http://www.thecarconnection.com/tips Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:31:58 -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/1038992_driven-2010-suzuki-grand-vitara http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038992_driven-2010-suzuki-grand-vitara Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:35:00 -0500 While the all-new 2010 Kizashi sedan is earning Suzuki some well-deserved attention, we can't forget that SUVs are what Suzuki has really built its name on in the U.S.  Vehicles like the Samurai, Sidekick, and Vitara forged a path for Suzuki as the producer of sturdy, compact, off-road-capable, and sometimes-eccentric (X90) SUVs. The vehicle ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038836_first-drive-2010-lexus-gx-460 http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038836_first-drive-2010-lexus-gx-460 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:03:00 -0500 Stepping into the brand-new 2010 Lexus GX 460 for the first time, it's hard not to feel a bit nostalgic. Why? Among mid-size utes, the Lexus GX 460 is the last one standing; it's the only vehicle this size that sticks with the body-on-frame construction long preferred those who do heavy towing, and by some off-roaders. Luxurious mid-size ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038759_mitsubishi-debuts-sync-rival-called-fuse-in-2010-outlander http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038759_mitsubishi-debuts-sync-rival-called-fuse-in-2010-outlander Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:04:00 -0500 It's about time that another automaker took on Ford's Sync hands-free communication and entertainment interface. One of the best rival systems--at least in affordable vehicles--comes from an unlikely source: Mitsubishi. The new 2010 Outlander is the first vehicle to get the handy interface. In a way, it figures. Mitsubishi used to have a geeky ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038613_driven-2010-mitsubishi-outlander-gt http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038613_driven-2010-mitsubishi-outlander-gt Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:30:00 -0500 In the three years since the second-generation Mitsubishi Outlander first went on sale, Mitsubishi has gone through a sort of identity crisis here in the U.S. market. While the Japanese automaker's compact Lancer models--especially the high-performance Evolution and Ralliart--have been generally well received, Mitsubishi's larger vehicles, ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038327_driven-2010-mazda-cx-9 http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038327_driven-2010-mazda-cx-9 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:11:00 -0500 Mazda's CX-9 can be more than a little deceiving. Get caught up in the driving experience--as you actually can in the somewhat nimble-feeling CX-9--and you might actually think you're driving a tall but reasonably compact wagon. That is, until you look back from the front seat at the spacious three-row interior or assess from the outside ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038307_2011-volkswagen-touareg-to-launch-in-january-at-detroit-auto-show http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1038307_2011-volkswagen-touareg-to-launch-in-january-at-detroit-auto-show Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:13:00 -0500 Introduced as a 2004 model, the Touareg sport utility vehicle was Volkswagen's first foray into SUVs, and its most expensive vehicle at the time. Now VW will unveil a redesigned, second-generation 2011 Volkswagen Touareg at January's Detroit Auto Show. The Touareg shares a basic platform with the high performance Porsche Cayenne SUV, itself ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037816_driven-2010-bmw-activehybrid-x6 http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037816_driven-2010-bmw-activehybrid-x6 Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:05:00 -0500 BMW's X6 "Sports Activity Coupe" is a car of contradictions. Our review of the 2009 BMW X6 range called it "an oddity: a sport-utility vehicle designed to have a coupe-like shape." For 2010, BMW has added a new model that may polarize people even further. It's the 2010 BMW ActiveHybrid X6, the first production hybrid from the maker of ultimate ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037929_2010-hummer-h3-and-h3t-treading-water-before-real-change http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037929_2010-hummer-h3-and-h3t-treading-water-before-real-change Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:58:00 -0500 Hummer is in the midst of a move--from General Motors to China's Sichuan Tengzhong--but the brand has announced details for its 2010 H3 SUV and H3T pickup, which are slated to go on sale next month. Changes are minimal. The standard engine is still a 239-horsepower, 3.7-liter five-cylinder engine, but most noteworthy is that the H3 line finally ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037363_2010-toyota-rav4-sport-cleaner-look-more-convenient-layout http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037363_2010-toyota-rav4-sport-cleaner-look-more-convenient-layout Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:37:00 -0400 Last year the Toyota RAV4 got a little bit of a facelift, with a refreshed front and rear appearance, a stronger and more refined base 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, and an upgraded feature set. But it was a little surprising--as it had been when the RAV4 was last fully redesigned for 2006--that Toyota didn't address the RAV4's most ..]]> 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/1036748_hummer-h3-h3t-production-to-restart-by-november http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036748_hummer-h3-h3t-production-to-restart-by-november Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:45:00 -0400 HUMMER's sale is all but complete--though there are some worrying details left to be handled with the Chinese government--and talk of production resuming in the Shreveport plant where the H3 and H3T are built is already starting to leak out from the company. Dealers will be glad to hear the news, should it prove true, as many are running so ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036389_2010-honda-element-lives-up-to-its-pet-pawtential http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036389_2010-honda-element-lives-up-to-its-pet-pawtential Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:47:00 -0400 Thanks to its easy-clean cargo floor and tall, versatile layout, the Honda Element has been a longtime favorite for dog owners. Yet the number of official pet-friendly accessories for the Element, along with most other popular dog-haulers, has been surprisingly limited, leaving families to search for aftermarket solutions--or simply ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036335_hummer-sale-to-chinas-tengzhong-official http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036335_hummer-sale-to-chinas-tengzhong-official Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:17:00 -0400 The saga of GM's sale of HUMMER has finally come to a close. With the sudden collapse of the Penske-Saturn deal last week, many feared a similar fate would befall HUMMER, but today's announcement of the sale agreement between GM and China's Tengzhong puts those fears to rest, at least for the present. The deal must still secure final ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036283_toyotas-answer-to-deadly-floor-mats-zip-ties http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036283_toyotas-answer-to-deadly-floor-mats-zip-ties Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:31:00 -0400 In a move almost too strange to be fiction, Toyota is apparently advising its Toyota and Lexus brand dealers to zip tie loose floor mats to the seats in the 3.8 million vehicles affected by the recent safety recall. Of course, it's phrased much more eloquently than that. "We have reviewed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036155_safety-group-points-to-jeep-grand-cherokee-fire-concerns http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036155_safety-group-points-to-jeep-grand-cherokee-fire-concerns Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:39:00 -0400 On Friday, the Center for Auto Safety petitioned NHTSA to initiate a defect investigation that could potentially cover hundreds of thousands of Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs from model years 1993 through 2004. According to the group, on these older Grand Cherokee models, the plastic fuel tank actually extends below the bumper, so it's more ..]]>