By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Rich Truesdell spied what he believes to be the upcoming SLK 350 on Friday while cruising in California. Is there anyone else who feels that from the front wheels forward it might resemble the next-generation Dodge Charger? See more pics at Automotive Traveler.

By Rich Truesdell

Automotive Traveler

Let’s get the negative stuff out of the way right up front. If you’re looking for an SUV or crossover that gets 30 miles to the gallon, look elsewhere. This isn’t it. And if you’re looking for a luxury SUV with the interior fittings of a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, then the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 is going to come up short in that department, too. But if you want a wickedly fast, reasonably priced vehicle (if any factory-built Jeep with a sticker price of nearly $50,000 can be so qualified), then your ride has arrived. Think of the 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 as a bargain-basement alternative to the higher-priced Teutonic spreads, the Porsche Cayenne Turbo and the BMW X5 M. In fact, in almost every objective performance measurement, it’s the on-road performance equal of its esteemed rivals from Stuttgart by way of Leipzig, as well as Bavaria by way of South Carolina. Read More at Automotive Traveler.

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Looking for more than just any old station wagon to haul home the groceries from your local Whole Foods? Then here’s your ride: A one-off ’50s Mercedes-Benz station wagon. This vision was probably a bit different in 1956 for Mrs. Caroline Folke, a woman of apparent means (with homes in Paris, Manhattan, and Palm Beach) for whom a top-of-the-line Chrysler, Mercury, or Buick station wagon would simply not suffice. Back when nearly everyone liked Ike, she walked into the New York City Mercedes-Benz dealership with a most unusual request: a brand new Mercedes-Benz station wagon. At the time, Mercedes-Benz was re-establishing itself in the automobile business. It was just 11 years after the end of the Second World War, after all. They were apparently eager to fill her unusual request—even though station wagons were not part of the Mercedes-Benz model range in 1956. Read More at Automotive Traveler!

By Rich Truesdell

Automotive Traveler

Vacationers wanting to get away and business people traveling to their next meeting over the next several weeks shouldn’t get too upset if they have to drive off the rental lot with a less than desirable make and model. At least they’ll have a car, and it probably won’t be a Toyota.

Last week the four largest rental operators in North America all announced that they would stop renting Toyota vehicles that could be affected by sticky accelerator pedals. So what percentage of the vehicles at the nation’s major rental companies are Toyota cars and trucks? And how will the nation’s travelers feel in the long run about picking up the keys to a Toyota at the rental counter? Read more at Automotive Traveler

By Rich Truesdell

Automotive Traveler

I took this photograph of the Saab booth at last month’s Los Angeles Automobile Show, knowing full well it might be the last time we would see the embattled Swedish brand’s wares on display at a major auto show. I couldn’t help thinking, as I walked around the gorgeous near-production 9-5, what a crying shame it would be if we were to lose the iconoclastic and quirky brand. On New Year’s Day morning, Autoblog.com posted an interview that gives a faint light at the end of a long, dark tunnel that Saab might dodge the Grim Reaper. By Thursday, January 7, we should have our answer. As a serial orphan-car owner, I’m hoping that in the weeks to come I won’t feel compelled to go out and buy an Eighties-era Saab 900, that the brand will survive, and that the 9-5, the 9-3, and the Cadillac SRX-related 9-4X will see the light of day in your local Saab showroom. Continue reading more about the Saab Retrospective at Automotive Traveler!

By Jim Brennan

UDMan

Have you ever noticed that the car model you owned in the past has grown in size, in weight, and in displacement? This phenomenon affects almost every car line from BMW to Honda, with a few exceptions. Remember when the name Honda was synonymous with lightweight, economical cars? The company established itself in the United States in 1970 with the N600, a small four-seater. It hit pay dirt with the introduction of the larger 1973 Honda Civic, a car that was light and fuel-efficient yet could fit four adults in modest comfort. Honda sold many first-generation Civics during its seven-year run, as the car was just what Americans needed during the first OPEC oil embargo. During subsequent redesigns, Honda offered more Civic models. What had been just a two-door truncated sedan became a three-door hatchback, a formal four-door sedan, even a five-door wagon. Engine size increased as well, growing from a 1.3-liter four-cylinder to a 2.5-liter. Read more about the ever growing models, including BMW, and a surprise Detroit entry at Automotive Traveler.

By Rich Truesdell

Automotive Traveler

GM’s Bob Lutz is staking the Cadillac CTS-V against all-comers as part of General Motors “May the Best Car Win” advertising challenge. Automotive Traveler is up to the challenge and takes him up on his offer (as does Jalopnik, The Truth About Cars, Autoblog, and others!)

The Cadillac CTS is in the opinion of this reviewer, a world-class luxury car, a clear case where GM set the development bar high against its intended competition, and in most regards, exceeded expectations. Clearly, offering a class-competitive entry closer in size and power to a BMW 5 Series while priced closer to a 3 Series was a smart positioning move. This was followed by the introduction of the mammothly-powered CTS-V, with a 556-horsepower engine that would set at the time a production sedan lap record at the Nürburgring of 7:59:32 (anything under eight minutes is damn fast). The CTS-V clearly had the BMW M5 in its crosshairs and its time to tell the automotive world that America had finally came to play with the big dogs. Now, how to get this message across? Thus the CTS-V Challenge at the Monticello Motor Club 90 miles north of New York City. If GM invites us to the party where we plan to show up in a 2009 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. Read more about our challenge, and the course layout at Automotive Traveler.

By Rich Truesdell

Automotive Traveler

It might seem that since I bought my 1965 Corvair Corsa back in August that there’s been a lot Corvair content on Automotive Traveler and you would be right. But this listing for our “Not Found on eBay” segment was brought to my attention by a reader in the Phoenix area who saw this car listed on Craigslist. It is one of just 6000 cars produced in the Corvair’s final year of production. The two-door 500 Sport Coupe was the most popular model outselling by 55 units the up-market Monza model (2,717) in addition to the 521 Monza convertibles. There’s an interesting back story to this Corvair. It seems that this 1969 Chevrolet Corvair 500 Series Coupe was purchased new from General Motors by Pellini Chevrolet of Sebastopol, California. It was never registered and it remained part of the dealership’s private collection until it was sold in December 2008. Read more about this fascinating Corvair at Automotive Traveler.

By Rich Truesdell

Automotive Traveler

Over its 27-year history the Newport Beach Concours has been held at many venues. It seems as if it’s finally found a home. Say goodbye to the Newport Beach Concours d’Elegance, and say hello to the Concours d’Elegance at the St. Regis Resort. Organizers are usually reluctant to change a name long associated with an event, but in this case, it hardly mattered, as it had been several years since Newport Beach had actually played host. Warmly welcomed by both the community of Dana Point as well as the world class St. Regis Resort, the Concours d’Elegance now has room to grow and prosper. The fairways and close-by parks provide an outstanding venue to showcase a stunning collection of motorcars. The vehicles on display were primarily from the period before 1948 but also included some very nice examples of more modern ( up to 1975 if we can call that modern) exotic and touring cars.

In the spirit of full disclosure I must admit to being close friends with the event’s organizers, President Bruce Junor and Chairman of the Board Dick Waitneight who for the past two years have afforded me the opportunity to photograph the cars as they enter the concours show field. This year, with almost 200 cars passing before my camera, I was able to photograph some of the most elegant and sporting shapes to ever grace four wheels. From pre-World War One classics like the Blitzen Benz, to limited production concept cars like the one-of-five 1940 Chrysler Thunderbolt with its body by LeBaron and ahead-of-its-time retractable hardtop, to my favorites from the fifties and sixties like Studebaker’s innovative supercharged Avanti, there was something for every auto aficionado to savor. Read more at Automotive Traveler, and be sure to take a look at the high resolution images of the event while you’re there.

By Rich Truesdell

Automotive Traveler

General Motors underwent an unprecedented “engineered” bankruptcy this summer. As it is sheds divisions right and left, historic nameplates are being discarded and the company that once had over 50% of the new car market has lost the recipe. So what’s to become of Cadillac in the future? It needs to compete with the likes of Mercedes-Benz, Rolls Royce, Bentley, and the relatively new upstart from Japan, Lexus.

A new commercial, titled “Reignition” is a great start, but you really can’t run a luxury division with three body styles of what are essentially the same car, and an upscale clone of a Chevrolet crossover. The two-seat XLR sports car will be discontinued shortly, as will the STS and the DTS. The Escalade will live on though as pointless as it may be seen by many because America can’t seem to get enough of these rolling excesses. It has, over the last decade, been a very successful product in terms of sales for what was once the Standard of the World. But does it send the right message? Read more of my article at Automotive Traveler, and see if you agree with me.

Continue reading "The Standard of the World: How to Reinvent Cadillac" »