The 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid just might be a near-perfect car for small families of three or four.
This hybrid hatchback makes efficient use of its available space, and it's packed with handy features and storage options galore. I particularly loved its ability to squeeze into countless parking spaces while never feeling compact inside. As a car, the C-Max Hybrid impressed me in many ways, but as a hybrid — not so much.
For the more jaded among us, the notion of road tripping with a spouse conjures echoes of shrill-voiced admonitions like, "You're driving too fast!" or "I told you to take the northbound exit!" A recent study conducted by love-and-relationship website YourTango.com and Ford, however, contends that there's no better way to strengthen the bond with your significant other than on a long car trip.
According to the 2013 Love on the Road survey, an overwhelming majority of couples reported that the inherent togetherness of road trips is conducive to meaningful conversation, being affectionate, enjoying quality time and sharing an adventure. About 90% of surveyed couples who had taken a road trip together said it strengthened their relationship; the same percentage said they planned to take a road trip together during the upcoming summer driving season.
Nissan and Ford led a strong month for the auto industry, with sales up 23.2% at Nissan and 17.9% at Ford thanks to big gains among both carmakers' strongest sellers. Nissan Altima sales gained 35.4% while Ford Escape sales spiked 52% — despite similar year-over-year incentives on both and lower dealership supply for the Escape.
It may seem bizarre that the Altima, then, isn't among the top 10 best-sellers. It's been there for ninth months straight, and in March it was the best-selling car (not truck) in America. But a year ago, sales were dismal — less than 17,000 in April 2012 — so even a healthy spike kept Nissan off April 2013's top 10.
The Toyota Camry and Honda Accord had higher-profile struggles. The Camry's sales drop could signal plateauing demand for Toyota's seventh-generation family sedan, whose year-over-year sales have declined for three straight months. The new Accord, meanwhile, is just 7 months old, and shoppers found significantly lower discounts versus the 2012 Accord a year ago. It's a factor that could affect Accord sales through autumn. Still, Ford didn't seem to have a problem with that. Anyone considering the new Fusion found a similar situation — lower discounts versus year-ago levels — but it didn't stop shoppers from flocking toward the popular sedan, whose sales boomed 23.7%.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released the results of a new crop of tests, including some updated-for-2014 vehicles.
All-wheel-drive and front-wheel-drive versions of the 2013 Cadillac SRX earned the agency's highest rating, an overall five stars. Its composite score is made up of four stars in front and rollover tests and a five in side crash testing. The model-year 2012 version also scored five stars, although it earned a five in front crash tests. For 2013, the compact crossover got some light exterior styling and interior updates and Cadillac communications spokeswoman Jordana Strosberg told Cars.com that "the SRX interior was modified for 2013 and our score was fractionally different."
Scion's updated-for-2014 tC coupe also earned an overall score of five stars, a repeat of last year's safety rating. Model-year 2014 versions of the tiny Scion iQ and subcompact Ford Fiesta were also tested; both received four stars overall. Sedan and hatchback versions of the Fiesta were lightly updated for 2014. Model-year 2013 versions of the Fiesta were also rated at four stars; the 2013 iQ hadn’t yet been tested.
Editor's note: This post was updated on April 23 with comments from a Cadillac representative.
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The compact car segment is the largest global segment, with more compacts sold around the world than any other kind of car — and China is rapidly becoming the biggest market for such cars. In China, however, the compact car segment is further divided into three types: low, mid and high.
Ford has the high-compact segment covered with the fairly expensive Focus, and now it's looking to see how it can get into the even bigger midcompact segment with a new concept car just unveiled at the Shanghai motor show. Behold the Ford Escort Concept, a thoroughly new car with a classic Ford name.
Ford's full-size Taurus sedan has a cramped front seat and an exasperating multimedia system, but there's also a lot to like about the Taurus, and the list just got a little longer. The Taurus has a comfortable ride and cavernous trunk, and the new-for-2013 turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder version offers impressive power and class-leading fuel economy.
As a class, sales of large sedans are falling, with the midsize sedan segment picking up shares. The Taurus, however, is going strong, with sales up 30.5% so far this year. Last year, Cars.com reviewer Kelsey Mays reviewed two V-6 versions of the Taurus, and he recently tested the newly introduced EcoBoost four-cylinder model. Mays thinks the new model will help keep sales strong.
"The four-cylinder allows the Taurus to top other full-size cars in gas mileage, excluding mild or full hybrids like the 2014 Chevrolet Impala eAssist or Toyota Avalon Hybrid, and it makes no deal-breaking sacrifices in the process," he said.
Click below for the updated review covering all the powertrains.
Gas prices remain volatile, but even so, no one expects prices below $3 per gallon ever again, and many parts of the country consistently see prices near or above $4. As much as ever, shoppers need to know how effectively hybrids deliver efficiency for your dollar — if they do at all.
To determine if a hybrid's added expense is worth the cash, we devised an efficiency-cost rating to reflect efficiency bang for your overall buck.
It's simply the combined city/highway mpg divided by the base price (MSRP plus destination charge). We then multiply that number by 1,000. This formula can be applied to any type of vehicle, hybrid or not. A high mpg rating and low price provide a high efficiency-cost rating. A higher score is the better score.
We don't account for equipment levels, quality judgments, cost of ownership or any variances from EPA mileage estimates. The goal here is to pay the least for the most mileage, barring all other considerations.
In terms of the auto industry, Detroit is not exactly a big town — discussions between automakers happen more often than people realize, given that everyone working at these companies lives as neighbors. But General Motors and Ford Motor Co. have just announced a formal collaboration of their own, a new program to jointly develop nine- and 10-speed automatic transmissions.
The transmissions will be used in future cars, trucks and SUVs at both companies. The nine-speed automatic will be a front-wheel-drive transmission, while the 10-speed is destined for rear-drive applications. One company will develop the nine-speed and the other will develop the 10-speed, but neither company is saying which is taking on which.
For Ford owners craving extra help figuring out the features of their vehicle, the automaker has cooked up "video snacks." As part of a new vehicle-orientation program launching this week at dealerships nationwide, a library of short videos explaining how to use specific vehicle features like remote start, MyKey, integrated blind spot mirrors and the often-maligned MyFord Touch multimedia system will be available online.
According to Ford, while a customer is completing the sales transaction for a new vehicle at the dealership, the salesperson will walk him/her through an orientation guide of specific features he/she would like to learn about. That list of selected features is then emailed to the customer with a link to a corresponding video snack, which he/she can watch when and where he/she pleases. The salesperson keeps a copy of the list for review of any training items the customer may have missed when the vehicle was picked up.
Leases are gaining traction in an unlikely area: the small-car class. This is according to Swapalease.com, which released a report on Thursday that said small-car leasing swaps boomed 33% in 2012, outpacing 2011's 18% growth. The Cincinnati-based website counts everything from entry-level runabouts to traditional non-luxury subcompacts and compacts in the group, whose growth exceeded trucks (up 26%) but not luxury cars (up 38%).
Small cars took up a bigger piece of Swapalease.com's pie, but overall inventory increased just 9%. Spokesman John Sternal told us midsize cars, by contrast, were the big loser.
Does that mean actual leasing among small cars has improved? It's hard to say. The increase in overall small-car popularity in 2012 could be responsible for some of the leasing gain. New-car sales for all traditional non-luxury small cars improved 17.2% versus 2011, according to Automotive News data. Leasing overall continued to grow in 2012; CNW Marketing Research reported year-over-year leasing gains every single month.
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