Articles in Commentary
Automotive journalism has changed dramatically down through the years. I grew up reading Motor Trend, Car and Driver and Popular Mechanics, swiping copies of magazines my father subscribed to and consuming every word served up …
By Harrison Card
GM will again try to badge engineer a piece of success with the Buick Verano. Named after a somewhat obscure northern Italian city, the polished “Chevy Cruze” will go on sale for …
By Jason Lancaster
Small trucks have never really found lasting success in the American market. It certainly hasn’t been from lack of trying – major automakers as diverse as Volkswagen, Toyota and even domestic players like …
By Harrison Card
Cadillac continues its attempt to become more European-like with its upcoming compact sedan, the ATS. As with Lincoln, Cadillac gave up naming its cars a few years ago and instead decided to use …
The Toyota Corolla is the best selling car of all time, with over 37 million units sold since this model was introduced in 1966. Along with the midsize Toyota Camry, the compact Corolla has been …
Chrysler promised in 2010 that we’d see it and has used the occasion of the 2011 Chicago Auto Show to release it: the 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan R/T, dubbed the “man van” within the confines …
Prior to filing for bankruptcy, pundits were used to General Motors making exaggerated boasts about upcoming products or for coloring its future positively even as the automaker hemorrhaged billions of dollars monthly. Following restructuring, the …
The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline has topped $3 in most locations across the United States, the highest gas prices we’ve seen since 2008. You may recall that when gas prices surged …
By Selena Narayanasamy
I love cars. And I’m not talking about regular cars that go from Point A to Point B. I’m a die-hard fan of stalking all the new awesome features that come out. Who …
We are at a certain advantage to the big automotive websites and blogs here at Auto Trends Magazine. Unlike the big guys, we’re not pressured with coming up with 10-12 or more fresh story ideas …
What are the chances that the United Auto Workers will successfully organize auto workers at non-unionized manufacturing plants across the United States? I say somewhere between slim and none especially given that most of those …
Teens today have grown-up in a digital world where multitasking is the norm. However, when performing complex tasks such as driving a vehicle the consequences of multitasking can be deadly. Drivers education is just starting to understand these issues which are critical to driving safety.
By Hong Zheng
1. Brief introduction of China’s economic reforms
During the late 1970s, the world’s two largest communist nations — the Soviet Union and China — had made two completely different strategic decisions: the Soviet …
By Jason Lancaster
The new Fiat 500 is critical to the ultimate survival of Chrysler – or at least that’s what the analysts at Deutsche Bank seem to believe. As has oft been reported, Chrysler doesn’t …
By Joe Pruskowski
Synopsis of a Driving School
Since the early days of the car, new drivers have had to learn how to operate a motor vehicle. In America, learning to drive is a rite of passage …
The Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado and Ram 1500 continue to pace sales for Ford, GM and Chrysler respectively, as sales of traditional full size pickup trucks have returned closer to their normal levels. Unlike the …
It wasn’t too many years ago when I described at least one Kia model as being a throw away car, raising the ire of a handful of readers who felt that I had insulted them …
Three years after the hype first began, General Motors has officially started to mass market the Chevrolet Volt. Despite the car being available only in limited quantities when it goes on sale in November 2010, …
Auto Trends Magazine is in the process of being overhauled, the most significant change in the 2.5 years I’ve owned this website, though the domain has been around since February 2003. Some of you recognize …
Just after the midterm elections General Motors will be ramping up its communications machine in a bid to advance its Initial Public Offering (IPO), a move which will gradually remake the automaker into a private …
The People’s Republic of China has been performing a balancing act for much of the past two decades. On the business side of things, the country wears a capitalist face and is open to foreign …
By Sarah Danielson
Television is famous for setting the standard for unthinkable automotive technology, but will Herbie and Knightrider be available for purchase soon? Well, no, but Stanley, Junior, Boss, and Shelley just might be within …
By Sarah Danielson
OnStar is a subsidiary of GM that provides subscribers with a number of desirable services related to their vehicle, including Bluetooth, navigation, onboard security, remote diagnostics, and communications (as in, you can call …
When the battle to save General Motors was at its hottest, the Obama Administration extended an offer to Carlos Ghosn to run the wounded automaker. That report was made known by Bloomberg Businessweek last week …
Fiat s.P.a. is busy tending its American offspring, attempting to ensure that its Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram brands have a secure footing going forward. That’s a tall order given the financial problems and its …
I announced on my The Auto Writer website on Thursday an important change which I am reiterating with you here: I’ve made Auto Trends my flagship automotive blog.
What this means is that this blog will …
Quick! What unflattering label haunting General Motors is the company trying to lose? That would be Government Motors, a term coined by some following the Obama Administration-led bankruptcy filing on June 1, 2009.
Though GM quickly …
Full size trucks lead the way
I read Edmunds’ analysis about pickup truck sales as being a measuring stick for the nation’s economic health and have to say I agree with what they shared.
Edmunds quoted Dale …
General Motors and the Ford Motor Company are duking it out for top social media honors.
Earlier this week, Ford introduced its 2011 Ford Explorer to the world via Facebook, side-stepping the usual very public auto …
Last week, Autoblog relayed the news that Honda’s diesel engine plans were dead. That isn’t too surprising given how long the supposed roll out was delayed.
In November 2007, I published an article titled, “Your 52 …
Avoid this hybrid sedan.
I usually don’t harp on a failed model, preferring to let each car speak for itself. However, I can’t resist taking a late swipe at the Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid, a vehicle whose …
The automotive industry continues to adjust to fluctuating market conditions and changing consumer demand. Whereas in times past fickle consumers scotched the best laid plans of the automakers, namely building quality small cars, it appears …
Some of my readers here on Auto Trends know that I mainly market myself as The Auto Writer, maintaining a blog of that name. I also contribute content for a handful of parts stores, am …
By Sarah Harris
As Honda, Toyota, Peugeot and Citroen inadvertently make our roads safer by recalling nearly all their faulty cars, the remainder of the motor industry is leaping ahead in 2010 with a series of …
Now is a great time to buy a new car
Bear with me on this one, but in my opinion right now is a great time to buy a new car. There, I’ve said it.
Last year, …
Instead of discussing my personal experience with this type of insurance I think it would be best to explain what gap insurance is all about. Well, here is an example:
Let’s say you were paying off …
