Reviews

For vehicle review columns

Chevrolet Equinox takes brand in the right direction

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.

Chevy’s 2005 SSR halo car hooks onto performance

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.

Chevy Silverado hybrid — more generator than gas saver

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The storm hits with ferocity knocking out electricity for miles. It will be hours, maybe days, before power is restored as the storm rages.

Most people will be eating, reading and sleeping by lantern light. They’ll get their news on a battery-operated television or radio. And if the outage stretches from hours into days, they will worry about their food spoiling in the refrigerator and freezer.

Chevrolet Silverado SS and ’06 Intimidator editions have ‘em smokin’

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.
 

Chevrolet Cobalt – worthy of attention

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.

New 2005 C6 infinitely better, but still a Corvette

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.

Iconic Corvette drop top still the American dream in 2005 and better than ever

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.

Cadillac headed in right direction with new XLR

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Back in the days of black and white movies, radio comedy dominated by Jack Benny and Bob Hope and before the invention of interstate highways, Cadillac was the standard of the world.

If you purchased a Cadillac you were buying the best automobile available in the U.S. It was a symbol that you had made it – you had reached the pinnacle.
                  

STS makes Cadillac a real world player

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Cadillac’s amazing renaissance is almost complete with the introduction this fall of the STS, the all-new full-sized sports sedan that replaces the Seville and the Seville STS in the Cadillac lineup.

It is perhaps the best Cadillac in history. That’s a tall statement, but not difficult to defend especially after spending a week behind the wheel marveling at the sedan’s driving dexterity and smooth, seamless performance.

LaCrosse leads new Buick entries

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Buick is undergoing a rather interesting transformation. The century-old General Motors’ division is replacing four popular sedans with two new ones.
 
For 2005, Buick has taken its two mid-sized sedans and combined them into one vehicle. Lucerne is the merger of Buick’s two large sedans, LeSabre and Park Avenue into a single car.