Tag: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

October 16, 2019

My Favorite Hybrids

I know that you cringe over hybrid gas-electric driven automobiles. It is easy to blame Toyota and the popular acceptance of the Prius during its second generation. That particular vehicle was the darling of Hollywood at the time. How many of your favorite celebrities owned a second-generation Prius?

September 15, 2019

My Favorite Misbegotten Vehicles

Think about the idea of intention and purpose. A designer, an engineer, and an executive – oh, yes, let's not forget the folks in accounting – are all involved in the process of creating a vehicle. Once everyone signs off on it, they have to campaign for its success. Even the marketing folks have to be on board with selling it to everyone – dealerships, the communications folks, and, ultimately, the consumer.

September 4, 2019

Commentary: Nuovo Cinquecento non è più in America

The Nuovo Cinquecento was an interesting piece of automotive culture. It's arrival into the European market in 2007 sparked a revival for the brand with its retro design onto a modern platform. Fiat was turning around and creating better vehicles for the markets it served by that time. The 500 was indeed the one layer of the cake that truly made it great.

August 18, 2019

My Favorite Mid-Engine Cars

Mid-engine cars are not a new phenomenon. They've been around for decades. It is a simple set of physics and calculus that provides a car with near-perfect balance and center of gravity thanks to the engine mounted towards the middle of the vehicle.

July 31, 2019

Quickies: Vehicles Published Elsewhere – Round 3 for 2019

Here we go again! Round 3 of this year's roundup of vehicles that I worked with but appear elsewhere in the mediasphere. Sometimes, it is hard to track which vehicles were published where. However, CarSoup.com has been getting the lion's share of my work lately. It is with intention, as they try to build traffic for vehicle reviews before site visitors select which vehicles they should choose from. It works that simply. But, hey, at least V&R gets some traffic on here for our (er, my) reviews. You've read them, right?

July 22, 2019

Historiography: There Is Only One

When you think of summer, you think of escape. You think of unlimited enjoyment, excitement, and fun. You think of living without limits where the possibilities never end. When we think of all these things in an automobile, one brand comes to mind: Jeep.

May 12, 2019

A Merit Badge for the Big Blue Truck

Let me start off with a story…
The Boy Scouts of America introduced a merit badge called Truck Transportation in the mid-1970s. It is one of the few merit badges that have young boys look at the industrial complex that feeds into their community's economy. They realize that some Boy Scouts may be interested in pursuing a life in the world of transport of goods either behind the wheel or back at the office.