Fuel Infection
Automotive Reviews
Hybrids and wagons, oh, my! New York Auto Show 2010
Apr 1st
All this talk about the New York Auto Show being “boring,” what’s up with that? If there’s new stuff, I’m not bored. There’s a shortage of dream cars, perhaps, but that’s been chronic in the industry the past few years. What is interesting is that this trend has been offset in recent years by a tendency to actually build the dream cars. So really, I don’t have a problem with that. The Big Apple has always been a show that’s more about what’s actually going to happen, rather than dreams, and this year New York saw North American and world debuts of several new vehicles that’ll be hitting the streets in 2010 and 2011, not to mention the A-Team’s van, which I hung out in for a while. Isn’t that more exciting than pie-in-the-sky dream cars?
Well, maybe not, some folks who call themselves car people are no doubt whining. After all, it’s just a lot of hybrids and crossover vehicles, right? Well, okay, there were station wagons, too, which are arguably more exciting than crossovers. But I’m not going to argue semantics–my point is this: I enjoy these shows whether there are concept cars or not. Besides, New York showed me that there are some pretty cool things that are about to arrive for real. More >
Hey, wait, what happened to Elepent?
Mar 29th
Don’t worry, you’re still in the right place. I’ve been doing car reviews under the “Elepent” heading since 1999, and I don’t intend to stop any time soon. More >
2010 Lincoln MKT
Mar 26th
The SUV backlash that everyone predicted is in full swing. Customers are deserting truck-based sport-utility vehicles in droves, and a growing number of multi-purpose crossover vehicles are taking their place, at both the low and high ends of the market. The marketing folks will talk about how it’s an opportunity to serve customers as never before; what they really mean is, “What do luxury buyers want these days?” The market’s changed, and that’s why we’re looking down the split-grilled barrel of a great big Lincoln station wagon.
Okay, it’s not technically a “station wagon.” The all-new MKT is Lincoln’s full-size luxury crossover vehicle. It’s a mega-wagon that features three rows of seating, a wide range of safety technologies, Ford’s new EcoBoost engine which provides V8-like horsepower with V6 fuel economy, and of course Lincoln’s brand of American luxury. Show-car styling and a generous girth give the MKT an impressive bearing on the road, and a newfound sense of luxury makes it a comfortable place to be, as well. Of course, that pesky question still remains: is it what luxury buyers want? More >