By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Ford may be the owner of one of the best kept secrets in the automotive marketplace.

That’s not a good thing because it shows that Ford may be spending its advertising money in the wrong places, or perhaps just not spending enough on one of its really good products. If you’ve got something in showrooms that stands out, push it. Ballyhoo it. Shout it to the rafters, “…this is a great product! Please drive it! Take it home and live with it for 24 hours.”

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The truth be known some us think the car should have been named the Taurus 500 from the get-go. For those who remember the Fairlane/Fairlane 500 or the Galaxy/Galaxy 500 we knew that the 500 designation meant a step-up; real good stuff and better all-around. We didn’t quite know what Five Hundred stood for. Others think that Taurus is just old baggage. Then again some of us don’t think the name is going to make much difference. Really.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

SEATTLE — The press introduction of the 2008 Ford Focus here was actually two introductions in one.

At the same time the compact car was revealed to journalists, Ford introduced an innovative wireless communication system called Sync, which launched in the Focus and has since begun to filter into the rest of the Ford-Mercury-Lincoln lineup.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman


Here’s an automotive question that will probably stump most people. The answer may come as a surprise.

What automaker was first to the showroom with a hybrid sport utility vehicle? Aha. You’re wrong if you instinctively answered Toyota, the world’s most prolific hybrid builder.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

We were sitting in the parking lot of a convenience going through the Sirius satellite radio offerings when a couple women walked by obviously admiring the red Dodge Nitro R/T.

"Look at that truck. That's what I want," one of them remarked to the other as they slid past keeping their eyes glued on the in-your-face Nitro.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

It seems that Chrysler’s biggest problem is too few products that stand out, that say check me out first before going to another store. And if buyers consistently avoid Chrysler stores, all is lost for the re-emerging company.

Despite Consumer Reports magazine’s recent proclamation that most of Chrysler’s products are generally inferior, Chrysler has some good stuff, certainly worthy of a look and in most cases worthy of a test drive.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The 2008 Dodge Avenger brings a bold attitude to the popular mid-sized sedan segment dominated by the mainstream Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The minivan segment has been distilled over the past couple of years into the “big three” — Chrysler (and Dodge), Honda and Toyota — and a few smaller players.

Gone from the segment are industry giants General Motors and Ford; both having deciding to redirect their resources into crossover sport utilities and vehicles of a different ilk.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

No car in our memory has been pitched to the American public like the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu. We can’t fathom a man, woman or child who reads a newspaper or magazine, watches television or surfs the Web that hasn’t seen at least one if not a 100 commercial spots for the newest Chevy. Rumors have it that the budget for Malibu is between $100 and $150-million dollars. That’s lots of scratch.

By Jim Meachen

Like most automotive journalists, we’re power junkies. The more power the more fun. That’s usually the bottom line.

But there are other things power brings to the table. For instance, the more power the better to extricate one-self from those occasional troubling encounters on crowded highways. Power is confidence inspiring.

So when there’s a choice of engines, we usually desire to drive the biggest and most powerful in the lineup.