By Kevin Miller

Nissan’s Versa has been a solid entry in the low-cost, entry-level car segment, with a base version of the first-generation Versa sedan actually claiming the title of cheapest car available with its $9995 base price. While that price didn’t include much standard equipment (like air conditioning or a radio), more expensive versions with more generous equipment levels (including features like keyless entry/go and leather-wrapped steering wheel) were available, though with such an inexpensive starting point the Versa was always a Spartan vehicle.

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By Kevin Miller

The letter R used to carry a lot of weight at Volvo. The designator for Volvo’s highest performance cars, the R line reached its apogee in model years 2004-2007, when the S60R and V70R were 300 HP, AWD Volvos with Volvo’s first electronically-damped 4C suspension, available manual transmissions, large Brembo brakes, blue-faced instruments, full-leather upholstered seats in custom-colored interiors. Envisioned as halo cars, the R series were the most powerful Volvos ever produced, but they never sold in large numbers, and the erstwhile performance moniker was quietly shelved when the vehicles on which they were based ceased production.

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 By Kevin Miller 

I don’t know why it had to be Saab that caught my eye in the late 1980s and made me a fan – and driver- for life. I wrote about it once upon a time for Autosavant, that post is linked here. Whatever the reason, I’ve been caught up in my favorite brand’s gut-wrenching decline for two years. Even in December 2009, I had practically written my favorite brand’s eulogy. Although the Swedish brand’s fate was delayed for two years, it now, unfortunately, seems to be for real. Continue Reading

By Kevin Miller

It has been about three months since the 2011 Ford Flex Limited EcoBoost joined the Miller family and simultaneously joined the Autosavant long-term test fleet. During that time we have gotten to know some of the big family hauler’s strengths and weaknesses, so it’s time to give readers an update.

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By Kevin Miller

Something readers may not know about me is that I have an identical twin- or, I am an identical twin. My brother and I share the same DNA, the same “frame,” and look very similar to one another. While my brother and I are literally made from the same genetic material, we’ve grown to be distinct from one another in our professions and hobbies. While we’re essentially the same weight and height, I am an electrical engineer and auto blogger, who spends way too much time at a computer keyboard. My brother, on the other hand, is an Olympic rower turned collegiate rowing coach who bikes to work most days, so he has a distinctly more athletic appearance than I do.

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By Kevin Miller

A study recently was published revealing that people who identify with the image of their car (people who think of their cars as image enhancers rather than basic transportation) tend to be more aggressive drivers. That didn’t seem particularly revealing to me, but then as I thought about it I realized that the cars I’ve owned that I really identified with- and that I felt really identified me- did tend to have me driving more aggressively. Both my Saab 900 coupe and my Volvo V70R were big parts of my identity when I owned them, and both brought out the aggressive driver in me.

That being said, I could totally see Range Rover Evoque as just such an image car for me. I’m partial to two-door hatchbacks, especially well-proportioned ones that taper subtly at the rear (Yes, I did own two different Saab 900s…). The Evoque’s appearance, especially with its tapering roofline and long, low rear windows and aggressive, good-looking wheels really pushed all the right buttons for me. To me the Evoque was really an “image car”… and yes, it did make me drive more aggressively. Continue Reading

By Kevin Miller

I can’t find the car I want anywhere.  At least, not anywhere here in the US. I’ve long been a driver of useful, involving cars – the kind of cars with which I felt a bond, as owning each of them made life somehow more enjoyable. My two black Saab 900 hatchbacks (a 1995 for 8 years/160k miles, and a 1992 project car) both were a lot more fun to drive than they should have been as naturally-aspirated, front-wheel-drive three-doors;  both had that certain Saab style that I somehow identified with. Too, my 2004 Volvo V70R was a useful family hauler, with all-wheel drive and a manual transmission to get me most anywhere and have fun doing it. I truly bonded with each of those stylish Swedes. Only when the monthly repairs on the Volvo approached the amount of my home mortgage did begrudgingly decide that it was time for the Volvo to go.

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By Kevin Miller

Subaru made a name for itself selling rugged, capable passenger cars and crossovers featuring horizontally-opposed engines and all-wheel drive. After more than a decade of selling just two sizes of sedans and wagons, the automaking arm of Fuji Heavy Industries jumped on the crossover boom and unleashed the B9 Tribeca into the market for model year 2006. Featuring unusual styling and a 3.0 liter H6 that required premium fuel, the B9 Tribeca wasn’t a huge sales success, and the vehicle was restyled shortly thereafter for the 2008 model year, when its name simply became “Tribeca”. Continue Reading

By Kevin Miller

Early in my career with Autosavant, one of the first vehicles I reviewed was a 2008 Jaguar XJ Super V8. The then-flagship of the XJ line, that classically-styled, 400 HP supercharged luxury sedan was both the most expensive and the most powerful vehicle I had ever driven. Three years later, both the XJ and I have become much more worldly. I’ve expanded my horizons by having driven plenty of exotic, luxurious and powerful metal. Jaguar, for its part, launched an all-new XJ flagship which hit the US market for 2011, with a modern yet elegant style that is unlikely to be mistaken for anything else on the road.

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By Kevin Miller

The MINI franchise started with just one retro-styled small hatchback, and proved to be a success. But how to build on that success? MINI’s parents at BMW decided that the best way was to expand was by building bigger MINIs, first in the form of the extended-length Clubman, and now in the form of the Countryman crossover, which is MINI’s first four-door vehicle.

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