15 Million Reasons Why Peter Mullin & Art Center College Of Design Will Influence What You Drive For The Rest Of Your Life

Peter & Merle Mullin with Art Center students and faculty.

Peter Mullin is the guy we'd all like to grow up to be. Gasoline in his veins, money in the bank and a willingness to share that money to make the world a better, more beautiful place.

In case the name doesn't ring a bell, he co-founded the Mullin Automotive Museum in Oxnard, California. He's chairman of the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. He is also president of the American Bugatti Club.   The son of a chemical engineer, a race fan since boyhood, and a vintage car racer today.

The deep involvement with the museums and Bugatti Club tells you Mullin appreciates classic beauty.  But he's also committed to making sure that beauty and inspirational design are with us long after he's gone.  So Mullin and his wife Merle are donating $15 million to the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

The 2013 Toyota Camry XLE V6 Can Run With Nissan Altima and Honda Accord, But Can It Dance?

The 2013 Toyota Camry XLE V6. Handsome, roomy and quick.

Hot on the heels of our recent reviews of the 2014 Nissan Altima 3.5 SL and the 2013 Honda Accord Touring, Toyota has sent us a V6 version of the Camry.  It's a 2013 model (Toyota seems to be booking a lot of journalists into last-minute '13s), but there are no major changes in the '14s, so what the heck.

When the first Camry came along for the 1983 model year, the competition was the Honda Accord and the Nissan Stanza, which stood where the Nissan Altima is now in the lineup.  And as unlikely as it seems given the juggernaut Toyota has become in the three decades since, it was an uphill climb.  There was a waiting list for Honda Accords.  And Consumer Reports found the Nissan Altima more reliable than the first-generation Toyota Camry (ouch!) for four years running (1983-1986, inclusive).

Well, Toyota learned fast, and grabbed not only the sales but the reliability crown and has never looked back.  Until recently, the Camry was in an enviable if not glamorous position...the safe bet in a segment known for boring cars.  In fact, it was deep clover for Toyota for most of the past decade, with Honda having seemed to lose its mojo and Nissan keeping costs down to the point where its cars were starting to feel like cheap goods.

But now, as we've chronicled in this space, we're in something of a renaissance of the family sedan.

The Americans are a mixed bag...Ford's Fusion looks fabulous (Ford: You really need to get us in one, because I'm driving and writing about everyone else's), especially from the front, the Chevrolet Malibu is better than anyone thought a Chevy Malibu could be, and the Dodge Avenger and Chrysler 200 are still rental cars you'll want to upgrade out of.

The Koreans are fully competitive and credible with cars like the Hyundai Sonata and the Kia Optima.  The Germans have a contender in the Volkswagen Passat.
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And even sleepy Subaru is sleepy no more, with market share that goes up month by month and a strong candidate in the Subaru Legacy.

So how does the Toyota Camry stack up?

The Number One Reason To Buy A 2013 Toyota Corolla

The 2013 Toyota Corolla might be the bargain you're looking for.

It's not exactly sleek (even in S trim, its sportiest form).

It's very familiar.  You see them everywhere, every day.

So why should you run down to your Toyota dealer and buy a 2013 Toyota Corolla?

Because the 2014 is sleek and shiny.

That may seem like contradictory logic, but stick with me here.

How The 2014 Nissan Altima 3.5 SL Makes Family Sedan Buying Hard

Yes, you will actually want to drive the 2014 Nissan Altima 3.5 SL on roads like this.

Attention new car shoppers....especially mid-size family sedan shoppers.

Do you know how good you have it?

Do you have any idea?

Five years ago this was one of the most bland and boring segments in the industry.  Camry, Accord, Malibu, Fusion, Altima, Mazda 6...some were better than others, but none were inspiring, none were aspirational.
But now, every one of those cars has been re-designed and choosing has become very hard.

In January, we drove the 2.5-liter four-cylinder version of the 2013 Altima...and it landed immediately on TireKicker's Best Cars (see the list in the right-hand column).  In June, the 2013 Honda Accord Touring landed one notch ahead of it. Not really a fair fight, given that the Accord had the V6 (enthusiasts should note that the 2014 Mazda 6, with almost 100 horsepower less and a four-cylinder engine, landed squarely at #5...several slots ahead of both the Altima and Accord).

Why The 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander GT Deserves A Test Drive

Can the 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander GT save an entire car company?

New car buyers, you have a new address to remember.

Your local Mitsubishi dealer.

Yes, it's been a long time, if ever, since you considered the triple-diamond brand for anything with four wheels.  Long enough that the very survival of Mitsubishi as an automotive manufacturer in this country has been in question the past few years.

But this...the 2014 Mitsubishi Outlander GT...shows the company is still capable of making very good vehicles.  And ones targeted at the American driver, at that.

New Car Review: 2013 Toyota Prius V

The expansion of the Prius line seems to be paying off.  A decent number of the baby Prius C models are on the road, and if you look, you'll see quite a few of the Prius V as well.  V in this case is not a Roman numeral, it is a letter...and it stands for "versatile".

New Car Review: 2014 Kia Cadenza

Credibility.  It's a big deal.  Especially when you're trying to get people to embrace a new concept.  Like Kia making a different type of car.
                                                                                                                                                                 


And that's where details matter.  Kia wants you to believe they've built an extraordinary near-luxury sedan. They want you to believe the woman driving the car is going to her 20th high school reunion.  Which would make her 38. Two years shy of 40. Her name is Teresa Moore, she's a supermodel and she's a lot closer to her 20th birthday than to her 20th high school reunion. There's a reason you didn't notice her in high school. She was across town in day care.

There's another version of the ad that uses mainly the night driving shots and blurbs from reviews including one from CNET that says "The Cadenza proves Kia can do luxury."  Okay, CNET said that (at least in the headline of its review).  But it's hype.

Both those things are small in the world of advertising, but it's especially a shame to see them related to the Cadenza because the Cadenza should be viewed and promoted as what it is...an amazing achievement in large family cars, a compelling competitor to the new Chevrolet Impala, Toyota Avalon, Ford Taurus, Nissan Maxima and Hyundai Azera.

New Car Review: 2013 Jeep Wrangler Sahara

Times change.

Vehicles change.

People change.

35 years ago I came thisclose to buying a Jeep Wrangler.  It was known then as the Jeep CJ.  There was the CJ5 (6-cylinder) and CJ7 (V8).  As useful as it could have been (I was living in Reno, Nevada and considering the purchase during an especially snowy winter), the CJ7 was noisy, crude, thirsty and expensive.  The CJ5 was the first two and only a little less of the second two.

I bought a Toyota Corolla SR5 Liftback instead.  It was the right move at the time.

But after five days at the wheel of the Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4X4 (Chrysler needed it back two days early for an event, but I'm sure they'll find some way of making it up to me...may I suggest a long-term test of a Wrangler Sahara Unlimited?), the once unthinkable is making a lot of sense to me.  Is it me or is it the Jeep?

New Car Review: 2014 Acura RLX

Rarely have I approached a car with such trepidation as I did the new Acura RLX.  Not only has Acura followed parent Honda off the clearly-defined path that once delivered great cars like the original Legend for a similar decade-long walk in the wilderness (plus $10,000 per car and more buttons on the dashboard), but consider this:

The RLX is replacing one of the dullest cars known to man, the RL.  Anything should get a "most improved player" award.  Yet enthusiast magazine and online reviews have largely been yawns and, scarier still, Consumer Reports, in its rave review of the Chevrolet Impala, a car costing $20,000 to $35,000 less, depending on how you option the cars, said in its print edition that the Impala was competitive with the RLX.  Yeah, they also said the Impala could run with the Audi A6, Lexus LS460L and Jaguar XF, too...and as much as we love the 2014 Impala, that's really just CR needing to call the doctor because it's been more than four hours.