Nik J Miles

Archive for the ‘Cars’ Category

By Barbara Schaffer

Austin, Texas — There’s an old adage that says, “Put your best foot forward”, and that’s exactly what Chevrolet is doing with the introduction of the new Malibu.  With gasoline pumps becoming all too familiar with the $4 a gallon gasoline, the Chevy planners are sending out the fuel-sipping Malibu Eco first as an introduction to the all-new Malibu lineup.  After all, who can argue with a gasoline powered midsize sedan getting fuel economy of 25 mpg city and 37 mpg highway.

Chevrolet is also expanding their market with the new Malibu; it will be the first midsize sedan sold globally in nearly 100 countries.

“The Malibu Eco is a smart choice for customers who want a great looking car inside and out with excellent fuel economy, but without the higher price of some hybrid sedans,” said Russ Clark, director of Chevrolet marketing. “In short, it’s an incredible value.” Read the rest of this entry »

By Barbara & Bill Schaffer

Toyota may have gone through the wringer the last year or two with recalls, earthquakes and Tsunamis, but if the new generation Camry is any indication, the company is better than ever.

The Camry may have been the number one selling car in the U.S. for the last nine years, but it has never had a strong emotional appeal for us.  It’s a great car, and probably one of the best cars built, but from a styling standpoint, it was like – vanilla — in a world of chocolate ripple and Chunky Monkey.  In fact, if we are not mistaken, Toyota invented vanilla. Read the rest of this entry »

By Barbara & Bill Schaffer

           For years we’ve been advocating the expanded use of diesel engine in cars, but every time we bring the subject up to someone, other than the owner of a diesel-powered car or another automotive journalist, we get a that strange ‘you are kidding’ look.

Most people seem to still associate “diesel” with the noisy, dirty, rough sounding pickup trucks they sit next to at stop lights, or behind in drive-thru lanes.  On the other hand, maybe people still remember the ugly diesel-powered cars from the 80’s.

Today’s diesel powered cars are amazing.  They are clean, quiet, powerful and the fuel economy is amazing, even with the higher price of diesel fuel. Read the rest of this entry »

By Barbara Schaffer

Monterey Bay, Calif. – People often ask me what my favorite car is out of the hundred or so I drive each year?’  The one that most often comes to mind is the Infiniti G37.  Over the years, the mid-size luxury sedan has impressed me with its high level of quality, styling, performance and value and it just keep getting better and better and like everything else the price moves up.

In 2011, Infiniti added a less expensive version called the G25.  It’s identical in features to the exceptional G37.  The only difference is the smaller 2.5-liter V-6 engine, which has about one third less power (218-hp vs. 328-hp) than the 3.7-liter V-6 in the G37 and the price is $2,400 less.

I recently spent a week driving the G25 Journey, which is the middle of the trim levels available.  It is also available in the base and theG25x, the all-wheel version.  The Journey has all the same features as the G25x except for the AWD model, which is an additional $1,600 more. Read the rest of this entry »

By Barbara Schaffer

There are certain areas of the country that I am familiar with, for example the Bay Area in California and Portland, Oregon, where there seems to be an overabundance of the Toyota Prius hybrids.  I guess that’s to be expected with more than 2.5 million of them sold worldwide.

With gas prices on a rise again, the idea of getting 40 or 50 miles per gallon or better continues to have a strong appeal for many new car shoppers.

To take advantage of the Prius popularity and the prices, Prius planners added two new models in 2011, the larger Prius V Liftback and the super-efficient Prius Plug-In.  Now early in 2012, they have added a fourth Prii, the Prius c, with the “c” standing for city. Read the rest of this entry »

By Barbara & Bill Schaffer

Look up the definition of a charger and you get everything from a football player to a decorative plate for a fancy table setting to a full-size Dodge sedan.

The Dodge Charger itself even comes in nine variations including SE, SXT, SXT Plus, R/T, R/T Plus, R/T Road & Track, R/T Max, SRT8® and SRT8 Super Bee.  Each model provides a different experience to fit nearly every budget and driving style.  The diverse lineup gets an exciting drivetrain offering too, with a new state of the art V-6, a Hemi V-8, and the SRT8 Hemi.

The V-8 engine (and the base SE V-6) is hooked up with a five-speed automatic transmission with manual shifting Auto Stick shift linkage, but the STX versions with the V-6 engine get the efficient new ZF brand eight-speed automatic. Read the rest of this entry »

Atlanta – After spending time in the Chevrolet Cruze locally, we thought it might be a good car for a road trip we planned from Atlanta to Myrtle Beach on the South Carolina coast.  Often small cars are not comfortable for extended trips, but the Cruze is a nice comfortable size, very economical and has all the conveniences that make extended time in the car more pleasant.

A week and nearly one-thousand miles later, we were fans of the mid-size sedan.  Obviously, we aren’t the only ones, either.  Worldwide the Cruze has become the best-selling Chevrolet car.

From first glance, the Cruze gets high marks for styling; fronted by the signature split Chevy family grille with the gold bowtie logo.  We like that look, which Chevy designers have integrated nicely on all but the specialty performance cars in the lineup.  From the side, Cruze styling is simple and clean with a slight wedge, simple wheel arches all topped by a smooth sweeping roofline. Read the rest of this entry »

By Barbara & Bill Schaffer

Not too many years ago, it was popular to brandish the famous advertising slogan, “It’s not your father’s Oldsmobile”.  However, buyers must have liked their father’s Oldsmobile better, because they did not buy enough of the new ones and of course, a few years later the 107-year old brand was buried.

Buick was on similar shaky ground in the 1990’s and 2000’s  but for some reason, the brand found a home in the Chinese market and the brand was revised, upgraded, polished, molded and remade into a remarkable brand with, a still limited, but very impressive offering – Enclave, LaCrosse, Regal and Verano.  Now Buick is having a renaissance in the U.S. market. Read the rest of this entry »

“Toyota Prius c brings Hybrid Synergy Drive to subcompact market”

Since the first generation Prius made its appearance just over fourteen years ago, more than two million Prius vehicles have been sold globally,986 percent of which are still on the road, and Toyota has continued to evolve the iconic hybrid by introducing significant new model variants, while ever improving and enhancing existing models.

Read the rest of this entry »

“BMW’s Sixth Gen 3-Series: All new – but pleasingly so”

Familiarity Breeds content

                                                            328i

Monterey, CA.- As usual, BMW has gone and improved an existing series to the point where it seems to surpass, or at the very least, to equal, the Series lineup above it. If that’s confusing, simply stated, the 6^th generation 3-Series is all-new, yet is on a par with, if not better than earlier 5-Series models. Technically, the 2012 stable of 3-Series vehicles might well be termed the 61/2 or seventh generation, if one were to include the iconic 1600 and 2002 models.

Read the rest of this entry »