Chevy Aveo LT Review

Scroll to bottom of review for update.TireKicker Phrase I Never Expected To Write #1:"The Chevy Aveo is a good car. It's worth a look, a test drive and possibly a place in your driveway or garage."If they gave a "Most Improved Player" award to cars, the new Aveo would win it, hands-down.I'll get to how good the '09 Aveo is in a second, but here's what it had to overcome: Raised on the somewhat snarky automotive writings of David E. Davis, Jr., Jean (Lindamood) Jennings, John Phillips, P.J. O'Rourke and others, I've got a smart-aleck streak in me (okay, it was there before I ever picked up a car magazine). After testing the first Aveo five years...

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Ford Focus SES Coupe Review

I began my automotive journalism career 12 years ago this fall by testing a small Ford coupe that impressed me more than I expected. So it's kind of appropriate that this, the 150th TireKicker post (first anniversary is August 24), is also about a small Ford coupe that impressed me more than I expected.The Ford Focus has been a bit of a disappointment simply because there's a better one being sold in Europe. But there are two bits of good news: We'll be getting the Euro Focus (or something very close to it) in a year or two...and the American version is being constantly improved and refined in the meantime.The SES I drove had a 2 liter DOHC four,...

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Ford Transit Connect Review

Is this the future of small business vehicles in America?It is if enough florists, caterers, handymen, plumbers and electricians decide they don't really need full-size pickups and vans.The Ford Transit Connect has sold 600,000 copies in 58 countries since 2003. Now, Ford brings it to the USA.Selling points? A low base price...starting at $20,780.Fuel economy....EPA estimates are 22 city/25 highway.Innovative technology....more on which later.The interior is more Focus than F-150...but it's roomy and especially well put together.In work vehicles, it's what's in back that counts...and thanks to a low load floor and tall roofline, the Transit Connect...

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Toyota FJ Cruiser Review

If this were Jalopnik, the headline above would no doubt be something like "Honky Tonka" (Well, maybe not Jalopnik...their heads tend to be longer and more ironic).After all, that's what the FJ Cruiser has been for the three years it's been around...a real-life, full-scale Tonka Truck.But that's about to end. Toyota has said there won't be a next generation FJ...there's no assurance it will live beyond the 2010 model year.My take is that the FJ got a bad rap. Being a large scale, in-your-face SUV, a lot of people have lumped it into the same genre as Hummers...and they couldn't be more wrong.The FJ is actually a fairly economical vehicle...with...

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Jalopnik's Graverobber Swings For The Bleachers

Jalopnik has a fun regular feature, "Nice Price or Crack Pipe", in which readers debate whether a used vehicle offered for sale (usually on eBay or Craigslist) is worth the asking price. The contributing writer usually gets a few clever lines in, but Graverobber has outdone himself with today's entry about a 1985 Dodge 600 Convertible with a price tag of $15,000. And yes, there's a definite P.J. O'Rourke influence at work he...

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Car and Driver: Texting While Driving

Not a day goes by that I don't see some fool text messaging at the wheel (and my commute is at 3:30 AM and 12 Noon...imagine the target-rich environment of rush hour).Anyone with a brain (which apparently doesn't include the above-mentioned multi-taskers) knows it's dangerous. But how dangerous?Well, the guys at Car and Driver broke out the instruments and measured texting while driving against driving under the influence of alcohol.Please, watch this video. And if you have ever texted while driving, don't ever do it aga...

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Patrick Bedard Retires from Car and Driver

Patrick Bedard just announced (in print, in the August issue of Car and Driver) that he's retiring. August is his last column.Damn.In 41 years at C/D, Bedard could be counted on to tell it straight...even (make that especially) the stuff you didn't want to hear. Like how the automotive air bag is the first "safety device" in history to have a warning label saying that properly used, the device can cause death.He called BS on a number of things that needed it...shortened yellow light times that started showing up when red light cameras did...incessant and insane attempts at regulation...I'd need a while to fill out the list. Simply put, if it...

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Toyota Prius Review

Cult cars can be a lot of fun. For one thing, they're instant conversation starters.And no matter what you say, the 2010 Toyota Prius is a cult car. A big cult, to be sure, but a cult nonetheless...with the faithful believing everyone should drive them and an equally passionate resistance trying to set the English-language record for the number of times the word "smug" can be used in a single sentence.But back to the conversation starter thing...having just handed the Prius back to Toyota yesterday following a week at the wheel...there are a handful of core questions everyone asks:How many miles per gallon does it get?How much money does it cost?Is...

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