This week, we’re driving the luxury equipped 2015 Dodge Journey Crossroads, a midsize Crossover/SUV available in seven trims. Journey is built for those that desire a multi-task vehicle in either five or seven passenger design, and allows those working a tight budget the opportunity to own one thanks to a low entry price model.
You can’t call yourself an automotive enthusiast if you haven’t wanted to put a 2015 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon in your garage. It the last of a breed of elemental automobiles that will — in pretty short order — be eradicated from the planet. You’ve been warned. This may be your last chance to get one.
We’ve got a schedule of major OEM press conferences for the 2015 North American International Auto Show next week. Take a look and find the manufacturers you’re interested in. Follow us here, on Facebook and Twitter, and we’ll be posting videos, photos and impressions of the cars we see as we see them.
Ahead of the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, today Volvo announced the availability of the Volvo S60 Cross Country, a sedan with the ground clearance and cladding of a crossover SUV. It’s the latest in a line of off-roady-looking sedans that nobody really cared for.
Toyota has unveiled the 2016 Toyota Tacoma pickup ahead of the 2015 edition of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Just how much would you pay to add a little extra technology to your next car? Your answer probably depends a lot on how flush you are with cash the day you walk into the dealership and how tech obsessed you are in general, but the answer for most of us is up to $1500.
Imagine if you could see pedestrians before your regular headlights illuminate them. Picture keeping your brights on knowing that passing vehicles would never be blinded. Now delete these images and banish them from memory. The U.S. government allows no such innovations.
The National Weather Service is predicting snow, ice, and bitter cold temperatures for the entire eastern half of the country this coming week. States as far south as Georgia will barely make it out of the teens. Here’s what’s going to go wrong in your car this week:
Automakers are a secretive lot. They make you sign your life away with non-disclosures and promises to not take pictures or reveal anything when you’re on their property. They even put fancy tape over your phone and laptop lenses that keep you from taking unauthorized pictures. What happens if you take that tape off? I know one guy who did and, come to think of it, I haven’t seen him since. Yet Toyota has chosen a different route with its hydrogen fuel cell technology by opening up those patents for everyone.
If there’s a Focus ST owner in your life whose birthday is near, allow Ford to gift him the perfect and very generous present of torque. There’s gobs of it, as in 90 lb-ft more than stock.
Along with other items, winners can receive the Pope's espresso machine, a panama hat, a watch or a bicycle. The raffle is intended to aid the poor -- an initiative that Pope Francis has relentlessly pursued. Last year, the Pontiff received 400 sleeping bags with the papal seal on his birthday, which were distributed to the homeless in Rome. 
In February of 2014, Pope Francis's Harley-Davidson Dyna Super Glide -- a gift from Willie G. Davidson, the grandson of the motorcycle manufacturer's founder -- was auctioned for $327,000 at a Paris auction. The leather jacket that came with the bike went for another $77,000.
It was just last Fall that the State of California issued its first autonomous driving permit to Audi and now the automaker is putting their cars to the test on a road trip to CES. California issued the permit giving permission for Audi to test its autonomous cars on public roads with the stipulation that each vehicle have a $5 million bond and that any kind of accident be reported to the DMV. The big test is a 550-mile road trip from San Francisco to Las Vegas, Nevada for this week's Consumer Electronics Show which is drawing the tech obsessed for a week of new product announcements featuring all the latest gadgetry. It won't be Audi's test drivers behind the wheel, but a bunch of auto journalists. You can breath easy if you live along the route because there will at least be a trained driver in the passenger seat at all times. Everyone taking part in the drive got special training at the Arizona Proving Grounds so that they'd each be ready for their 100-mile stint behind the wheel of Jack. Yes, they gave the car a name. At highway speeds of up to 70 MPH, Jack will drive himself down the road without needing any input from a human driver, but that changes once the car gets into city traffic. Although Jack can manage highway traffic by slowing down or speeding up and even handle changing lanes, he does need a human in charge when he leaves the highway. Drivers will be warned of their need to take control through a combination of LEDs at the base of the windshield, signals in the driver information display, a Central Status Indicator (CSI), and an auditory warning. If all this goes ignored, Jack will slow down, pull over, and turn on his hazards. The rest of the time, Jack uses a variety of sensors to safely drive along the road. The long-range sensors used for the Adaptive Cruise Control and Side Assist sensors work with two mid-range radar sensors at the front and rear to give a complete 360-degree view. Laser scanners at the front and rear add additional details that help identify both static and moving objects around the car. Lastly, there's a 3D video camera providing a wide-angle front view with four smaller cameras to provide close-up details. Audi says much of this technology is nearly production ready, with the 3D video camera already making an appearance on the new Audi Q7. The latest and greatest from Audi will all be featured as a part of its "Next Chapter" presentation at CES January 6th through 9th.
The 2014 Ford F-150 Tremor is a special edition of the F-150 that was only made for one year. Sadly, that means you can't get a similar version with the new aluminum construction found on the 2015 models. It's a shame, because there's a lot to like about this beast that isn't so much about splashing through muddy trails off-road like its big brother the Raptor, but instead is all about hitting the street like some hot little hatch. This is the performance version of the F-150 and it comes with a 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 that provides 365 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque. It will help convince you that you do not need a V8 to power a truck. What really stands out about the Tremor, however, isn't what's under the hood, but how it looks. One glance immediately tells everyone else, especially anyone in another truck, that you are the cool kid. 
Think of it as that hot little hatch with chrome tailpipes, a custom metallic paint job, and maybe a completely unnecessary monster spoiler on the back. The Tremor comes with a regular-cab and a short bed with 20" black aluminium wheels. That short bed combines with those big wheels to make this truck look incredibly high off the ground. The optional black running boards that I needed to use ever time I stepped in proved that it really is pretty high up in the air. There are also all-season Pirelli Scorpions and a fancy graphics package that adds black hood and side decals along with "Tremor" on the side of the bed. It looks very good, especially in the Blue Flame Metallic we tested. Inside there's a similar story with a black interior, bright red contrast stitching, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. Big chunky knobs decorate the dash and they're easy to grab if you're wearing work gloves even though this isn't likely the choice for those using their truck as a workhorse. 
The bucket seats proved comfortable and supportive when taking the F-150 Tremor in tight turns which the truck handled well. This is, however, when you will be reminded that you are driving a pickup truck and not a hot hatch. It looks much sportier than it drives, and you will need to ease up on the gas in those turns a bit rather than risk meeting the bushes up close. Drive it in a straight line and you'll get plenty of power, enough to push you back in your seat, but you may be left wanting a bit more if you were judging it on looks alone. Overall the ride is smooth and comfortable. You will feel the bumps and dips in the road but it's not harsh and the ride is better than many other trucks in its class. The small bed proves a plus in tight parking lots making it much easier to fit into smaller parking spots. Hill start assist, hill descent/off-road mode, tow hooks, trailer sway control and tow package, along with skid plates all add to the truck's utility for hauling toys like a dirt bike out into the middle of nowhere to have some real fun. 
You also get ample technology with a 4.2" LCD cluster screen, auxiliary audio-in jack, Sync with MyFord Touch, Sirius, and optional navigation, CD, and rearview camera that's a great help if you're hooking up a trailer. Those options all come as part of packages, however, and will up the starting price for the 2014 Ford F-150 Tremor 4x4 from $38,385 to $45,130. Combine this with fuel economy numbers of 15/21/17 city/highway/combined and it's not the best value you can get in a truck although it is one of the best-looking trucks on the market. The 2014 Ford F-150 Tremor 4x4 was a brief, special edition of what is not just the best-selling truck but the best-selling vehicle overall in the US. There are myriad configurations of the F-150 and this one was designed to appeal to the performance truck enthusiast. It has all the boxes ticked in the looks department and offers an alternative to the off-road hungry Raptor that will make those who prefer the highway very happy. 2014 Ford F-150 Tremor 4x4 Base Price: $38,385 Price As Tested: $45,130 (not including destination charge) Likes
Ever since the Bugatti Veyron made its debut way back in 2005, it has been the supercar to beat all supercars. You can argue all you want about which cars are better or sexier, but the Veyron has managed to capture the hearts of even people who aren't car people. Now there are only 8 more Veyrons left to be built before their run is over and done. The Bugatti Veyron made its debut nearly ten years ago with original plans calling for a run of just 300 units of this luxury supercar. That number went up by 150 when they added in the Grand Sport in 2008 but now the bulk of the cars are gone with just 8 units left to sell to finish out the 450 units. Bugatti's CEO, Wolfgang Dürheimer, confirmed the news speaking to Car Magazine at the company's launch of their first retail boutique on London’s Brompton Road in Knightsbridge. This new store is part of the company's plan to expand the brand, providing clothing and accessories for all those Bugatti fans. The move to open boutiques doesn't mean they'll be forgetting their roots as a luxury automaker. As soon as the factory in France that builds the Veyron finishes the last of them, it will jump right in to prepping pre-series cars for the next Bugatti. If you've been saving to get one of the last few remaining Veyrons to park in your driveway, who are you kidding? No one who buys one of these things actually saves the money to make the purchase. This is the kind of car you just buy on a whim because you are rolling in dough like Scrooge McDuck. Saving for a car is for chumps who buy cheap stuff like Bentleys and Ferraris. You might want to think about picking up something from the Bugatti boutique. Perhaps a $155 pair of Bugatti cufflinks? Even though there are only 8 of these elite cars left to build, it could still be awhile before the final one rolls off the line and into the super rich hands of some lucky guy who already owns a yacht and a private jet. You can figure that if it took almost ten years to build the first 442 units, then we've got a good few months before they sell and build the final eight. You still have time to rummage through the couch cushions and find the last couple of thousand dollars you need.
Automakers spend small fortunes creating memorable ad campaigns for their cars. The hope is that not only will you buy the car, but that it will do something for the brand by raising awareness and cultivating a specific image in the minds of potential buyers. The now infamous Lincoln ad starring a bull and Matthew McConaughey was apparently right on target because two more ads are airing beginning on New Year's Day. The original ad with the bull was, unique? I'm trying not to say weird but let's call it what it was and say it was one weird commercial. McConaughey sat in the Lincoln MKC starring down a bull in the middle of the road and waxing poetic about life and bulls and likely what he was smoking before the shoot. It was weird. Though completely confusing, it did get a lot of attention and it undeniably had people talking about the Lincoln brand. It also had them talking about McConaughey and boogers, but Ellen is to blame for that last one because of her spoof of the ad. You might think that was the end. No more McConaughey. No more bull. No more boogers. Well, at least one of those things is back with McConaughey appearing in two new ads that will start airing during college football games on New Year's Day. This time he's selling the MKZ and MKZ Hybrid in two spots called Balance and Diner. In the ad for the MKZ Hybrid he talks about how it's all about finding balance, saving the environment and yourself, and finding the sweet spot, not hugging trees. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoSLA9sReD0 The ad for the MKZ has him sitting in, you guessed it, a diner, watching the rain pour outside the window where his car is parked. The deluge suddenly stops, and he happily heads out the door to his car. Sadly, there aren't any McConaughey musings in this one, other than a brief happy mumble when he opens the sunroof. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn1lN9LMgvU Has Matthew McConaughey convinced you to buy a Lincoln yet? I'm not running out to buy a Lincoln, but I am taking his advice and not hugging a tree. Also, he may have convinced me to head to my favorite diner for lunch this afternoon. Let the countdown begin to a new round of Lincoln ad spoofs.
It's the holiday season and with New Year's Eve almost upon us, reminders not to drink and drive are everywhere. We all know the dangers and alcohol has been legal for a long enough time that we all know the rules and most of us know our limits. But what about newly legalized drugs like marijuana? Recreational marijuana usage is now legal in Colorado, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, and the District of Columbia, but the laws governing the drug's use by those who get behind the wheel varies greatly from state to state. Although every state has laws on the books to prohibit driving under the influence of drugs, what constitutes too much of the drug in your system wildly differs. Sixteen states have a zero tolerance policy with no presence of prohibited drugs allowed in a driver's system. Five states have specific guidelines for marijuana that allow some of the drug in your system as long as it's below preset limits, just like blood alcohol levels. Is it safe to drive under the influence of a drug like marijuana? The AAA Foundation for Traffic Studies conducts an annual survey of drivers over 16 and found that most people aren't able to answer that question. Not only do they not know the laws in their own state, they're genuinely concerned about what is truly safe. AAA's Traffic Safety Culture study determined that 1-in-6 people say that, in their area, people find it acceptable to drive a car an hour after using marijuana. This is far less than the amount of time that the drug can stay in your system. Government research shows that marijuana can still be detected in a user's system for as long as three hours after use. Driving under the influence of marijuana poses the same dangers as driving under the influence of alcohol with increased sleepiness, reduced reaction times, and decreased handling skills all increasing the chances of an accident. It's not just alcohol and marijuana that pose a risk, but any prescription drug. Those labels that tell you not to operate heavy equipment include your car, although most people don't think twice about taking a prescription medication and getting behind the wheel. AAA has compiled the RoadwiseRX interactive guide to help people understand the possible affects of all drugs, both prescribed and over the counter. There are a lot of factors to consider before getting behind the wheel. If you're unsure, don't take the chance. Put down the keys and find another way home so you, and the rest of us, all get where we're going safely.
Google first revealed its prototype autonomous car back in May with video of their little bubble on wheels zipping down the road with happy people along for the ride. Now, they've unveiled their first finished prototype and we should be all kinds of impressed, but it's really not all that exciting. Part of what made the Google autonomous car so incredible was that it came from Google. It wasn't from Ford or BMW or, you know, an actual car company. It was from a tech giant who many nerds view as the evil empire. What were they doing working on a driverless car? Once you got past the whole Google thing, there was the very different look of the car to overcome. Their car resembles a happy little bubble with wheels and headlights. It's cute and odd and quirky and even a little hipster. Autonomous cars are way cooler than your car and they don't even care if they look sort of weird. They looked weird before weird was cool, which it totally is now. Just ask Google. This official working prototype has a few additions that you wouldn't expect in a driverless car and which were notably absent in the version we saw back in May. In addition to working headlights, something every car needs, this one also gets a steering wheel and pedals. What? You have the state of California to blame for those last bits since cars cannot be on their roads without manual controls. The state does not care that Google's car has 64 lasers that scan across 360 degrees, a camera, and GPS map data to keep it on course. The man is keeping the hipster bubble down. Why isn't this the amazing news it should be? Because there are autonomous features in everything from a Jeep to a Hyundai these days so it doesn't seem all that ground-breaking. You can buy a car that will find a parking space and park itself, one that will beep if you drift from your lane and nudge the wheel back in the right direction, and even be saved from a collision by a car that brakes on its own. Autonomous features are already here in cars that look and feel like cars rather than space pods from a future full of lattes and flannel shirts. Google has said that although they are moving forward with their cars, they would like to partner with automakers to get the tech out there rather than becoming their own automaker. Having more autonomous technology in cars that look, drive, and feel like cars, now that's exciting. Happy little bubble cars - not so much.
BMWs are beautiful but expensive cars so seeing one fitted with equally expensive options isn't a surprise. Still, spending $10,300 on a paint job alone is a little mind-blowing. This pricey paint is called Individual Pure Metal Silver and it's the most expensive color that you can get for your new BMW. According to BMW, this isn't just a pretty shade of silver that costs a lot, but is a truly unique paint. It has hundreds of thousands of ultra-thin aluminum flakes to give it a sheen unlike regular paint and to get a greater depth of shadow on the vehicle's curves. They even make sure that all those little flakes flow in the same direction so that the whole thing looks uniform. BMWs with this paint have to be taken out of the usual production line for the application process which involves a precise series of steps. It's not all computerized robots with spray nozzles. Instead there is plenty of hands-on work to make it look so good. There's even a guy who checks the whole surface of the car with the palm of his hand, feeling the least dust particle that might mar the finish, and then buffing it out to ensure it's as close to perfection as possible. 
This is all a part of what makes the Individual Pure Metal Silver paint so insanely expensive. The paint costs 40 times what it costs for standard paints in the BMW line, hence the $10,300 price tag. Is it worth the high price? BMW F10 Forum member Sealionbest though so when he ordered his new BMW M5 with the option. It recently arrived at the dealership and he took these shots to show off his $10K paint purchase. He's quick to point out that the car wasn't fully prepped and buffed to perfection and that the light wasn't the best. You've got to admit that it does look good. Does it look $10K good? Eh, that's a little harder to answer. Sealionbeast didn't just stop with the fancy paint, but added on a whole bunch of other options that took the $93,600 base price up to a final sticker of $139,804 so, clearly, saving pennies was not his concern. He also didn't see fit to actually buy the car, as he's chosen to lease his fancy new set of wheels. It's also worth noting that he lives in California, where there are no salt and sand trucks dropping little pebbles of paint-shredding doom onto the highways for a good part of the year. Can you imagine the heartbreak when someone dings one of his doors? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otOYaIFgiTo
The premise behind this ad for the Hyundai Sonata is really very cool. You can just imagine a bunch of ad execs sitting around a conference table going all Mad Men as they talk about their plan to use the ExoBaby to convince people they want a Hyundai Sonata. Yet, something went horribly, terribly wrong between that conference table and the finished product. First, the Sonata is a nice car and I'm personally a big fan. I drove it. I liked it. I'd recommend it. The ExoBaby, however, makes me want to run screaming in the opposite direction. I can't tell if he's supposed to be a baby RoboCop or a baby Terminator or some other kind of freaky AI but I do not like him at all. Maybe he's Mega Man's little brother because he seems to have stolen his suit. Who knows? The ad starts off with a baby being made better with his fancy robot suit and the ad steps deep into the uncanny valley of creepiness. We see him karate-chopping like a ninja, falling down the stairs without injury, and then we see the back of his suit opening like an old pair of underwear so he can poop. There are even sound effects to be sure you get that he is pooping. What in the name of all that is Holy does this have to do with the Hyundai Sonata? He then shows off the technological wizardry of his suit as he evades bath time by engaging turbo boost and jumping through a plate glass window. As Mom chases him down the walkway there's even a nod to the Six Million Dollar Man with a little slo-mo accompanied by that bionic sound effect before the kid's dog shuts the gate and traps him in the yard. ExoBaby eventually passes out after a tough day of being a baby and it's revealed that the baby in the suit is really you in your Hyundai Sonata with its advanced high strength steel, smart trunk, and collision warning systems. Get it? Yeah, me neither. All this ad made me do was associate the Hyundai Sonata with baby poop and I somehow don't think that's what they were going for when they were sitting around that conference table. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8yVq0ZNH3g#t=84
The 2014 Toyota Highlander is the third generation of this mid-size SUV with updates that improve its looks, handling, and utility. Toyota is a brand known for producing reliable cars that do the job at a decent price without getting too fancy. The Highlander fits that image providing a mid-size SUV that sits right in between the smaller, sportier RAV4 and the very large 4Runner. It's not too small, not too big, but just right. Goldilocks would approve. The bears, however, would appreciate the Highlander's ample interior space as it can comfortably seat 8 passengers and still have room for cargo behind the third row. If you need to bring along a lot of cargo with those 8 people, then you can hook up a trailer and tow up to 5,000 additional pounds. 
The Toyota Highlander XLE falls in the middle of the model range and comes with heated front seats that are 8-way power-adjustable for the driver, 4-way for the passenger. They're very comfortable and can be pushed back for plenty of legroom and raised high so that anyone can see over the huge hood. Second and third row passengers get bench seats with 60/40 splits for when it's about cargo, not people. The second row also gets sunshades and their own climate control buttons, which are great for keeping everyone in the car happy at the same time. There are an impressive number of storage cubbies in the Highlander. A little shelf that runs along almost the entire dash is perfect for your key fob, sunglasses, or phone and even has a pass through to plug it in and charge it while keeping the wires out of the way. There's also a cavernous center storage compartment. You could easily put an entire Mom-sized purse in there and still have room for more stuff. 
The Toyota Highlander base models come with a 2.7-liter 4-cylinder but the XLE we tested sports a 3.5-liter 6-cylinder with 270 horsepower and 248 lb-ft of torque. This is all paired to a 6-speed automatic transmission that can be manually shifted. It also features a snow setting to help keep your wheels from spinning like tops in bad weather. This third generation features a reworked front strut and independent rear suspension that has improved the Highlander's overall handling. There's also new electric power steering. It all combines to provide a drive that's very car-like. It's controlled and solid on the road without becoming unwieldy at highway speeds. Acceleration is strong, but not impressive. They've also improved the ride by making the cabin quieter. Looking at that huge grille you get a sense that this will ride like a truck, but that's not the case. This is a smooth, refined, and very quiet car that, while not luxurious, is still very nice. 
It's also very safe with all the requisite airbags and a now standard rear view camera. It was rated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety as a Top Safety Pick+ and given a 5-star rating by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Optional safety features include blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, parking assist, and lane-departure warning. The Highlander XLE comes with Toyota's Entune Premium audio system which features an 8" touchscreen, navigation, app suite, AM/FM CD player, MP3/WMA playback, six speakers, aux jack, and USB port. There's also hands-free phone capability, Bluetooth streaming, and voice recognition. The infotainment system is easy to use and uncluttered with plenty of physical buttons so you don't have to be digging through menus with a touchscreen. Fuel economy runs 18 city/24 highway/20 combined which isn't anything special. It puts the Highlander solidly in with the rest of the pack. It's bested by the Nissan Pathfinder but on all other fronts it's an almost negligible difference between models in this class. 
Looking at all that the Highlander has to offer, you might be bracing yourself to hear what it costs. Relax, this is a Toyota, so it's not priced sky-high. The base LE starts at $30,000 with the Limited coming in at the top of the range at $40,000. There is also a hybrid option that marks the highest priced Highlander with a bit heftier $47,500 price tag. Our XLE was $37,843. The 2014 Toyota Highlander is a solid choice for an 8-passenger SUV offering affordable comfort as well as plenty of versatility at a price that's easy on your wallet. 2014 Toyota Highlander XLE Base Price: $37,500 Price As Tested: $37,843 (not including destination charge) Likes