Combined fuel economy for the 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid is 45 mpg according to VW’s estimate. The automaker expects their first compact hybrid model to be the performance leader in the segment, thanks to a turbocharged engine and 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox that VW calls DSG. That estimate reflects a significant 32% improvement over the next most efficient Jetta, the […]

I traveled to Charlotte to meet up with Mini Takes The States, the 3,900-mile cross-country rally that brings together thousands of Mini owners, drivers and enthusiasts. We partied in Charlotte, drove on Charlotte Motor Speedway, slayed The Dragon at Deal’s Gap and autocrossed in Nashville. Then the rally went west, I headed back home to Atlanta. Last weekend the group […]

Here’s a first look at the latest Ride of the Week, the 2012 Hyundai Equus. The flagship of Hyundai’s lineup, the Equus is, without a doubt, a premium luxury sedan. For 2012 Equus is now powered by a new, larger-displacement direct-injection V8 coupled with a 8-speed automatic transmission. It’s positively packed with high-tech equipment for comfort and convenience, features like […]

My wife, sister-in-law and I used to play a fun game on the road. It goes like this: pick two cars, and ask, “which would you rather drive?” Those answering have to pick one. It started out with crappy-looking cars – a beat-up CRX with a rear bumper made of pressure-treated lumber versus a slightly newer but equally beat-up Altima […]

The 1970 Buick GSX Stage 1 was one of the best–and last–true muscle cars. Automotive heavy metal was on its way out by then, the victim of a variety of factors from rising insurance premiums to tightening federal environmental and safety regulations. Automotive journalists still loved muscle cars, but buyers were not biting the way they did in the Sixties. […]

Forget what you think you know about Buick before stepping into the brand’s smallest and most affordable model, the Verano. It seems logical that a well-rounded understanding of the history of a subject would make a writer better suited to cover it in a thoughtful and insightful way. For an automotive writer, familiarity with models of decades past should provide […]

This year marks the tenth anniversary of Mini in the United States. The lineup has grown from a single model – the 2+2 hardtop – to six variants including the extended Clubman, 4-door Countryman, 2-seat Coupe and Roadster, and commercially-focused Clubvan. The recently announced Paceman will join the lineup in 2013.

Two late model cars, one a Camaro and the other a Mustang, pulled out of their spots at today’s Caffeine & Octane show together. Here are their sounds. C&O_July2012_Camaro&Mustang

This week’s ride is the 2012 Buick Verano. Verano means “summer” in Spanish, and this car came at the appropriate time of year. Today the temperature in Atlanta reached a record 106 degrees Fahrenheit. We packed a cooler full of ice cold bottles of water and hit the streets to share some relief. Here’s what it looked like from inside […]

11 months, 3000 pictures and a lot of coffee. That's what the creator of this video said it took to perform a rebuild on this engine he purchased on Ebay. I know some of my friends will recognize this motor immediately. Others will have to see a bit of the car shown later in the video to identify it. Either […]