By Donald Hammonds

Driving Nissan’s 2015 Pathfinder  was a truly eye opening experience for me. It has been a while since I’ve driven a Pathfinder—at least four or five years—, and this new generation model is light years away from the old model. To start with, the appearance was phenomenal.

It’s one of the prettiest, most elegant crossovers on the market. With nicely rounded lines that did not look bulbous, and design hallmarks that make it look a heck of a lot more …

      By Don Hammonds

 Could the 2015 Volkswagen Passat 1.8 SE and its fellow versions of VW’s midsized sedan be the Bentleys of the family car segment?
Could be!
First, they are conservatively elegant. Second, they handle quite well, and are fast in a very subtle sort of way. And they are impeccably put together.  Sound like any  car you kjnow?  Bentleys, of course.
Now, we are not suggesting that the Passat is a good substitute purchase for the Bentley.
But we are saying that each …

By Don Hammonds

Luxury cars these days seem all of a kind to some of our observant eyes. Semi fastback roofline. elongated, horizontal taillights. And increasingly, lots of bling. But there’s t least one classic among us that resolutely gives us another way: The Chrysler 300. Everything about the 300 says classic American luxury.  The sumptuousness of the seats.  The layout of the dashboard. The chromed dual exhaust in the back. The square shouldered, handsomeness of the design itself–you won’t …

By Don Hammonds

If I was to take  road trip back to my hometown under the Gateway Arch–St. Louis–I’d want the 2015 Volkswagen Jetta TDI SE as my four wheeled companion.

Why?  Phenomenal gas mileage. We’d hit the St. Louis riverfront with tons of gas to spare–from Pittsburgh, almost 600 miles behind us.  It’s an incredibly comfortable car with lots of room, so we would arrive there with the family intact with no battle scars from being too close together.

The Jetta TDI …

By Don Hammonds

If we were able to award a prize for the most surprising vehicle for the year so far, it would go to the 2015 Ram Promaster City Wagon. We know that it’s  designed primarily for a commercial crowd, but with its six seats, tons of room behind thhe back seat, huge window for visibility, and countless other things, we shocked ourselves into saying that this is one small van that would be heartily welcomed into our family as …

By Don Hammonds

Let’s say you are looking for a family car.

You want something that’s nice looking, with all the features you need, and good gas mileage, too.  But you DONT want anything boring, slow, or dowdy looking.

We’ve got your car right here—-the 2015 Nissan Altima.

Even with a four cylinder economical engine, the Altima is anything but slow. It drives much lighter than it is in reality, with a smooth, quiet ride. And even the cheapest Altima in the lineup looks …