Automotive Reviews

By Bill Owney Out With the Old... Grandpa was a Cadillac man. A buttoned-down, straightlaced Republican in a doggedly crooked Democratic town where the mob hires and promotes the cops, Bill Golden nevertheless rose through the ranks to become chief of police in Youngstown, Ohio, mainly because he was a man of few vices. Fast driving, the best used Caddy he could buy,...

By Bill Owney A four-cylinder pickup proves that less is not always more Of humankind’s many destructive delusions, none will prove more costly than the idea that gas was ever cheap. This notion struck me this week as I listened to a Bloomberg News report about East Texas cattle ranchers in “panic mode” to liquidate herds as the prices of feed, fertilizer,...

By Bill Owney Two of the most important drivers of inflation these days are the prices of cars and gasoline, and the Kia Sportage is an attractive answer to both. It’s also a nice answer to bland styling and jittery rides that tend to dominate in the category of compact SUVs. Starting at $27,285 for a gas-powered model that delivers 25...

2022 Infiniti QX60 Autograph AWD There are so many things about this new Autograph edition of the 2022 Infiniti QX60 I’m not sure I will be able to include them all in a “space-limited” article. The first one that I want to emphasize is the use of dials rather than having to try to figure out how to find the...

Behind The Wheel of The Ultimate Driving Machine It will be no surprise to regular readers that one of my favorite brands of vehicles is referred to by many as “The Ultimate Driving Machine.” Of course, I am referring to BMW. This past week I was delighted to learn I would be graced with having a 2022 BMW M4 Convertible to...

Sedans Are Still Attractive, Inside & Out By Bill Owney It was blocking her trusty Camry and she was in a hurry, so before I had a chance to even take it around the block, Beautiful Bride snatched the keys to the 2022 Genesis G80 3.5T AWD Sport Prestige and headed to her mama’s place. I was more than a little concerned....

2022 Volvo XC60 Recharge Review By Bill Owney Elegance, grace, power, 63 mpg I wasn’t so much speeding as driving quickly – I’d decided that would be my story if confronted by the constabulary – when an altogether rare thought occurred: I wouldn’t mind owning this car. Refined designs inside and out, power both abundant and smooth, nimble handling, smooth ride, and exquisite...

Adventures in Arkansas In The Audi S5 Cabriolet By Bill Owney JASPER, Ark. – Curves were as plentiful and smooth as a waterfall’s edge under a crescent moon. Blonde Bride, road, and car all seemed to work in harmony as we cruised with the top down, basking in the warmth of a sunny afternoon in both of Arkansas’ mountain ranges. The car, an...

By Bill Owney Warhorse refuses to be put to pasture On my work table is a box with half a dozen pairs of leather work gloves, yet when I gird myself for battle with rose bushes, poison ivy, and the army of critters that reside in my yard and crave my flesh, the eye gravitates to one worn but trusty pair. Goldilocks...

By Bill Owney 2021 Ford Explorer Review: Behind the times but popular with consumers Driving the sixth-generation Ford Explorer leads one to wonder how long Ford can delay rolling out the seventh iteration of America’s top-selling SUV. Since rolling into showrooms in 1990, the Explorer has been at the vanguard of the movement that took American families out of cars and into...