Family

Normally, the staff at High Gear Media write in the "royal we", but occasionally we offer suggestions from a very personal perspective. This is one of those times. A couple of months ago, as summer arrived, I put together a checklist of things to consider before taking a vacation with your pets. Of...Read More»

So you're going to be a first-time dad. Mazel tov! To say your life will change is a monumental understatement, and it extends beyond kid-friendly furniture and converting your home office into a nursery. There's the matter of what's parked in your driveway. You don't get to put a sidecar on your...Read More»

For years, AAA has been the very first call made by drivers with car trouble. Whether it was a dead battery, a flat tire or an empty gas tank, help from a AAA representative was just a phone call away. Now, as electric cars begin to increase in popularity, AAA is unveiling new tools to aid the...Read More»

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is giving praise to an anti-collision system developed by Volvo and used on their XC60 crossover. The IIHS found that Volvo’s City Safety system can reduce frontal crash accidents by as much as 25 percent, and can reduce property damage claims...Read More»

When people think of family vehicles thoughts seem to turn to minivans and crossovers, but what about the hatchback? These versatile vehicles have more cargo room than sedans with similar fuel economy. With gas prices rising is seems consumers are starting to realize the benefits of hatchbacks...Read More»

Today it's the clash of the three-row CUV titans, the 2011 Dodge Durango versus the 2011 Ford Explorer. Both of these family-friendly vehicles offer lots of space and technology, but only one can win. When looking at the numbers, the new Ford Explorer has the Dodge Durango beat in nearly all...Read More»

Are red-light cameras really installed with the intent of encouraging safe driving? Some say yes, while others feel the electronic boxes are merely installed in an attempt to generate revenue. A recent study performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found that two-thirds of the...Read More»

The midsize sedan market isn't the most exciting class of vehicles. But Hyundai decided excitement is exactly what the midsize sedan market needed when designing the 2011 Sonata. Hyundai has put a very dramatically-styled midsize sedan into the marketplace, and so far consumers seem to love it. The...Read More»

The 2011 Ford Focus is still available at some dealers, although a completely new version is being introduced for the 2012 model year. It's been trimmed down over its life cycle to a single powertrain and to only a sedan body, and it's essentially identical to versions we've tested from 2010 and...Read More»

Minivans aren't cool. Swagger Wagon or not, the people movers have soccer-mom street cred, and little else. Still, families need people movers with space and utility. We've given you some options in our picks for family-friendly vehicles without sliding side doors, but maybe you're thinking...Read More»

When it comes to maker safer vehicles, most of us ponder the big things. We like to see driving aids, such as Electronic Stability Control and ant-lock brakes. We count the number of airbags a car has, and put an emphasis on things like crash testing to improve accident survivability. Ford’s...Read More»

Chrysler is recalling over 11,000 vehicles, from more than ten model lines, for a suspected safety flaw related to the steering. According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), some vehicles may have been assembled with an incorrectly installed...Read More»

We're very proud to show off our newest creation at High Gear Media, the new face of Family Car Guide. We think the latest version of the site makes it easy for readers to research their next vehicle, to keep up on the latest family-car news, and to get new car reviews created just for families...Read More»

Is your family safer and more secure in a sedan or an SUV? For years, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has advised that the safest vehicle choice is a vehicle that's moderately heavy yet low—like a medium to large sedan. But based on the latest findings from the IIHS, that...Read More»

If you fell in love with compact C-Max minivan and were counting down the days until you could buy one from your local Ford dealer, we’ve got good news and bad news. First the bad news: Ford has killed plans to sell the three-row, seven-passenger C-Max in the United States, citing an...Read More»

FamilyCarGuide is christening a new comments system today, to make it easier for you to discuss it with other readers. We at High Gear Media looked around at ways to improve our own comments, and scanned the competition for the latest, greatest features. We think we've brought you all of the best...Read More»

General Motors' [NYSE: GM] breakthrough Chevrolet Volt might be one of your safest family-car choices as well as one of the cleanest, greenest choices. The 2011 Volt has achieved an Overall Rating of five stars—including five stars for side impact and five stars for rollover—in the...Read More»

Toyota has announced a voluntary safety recall of 2001 to 2003 Prius models worldwide, including some 52,000 in the United States. At issue are the electric power steering pinion shaft attachment nuts, which can loosen over time if the steering wheel is repeatedly and forcefully turned to the...Read More»