High-Low and Crossovers to Go

Posted on Sep 14, 2019 in Editorials | 1 comment

(Welcome Daniel Ho — a.k.a. “Waftable Torque” — who’s here to school you proles on the true appeal of the crossover/cute-ute/abominable mom-van. — JB) There has seldom been a topic that riles automotive journalists and commentators up as much as crossovers. They inhabit categories that are successfully profitable and growing. Non-existent 20 years ago, they...

Easter Egg Technologies Found on New Vehicles

Posted on Sep 12, 2019 in Technology | 1 comment

Whether you are enjoying candies Easter Sunday or have memories of the traditional hunt, many of us have been excited with the sight of an Easter egg. Growing up on DVDs, we have given grown accustomed to hear the term “Easter egg” when referring to a hidden items in some movies. As motorists, we continue to indulge in vehicle equipment that can be classified...

McLaren MP4-12C: Best Sports Car in the World?

Posted on Sep 10, 2019 in Racing | 4 comments

There have been a number of blog pieces comparing the MP4-12C to the Ferrari 458 Italia, including this one, and most give the edge to the McLaren. A lot depends on who’s doing the comparing, of course. McLaren gave the car to some media folks to drive at the great Autodromo circuit in Portugal, and we’ll show you the video after the break. Interesting to watch...

Cars Coming Soon: Volvo’s “Crash Proof” Car

Posted on Sep 9, 2019 in Safety | 1 comment

Volvo’s head of government affairs, Anders Eugensson, thinks cars should be more like horses: incapable of crashing into stuff. Eugensson said, The car of the future will be just like the farmer’s horse. The farmer can steer the horse and carriage but if he falls asleep the horse can still take him back home…. And if the farmer tries to steer the carriage...

How Chevy and Apple Might Stop “Webbing”

Posted on Aug 28, 2019 in Safety | 1 comment

Next to drinking and driving, texting while driving is the surest way to cause impairment in a driver’s ability to control a car and react to quickly changing traffic conditions. Now that smart phones have infiltrated nearly every section of humanity (hey, I just got one, which is a sure sign everyone else in the world already did), they are wreaking havoc on...

Forty years later, the Chevette can still get better mileage than many new cars

Posted on Aug 24, 2019 in Featured | 2 comments

Something about the Chevrolet Chevette still makes it a perennial favorite among those unimaginative authors who feel compelled to pen “worst car ever” lists more than a quarter of a century after it left production, but the fact remains that more than a million of the subcompacts sold in the United States and millions more sold around the globe. Forty years...

Bentley, Ferrari and Mazda Take to the Ice

Posted on Aug 10, 2019 in Racing | Comments Off on Bentley, Ferrari and Mazda Take to the Ice

Mazda MX-5 ice race “Hey, did you hear a 20-year-old rookie won the Daytona 500!?” The phone call came from a friend last week within minutes of Trevor Bayne’s unlikely victory. I couldn’t even pretend to be interested. “Oh, was that today? I don’t really follow NASCAR.” In fact, not being from Virginia or North Carolina, I don’t even like NASCAR racing, much...

Pagani Huayra – The New Supercar Benchmark

Posted on Aug 7, 2019 in Technology | 1 comment

There is a new car atop the Top Gear performance lap time board called the Pagani Huayra. I think it’s time I put the latest Pagani creation at the forefront of your gearhead minds because I know it’s #1 on my ultimate wish list. I mean that, and I’m not talking about your average wish list of attainable cars you would like to buy in the future, or even if you...

What to Do with $300/Month?

Posted on Jul 23, 2019 in Editorials | 2 comments

Every once in awhile, somebody writes in to Ask Bark with a question that makes me check my own bank account to see if I can afford my own recommendation. Today is one of those times. Sit back and relax while you read about our friend’s quest for a more powerful grocery-getter, and then see if you share in my envy. Ben writes: I am currently leasing a 2014...

Best Sports Cars for Winter Fun

Posted on Jul 21, 2019 in Safety | 1 comment

2012 Audi TT RS At yesterday’s Thanksgiving festivities, my sister-in-law discreetly pulled me aside saying she had a question. In a tone of voice just beyond a whisper, she said, “I really like the new Subaru BRZ. It must be all-wheel-drive, because it’s a Subaru, right?” She looked hopefully at me, as though confirming her inquiry would result in a trip to...

Air Conditioning: The Ultimate Cool Car Equipment

Posted on Jul 20, 2019 in Technology | 1 comment

Since the early part of the 20th century, the evolution of technology has caused us to constantly re-evaluate the gap between necessity and luxury. Remembering the Motorola ‘brick’ cell phones the few high-flying socialites carried during the 1980s, the majority of the public gladly waited to get home to converse with a friend. Today, as we all seem to talk on...

Curious Beauty – The Cars of Virgil Exner

Posted on Jul 17, 2019 in Antique | 2 comments

“Art produces ugly things which frequently become more beautiful with time. Fashion, on the other hand, produces beautiful things which always become ugly with time.” – Jean Cocteau Great automobile design is truly subjective. Its success can depend on everything from the designers tastes and ingenuity, the correct perception of the market, to even the...

How to Deal with Sandy’s Devastating, Nationwide Effects on Cars

Posted on Jun 22, 2019 in Safety | 4 comments

Water enters a parking garage in New York City The devastation of Hurricane Sandy is hard to witness. Lost lives and destroyed property put into perspective what is important in life, but they also force us to deal with the effects and consequences of natural disasters. After we make sure people are safe and the basic infrastructure of our cities is up and...