2009 Chevrolet HHR SS

One wonders now that the PT Cruiser is slated for termination if the Chevy HHR will follow soon after. The HHR only exists to begin with as a thinly veiled attempt at cashing in on the PT Cruiser’s past popularity anyway. Although the PT Cruiser’s unique (at the time) styling endeared it to a huge segment of buyers, the HHR has never been so lucky and has mostly lived on the periphery of automotive relevance for the last 3 years. All that being true, if the HHR is on its way out and it serves your needs, there are some pretty compelling reasons to give it a look.   And none of them have to do with its styling.

For all of the retro-styling that has swept through the auto industry in the last decade, trucks have been left almost completely alone.  (No the Chevy SSR doesn’t count)  That’s a shame, because like everything else there is a huge population of car and truck enthusiasts who would snap up the chance for a modernized version of their favorite truck from the past.  For instance, hardly a day goes by that I don’t receive a request for more information or an update on the possibility of a new Jeep truck. 

Same could be said for Toyota’s Tacoma Truck Concept, which is affectionately referred to as the “Back to the Future” Truck because of the resemblance it has to Marty McFly’s dream machine.  It’s not all just retro paint and decals though.  This truck concept contains some very unique pieces from its past and some old school technology. 

It is a bit of marketing trickery to gussy up an otherwise unremarkable vehicle with a “GT” or “Sport” or some other ambiguous nomenclature in an effort in inject a little zest into an otherwise lifeless ride. This is especially true with cars such as the 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring model. It’s unclear what is exactly so “Touring” about it other than the fact that it has a sizable wagon-hatch appendage. The idea of a “Touring” car evokes images of a Racing Green British Coupe heading to Surrey for the weekend, not a Korean wagon loaded with lawn chairs destined for the South Jersey shore. However, despite the pretense, Hyundai’s supersized Elantra delivers the goods in several areas that largely erases their careless misrepresentations. 

Race-Prepared 2010 Camaro

Like a flashback to a time when Detroit steel dominated the world; Mustangs, Camaros and Challengers will all be represented in the season-ending Bosch Engineering Oktoberfest race this weekend in Richmond VA. All three of these modern pony cars compete in the series’ Grand Sport class, a group that includes cars that have only been minimally modified to 350-405 horsepower and top out at 160 mph. Unlike most other racing, the opportunity to see a car that is very much like one from the factory being put through its paces is more than a little satisfying.

Anyone considering a potential downsizing, or “rightsizing” in industry terms, from an SUV into something smaller, is no doubt well aware that the marketplace is thick with crossover options right now. These vehicles are meant to ease the pain of moving out of a gas guzzler, but with few exceptions, the utility is no better than a typical wagon and styling ranges from feminine to simply ugly. But maybe there is hope in this segment afterall. The 2010 GMC Terrain for instance. A crossover that may finally win the hearts of self-respecting men forced out of their Tahoe.

Unlike the not-so-distant past, it is hard to identify in the present exactly who Volvo is trying to appeal to. For years their reputation was built on virtually unparalleled safety and utilitarian features that gave birth to both tank-like boxy cars and a passionate following of Volvo-ites who (let’s be honest) most likely had elbow patches on at least one blazer in their closet. Driving a Volvo was like a badge of honor that said, “I could afford a Mercedes, but I’m not that shallow.” We all know where things have gone from there. The competition got up to speed with most if not all of Volvo’s safety measures, and while under the guidance of Ford, quality and reliability that had been a mainstay of the brand fell off a cliff.

Which makes the 2009 Volvo S80 and the forthcoming revision in 2010 even more important. This is not some flash in the pan “crossover,” SUV or two-door hatchback. With the exception of perhaps the wagon, nothing is as important to the Swedish automaker than reestablishing the S80 as the most logical, economical and reliable luxury sedan on the market.

Like it or not, selecting a new vehicle for most people is almost as much about compromise as it is about finding the perfect car. Unless you have deep pockets and a Jay Leno sized garage, to have certain things, you give up others. The pursuit of finding a better balance is the inspiration behind the Jeep Wrangler JK “Weekender” Project Vehicle. The RealWheels people believed that with a little help they could turn the four-door Wrangler into a better daily family hauler, without diminishing its tough off-road capabilities. Here’s what they came up with.

If only in philosophy and not execution, the Maxima has always attempted to convey a performance-first attitude. However, if there was a time when the idea of a “four door sports car” was unique, now would not be it. And not because things like the Porsche Panamera are roaming about either. In fact, nearly every automaker has something in their garage that they offer up as their take on the sporty family sedan. The reality is that it has been awhile, too long in fact, that Nissan offered a truly competitive sports sedan. Perhaps they were distracted by the GT-R or Z. Or maybe they saved the best they had for their Infiniti brand. So it is with more than a little skepticism that we examine the 2010 Maxima, which according to Nissan is the best thing with four doors.

Maybe we’re spoiled. Yeah that’s that right. Spoiled. It used to be that buying a compact car was an excercise in self-sacrifice. And not just of space. Small cars used to also carry with them a variety of other downsides including a void of power, few amenities and questionable reliability. Not so anymore. Now the current field of compact options has expanded and improved to the point where consumers want and can have all of those things and more at a still entry-level price. Which has created a bit of a problem for the 2009 Nissan Sentra, a longtime compact entry and previously solid contender in a crowd that may have left the Sentra in their collective dust.

With all of the performance and mechanical updates to the 2010 Range Rover Sport, you might anticipate that Land Rover is re-energizing themselves by returning to their off-roading, go-anywhere roots. You’d be wrong. While built well, off-road capable, and with a huge amount of new engineering clearly on display, little of its expensive high-tech trappings are meant to make the Range Rover Sport any better off of hard pavement.