Chrysler 200 Demand Dries Up As FCA Tries To Clear 200 Inventory Glut

Posted on Jan 24, 2022 in Editorials | 1 comment

The plan was straightforward. With demand for conventional midsize cars gradually decreasing and buyers in Fiat Chrysler’s U.S. showrooms increasingly turning to flexible Jeep SUVs, Chrysler 200 production would be temporarily shut down. Inventory was piling up. Inventory needed to be cleared out. Rather than build more sedans, which would simply be piled up on...

How Automotive Payola Works: A Case Study Starring Wayne Gerdes and Volkswagen

Posted on Dec 3, 2021 in Editorials | 1 comment

When a self-described automotive journalist attempts a fuel economy record, you expect his attempt to be objective — or, at least, as objective as such an attempt can be. However, when an automaker is willing to pay that automotive journalist thousands of dollars for the effort, with payment possibly dependent on achieving the desired record, objectivity falls...

What Is This Hongqi H7 Doing in Michigan?

Posted on Nov 25, 2021 in Editorials | 2 comments

TTAC reader Morpheus (who has an awesome name by any standard) sent in this shot of a Chinese limo driving around Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Hongqi H7 isn’t built by some neo-capitalist Chinese outfit, either, as the brand has been in existence since 1958. It’s also properly presidential. Hongqi (which translates to Red Flag) has built limousines for The Party’s...

The Tale of the Round Door Rolls-Royce

Posted on Sep 18, 2021 in Editorials | 1 comment

I’ve tangentially touched on the topic of this post, the famous art deco “Round Door Rolls-Royce”, before when discussing Audi advertising and some Detroit history. On my recent trip to Los Angeles to drive a McLaren 675LT (you think Jack Baruth is the only TTAC staffer who can swing the loan of a supercar?), I took the opportunity to visit the newly renovated...

To Love A Sienna Like No Other?

Posted on Jul 21, 2021 in Editorials | 1 comment

MatadorX writes: Sajeev, I am hoping you and your readership can give me some guidance as to how far to take a vehicle overhaul: mild insanity or full on broke? The vehicle in question is a 1998 Toyota Sienna XLE. It has been in the family since grandpa (who else) bought it brand new, finally abandoning Chrysler vans after three successive transmission...

Which Beater Should She Bet On?

Posted on Jun 25, 2021 in Editorials | 1 comment

Kobe writes: Hi Bark, I’ve only begun to read TTAC and your email responses are a great read, so I figured I’d give sending you a question a shot. Two of my wife’s friends are looking for reliable, used cars. The parameters I’ve been given were $4,000 or less (as she will need to save a little for maintenance repairs I figure), a hatchback (preferably...

The Fragile Second Act Of The Prius C

Posted on May 18, 2021 in Editorials | 1 comment

There must be something about being the world’s most powerful automaker that makes you just, you know, wanna spread some branding around like your showroom is a big slice of bread and your best-loved nameplates are just sweet, sweet chrome jelly. How else can you explain Toyota’s attempt to expand the “Prius” into a three-car lineup, in the same way that...

An Unexpected Japanese Classic: The Honda Mobilio

Posted on Mar 16, 2021 in Editorials | 1 comment

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The Town & Country I worked so hard to import into Japan was supposed to be my wife’s. I had planned to buy whatever I wanted and, although I hadn’t quite decided on what that was going to be, classic Japanese iron was on my mind. The second-generation Toyota Soarer and the ’90s-era Toyota Celica GT-Four were leading...

Which Car Will Make The Best Nostalgia Machine?

Posted on Feb 2, 2021 in Editorials | 2 comments

Greg writes: Hi Bark, I’m a 32-year-old red-blooded male, life-long car enthusiast and hopeful to be raising a few future enthusiasts in the foreseeable future. I can smell which way the wind is blowing and know that the car market is going to look very different in the future. I’m excited about electric cars, but also want a “timepiece” that’s tasteful, fun,...

A Reunion on Hawaii

Posted on Jan 12, 2021 in Editorials | 1 comment

Some fans of this website might call it an econobox. Others, who obviously don’t know better, might even call it a “penalty box.” But to Aliza McKeigue, 25, the humble 2001 Toyota Corolla is a beloved companion. She refers to the car affectionately in the third person singular, feminine. So when Aliza left Boston, Massachusetts in January 2015, for what she...

What’s The Lexus Replacement Consensus?

Posted on Dec 20, 2020 in Editorials | 2 comments

Sobro writes: Bark, Insert friendly greeting and small talk here. I was lucky that Sajeev is a sunroof enthusiast as well as a Ford fanboi when he promptly answered my question about the clunking roof in my wife’s 2003 Lexus ES300. At 170,000 miles, her glorified Camry is nearly as grounded to the ground as it ever was. However, she is starting to get antsy...

How Many Human-driven Years Remain?

Posted on Nov 1, 2020 in Editorials | 1 comment

Autonomous vehicles and shared mobility are invoked in our contemporary discourse as an inevitable fate. There is an unsettling undercurrent rippling around a not altogether desirable future for the automobile as we know it. I am not anti-progress, anti-technology, or otherwise prone to romanticizing yesteryear. I welcome the convenience and safety of new...