2012 NAIAS FAILS
When you bring a concept car or a production car to a big show like the North American International Auto Show, you really want to make a statement with that car and get as much good press as possible. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out and these are the cars we think fall into that category. Continue reading
Family wagon, mini-mini-van, crossover, people carrier, or standing in a class of it’s own? The Mazda 5 was introduced in the American market back in 2005. Although small family cars like this are popular in Europe and Asia, they are not prevalent in America. There isn’t much here that competes directly with the Mazda 5 and it’s not terribly hard to see why. We love our SUV’s. If you’re looking for a vehicle to carry 6 people, there are a slew of options that are bigger and have much more interior room. What if you’re looking for fuel economy and price point though?
Being a driver in Texas, you keep in the back of your mind, while car shopping at least, that you never know what kind of terrain you may encounter. The idea of a taller, more rugged SUV is a very appealing one for a family. But SUV’s are expensive, and even the ones that are good on fuel economy, aren’t that great. The Mazda 5 on the other hand is a bargin for a vehicle that can seat 6 people in comfort. In the 2012 model, Mazda implemented more of their flowing design style. This makes the 5 appear smaller than it actually is. So as you stand outside of it thinking, how am I going to fit anyone into that third row, it’s easy to doubt this cars appeal. Continue reading
2011 Ford Explorer reviewed by txGarage
In the time leading up to us reviewing the 2011 Ford Explorer, I was already quite excited about it. All Ford products we’ve driven in the last few years have been getting better and better and there is no getting away from the fact that this is one nice looking SUV. Continue reading
2011 Mitsubishi Outlander GT reviewed by txGarage
A car manufacture tries to instill in his brand a certain look and feel to help distinguish that brand from many others in the market. The idea is to have a consumer instantly recognize that vehicle as being a part of the brand, even if they couldn’t see the badging on the car. This is a good thing to strive for as a company, but it also helps progress the design and style of cars over the world. Where these ides sometimes go awry is when a manufacture is so dedicated to it’s design that it crosses car design with SUV design, or truck design with car. Two big examples are the Porsche Cayenne and the first design of the Ford Fusion. In Porsche’s case, the Cayenne is made to look like a huge 911, and it’s never really worked. In Ford’s case, they tried implementing their trucks “three bar” grille design into a car. Although the Fusion isn’t a terribly ugly car, I would say that keeping a distinguished design like the one found in the new Focus is a better way to go. Continue reading
2011 GMC Terrain SLT-2 review by txGarage
Writing and editing for txGarage has its perks. I had a very special trip planned to one of my favorite destinations on the Texas coast, Port Aransas, and needed something that could haul me and my friends down there in comfort, plus handle the terrain when we got there. We considered a few different options for this trip, but when GM offered to us the GMC Terrain, we thought it sounded like the perfect choice.
We actually test drove the Terrain at it’s launch in Las Colines back in 2009. Adam had the opportunity to swing it around the urban roads of the area and said he really liked the looks and the way this SUV handles around town. That’s great to hear, but we are taking it on a long cruise to the coast and then looking for some “on the sand” abilities. So how did it fair? Continue reading
2010 Toyota Venza
Sometimes you just don’t have a good day. Something happens in the morning that puts you behind schedule, or someone makes a comment that bugs you all day. Sometimes your bad day can turn into a bad week and sometimes your bad week can turn into a bad month. You never really know what the future brings. All you do know is that you want all these bad things to just stop so your life can start over again. This is how Toyota must be feeling. Toyota is just not having a good year so far. As far as I can tell here, they have had to issue at least 4 recalls in the past few months and have had to terminate selling certain vehicles all together. When they are in the news, it’s most certainly bad news and now when you think of the brand you no longer think superior quality. We are keeping all of this out of consideration while testing our new Toyota vehicles in the garage this month. To us, Toyota is still synonymous with “beige excellence” and this 2010 Toyota Venza is no different. Continue reading
2010 Buick Enclave
When I was young, I bought some of those x-ray glasses out of the back of a magazine. Although my parents tried to warn me, I insisted that they would work, plus they looked really cool. After weeks of waiting, checking the mail every day when I got home from school, the package finally showed up. I rushed to my room and ripped open the box throwing all the packing all over my room. As I pulled the glasses out and put them on my face, I felt an immediate sense of dissatisfaction. I ran around the house looking at everything I could thinking they have to work, yet they wouldn’t look through a thing. Not only did they not work as advertised, they were also cheaply made and broke within the first few days of having them. It has been a long time since I’ve felt this kind of dissatisfaction, that is until this week. Continue reading
Spyed 2010 Toyota 4Runner
The State Fair of Texas is coming up, September 25th to October 18th, and along with the rides and food comes one of the largest car shows for Texans. Most of the cars showing at the Fair will already be available in showroom floors but there should be a few surprises.
One of these will be the all new 2010 Toyota 4Runner. Toyota has announced that they will be debuting the new 4Runner at the State Fair, and what better place. Car and Driver managed to get their hands on some spy shots of the new body-on-frame SUV. Check out the shots at caranddriver.com.
Be sure that we’ll be giving you all the information we find out about cars coming to the State Fair.