We got an interesting invitation in our mailbox recently.

We were invited to Lordstown, Ohio, home of the Chevrolet Cruze, to tour the plant and take a spin and look-see at Chevy’s new pride and joy.

After spending some time behind the wheel, we think “pride and joy” will be well-chosen words this time next year.  A head to head comparison between the Cruze and the Toyota Corolla, as well as the Honda Civic revealed that the Cruze is likely to give …

  Boxy, sexy, lavish and cool, small cars are big these days.
But in the midst of it all, one small car that really hasn’t changed that much in awhile just keeps right on going, winning friends, never mind all that trendy stuff that other companies are doing.
  

We’re talking about none other than the humble little Toyota Corolla, a sales champ for years and probably the most important car in Toyota’s lineup behind Camry and maybe Prius.

No, the Corolla isn’t glamorous …

Ford’s Explorer, an indestructible icon for the company, may be a game changer both for the Blue Oval gang and for the SUV market as a whole, officials there say.
The new Explorer will take the current negative image of the suv market as being full of gas guzzlers and turn it on its head, they add.
“We are reinventing this vehicle. We are challenging the public. The biggest cause of rejection for SUVs is the perception of poor fuel economy. But …

Just about everything you’ve heard about the all new Ford Fiesta is true.
It’s a diamond.  

Anyone who doesn’t consider it when buying a small car is out of their minds, and likely to be profoundly disappointed when they buy something else and see a Fiesta later.

No, it’s not perfect. No car is.

It still has a way to go in the interior room department, its interior is not as functional and flexible as its primary competition, the Honda Fit. And its dual …

The action for 2011 is–surprisingly–going to be pretty hot and heavy in the sport utility/crossover market.

And one of the products that promises to be right in the thick of things is–again, not surprisingly–Ford’s all-new 2011 Explorer, which has been redesigned from stem to stern to face an ever more competitive market.

It will join Jeep’s all new 2011 Grand Cherokee and we believe at least four or five other brands in the SUV/crossover market. Already this year, we have seen an …

The new Chrysler is off to a rip-roaring start with an  all-new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee that just about everyone agrees is a huge step forward when compared to its predecessor.

Not that you won’t recognize it. The all new chiseled, angular shape still looks precisely like a Jeep, and it shares quite a bit of styling flavor with several recent Jeep concepts.

You’ll also likely be wowed by a new dual-pane panoramic sun roof , called CommandView, that reaches from the …

Volkswagen’s turning a dramatic new page with the all new 2011 Jetta, billing the car as a way to get German style, engineering and content at a decent starting price–around $16,000, company officials said.

Volkswagen’s turning a dramatic new page with the all new 2011 Jetta, billing the car as a way to get German style, engineering and content at a decent starting price–around $16,000, company officials said.

The new Jetta, which goes on sale in October here, sure looks like it …

For ages, the auto industry has been afflicted with ‘me too syndrome” when it comes to styling and design.

Just as soon as one car company launches a successful styling departure from the norm, eve4ryone rushes to copy it, and before long, we are awash in designs that look an awful lot like each other.

During the 1960s,. everybody clamored for a two door coupe with a “Thunderbird” roofline. The 1970s heralded a race to opera window heaven. The 1980s brought us …

 So you want to be among the first to own a Chevrolet Volt?

Unless you live in four places –California, Washington, D.C., Austin,

Texas and the New York Metropolitan area, better call a moving van first.

Chevrolet plans to build 10,000 Volts by the end of the 2011 calendar year, and an additional 30,000 Volts during the 2012 calendar year.

According to Chevrolet Volt Marketing Director Tony DiSalle,  the first Volts available for retail sales will be sold in California, Washington, D.C., Austin, Texas …

Mopar is a storied name in the annals of automotive history.

Mopar,  Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand, has long been identified with the specialized bits and pieces for those who drove and raced Chrysler’s legendary muscle cars in the halcyon days of American iron.

Now, some of the magic of the name is being transferred to a very special car–the Mopar ‘10 Dodge Challenger. Chyrysler will build 500 of the special edition cars.

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The Mopar ’10 is a “Mopar modified” …