Volkswagen's 45 MPG Compact Coupe

Volkswagen's jumping into the hybrid game, unveiling its Compact Coupe at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

VW claims 45 miles per gallon combined mileage with 0-60 in 8.1 seconds.

Sale date? Anyone's guess. Volkswagen says it's coming to market in the first half of the year with a hybrid SUV and that the Compact Coupe will happen "when the time is right."

Speeding While Standing

See the guy standing up through the sunroof?

He's also driving...at 78 in a 65 mile per hour zone...with one hand on the wheel and his left foot on the gas pedal.

His name is Richard Anthony Flores, Jr.  He's 25, lives in Chandler, Arizona (a Phoenix suburb) and according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, he's been showing up on their photo radar cameras a lot.

As in 14 times from mid-October to mid-November, at speeds up to 90 miles per hour.

This photo, taken on November 11, was just one of two where he did it while standing up through the sunroof. The other one was about two minutes earlier on the same stretch of the US 60 Superstition Freeway in Mesa...at 79 miles per hour.

The guys in the pickup trucks behind him had to be having a good laugh...probably while dialing 911.

It took DPS until this week to catch up with him...partly because he has a California license plate (under a louvered cover, which is supposed to help obscure it from photo radar). But after lettting family know they were looking for him, Flores turned himself in the next day.

He's been booked on two counts of reckless driving and one count of criminal speed. He's also been served with seven civil speeding citations.

Electric Ford Focus Coming In 2011

Who killed the electric car? Well, it wasn't GM.

In fact, no one killed it. The EV-1 was born with congenital defects (severely limited range, expensive batteries) and couldn't have survived.

11 years later, technology has changed and Ford believes it can succeed where GM couldn't back in the 90s. It made the announcement Monday at the North American International Auto Show that the all-new Ford Focus will have an all-electric version beginning in 2011.

Will this get Ford the kind of eco-love usually showered upon Toyota and Honda? Time will tell.

Ford Flex with EcoBoost Review

Looking for a Ford Flex? Here's a tip: Make sure this badge is on the tailgate.

EcoBoost transforms the Flex from adequate power to impressive power...replacing the standard 262 horses with 355...at a penalty of only one city mile per gallon and two highway (dropping from 17 to 16 and 24 to 22). Torque is way up too...from 248 pounds per foot to 350.

How'd they do it? Well, EcoBoost is a twin-turbo...taking the 80s favorite means of boosting power without sucking down prodigious amounts of fuel and doubling it. Hopefully, they've addressed the issues that caused turbos to fall out of favor, but I'd change the oil more than the owner's manual recommends just in case.

I liked the Flex the first time I drove it, but having some power makes it all that much better.

This time around, the tester was a top of the line SEL All Wheel Drive...and that means it wasn't cheap: Base price $36,115...$7,600 more than the entry-level model. Fortunately, Ford kept the options down to...well, one. Rapid Spec 208-A AWD adds 20 inch bright painted aluminum wheels, a convenience package and a 12-speaker Sony sound system for $3895.

That put the price, before destination and delivery at $40,010...but there's a "Rapid Spec Savings" discount of $845...so the ultimate bottom line is $39,940.

That's a chunk of change for a Ford...but a lot of people spent that and more for Expeditions when they were in fashion...and this drives a lot better than the Expedition ever did.

By the way...five-star crash ratings all around...four star rollover.

Ford Sweeps North American Car & Truck Of The Year

(11JAN10) Detroit, Mich. Mark Fields, Executive Vice President, Ford Motor Company, accepts the NACTOY Car and Truck awards. This is the third time in NACTOY's history both awards have gone to one OEM.

For only the third time in 17 years, a single manufacturer has swept the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards (announced today at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit).

The winner? Ford, for its Transit Connect van and Ford Fusion Hybrid (we reviewed the mechanically identical Mercury Milan Hybrid).

The Transit Connect was competing with the Chevrolet Equinox and Subaru Outback for North American Truck of the Year (The Outback? A truck? Station wagon, sure...but truck?). The Fusion was up against the all new Volkswagen Golf and GTI and the Buick LaCrosse.

                                                                      
Keep your interior looking brand new with Ford F150 seat covers.

Mercedes-Benz GLK350 Review

What a difference a decade makes.

About 10 years ago, Mercedes-Benz seriously cheapened their image with the introduction of what was then a small SUV..the ML320. It cost somewhere in the mid-30s, got them into a new market segment, but was a serious step down in terms of what people expected from Mercedes in materials and workmanship.

An even smaller SUV should be more reason for despair, right? No, not now.

You see, Mercedes as a whole followed the ML320 right down the garden path...resulting in a decade of less-than-special Benzes of all model designations...even some with astonishingly high price tags.

The good news is that M-B appears to be pulling out of the nosedive with some products that seem to put standards ahead of market share...and it is in this environment that they introduce the GLK350.

Size? Think somewhere between a Ford Escape and a Ford Explorer.

Price? Base is a reasonable $35,900. For that you get a 268 horsepower V6 engine with a 7-speed automatic transmission, translating to an EPA estimated 16 city/21 highway miles per gallon.

Best of all, it feels more solid than the ML ever has...and even loaded up with 10 grand worth of options (Premium Package, Lighting Package, Multimedia Package, Sport Appearance Package), it doesn't seem especially silly or excessive because, well, it's a Mercedes. It should be a cut above the other stuff.

For a long time, people paid a premium for Mercedes-Benz because of the quality and the engineering, not for the badge itself. If those days are back, we're all better off.

UPDATE:

The above applies to the all-wheel drive GLK. Choose the 2-wheel drive model, and the base price drops to $34,600...making it one of the least expensive Benzes you can buy. And given that the 1998 ML 320 was $33,900, it's amazing. Fuel economy stays the same in the city, but improves to 22 on the highway.


A recent drive in the 2-wheel drive model reinforces the earlier all-wheel drive review. And, this time, Mercedes only went for about 8 thousand in options (Premium Package, Multimedia Package and an iPod interface)...so the bottom line with $875 destination and delivery charges was $42.925.


Again, it's a Benz. And again, that's starting to mean the right things once more

Mazdaspeed 3 Review

Looking for the most fun you can have involving four wheels and a five-figure price tag?

You just found it.

The Mazdaspeed 3 has been a hot ticket for quite a while...but they keep making it better and better...and the new 2010 model just pegs the fun meter all the way.

Turbocharged. Intercooled. 263 horsepower...96 more than the stock Mazda 3.

Put your foot in it and hang on.

Best of all, Mazda's not only making each Mazdaspeed 3 faster, but more civilized.

You might expect a punishing ride. You'd be wrong.

You might expect bargain-basement surroundings (or else how could they sell so much power for $23,195 base?). You'd be wrong.



The Mazdaspeed 3 is so well equipped (18 inch wheels, halogens, cloth & leather seats, killer audio system, Bluetooth, dual-zone climate control) that you could buy it absolutely stock and have a winner.

As it was, the test car only had one option...the Mazdaspeed Tech Package...an audio system upgrade, navigation, alarm and keyless start for $1895. Anything that gets nav alone below 2 grand has to be considered an advancement.

With delivery charges, $25,840...and a bargain in every way.

EPA estimates: 18 mpg city/25 highway. Five star crash ratings, except four for side crash rear seat. Four star rollover.

Dodge Challenger R/T Review

The mailman got out of his truck, put our mail in the box by the sidewalk, turned, stared, did a double take and went back to his truck. He came out seconds later with his cellphone, snapping shot after shot.

The power crew came to replace the transformer buried in the next-door neighbor's backyard. They got out of the truck, on the way to the front door to tell me how long the power would be off. They never got there. I found all three of them, five minutes after I heard the truck doors close, in the driveway. Their question had changed from how soon they could cut the power without inconveniencing me too badly to:

Could I start it up, back it out of the driveway and do a burnout down the block?

The six year old girl, dressed in pink, leaving my daughter's ballet school, holding her daddy's hand as they walked to their minivan, stopped cold and said: "Whoa, Daddy! AWESOME car!".

God only knows what adolescent boys must be saying and thinking (though my son, who's 14, the age I was when the first Challenger hit the market, tells me it's "a reasonable alternative to the Viper").

Bright red (Dodge calls it "TorRed"), with 20" aluminum chrome wheels and a profile worthy of inclusion on Mt. Rushmore...and yes, it's got a Hemi.

5.7 liters, 376 horsepower and 410 pounds per foot of torque, to be precise. And though it comes with an automatic, this one had the optional TrackPak 6-speed manual.

Yes, it's way bigger than the original 1970 Challenger. That's what happens when you use the Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger platform. But it looks great, it's scary fast, it's got way more trunk room than the old one, and once you get inside, just reprogram your spatial orientation to "Road Runner" instead of "Challenger" and you'll be fine.

It's also something of a bargain for what you get: $29,320 base price...our tester bottom-lined at $35,965.

Love the shape but need still more of a bargain? The SE starts at $21,995, and comes with a 250-horsepower V6 and 18-inch wheels...which would have been a dream come true not too long ago. In fact, Dodge expects most Challengers sold will be SEs.

Here's a nice video about the development and production of what was then the not-yet-released Challenger SRT-8, the hottest of the Challengers:



UPDATE: More than a year after the above was written, Chrysler sent us a second Challenger...again an R/T with the Hemi, the 6-speed manual, the Track Pack...and again, an '09 (though the '10s should be out there now).

This one had a bump in the base price...now $30,220 and with more options on the sticker, the bottom line rings in at $38,170.

Oh, and this one was silver.

Not covered the first time we covered this...five-star crash ratings all around, four for rollover. EPA estimates 16 city/25 highway.

Toyota RAV4 Sport Review

Usually, here at TireKicker, price gets discussed last...after a recitation of facts and opinions about the vehicle being reviewed. And then, it's base price, a rundown of the options, culminating in the bottom line.

Well, in the case of the Toyota RAV4 Sport, I'm going to work backwards.

$30,938.

That's right. Almost 31 large for a compact SUV. What can we do about that? Let's work our way up the options sheet:

$745 for delivery. Not really an option. It stays.

$359 for a VIP-RS3200 Plus security system. I'd feel like a dope if it got broken into or stolen and I'd cheaped out on $359. It's a keeper.

$750 for a towing reciever hitch. What on earth am I going to be towing in a RAV4? Lose it. Gets us down to $30,188, which is still too much money.

$199 for floor mats and a cargo mat. Yeah, I could probably do better going aftermarket, but they match and I'm not a cheapskate...I'm just trying to reasonably equip a reasonably priced RAV4. Keep 'em.

$70 for a light control system. According to the sticker, it turns your headlights on automatically. I can turn on my own headlights. Dump it. Now we're at $30,118.

$40 for daytime running lights. Hate 'em. Always have. Goodbye. Make that $30,078.

Ah, here we go: $1,550 for a Nav system. When TomToms and Garmin Nuvis are available for a couple hundred? When most new cell phones have a GPS navigation app? I don't think so. Saying no means losing XM Satellite Radio and mp3 capability, but a couple of aisles over from the portable nav units are combo XM recievers/mp3 players for less than $200. Strike this line item. New balance: $28,528 and counting.

$1,930 for the Premium Package. That's leather-trimmed seats, driver and front passenger heated seats, 8-way power adjustable driver's seat with power lumbar support and height adjustment. I say no for two reasons: One, because we're trying to get the price down here and two, because if enough people order this kind of stuff on RAV4s, they'll eventually be $40,000 and as big as Highlanders "because that's what buyers say they want." New number: $26,598.

$475 for an integrated back-up camera. In a big vehicle, where lines of sight are compromised by how high up you are, these are useful. I don't think a RAV4 needs it. Down to $26,123.

Last item: $220 for a roof rack. Lousy for aerodynamics, meaning noise and gas mileage. If you're a biker or other outdoors type and seriously need one, then you probably know where to find one perfect for your purposes and maybe at a better price. Goodbye.

Where are we? $25,903. Still a smidgen pricey, but it's well-equipped, has Toyota's reputation for reliability, high crash ratings and an EPA estimated 21 city/27 highway miles per gallon.

At this price, I'd be interested. At almost $31,000? No way.

UPDATE: Drove the 4X4 version of the RAV4 recently with a base price of $26,530. Ouch. That means with nothing on it, it's now above what we whittled the front-wheel driver down to. And while this one wasn't quite as option-laden, it still rang up to $29,808 after delivery charges. Meantime, mileage drops to 19 city/26 highway.

There's growing competition in this segment...and by and large, it's less expensive. A couple of years back, you could justify the extra cost with a simple, "Hey, it's a Toyota". But right now, pennies count...to say nothing of thousands.

UPDATING THE UPDATE: Having the feeling I'd damned with faint praise, I arranged for an extended refresher in the RAV4 Sport.

Three weeks...more than a thousand miles. It never put a foot wrong, it proved itself more comfortable and versatile than its size class and price point would indicate.

As time went by, it wasn't "what's the next car?" so much as "Hey, I could live with this day in and day out for a five-year loan. Even at $29,808.

Sometimes a week and 300 miles just isn't enough to get beneath the surface. I'm glad we went back for another, longer round.