Let me say right off the bat that I'm not a pickup truck kind of guy. My personal vehicle preference pretty much runs the gamut of German luxury cars from A to B. Well actually, A to M-B. The best new car I drove in 2000 was the BMW 530i. The...
The outgoing 5 series, launched in 1989, itself was no slouch, a benchmark luxury-performance sedan continually improved such that seven years into its lifespan it still was judged an industry standard. The '97 is larger (wheelbase, at 111.4 ins...
American Metal Market says BMW AG is ahead of Ford Motor Co. in developing powder metal-type metal matrix composite cylinder sleeves for aluminum engine blocks. The sleeves are lighter than conventional cast-iron liners. If development work is...
Job One for Chrysler Corp.'s redesigned 1997 Dakota is July 19 and Bob Eaton's (Lutz's, too) boys are assertive about the new truck's looks -- and its role in a segment that's shrunken markedly in the last few years.No need to look further than...
Oblivious to one of the Midwest's nastiest winters in memory, our long-term test cars didn't stop rolling for even a day.Ford Motor Co.'s stupefyingly agile Contour SE and Mazda Motor Corp.s' surprisingly complete Millenia S both feature top-notch...
The year 2000 has been an up-and-down period for Ford Motor Co.'s Irvine, CA-based LincolnMercury Division. But, the unit's general marketing manager, Jim Rogers, says 2001 should be more up than down with the addition of a new Mercury Mountaineer...
BMW AG's segment-defining sport sedans and roadsters are getting a little extra pep, along with a new addition to the family in '01 Uprated, larger-displacement engines are this year's story, as BMW seeks to uphold it's traditional powertrain...
The model year has hardly begun and already Porsche is sold out of its new 911 Turbo, despite a base price of $115,000. Is this a great economy or what?Actually, that price is a bargain for a genuine "supercar:" 415 hp, 0-to-60 mph in 4 seconds...
Driving habits and fuel prices will be the significant drivers determining volume production of hybrid-powered vehicles, says John Wormald of autoPOLIS at the recent Hybrid 2000 Conference in Windsor, Ont.A simple formula indicates U.S. citizens...