canadian. That's right... 1,2,3,4.
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Today was a sad day those who consider themselves fans of the automobile and/or public radio as word came that Tom Magliozzi, one of the co-hosts NPR’s Car Talk passed away at age 77 due to complications from Alzheimer's disease. When I first saw the news, I began to feel very sad and sat in my chair for a few moments reflecting on some of my favorite moments of Car Talk. One of the key thoughts that hit me as I was sitting down was feeling bad for this person I had never even met. But the fact
Our Staff Writer Remembers Tom Magliozzi
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For the past few years as an automotive writer, I've been keeping something quiet from a lot people. Some, including some of the members of this site know this secret. It's something that I have been slightly embarrassed by for the position that I have and know that it has kept some doors shut. I can't fully work a manual transmission. (Please put down the pitchforks and torches. Thank you.) It's not like I have never attempted to learn how to use a manual transmission before. The first time
Our Staff Writer Learns To Drive A Manual Transmission
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G. David Felt - Editorial Staff Writer Alternative Energy - CheersandGears.com What will it take? Oil started the year at over $100 a barrel and now hovers around $94 a barrel. Oil may fluctuate but continues to stay close to $100 a barrel. Refined Gas production being sold overseas keeps the average consumer paying $4 plus a gallon and people continue to complain about Green House gas emissions and the lack of being able to afford the gas cost. Natural Gas on the other hand continues to in
G. David Felt - Editorial
Staff Writer Alternative Energy - CheersandGears.com
What will it take?
Oil started the year at over $100 a barrel and gas prices seemed to continue to inch up over $4 heading towards $5 a gallon.
What will it take to convert to a new fuel?
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Can you identify what vehicle this gear shift is from? This is not a joke. It's from a friend's Facebook account. He says its not photoshopped other than colour and contrast tweaks (he's a pro photographer). Apparently it's from an abandoned vehicle, all he gave me so far is the location. I asked him for more info, I'll let you know.
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Fabulous Flops is a monthly series profiling some of the spectacular failures in the automotive industry. The automotive industry is by nature an innovator, but sometimes those innovative ideas are taken out of the oven before they are done cooking, and others fall victim to poor timing. Today, we are profiling Chrysler's two terrible piston-equipped children, the 2.2L four-cylinder engine and the 2.2L Turbo I four. During the course of automotive history, we’ve seen automakers take the eng
The Chrysler 2.2 liter 4-cylinder was meant to save the company. Did it do more harm than good?
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Drew Dowdell - March 26, 2012 - CheersandGears.com All companies do it. They make outrageous claims about their products in an attempt to sell you something. That is advertising and I accept it. A lot of times, these exaggerations are just playful and funny attempts to sell you on an idea and no one takes the exaggeration seriously. Take for example the Chevy truck ad that ran during the Super Bowl this year. Chevy made the claim that their trucks are so dependable that the truck, along with a
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Cort Stevens Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com March 21, 2012 Toyota Camry. Honda Accord. Since 1982 and 1976 respectively, these two models have evolved and changed with the times, without enduring a name change. Similar history can be traced for such entries as the Honda Odyssey. The first one wasn't much about which to write, but Honda persevered with the name and developed it into a top seller in its segment. While some examples of continuous monickers don't celebrate similar history
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G. Noble Editor/Reporter CheersandGears.com 28th February, 2012 It’s now official; the majority of my generation — Generation Y — has a deep-rooted dislike for the automobile. Unlike our parents from the Baby Boomer and Generation X age brackets, we no longer associate cars with our own independence. Instead, smartphones and laptops have become symbols of autonomy in my generation. I’ll admit that it didn’t exactly make sense to me when I first caught wind of it. I’m a ripe 21 years-old, w
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G.Noble Editor/Reporter CheersandGears.com 27th February, 2012 Fabulous Flops is a monthly series profiling some of the spectacular failures in the automotive industry. The automotive industry is by nature an innovator, but sometimes those innovative ideas are taken out of the oven before they are done cooking, others fall victim to poor timing. Today, we’re going to go after one of those rare flops where the idea was half-baked and still somehow managed to be popular. Since the dawn of the
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com February 24, 2012 A few weeks ago, Cadillac debuted their ad for the 2012 Super Bowl. The ad features the new ATS sedan and some footage of it undergoing testing at the Nurburgring. The ad ends with this line, “So if anyone tells you that Cadillac can’t beat the world’s best, just tell them to go to green hell and see for themselves.” The ad also calls out one of the ‘world’s best’, the BMW 3-Series. A bit audacious to call out the best se
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William Maley Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com February 13, 2012 Walking around this year’s North American International Auto Show, I noticed that something was amiss. It wasn’t the amount of vehicles that made their premiere at the show; nor wasn’t the amount of press, industry, and guests walking around during press days. No, what missing were the concept cars. The lineup of concepts ranged from group design is not a good idea (Chevrolet Code 130R) to this is a production model in conce
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Drew Dowdell - January 26, 2012 - CheersandGears.com Yesterday on Facebook, Aaron Bragman a new friend I met at NAIAS, and I got into a friendly back and forth over whether the Audi A3 was a hatchback or a wagon. I insist that it was a wagon and Aaron insists it is a hatch. My original position is that the A3 is a wagon because of the third rear window. Aaron says no, it is an identical car to the Volkswagen GTI which couldn't be called anything but a hatch. Now before I go on, I'm going to pr
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Fabulous Flops is a monthly series profiling some of the spectacular failures in the automotive industry. The automotive industry is by nature an innovator, but sometimes those innovative ideas are taken out of the oven before they are done cooking, others fall victim to poor timing. Today we are profiling the delightfully bizzare Renault Avantime. There’s no mistaking that Renault has built some bizarre looking cars during its 113 years in business. Back in the 1950s, Renault rolled out the Co
