By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, in addition to a handful of other imports including the Volkswagen Passat, have become the benchmarks for the mid-sized family sedan.

To successfully compete in this still-lucrative segment, a car needs to emulate the Japanese and German products in build quality, content, reliability, drivability and design.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Take heart, our newly minted high school graduate. If you want new, you can get new, and you can land a very serviceable car to carry you through four years of college for around 12 grand.

Of course, you can also purchase a good used car, probably with a few more amenities, for the same price. But new is new and you get that new car warranty as well.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Chevrolet has introduced some noteworthy new products over the past couple of years. 

One of its best efforts is the 2004 mid-sized Malibu sedan, a definite step up from the previous edition. The all-new Corvette, which will reach showrooms in September, promises to be a home run.

But the bowtie division’s crowning 21st Century achievement to this point is the just-arrived 2005 Equinox sport utility vehicle.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

A hardtop convertible pickup styled after a late-40s Chevy truck sounds intriguing.

It sounded intriguing to General Motors, too, when Wayne Cherry, now-retired vice president of GM design, offered the idea several years ago. And as a concept vehicle, it caught the imagination of the press and the car-buying public. It was really an exceptional design.

By Jim Meachen

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Think hard, what does a Chevrolet SS bring to mind?

If you thought “muscle car” then you are probably thinking along the same lines as a vast majority of Americans. SS is one of the terms that had become synonymous with the muscle-car era of the ’60s.
 

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman



Sad to say, but perhaps the best small car to ever come out of a General Motors assembly plant may not get the customer attention it deserves this year.

The all-new 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt is the compact car Chevrolet should have built several years ago to replace the aged Cavalier. But the Cavalier soldiered on until last fall with only one major upgrade — in 1995 — and minor improvements here and there through nearly 25 years of production.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

MILFORD, Mich. --- If it had been one of those typical summer days with just scattered showers where outdoor activities are possible in-between the cloudbursts, everything might have gone as planned.

Instead, it was one of those rare July afternoons when the rain never stops. One of those days when Mother Nature teases with occasional periods of drizzle only to dump buckets about the time you think there may actually be a break.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman



The Corvette convertible was made for late spring and summer nights as the soothing softer air mixes with the rumble of a passionate V-8 and the lyrics of some classic rock takes one home to day’s past.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Some vehicles simply defy soaring gas prices. No matter how insanely high pump prices go, these vehicles are still a “must have.”

Perhaps you will have to keep the old computer for another 12 months or put off the new riding lawn mower purchase for a year or two to keep your new motorized toy fueled and ready without throwing the household budget completely out of whack.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Chevrolet has put a bit of performance back into its model mix.

Improved performance is designated by the reemergence of the SS trim level, and there are nine Chevy models with the SS badge for 2006.

The SS or Super Sport performance package was first unveiled in 1961 and earned a place in automobile lore through the ’60s culminating with such beasts as the 1971 Malibu SS with 425 horsepower.