Monthly Archives: March 2016


Crossovers like the Fiat 500X point the way to what we'll be seeing more of …

Crossovers like the Fiat 500X point the way to what we'll be seeing more of in the next several years

2016 Fiat 500X Trekking AWD – The Best Cinquecento Yet? – Sam’s Thoughts
Let’s face it, the re-entry of Fiat into the American marketplace in the wake of the Italian company’s post-bankruptcy absorption of Chrysler has not gone as well as CEO Sergio Marchionne had hoped. The diminutive 500 never reached the sales targets expected of it and the larger 500L MPV did even worse. We still have …


2016 Fiat 500X Trekking AWD – The Best Cinquecento Yet?

2016 Fiat 500X - 1 of 27

Let’s face it, the re-entry of Fiat into the American marketplace in the wake of the Italian company’s post-bankruptcy absorption of Chrysler has not gone as well as CEO Sergio Marchionne had hoped. The diminutive 500 never reached the sales targets expected of it and the larger 500L MPV did even worse. We still have some months to wait before the Miata-derived 124 roadster hits the streets but there is one other Fiat entry that may yet have the potential to be a breakout hit, subcompact crossover 500X.

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Tesla has a factory full of shiny equipment and next week we'll probably see a styling buck of its next car that may or may not be able to move on its own power

Tesla has a factory full of shiny equipment and next week we'll probably see a styling buck of its next car that may or may not be able to move on its own power. Meanwhile I saw a prototype +Chevrolet Bolt on the roads near my home a couple of weeks ago and pilot production cars are now going down the assembly line in Orion, Mich.


After driving a couple of different +

After driving a couple of different +Ford Motor Company Explorers in the past month, I have some thoughts on the matter

2016 Ford Explorer Platinum – Looking More Like a Range Rover – Sam’s Thoughts
Over the course of its first 25 years, the Ford Explorer has had quite a roller coaster ride. It got off to a strong start in the original SUV wave of the 1990s eventually hit peak sales of more than 445,000 in 2000 before starting a decade of mostly steady decline. By 2009 when the …


2016 Ford Explorer Platinum – Looking More Like a Range Rover

2016 Ford Explorer Platinum - 3 of 33Over the course of its first 25 years, the Ford Explorer has had quite a roller coaster ride. It got off to a strong start in the original SUV wave of the 1990s eventually hit peak sales of more than 445,000 in 2000 before starting a decade of mostly steady decline. By 2009 when the shine was almost entirely off of the SUV in the depths of the great recession, Ford moved barely 52,000 Explorers. In 2011, Ford rebooted the whole concept, dumping the long-running body-on-frame layout for a car based unibody and it’s been smiles ever since. Fresh off a mid-cycle refresh, nearly 250,000 Explorers found a home last year, second only to the compact Escape. I spent a week with the new top-of-the-line Platinum edition and have some thoughts to share.

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