http://www.thecarconnection.com/tips Sat, 28 Nov 2009 10:06:04 -0500 Tips and Advice -- find out how to maintain, service, insure, wash and wax, and change the oil in your car with tips from TheCarConnection.com. Lifestyle/Fashion http://static.thecarconnection.com/website/tcc-feed.jpg http://www.thecarconnection.com/tips http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038986_tesla-to-choose-downey-for-model-s-electric-sedan-plant http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038986_tesla-to-choose-downey-for-model-s-electric-sedan-plant Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:44:00 -0500 Two adjacent Southern California cities have been competing for the factory where Tesla Motors will build its all-electric 2012 Model S luxury sports sedan. Now, a pair of local papers have scooped the automotive press and broken the news: Downey beats Long Beach. Downey Mayor Mario Guerra told the Downey Patriot that the deal is "99.9 percent ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038985_2011-kia-cadenza-to-replace-amanti-meanwhile-optima-is-top-model http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038985_2011-kia-cadenza-to-replace-amanti-meanwhile-optima-is-top-model Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:29:00 -0500 Hyundai has risen from barely-noticed econo-car maker to winner of the North America Car of the Year with the Genesis Sedan, but what of little sister Kia? They've been hard at work improving their image, too, and one of their next steps will be the replacement of the Amanti sedan. The Kia Cadenza unveiled in South Korea today is pegged to ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038879_subaru-to-debut-two-new-wrx-models-at-laone-racy-one-luxe http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038879_subaru-to-debut-two-new-wrx-models-at-laone-racy-one-luxe Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:01:00 -0500 If you've browsed through any of the tuner magazines or fan sites and salivated over the WRX spec C that's on offer in Japanese domestic market (JDM) spec, you won't have to wait much longer for the real thing. Well, almost the real thing. Soon, the new 2010 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Special Edition for the U.S., that's being shown for the first ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038871_2011-bmw-5-series-preview-and-first-photos http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038871_2011-bmw-5-series-preview-and-first-photos Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:38:00 -0500 This afternoon, the 2011 BMW 5-Series sedan gets its long-awaited world premiere. Part of the new generation of BMW large cars, the new sedan is closely linked to the 2010 BMW 5-Series Gran Turismo we reviewed for you in September. BMW also confesses the new 5er shares many of its mechanical systems with the big 7-Series sedan, which was ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038766_2010-lexus-es-350-gets-classier-cabin-better-detailing http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038766_2010-lexus-es-350-gets-classier-cabin-better-detailing Sat, 21 Nov 2009 11:42:00 -0500 The front-wheel-drive ES 350 has long been the most subtle car in Lexus' already hardly overt lineup--appealing to those who want a smooth, responsive, quiet, and very comfortable luxury car, with some world-class technology features inside. For 2010, the ES 350 gets a number of changes, but it doesn't deviate one bit from its formula--all ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038328_2010-subaru-legacy-better-bumpers-cut-repair-costs-says-iihs http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038328_2010-subaru-legacy-better-bumpers-cut-repair-costs-says-iihs Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:24:00 -0500 The stylish and delicate-looking front and rear bumper areas of most new vehicles are, just as they appear, damage-prone and expensive to fix, even from minor parking-lot-speed impacts. However the new 2010 Subaru Legacy fares well; in the latest round of bumper evaluations from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), it gets one of ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036739_preview-2011-buick-regal http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036739_preview-2011-buick-regal Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:45:00 -0500 What is it?: The relaunch of the popular Regal nameplate, which will be Buick's new mid-size sedan  The basics: Four-cylinder only for now; front-wheel drive, 180+ hp Price: $21,500 (estimated) On sale: late 2010/early 2011 Rumors of the Buick Regal's return to production have been circulating for months, and at a dealers' meeting this week, ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037807_2011-dodge-charger-previewed-in-chrysler-five-year-plan http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037807_2011-dodge-charger-previewed-in-chrysler-five-year-plan Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:05:00 -0500 With the current Dodge lineup marked for split from the Ram Trucks line, the existing products will need a revamping to match the new, more lithe, brand image. To that end, the Dodge Charger will get a full update for 2011, a hint of which was previewed in Chrysler's five-year plan this morning, and spotted by Fox Car Report's Gary ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037749_unofficial-preview-rendering-of-volksagens-new-midsize-sedan http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037749_unofficial-preview-rendering-of-volksagens-new-midsize-sedan Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:30:00 -0500 It's no secret that Volkswagen plans to kill off the Passat and replace it with a larger, purpose-built-for-Americans midsize sedan codenamed, in a fit of startling creativity, the New Midsize Sedan, or NMS. But what the NMS will look like has been left to little more than monochrome watercolors and line-art sketches so far. That is, until ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037307_super-gaff-o-matic-biden-reveals-entire-fisker-lineup http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037307_super-gaff-o-matic-biden-reveals-entire-fisker-lineup Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:46:00 -0400 Vice President Joe Biden, known for repeated instances of foot-in-mouth disease, unwittingly spilled the beans on Fisker Automotive's plan for a Delaware-built, three-vehicle family of plug-in hybrids. Fox News reports that Biden told press gathered in Wilmington, Del., that Fisker would eventually build 100,000 plug-in hybrid sedans, coupes ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1034973_tcc-tip-can-the-bmw-7-series-get-baby-on-board http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1034973_tcc-tip-can-the-bmw-7-series-get-baby-on-board Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:30:00 -0400 A few times each week, TheCarConnection reaches into our mail bag to answer car questions and offer advice our readers can't find anywhere else. Today's question comes to us from North Carolina, from a reader who wants to know if he can get his babies on board in the new big Bimmer: I enjoyed your review of the 2009 BMW 7-Series.  I have three ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036546_first-drive-2010-volkswagen-polo http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036546_first-drive-2010-volkswagen-polo Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:00:00 -0400 Is it 1973 all over again? Volkswagen is amping up for a fuel-economy battle with Honda and Ford, right here in America, with a new hatchback. Only this time, some of the names have changed, and so have the rules. Come 2011 or so, it's the VW Polo readying for a fight with the Honda Fit and Ford Fiesta. The fuel economy sea-changes and ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037055_2010-suzuki-kizashi-inside-up-close http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037055_2010-suzuki-kizashi-inside-up-close Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:43:00 -0400 Last week TheCarConnection.com brought you our First Drive impressions of the new 2010 Suzuki Kizashi, and posted a comprehensive Bottom Line that covers styling, performance, quality, safety, and features, among other aspects. The Kizashi is an all-new sedan in a new segment for Suzuki, and based on our street drive and head-to-head ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036969_fusion41-social-media-campaign-pits-2010-ford-fusion-owners-against-each-other http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036969_fusion41-social-media-campaign-pits-2010-ford-fusion-owners-against-each-other Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:39:00 -0400 If you own a 2010 Ford Fusion, have three gung-ho friends and would like have Ford pay off the rest of your car payments and give your whole team free gas for a year, then the Fusion41 campaign might be for your. The Blue Oval brand is looking for eight Fusion or Fusion Hybrid owners to make four-person teams for the contest. Once the teams ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036533_driven-chrysler-300c-srt8 http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036533_driven-chrysler-300c-srt8 Tue, 13 Oct 2009 10:02:00 -0400 It's hard not to think of Chrysler 300C SRT8, a big, boxy sedan, powered by a mammoth 6.1-liter V-8 engine, as a novelty...and a prime example of the type of vehicle whose days are numbered. For years we've been hearing that there's no replacement for displacement, no substitute for big cubes, but times are changing. With the new 2010 ..]]>