midsize sedan


First Drive: 2016 Nissan Altima

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While auto industry observers seem to be fixated on the idea that crossover utility vehicles are taking over the entire market, the reality is that in America, the midsize sedan segment is still huge and vitally important to mainstream brands. For Nissan, Honda, Toyota, Kia and Hyundai, midsize sedans are their top sellers and even at Ford and Fiat Chrysler, they trail only full-size pickup trucks. With so many sales on the line, no one can afford to stand still and Nissan is launching a major refresh of the Altima for 2016 that brings new style, technology and efficiency.

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The 2016 Chevrolet Malibu Should be a Serious Midsize Player, up to 48 mpg

cq5dam.web.1280.1280There was a period in my lifetime when General Motors absolutely dominated both car sales overall and midsize cars in particular. The Oldsmobile Cutlass was the Toyota Camry of its era and the Chevrolet Malibu wasn’t far behind. While it’s unlikely that the Malibu is going to unseat Toyota’s perennial sales leader any time soon, the all-new 2016 edition is Chevrolet’s best shot at breaking back into the top five in many years.

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2015 Hyundai Sonata Eco – You’ve Come a Long Way

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Growing up in Canada in the 1970s and 1980s was a bit peculiar for someone that would ultimately become a gearhead like me. In those days, automotive emissions and safety regulations were not as stringent as the corresponding American rules. The Canadian auto market has long been about one-tenth the size of the south of the border and in those days it took on something of the flavor of the minor leagues.

Sure we had access to all the major league players like Ford, Chrysler, GM, Toyota, Datsun and the Europeans but we also had some up and coming players that were honing their skills in a less demanding league, others that were in their waning years and on the way out, and some just plain oddballs like TVR. We even had access to 12-cylinder Ferraris and Lamborghinis that were only available via the grey market in the U.S.

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2015 Mazda6 Touring – A Sedan Saving the Stick

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The 2015 Mazda6 represents an endangered species. Don’t worry, Mazda is in no immediate danger of going defunct, in fact it’s currently in a real renaissance period. What makes this particular car a dying breed is the fully manual gearbox.

For the 2015 model year, the number of midsize sedans available in America with a three pedal layout has dropped by nearly half. Both the Ford Fusion and Hyundai Sonata have lost their stick shift options as a result of extreme customer apathy, leaving only the 6, the VW Passat and the Honda Accord.

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2015 Chrysler 200C V6, Finally a Real Midsize Competitor

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When Chrysler unveiled the new 2015 200 midsize sedan at the Detroit Auto Show last January, the team from Auburn Hills was clearly trying to expunge the final remnants of the company’s lost decade under first Daimler and then private equity ownership. Chrysler’s new mainstream family sedan was certainly a huge leap forward from its disappointing predecessor in the aesthetic department, but could it compete with the class leaders from Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai and Ford? The only way to find out was to drive one.

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