New Ride: Subaru Crosstrek

I traded in my super economical Honda Fit in favor of a safer, sturdier ride. A Subaru Crosstrek.

It's smooth and comfortable, on the inside. While from the outside it's badass thanks to masculine lines and unique tough looking hub caps/wheels.

It runs on regular gasoline and has comparable mpg to the fit, while featuring responsive AWD. And a very healthy steering and turning radius. Love it!

Americans Buying Greener Cars

Just ran into a neat post from Popular Mechanics (In February, Americans Bought Greener Cars than Ever Before), talking about how many more "green" cars Americans bought in the month of February 2014.

There's no real definition of what a "green" car is, but the first paragraph does say "more efficient cars" so I guess that's what this is referring to. The combined EPA city/highway mpg rating for these cars was 25.2 mpg.

Check the article out for two cool charts.

January Auto Show Roundup

The Washington Post website pushed out a great gallery of photos captured at this year's Washington DC Auto Show. Check it out.

Meanwhile, the Robb Report posts about the Detroit Auto Show's many luxury vehicles to tantalize your automotive taste buds. While MLive claims that more than 700K attendees crashed the show on the very first day. The Economist says that this year it's all about muscle at Detroit, in stark contrast to  last year's focus on eco-friendliness.

The Houston Chronicle teases that Detroit's best previews will be available at the Houston Auto Show.

Meanwhile, Chicago is gearing up for its own Show where size matters.

America's Safest Cars

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety put out more restrictive criteria/tests for automobiles in 2013-2014.

For one, they added their difficult-to-reach "top safety pick+" category in 2012, which includes the "small overlap test" which crashes the left quarter of the car against a stationary object at 40 mph to duplicate an often seen crash in the real world. This test is meant to see what happens when the front corners of two vehicles collide, or when a vehicle collides against a utility pole or tree.

A lot of car owners were left in the lurch this Q1 2014, as many cars that in the past have been in the IIHS' safe car or top pick categories were left off the list altogether (including my vehicle, the Honda Fit) thanks to these more stringent requirements and testing.

However, it's important to keep in mind two factors when forming an opinion about these tests and criteria:

1. they are meant to reflect real life crashes and the danger imposed on the driver/passengers should any of these happen
2. and secondly, what is the frequency or likelihood of one of these crashes happening to the driver/being caused by the driver

For more about the IIHS' America's Safest Cars and to see a list of the IIHS' top safety picks and top safety pick+ vehicles, see the MSN Autos article.

According to the article, 130 vehicles made the IIHS lists in 2013, while only 39 made it on this year. This poses a few questions about the reliability of past IIHS tests, and questions about why they opted to become so much more stringent this year.

Only four Toyotas made the list (not the Corolla) and none included the luxury Lexus brand. On the other hand, Honda has more models on the list than any other manufacturer, with a total of eight models which included the luxury Acura brand.

The New Status Car Might Be Tesla

photo borrowed from Crain's article, credit: Kendall Karmanian

Tesla has become the new status car among many top executives who I interact with for work.

And this was just reinforced by an article I just spotted on my Facebook feed by Crain's Chicago Business (The new status car: Tesla).

What I've heard first hand is that people are liking the physical appearance of the vehicles, as well as the ability to peruse the company's offerings while at the shopping mall, since most of the company's retail presence is in higher-end shopping centers (my nearest one is in Oak Brook Shopping Center in Oak Brook, Illinois). Folks are fascinated by the fact that you can turn the car on while in an enclosed space because there are zero emissions.

Many folks are probably also captivated by the uniqueness of having an all-electric vehicle which is brand new on the market, and so the perception would be that a buyer would be in the "first adopter" category instantaneously by driving one of these cars down their posh neighborhood street.

Many top executives are probably playing around with the idea of being seen as socially responsible by going for an "environmentally friendly" electric vehicle with no emissions. Never mind that most of the electric power is probably coming from a nuclear plant nearby...Personally, I think the Model S resembles the new Jaguars and Porsche Panameras quite a bit, which are anyway cars that are targeted to this particular demographic in the first place. These are solid sedans (or saloons like the British call them) with sleek lines and fully loaded interiors.

It will be interesting to see how many conservative top execs actually start driving these around town. I'll be keeping an eye out for the upcoming Model X, which is their SUV model.

NYTimes Coverage of Detroit Auto Show

There are so many Tom, Dick, and Harrys out there covering the Detroit Auto Show, that there's a confusion of options to keep abreast of the hottest happenings and launches. That's why I prefer the New York Times' Autos section, which cleanly and crisply outlines the major newsbytes for me.

I'm not being lazy, honest, but time is money. So, at the NY Times Autos section, I just scroll on down and check out anything that pops out at me--like this interesting bit about the 2014 Nissan Versa Note hatchback redesign.

Can't beat the NYTimes' neatness and orderly pursuit of layout, for easy auto news browsing.

The Most and Least Expensive Cars to Insure

Insure.com came up with a great list of most and least expensive vehicles to insure.

I was actually surprised so see Jeeps on the list, because I remember my parents' premiums were rather high in the 90s when we first bought our Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Top five least expensive:

1	Ford Edge SE	4	$     1,128
2	Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo	6	$     1,148
3	Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium	4	$     1,150
4	Kia Sportage	4	$     1,157
5	Jeep Patriot Sport	4	$     1,160

Top five most expensive:

1	Mercedes-Benz CL600	12	$     3,357
2	Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG	12	$     3,330
3	Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG	8	$     3,221
4	Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG	12	$     3,207
5	Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG	8	$     3,184

I can tell there won't be a Mercedes in my future any time soon ha!

Global Fuel Prices

Here in the US we always complain that the gas prices get pretty unreasonable, but it's nothing compared to other countries.

There's as great post on Car and Driver today (Global Gouging: A Survey of Fuel Prices Around the World) showing that Northern and Western Europe and Belize are gouging their fuel-using customers.

2014 Nissan GT-R

It's no gentleman, but quite a looker. Find out all the specs on the NYTimes.

EPA's Greenest List

MSN Autos just posted an article about the EPA's Greenest Cars list (EPA Designates Most Energy-Efficient Cars by Claire Martin).

The article's first paragraph elicited a chuckle with its subtle leger a main: it names three of the cars (Honda Civic Hybrid w 44 mpge, Toyota Prius w 51 mpge city, Chevy Volt w 62 mpge highway) I would definitely think would be at the top of the EPA list, and announces that they're actually located towards the bottom of the list!

Good reading to get better acquainted with the brands and vehicles that are making the most mileage conscious vehicles out there, right now.

What's Your State's Favorite Car?

Yes that's a little bit of an odd question to ask. But MSN Autos went ahead and asked it anyway, or at least, they researched the answer (What's the Most Popular Car in Your State?).

Some of the cars that one usually thinks are most popular across the country, are listed for each of the states.

I was a little surprised to see the Ford Fusion for the state I live in, Illinois, since I honestly can't say I see many of those. I do see many Honda Odysseys and Toyotas, even a few Jettas. Not many Fusions though.

How about your state? Did you agree with the car they selected?

Historic Fuel Efficiency Standards

Great infographic borrowed from Fast Lane Blog

Today, DOT and the Environmental Protection Agency are finalizing national standards for fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions for passenger cars and light trucks built in the years 2017 through 2025. (Historic fuel efficiency standards for cars, light trucks will save families money, reduce emissions).

Can I get a big, hell yea, from everyone? It's about time.

The Most Stolen Late-Model Cars in America

It looks like MSN Autos got some flack from readers that the last list of most-stolen cars featured ancient vehicles. They've just put out a "late model" list (The Most Stolen Late-Model Cars in America) for those of us only really interested in cars produced in the last three years.

Top Stolen Cars

When making the decision to purchase a car, many individuals can focus on a variety of criteria: upkeep, social status, total cost to own, gasoline mileage, cargo capacity, is it expensive to insure, etc. One other important criteria should be whether the car is whether the car will likely be stolen for parts or for a collector.

MSN Autos put out a yearly list of top stolen cars in the USA (America's 10 Most Stolen Vehicles), and the list pretty much runs down as follows:

• 1994 Nissan Sentra
• 2002 Ford Explorer
• 2004 Dodge Pickup
• 1999 Chevrolet Pickup
• 1994 Acura Integra
• 2000 Dodge Caravan
• 1991 Toyota Camry
• 2006 Ford Pickup
• 1998 Honda Civic
• 1994 Honda Accord

Surprised to see any of these on the list? 

As cars are redesigned and parts become harder to come by, it's no surprise to me that many older, trusty models are going to be in demand to help fill in the parts and service market gap. 

Smaller Engines for Fuel Efficiency

It's a no brainer that a V4 is going to suck less gas than a V6 or a V8. But what about power? Many of us aren't ready to give up acceleration when the light turns green. Well, apparently, our dear beloveds up at the major manufacturers are rethinking the smaller engine so it still pushes out some power.

Ford, for example is touting its EcoBoost line of engines. According to an article, (Ford Promotes Power of Smaller Engines by Jerry Hirsch, Indystar.com) "[t]hey are the 1.6-liter four-cylinder engines going into the new Escape crossover and Fusion family car; the 2-liter four-cylinder that's already in the Edge SUV, its bigger Explorer sibling and the Taurus large sedan; and a 3.5-liter V-6 it is placing in police Interceptors and F-150 pickup trucks."

According to USA Today (Small Engines are Transforming Auto Industry by Mark Phelan), "General Motors and Ford are at the forefront of the trend...offering high-powered small-displacement engines with the likes of Audi, BMW and Volkswagen. Japanese automakers have been slow to join the party, but Korea's Hyundai and Kia are firmly on the bandwagon."

According to Digital Trends (A Smaller Sports Car from Nissan? by Stephen Edelstein),"Downsizing is all the rage in the auto industry. Nissan is contemplating a smaller version of its 370Z, or a second sporty model."

Cars Worth Waiting For?

Gentlemen, start your bank accounts. Car and Driver today teases our automotive salivatory glands by suggesting we just wait and see how great cars will be over the next few years.

In 25 Cars Worth Waiting For, our intreprid Car and Driver writers suggest we keep an eye out for forthcoming deliciousness such as (I'm just picking some random ones here):

• 2015 Bentley SUV
• 2014 Infinity compact hatchback
• 2014 Porsche Macan entry level SUV
• 2013 Nissan Altima
• 2013 Honda Accord
• 2014 Maserati Kubang SUV
• 2013 Ford Fusion
• 2015 Land Rover Defender

What do you think? Some good ones worth waiting (and spending) for? 

Repairing the Auto Show

Graffiti Smart credit Tyler Linner

Great article on Inc. today about how "We Need to Repair the Auto Show" (by John B. Rogers).

The sub-header describes, how, in today's world, spectacle and lighting-fast information has rendered the auto show obsolete. With such a strong interest in engineering and innovation for true engineering and car geeks, the spotlights and car girls leave us wanting more.

Did you know? The first auto show premiered in Madison Square Garden in 1900. People were introduced to horseless carriages.

PTSD at the Wheel

Fascinating and reality-check article on NY Times today (Back From War, Fear and Danger Fill Driver’s Seat by James Dao) about erratic driving on roadways everywhere by post-traumatic stress disordered war veterans.

The 2012 Subaru Impreza

If you love good fuel economy and an all wheel drive, you'll love this bit of news: the 2012 Subaru Impreza is now the most fuel-efficient AWD vehicle sold in the US (New York Times, About That Drinking Problem)

Also: New York Times, Reviewing the Subaru Impreza

Insurance Institute Top Safety Picks

Great summary of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Top Safety Picks on the New York Times Wheels website (Insurance Institute Names a Record Number of Top Safety Picks).

"A record 115 passenger vehicles received the distinction of Top Safety Pick. The list includes 69 cars, 38 S.U.V.’s, five minivans and three pickup trucks, making it fairly easy for consumers to find a vehicle that offered what the institute called a high level of protection in four of the most common types of crashes: front, side, rear and rollover."

Top players are:

• Honda/Acura
• Toyota/Lexus
• Subaru

Surprising fewest cars in the list:

• Nissan
• BMW
• Mazda

Or cut to the chase and read the list from the horse's mouth (IIHS news release).