Jonathan McGrew, Contributing Writer
Articles
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If you haven’t seen the 2012 Ford Focus, then what I am about to say is going to come as a bit of a surprise. The 2012 Ford Focus is probably the best compact car that Ford has produced yet....
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Fiat Official Reveals 2012 Fiat 500 Convertible Will Come To U.S. in 2011
Earlier this week we checked out the 2012 Fiat 500 and the first drive report. What we found out was that the Fiat will be a fun, but not particularly performance oriented mini car—at least until the Abarth edition makes it to the U.S. sometime in the future. However, those on the west coast...
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Another Six to Four: Will BMW Change the 1- and 3-Series To Smaller Engines?
Recently, we reported on the Mercedes-Benz plan to go from six cylinders to four cylinders and it appears to be catching. BMW released a statement this month saying that the company will bring the first four-cylinder turbocharged engine to the U.S. later this year. The question that remains is...
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Zipcar Puts Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid In the Hands Of U.S. Drivers
If you are like me, then you probably can’t stand the idea of ordering a car that cost five figures and part of what you make in the year without driving it. So what are you to do? If you are one of the tens of thousands of consumers out there then you probably go an take a test-drive. That...
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2011 Chevrolet Camaro: Better When You Go Topless?
There are a lot of mixed feelings about one of Chevrolet’s longest running, iconic muscle cars. Yes, we are definitely talking about the Camaro and the love it or hate it sense that consumers have with it. Whenever you redesign a vehicle you will have critics, but the Camaro originally one...
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Mercedes-Benz To Introduce Compact Front-Wheel Drives In U.S. Market
Mercedes-Benz is known as a luxury brand to U.S. consumers—one that symbolizes success. The chances are that when you think of a Mercedes images of lawyers, doctors and celebrities will come to mind. And why not, some of the Mercedes portfolio will take six figures in order for a consumer to...
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Are you in the market for a Chevrolet Volt? If you are, you probably are in two situations: waiting for delivery because you were an early adopter or on a waiting list with a lengthy wait to receive...
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2012 Fiat 500: MINI Competitor Or Spaghetti Western?
Italian car aficionados have been looking forward to the return of Fiat for some time; in fact, it has been a rumor that the Fiat brand would come back to the U.S. pretty much since it left. Now is the time for the Red, White and Green to shine with the introduction of the 2012 Fiat 500 to the...
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Ford Reveals WiFi System To Reduce Traffic Hazards
They slogan used to go, “Quality is Job 1.” If you aren’t familiar that was the ad slogan from Ford’s commercials almost 20 years ago. In today’s automotive world that slogan could be changed to “Technology is Job 1.” With the introduction of the SYNC...
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Electric Smarts: The First ForTwo Electric Drive Delivered
Electric car are getting a lot of attention in the media as of late and for good reason; the electric car represents the future of American motor—of a sorts anyway. Even with the introduction of other powertrain combinations as we reported on yesterday with the Volkswagen XL1 concept, the...
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VW Develops Car That Can Travel 313 Miles On Single Gallon
Volkswagen unveiled a new car at the 2011 Qatar Motor Show this week, a car that also caught the attention of the BBC in the UK. The car they unveiled isn’t a production car, but instead a new concept car that highlights that there could be alternatives to all-electric cars—at least...
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Ford Will Continue To Live In a Wired World Despite Consumer Reports
There is no doubt that Ford is leading the charge on voice-activated in-car technology—in fact they are the only company that makes this technology available to all of the product lines regardless of the price tier. Generally, we approve when technology moves from the highline to the mass...
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What makes an electric vehicle environmentally friendly or green? Most would say it is the zero-emissions of the all-electric motor. However, the 2012 Ford Focus Electric has more going for it than...
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Six to Four: Mercedes Reintroduces the Four-Cylinder to the C-Class
The times are a changing, at least as far as the relationship between engine size and power output are concerned. We are starting to see V8 coming down to V6 with direct injection and turbochargers and V6 engines coming down to four-cylinder engines with direct injection and a combination of either...
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Consumers Clamor For Crossovers Leaving Small Cars On the Lot
The North American International Auto Show or Detroit Auto Show has created a lot of buzz in the industry over the last week. We have seen the debuts of some neat cars like the Hyundai Veloster and heard some interesting announcements like the small car and electrification plan from The Ford Motor...
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2011 Nissan Juke Captures Attention Of 20-Something Buyers
Whenever you are in the market for a new car it seems like the number of choices are overwhelming. The number of variables that may factor into your buying decision can also be daunting. In this particular case, a friend of mine—a young twenty something—has been looking for a new car to...
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BMW 3-Series Tops Most Searched Used Car In the UK, But What About U.S.?
The BMW 3-Series has been a popular car for some time now; in fact we have talked about it being rated a Car and Driver 10Best for over a decade a couple of times. Interestingly enough, last week the UK version of the Auto Trader came out with a study of the most searched for used cars in 2010. Now...
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The Nissan Leaf Drive Electric Tour Starts To Wind Down, Get Your Drive In One
What is the first thing you want to do when you see a car that you like the look of? If you are anything like me, then you are going to want to drive it. Some of the auto manufacturers realize that consumers want to get a chance to try before they buy and most would prefer to do it in a low...
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Ford is getting a lot of press with the introduction of their 10 small vehicles and electrification plan earlier this week at the 2011 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). Of course, that...
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Ford Shows They Aren’t Afraid Of Small Cars With 10 New Models At NAIAS
With CES last week and the 2011 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) this week, there is a lot of news hitting the wire. In fact, a lot of news is coming out of one auto manufacturer in particular—Ford. Last week, AllSmallCars.com was right there with the breaking news of the 2012...
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2012 Ford Focus Electric Uses “The Butterfly Effect”
Ford stole the show at this years CES with their introduction of the 2012 Ford Focus—okay so it was really the Focus Electric that stole the show. With well over 600 viewers on the Ford Electric Facebook page and a solid line to get into the keynote, according to our sources on Twitter, the...
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BREAKING: Ford Takes On LEAF With All-New Focus Electric and Half the Charging Time
The all-new 2012 Ford Focus Electric has already been buzzing with the release of pictures on one of the Ford Facebook pages earlier this week (see our report). That is just the prong of the proverbial extension cord. Ford official announced the all-new 2012 Ford Focus Electric today and some...
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Small Cadillac Takes Big Honors From AutoWeek
Cadillac isn’t known for producing small cars, but that may be changing for the brand that was once called the “Standard of the World.” The Cadillac CTS coupe is a foray into a new market for Cadillac. That isn’t to say that the company hasn’t ever produced coupes...
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Ford Teases All-New 2012 Focus Electric With Facebook Photos
The automotive industry can be like a good telenovela—lots of teasers and to be continued endings. That is exactly what we have on our hands right now with the latest images released by Ford. What do they depict? The all-new 2012 Ford Focus Electric. What do we know for sure? Only tidbits...
Jonathan McGrew