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San Francisco: A
lot of people are looking for inexpensive, economical commuter cars
these days. Just about every automaker offers at least one. The Rio is
that car from Kia, and the Rio5 adds utility to what is usually a bland
sedan. The Rio5 is a small, cute, 4-door hatchback, almost a mini-wagon.
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 2007
Kia Rio5
San Francisco: The
Chevy Cobalt SS is a fairly smart looking car. Its nip-and-tuck styling
helps its driving feel and a conspicuous gauge on the driver's front
pillar is the most obvious sign that you're sitting in a
high-performance version of Chevy's Cobalt economy car.
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2007
Chevy Cobalt
San Francisco: This
car’s driving feel matches its aggressive body styling. The Mazda6 adds
a new bargain-oriented model called the i Sport Value
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2007 Mazda6 i Sport
San Francisco: The
most distinctive car Chevy makes is probably the Corvette. But if you’re
looking for something more practical and a lot less expensive, but still
fun, try the HHR. And with OnStar you receive a portfolio of useful and
life-saving features.
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2007
Chevrolet HHR
San Francisco: Hyundai's
new two-door Accent looks good, considering its cheap price. It starts
at under $11,000 for a basic, stripped-down model, and it’s around
$14,000 for one with more goodies.
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2007 Hyundai Accent
San Francisco:
I get to drive a lot of new vehicles
every year, maybe not one a week, but probably 40 or so a year. So it’s
hard not to get jaded, or to think that every car, truck, and SUV I
drive is great. Heck, when your personal transportation is a 1986 Toyota
Celica even the most basic new car is pure luxury. But every so often a
car comes along that just blows me away.
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2007
Nissan Sentra
San Francisco: A
founding principle of General Motors was to supply a car for every
financial level of buyer, and then work those customers up through the
system. So, if you could snag a young motorist with modest means into
your Chevrolet showroom, you could eventually sell them a Pontiac, an
Oldsmobile and then a Buick on the way up to a Cadillac when they made
their fortune.
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2007 Chevrolet Aveo
San Francisco: Parents
of teenagers will hate hearing this. So will corporate auditors,
preachers, tax accountants and federal prosecutors. But sometimes - just
sometimes - a person has to break the rules if they want to succeed.
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2007 Dodge Nitro SLT
San Francisco: SUVs
were once the hot new thing, but their sales have cooled off
dramatically now that everyone knows high gas prices are here to stay.
It's a problem, though, because families' tastes haven't changed. People
still want lots of space, a high ride height, G.I. Joe styling and the
stability of four-wheel drive, only without an eye-popping bill at the
pump. Suzuki thinks it's found a solution.
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below for Full Article
2007 Suzuki SX4
San Francisco: When
gas spiked at well over $3.00 per gallon many commuters started looking
around for more economical transportation. The Japanese automakers saw
the need and quickly re-engineered vehicles not originally intended for
North America in order to fill this need. One of the most prominent was
the Honda Fit.
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for Full Article
2007 Honda FIT
San Francisco:
Like the love child of a Durango and a
hatchback, the 2007 Dodge Caliber is surprisingly stylish, roomy and
innovative for its price. It combines the practicality of a minivan with
the efficiency of an economy car.
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for Full Article
2006 Dodge Caliber
San Francisco:
A huge rear wing and loud exhaust note make the
2006 Chevy Cobalt SS Supercharged coupe seem like it was designed for a
teenager. Still, it drives wonderfully and offers lots of speed for the
money.
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for Full Article
2006 Chevy Cobalt SS
San Francisco: The
Honda Element is the only SUV of its kind. This unique vehicle combines
a relatively modest length with huge carrying capacity, mini-Hummer
looks, limousine-length rear seating, and some eye-popping colors for
some motoring fun with a practical streak.
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below for Full Article
2006 Honda Element
This Week's SUV Article:
San Francisco: You'd
be hard pressed to notice the difference, but Chrysler's PT Cruiser got
a facelift for 2006. The new headlights look like a biology lesson on
cell division, but the car remains unchanged in spirit.
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for Full Article
2006 PT Cruiser
San Francisco: The
Honda Civic remains one of the most popular cars in America. Folks love
Civics for their rock solid reliability, and many serve commute duty.
But if you want one of the most exciting popular cars in the U.S., you
need to check out the Si model.
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2006 Honda Civic Si
San Francisco: It's nearly a quarter
century since VW unleashed its first pocket rocket on an unsuspecting
but soon to be thrilled world. Back in 1983, the GTI combined driving
excitement, reasonable price, and everyday practicality, and today, it
still does.
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2006 VW GTI
San Francisco:
Giddy, excited, eager, awakened, inspired. There aren’t many things that
will make a mid-30s man spew adjectives like these. Winning the lottery
and finding the perfect bargain on eBay are a few examples but not much
else. These are just a few of those little wonders of this adult life
that make it all seem worthwhile. That is, until you get behind the
wheel of a sports car of top caliber.
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for Full Article
2006 Pontiac GTO
San Francisco:
Several years ago, Honda management asked
itself, what do young people want? We know nothing of their actual
thoughts, but the result was the Element, a four-wheel-drive on-road
adventurer that combines hauling practicality with a comfortable ride
and distinctive styling. It is minimalist yet lacks little.
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for Full Article
2005
Honda Element
San Francisco:
The 2005 Suzuki Reno is truly a World Car.
Suzuki is Japan’s fourth largest automaker. The Reno was designed by
Italdesign in Italy, and the car is built by Daewoo in Korea.
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for Full Article
2005
Suzuki Reno
San Francisco: Amid
the vast seas of compact vehicles vying for your attention, it’s easy to
lose sight of the worthy Suzuki Aerio. Built like a minivan but more
like a tall station wagon, it offers superb value and amenities. I’m
convinced that if more people knew the Aerio existed, many more of the
little cars would be cruising American roads.
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below for Full Article
2005 Suzuki Aerio
San Francisco: Ford’s Focus has been
helping the corporation’s bottom line by offering interesting and
economical motoring at the bottom of the company’s product line.
Originally designed as a European car with worldwide applications, the
Focus is built for Americans at Hermosillo, Mexico, or Wayne, Michigan.
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2005
Ford Focus ST
San Francisco: When I told friends I
was testing the Ford Focus for this week's column, most of them gave me a look of pity as
if to say, "You poor, poor soul." I still don't understand why some people look
down their noses at the little Ford Focus, except because it's so inexpensive that they
figure it can't be any fun to drive. After all, how good can a car be when its starting
price is only about $13,000, minus incentives?
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2004 Ford Focus
San Francisco: The SRT-4 is new for 2003, and is based on the 2000 Neon SRT concept car. The
word "Neon", however, appears nowhere on the 2003 car or in its literature.
That’s probably because the Neon, in its nine years, has been a roomy but
unremarkable econocar. Conversely, the SRT-4 is tricked out with all the stuff you would
add yourself.
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2003 Dodge SRT-4
San Francisco: You’d think that Honda would be satisfied with the youth market it
already has with its popular Civic. Actually, Honda pleases people of all ages. But the
Element is a direct attempt to connect with "Generation Y".
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2003 Honda Element
San Francisco: This sharp little car is an appealing offering for the young, and first time
car buyer. It’s been around for some time now, but gets an update here and there,
just enough to keep it in the running in the crowded sub-compact category.
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2003 Pontiac Sunfire Coupe
San Francisco: Let's face it. Most entry-level cars are basically the same. This automotive
parity is perfect for producing good performance and reliability across all models, but it
doesn't bode well for drivers looking for something different, perhaps a little off the
wall. That's why Saturn exists.
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2003 Saturn ION 3
SAN FRANCISCO: Every once in a while the advertising people
get it right and produce ads that portray the realness of the product they are selling.
The ads for the 2003 Pontiac Vibe showed "real" people on the street that had
just gotten a look at the new Vibe up close and personal. Their reactions varied from
"That’s cool" to "What an awesome car!" And we wholeheartedly
agree.
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2003 Pontiac Vibe
SAN FRANCISCO: Hatchbacks have never been too popular in the United States. Most people seem to
prefer large wagons, an SUV, or a minivan, over smallish economy cars with an increased
carrying capacity, compared to a sedan. Enter the new for 2002 Mazda Protégé.
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2002 Mazda Protege 5
SAN FRANCISCO: The
latest trend in new vehicles is the "crossover" models that attempt to combine
the best features of a small sport utility vehicle and a four-door sedan. Suzuki has
entered this market niche with the all new for 2002 Aerio SX, standing for "Sport
Crossover." Plus there is a traditional sedan version of the Aerio too.
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2002 Suzuki Aerio SX
SAN FRANCISCO:
Finally, there is truth in automotive
packaging. Walking around the 2002 New Beetle Turbo S, you may notice that this bulbous
Bug seems a little edgier, with slightly more aggressive front and rear fascias, and that
its blocky alloy wheels and their low-profile tires hint at a bit more handling panache.
Overall, you get the sense that Volkswagen has endowed this particular Beetle with a
little extra beefiness. That, in a nutshell, is exactly what they did.
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2002 Volkswagen Beetle Turbo S
SAN FRANCISCO: Those
who wanted an inexpensive, basic transportation vehicle, but didn’t want to buy a
used car, originally purchased Hyundai’s. Hyundai is changing that image, first with
its value-packed Santa Fe SUV, and now with the new 2002 Elantra.
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2002 Elantra
SAN FRANCISCO:
In the hilly outreaches of suburban San Francisco, there are many twisty, curvy roads that
beg to be driven. Hard. The car of choice might be a Corvette or one of the many expensive
sports cars on the market today. But if you, like many of us, can't afford one of these,
then a drive in the new-for-2001 Honda Civic EX will give you a taste of what else is out
there. Honestly, the only thing smoking during this road test was nothing but tires.
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2001 Honda Civic EX
SAN FRANCISCO:
Our test drive this week is Volkswagen’s New Beetle GLS, a design the German car
builder re-introduced to waiting consumers back in 1998. Although the car’s exterior
evokes a DejaVu experience linked to the original, rear-engined "buzzer" we grew
to love, it’s actually a safe, completely different and well-built version. The
result is a Beetle that not only supersedes the original in all areas, it can be downright
fast, too.
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2001 VW Beetle GLS
SAN FRANCISCO: Chrysler is credited with "inventing" the tall car - short truck
minivan in the mid 1980s. Now it has introduced another unique vehicle with the PT Cruiser
that is part car, part truck for the 2001 model year. PT stands for Personal
Transportation and it is basically the same vehicle that debuted as the Pronto Cruizer at
the 1998 Geneva Auto Show. With rave reviews from the public, Chrysler wisely decided to
put it into production.
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2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser
SAN FRANCISCO: With automobile clean burning engine laws already in
effect, car manufacturers are scurrying to produce workable, mass-produced electric cars.
Well, somewhat.
Several companies have rolled out electric prototypes, but only two manufacturers have
successfully brought to market viable entities, namely Toyota and Honda. Toyota is selling
its four-passenger Prius, while Honda concentrates on its Insight, a sportier two-seater
vehicle and the subject of this week's test drive.
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2000 Honda Insight
SAN FRANCISCO: Who
would have thought that peace and love would get tough? I mean, I was there. VW Beetles
were what we drove. Power to the people! Yeah, right on. So what if they were slow? Hey
man, we’re not into your middle class, American, chrome studded boats!
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2000 VW 1.8T Turbo Beetle
San Francisco: I was off
to San Francisco to check out the new Beetle this past month, just as I came back to
California. I never thought of myself as prejudiced until that day. I was eager - not to
like it. After all, the original was my history; I destroyed a gearbox learning to drive
in that car. My 1965 Beetle gave me a golden pass to the "Summer of Love".
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'99 VW Beetle
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