January 2016

A little Keys soul in the all-new Buick Cascada convertible

By Russ Heaps
Clanging Bell

(January 31, 2016) I'm not the kind of guy who whines about taking a break from a workation to, well, do a little work. So, when Buick offered me a berth on its Cascada event in Key West, I dropped my paint roller,
repacked my bag and headed to the Ft. Lauderdale airport.

Video: Behind the scenes of the biggest Ford Super Duty stunt ever

(January 29, 2016) The 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty is the toughest Super Duty ever thanks to its all-new high-strength steel frame. Watch, as John Brenkus, host and creator of ESPN Sport Science, hangs more than 60,000 pounds of F-Series trucks — eight F-150s, plus an F-750 Tonka dump truck — from the frame of the toughest, smartest, most capable Super Duty ever built. Check out the video.

Showdown: GMC Canyon Crew Cab vs. Toyota Tacoma Double Cab

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(January 29, 2016) Not long after I drove this gasoline-powered Canyon SLT 4WD at home, it was off to New York State to drive a nearly identical Canyon fitted with GM’s 2.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder diesel. A few weeks later, I also had the opportunity to drive a Toyota Tacoma outfitted with the TRD Off-Road package and a manual transmission.

January new-car sales impacted by historic blizzard, down 3 percent

(January 28, 2016) IRVINE, Calif. — New-vehicle sales are expected to decrease 3 percent year-over-year to a total of 1.12 million units in January, resulting in an estimated 17.1 million seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), according to Kelley Blue Book kbb.com,

"This month's new-car sales were impacted by the historic blizzard Jonas that covered much of the East Coast in snow late in January," said Tim Fleming, analyst for Kelley Blue Book. 

U.S. average gas prices under $2 for 25 days and counting

(January 26, 2016) WASHINGTON — Gas prices have spent 25 consecutive days below $2 per gallon and could head lower still as reduced seasonal demand and falling crude oil costs combine to send pump prices to the lowest mark in six years. Monday's average price of $1.83 per gallon is the cheapest price since January 2009, and retail averages have fallen for 69 of the past 80 days for a total savings of 40 cents per gallon over this span, according to AAA's weekly gas report.

VW's cheating scandal has had greater impact than GM ignition switch recall

(January 26, 2016) RHINEBECK, N.Y.  — Phoenix Marketing International, a global marketing services firm, has released new findings regarding the severity of the recall related to the Volkswagen diesel software cheating scandal which emerged in late 2015.

GMC Sierra 1500 named Trucks.com towing champ

(January 26, 2016) DETROIT — The GMC Sierra 1500 today was named the 2016 Texas Truck Showdown Towing Champion, in a head-to-head capability test conducted by editors from Cars.com, PickupTrucks.com and MrTruck.com.

They praised their Sierra 1500 SLT test truck, which was eq
uipped with the available 6.2L V-8 engine and eight-speed automatic transmission, for its effortless performance. It offered a max trailering rating of 12,000 lbs.

Autotrader names luxury and non-luxury 'Must-Shop CPO Cars'

(January 20, 2016) ATLANTA — Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) vehicles are a great option for shoppers looking for many of the benefits of a new vehicle without the new car price tag. Experts at Autotrader have rounded up 10 CPO luxury and 10 CPO non-luxury vehicles that savvy car shoppers should consider.

For the list of "Must-Shop CPO Cars," experts at Autotrader identified CPO luxury and CPO non-luxury vehicles that are "almost good as new" by offering a similar look to their brand-new counterparts while enabling shoppers to get used-car pricing and a manufacturer-backed warranty.

Why Mazda loves the rotary engine

(January 20, 2016) A new infographic from MazdaPartsUSA.com explains why the Wankel rotary engine continues to be part of Mazda's future product plans. The graphic highlights the rotary engine's superior power to weight ratio, smooth acceleration, and simplicity. The graphic also explains why Mazda "loves" the rotary engine.

Wholesale used vehicle market ends 2015 on down note

(January 19, 2016) MCLEAN, Va. — In their first report of the year, analysts from NADA Used Car Guide, a division of J.D. Power and Associates, determined the wholesale used vehicle market ended 2015 on a bit of a down note. Prices of 8-year-old or newer vehicles fell by almost 2 percent during December.

The fall was much steeper than the 0.5 percent decline during the month for the past five years. The decline also made for the weakest December since 2003. As a result, the NADA Used Car Guide Seasonally Adjusted Used Vehicle Price Index fell by 1.6 percent from November to 122.4.