http://www.thecarconnection.com/tips Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:11:26 -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/1039004_gm-to-work-with-national-federation-of-the-blind-on-2011-chevy-volt-sounds http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1039004_gm-to-work-with-national-federation-of-the-blind-on-2011-chevy-volt-sounds Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:00:00 -0500 Since at least 2007, advocates for the blind have been concerned about the lack of noise from hybrids running in electric mode. The imminent arrival of all-electric cars like the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and the 2012 Nissan Leaf has only raised their level of alarm. Now General Motors has announced that the engineers developing the 2011 Volt will ..]]> 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/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/1037076_nissan-not-intending-to-play-a-leadership-role-in-hybrids http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037076_nissan-not-intending-to-play-a-leadership-role-in-hybrids Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:43:00 -0400 Speaking of the Tokyo Motor Show, hybrid vehicles, and executive pronouncements, Nissan's head honcho, Carlos Ghosn, has made some interesting statements about Nissan's technology plans. Speaking from the exhibition floor, Ghosn said that Nissan doesn't want to be a big player in the hybrid market, having chosen instead to set its sights ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037075_subaru-will-launch-a-hybrid-vehicle-by-2012 http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1037075_subaru-will-launch-a-hybrid-vehicle-by-2012 Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:34:00 -0400 There hasn't been much groundbreaking news to emerge from the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, but the event has generated some intriguing statements from the handful of automakers in attendance. For example, Ikuo Mori, the president of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd, the manufacturer of Subaru vehicles, noted that Subaru is working with Toyota to develop a ..]]> 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/1036825_strong-yen-could-push-honda-fit-production-to-u-s http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036825_strong-yen-could-push-honda-fit-production-to-u-s Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:37:00 -0400 Few subjects are as snooze-inducing as macroeconomics, especially when talking about transnational manufacturing decisions, but oddly enough, the lively little Honda Fit has the ability to breathe life into the topic. A report breaking today reveals the strong yen against the relatively weak dollar could bring production of the ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036392_lexus-prices-2010-gs-and-ls-sedans http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036392_lexus-prices-2010-gs-and-ls-sedans Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:14:00 -0400 The 2010 Lexus GS and LS sedan lineup looks a lot like it did in 2009. A few minor interior and exterior appearance updates, some new technology and a new Sport Package for the LS are about all that changes. Fortunately for fans of the GS, the prices have stayed the same, too. The LS sees minor price rises on the short wheelbase ..]]> 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/1036046_toyota-president-company-grasping-for-salvation http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036046_toyota-president-company-grasping-for-salvation Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:18:00 -0400 Today Toyota Motor Co. president Akio Toyoda dished out a dose of reality to the world on the state of the largest global carmaker: it's on the brink of irrelevance and possibly even insolvency. Referencing Jim Collins' book How the Might Fall, Toyoda said the company is "grasping for salvation." That puts Toyota at the fourth of five stages ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036007_2010-ford-fusion-hybrid-high-mileage-achiever-everymans-interior http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1036007_2010-ford-fusion-hybrid-high-mileage-achiever-everymans-interior Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:33:00 -0400 40 miles per gallon. That's what we at TheCarConnection.com just saw in a week's worth of driving--driving in which we really made a point to treat the Fusion Hybrid much like any other car. And when we actually tried to drive economically, following the excellent hybrid system display when we could, we were able to get nearly 50 mpg. As we ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1035998_2010-north-american-car-of-the-year-short-list-revealed http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1035998_2010-north-american-car-of-the-year-short-list-revealed Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:37:00 -0400 It's that time of year again: time to decide the North American Car and Truck of the Year (NACOTY). This time around, our own Executive Editor Marty Padgett is one of the jurors, and we're bringing you the insider's perspective on the process, as well as looking to hear what you have to say on which car and truck should be picked as the ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1035963_honda-skydeck-concept-coming-to-tokyo-motor-show http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1035963_honda-skydeck-concept-coming-to-tokyo-motor-show Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:45:00 -0400 Hybrids are becoming increasingly common in compact and mid-size sedans, and even in some SUVs, but so far, hybrid minivans haven't caught on. Honda may be hoping to change that with a new concept called the Skydeck. Though it's still just a design study according to Honda, it does show that the company's IMA hybrid system is easily adapted ..]]> http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1035939_2010-ford-fusion-hybrid-honest-to-goodness-40-mpg-mid-sizer http://blogs.thecarconnection.com/marty-blog/1035939_2010-ford-fusion-hybrid-honest-to-goodness-40-mpg-mid-sizer Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:07:00 -0400 While Toyota and Honda have laid claim on most of the lofty fuel economy figures in the 40-mpg and above range in recent years, Ford now has serious bragging rights in its 2010 Fusion Hybrid. The 2010 Fusion Hybrid slots closely behind the 2010 Toyota Prius and 2010 Honda Insight and Civic Hybrid in Combined miles per gallon and actually ..]]>