Fuel Infection
Automotive Reviews
Automotive Reviews
Jun 9th
I’ve managed to miss the annual Orphan Car Show in Ypsilanti every year for the past decade or so. Not on purpose–it’s just that something always seems to come up. This year, I was determined to attend the event, which as its name suggests is a gathering of “orphan” vehicles whose manufacturers have gone out of business. (The most recent inductee to the ranks would be Mercury, and it’s a fair bet that next year will see a collection of Cougars and Montereys joining the festivities.)

Unfortunately, this year’s show was rained out. A brace of thunderstorms squatted over southeast Michigan and dumped enough rain to flood the river-side park where the event was to take place. Even though the sun came out, the planned show grounds were a marsh. All was not lost, though. A few of the cars that had gathered for the show turned up in the parking lot of the nearby Automotive Heritage Museum, also known as the world’s last Hudson dealer–so I had some interesting vehicles to check out. And when will I ever complain about getting to do that?
Jun 6th
Here’s the latest poster child for the minivan backlash—the 2005 Chevrolet Equinox is the latest in the growing parade of do-all vehicles that aren’t quite cars, but aren’t quite SUVs either. Based on a chassis designed for crossover vehicles, the all-new Equinox fits into Chevy’s SUV lineup more or less between the tough-as-nails TrailBlazer on the truck side, and the extended-sedan Malibu Maxx on the car side. Technically, Chevrolet calls it a compact SUV, but it’s the largest small sport-ute out there, and it’s certainly not an off-roader. More >