Review: 2012 Toyota Camry SE
By Roger Boylan
Last year I reviewed a Toyota Camry SE V6 with pleasure. Since then, Toyota has completely redesigned its bread-and-buttermobile, so a week in a brand-new, jet-black Camry SE V6 seemed like a good idea. Well, what’s it like, you ask, breathless with anticipation? Good, is the answer. No: Better than good. The old one was good enough to almost put a smile on my jowly visage. The new one’s better. It ups the ante to a broad grin. I really liked the new Camry.
2012 Detroit Auto Show: Lincoln MKZ Concept
By Carl Malek
Lincoln chose to kick off day two of the 2012 North American International Auto Show by unveiling this MKZ concept car which appears to be a slightly disguised glimpse into what the production version of the next generation MKZ sedan could very well look like.
2012 Detroit Auto Show: Chevrolet Tru 140S Concept
By Chris Haak
Just as GM tried to attract younger, Generation Y buyers to the Chevrolet brand with the Code 130R concept, it rolled out a similarly-targeted, but very differently executed coupe concept called the Tru 140S.
Though the company received feedback from young potential buyers for both cars, and they both have similar horsepower numbers, there is a key difference. The Code 130R is built on a small rear wheel drive platform, which is obviously great for at-the-limit handling – and has excessively conservative looks.
2012 Detroit Auto Show: Chevrolet Code 130R Concept
By Chris Haak
Is it cool to own a GM car? I believe the answer depends on who you’re asking and which car you’re talking about. For instance, I have close family members who have an anti-Buick bias because of Buick’s image as the chariot of choice for blue-haired old ladies. I love the Corvette, but its reputation is that its target buyer is an older male in the throes of a mid-life crisis.
2012 Detroit Auto Show: 2013 Mercedes SL Roadster
By: Carl Malek
Even though leaked images of the company’s flagship roadster made their way to the Internet last month, Mercedes-Benz chose to kick off its NAIAS festivities in grand style by unveiling the 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL Roadster in the flesh for journalists assembled at its stand. The newest iteration of the SL roadster should look very familiar to those that have seen and driven the last generation SL, but that doesn’t mean Mercedes has not tweaked the SL formula once again for the latest chapter in the SL’s long and legendary story.
2012 Detroit Auto Show: Acura NSX Concept
By Chris Haak
In a very candid assessment of his brand’s 2011 performance, Acura’s general manager Jeff Conrad told assembled journalists in Detroit that the best thing about 2012 was “that it was not 2011.” While he claimed that his brand lost its momentum until the end of the year due to the Japanese earthquake/tsunami and Thailand flooding, the fact is, Acura hasn’t seemed to have much going for it for the past half decade.
2012 Detroit Auto Show: Audi Q3 Vail Concept
By Carl Malek
Customers in the United States who wanted an SUV offering from Audi were limited to two choices when visiting their local Audi dealer. Either the bulbous and Leviathan Q7, or the slightly smaller but still portly Q5. Customers who wanted something smaller had little choice but to go to Audi’s rivals BMW or Mercedes to downsize their purchase. Not anymore. In an announcement earlier today on the show floor of the North American International Auto Show, Audi announced that it plans to bring the pint-sized Q3 CUV to the North American market place. To further demonstrate its commitment regarding the Q3, the company even brought out the show car you see here the Q3 Vail Concept.
2012 Detroit Auto Show: 2013 Dodge Dart
By Chris Haak
What’s in a name? A name can be powerful, both in good ways and bad. There are some names that no automaker would dare use again. Can you imagine a press conference for the 2013 Chevrolet Vega? There are others that have been besmirched by sub-par products years ago, yet the original holders of those names generate such strong positive, nostalgic feelings that sins of the Malaise Era may nearly be forgiven. The Dodge Charger falls into the latter category, and so does the Dodge Dart.
Review: 2012 Toyota Yaris LE
By Roger Boylan
Last year I tested the 2011 Yaris, and liked it. This year I spent a week with the redesigned 2012 Yaris, and liked it even more. Why? Because, as Toyota tells us in its advertising slogan for the new Yaris: “It’s a car!” Say what?
Sometimes, given the ubiquity of Toyotas in the U.S., it’s hard to remember that the company is, after all, Japanese, and that Japan is the birthplace of joyously nonsensical pseudo-English that, in the realm of car names alone, has given us gems such as the Mitsubishi Mini Active Urban Sandal, the Isuzu Mysterious Utility Wizard and the Mazda Bongo Friendee. See, this is what you get when you don’t hire gaijin proofreaders to check your English, Toyoda-san! Perhaps “it’s a car!” has a deep, emotional resonance in Japanese, but a quick phone call to a native speaker Stateside might have obviated considerable silliness.
Autosavant’s Most Popular Posts of 2011
By Chris Haak
Those of us who work for Autosavant don’t do it for the money. Believe me, we don’t do it for the money! We write for this website in order to share our passion and interest in cars and the car business with you, our readers.
At the end of each year, we have traditionally used our Google Analytics data to ferret out which of the previous year’s articles were the most popular, solely in terms of pageviews. Note that this year, we are not counting pre-2011 articles that appeared in the top 10, even though some of our old work (like the eulogy to the Chrysler PT Cruiser penned by Roger Boylan in July 2010) continues to enjoy strong traffic.
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A Week of Commutes – 2/3/2012
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They Hacked My Ride – Is YOUR Car Next?
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All of the Automotive “Big Game” Ads for 2012 – Updated
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Review: 2012 GMC Terrain SLT-2 V6
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Chinese Knock Off the Ford F-150
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The Australian Auto Industry Is In Jeopardy
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Review: 2012 Nissan Versa SL Sedan
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A Week of Commutes – 1/27/2012
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Complaints About the Names of Cars
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Review: 2011 Audi Q7 3.0T S line
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Kevin Gordon: L. Scott, let us know how things are going and if ...
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Lewis deSoto: As a past owner of a 99 A6 Avant, one can "feel" S...