Ram, Chevrolet and GMC recently redesigned their light-duty trucks, and Ford’s F-150 underwent a well-received overhaul prior to that heating up the extremely important segment. PickupTrucks.com teamed up with Popular Mechanics to test all six players in the segment to see which one claims bragging rights as the top truck.
The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday (subscription required) that Ford would swap its MyFord Touch capacitive controls for physical knobs and buttons as it redesigns its cars. It's unclear which models will revert to physical controls, and when, but Ford told the newspaper that all of its models would eventually adopt a heavily revised system.
Cars.com's Issues With MyFord Touch
Product development chief Raj Nair told WSJ that Ford's surveys showed customers wanted to change channels or stereo volume through tried-and-true knobs, and Ford will bring some of those back. Already, a scaled-back version of MyFord Touch in the Focus compact and Escape SUV has physical climate controls rather than the capacitive ones found in the Fusion, Taurus, Edge and Explorer.
Ford released a statement today that said it sells a majority of its cars with MyFord Touch, and more Ford customers prefer voice commands and touch-screen functionality than those shopping Ford's competitors. The Ford F-150's MyFord Touch system — surprise, surprise — has the most buttons, and Ford said it has the highest customer satisfaction scores. Expect future MFT cars to follow the F-150 model.
In terms of maintenance, the most cost-effective task for improving fuel economy is keeping your tires inflated to their recommended pressure level; any gain is not likely to be dramatic.
The federal Department of Energy/EPA fuel economy website, Fueleconomy.gov, says under-inflated tires can lower gas mileage by as much as 3.3 percent. Air is cheaper than gas, so it pays to keep tires inflated to what the manufacturer recommends on the tire placard typically found on the driver's doorjamb and in the owner's manual.
A new study released by Ford netted some interesting results regarding teens and their
driving habits. However, more astounding than the basics of teen distracted driving are what
the study found regarding parents' habits in their cars.
The survey conducted by Penn Schoen Berland found that parents are 40% more likely than teens to check their cellphones while driving. Yikes, practice what you preach, mamas and papas. And if you think you can outsmart the danger factor by using a hands-free system, you're flat-out wrong. A new study by AAA has found that hands-free most certainly isn't risk-free.
Here's a quick rundown of the study's results:
Americans have a culturally ingrained love affair with their cars, so it's natural that when they go to sell their old set of wheels, they see its pricing potential through rose-colored driving goggles. If you're serious about unloading your used car, you'll have to sever those emotional attachments. It's important to take an objective look at its condition and realistic market value, and be prepared to consider a would-be purchaser’s best offer as opposed to your ideal sum. Follow the link below for Cars.com's pricing tips.
Down but seemingly never out, the 2013 Toyota RAV4 spent last week at No. 3 only to reclaim the top spot on our list of most-read reviews this week, sending one-week champ the 2014 Acura MDX plummeting all the way down to No. 10. Another most-read-reviews regular, the 2014 Subaru Forester, returned to the list at No. 3 after abruptly disappearing last week. Here’s what else was popular:
1. 2013 Toyota RAV4
The 2014 Fiat 500L goes on sale this weekend, and it starts at $19,900 including an $800 destination fee. That's about even with a 2013 Ford Focus hatchback but less than a Mazda3 hatch, a four-door Volkswagen Golf or a Mini Countryman.
The price gets you a stick-shift 500L Pop, which comes well-equipped. Standard features include chrome door handles, power accessories with remote entry and one-touch windows all around, a tailgate spoiler, manual air conditioning, a tilt/telescoping steering wheel and manual height-adjustable seats for the driver and front passenger. It also includes cruise control and a 5-inch touch-screen stereo with USB/iPod compatibility, steering-wheel audio controls and Bluetooth phone and audio streaming.
Cars.com reviewer Kelsey Mays delivered his First Drive of Fiat's new, extended version of the 500, simply called the 500L, and was impressed.
He tested most trim levels and both transmissions offered in the still relatively small hatchback and snapped quite a few photos of both the Lounge and Pop versions. We're still not sure what held him back from getting that Easy trim, though.
Trim level names aside, these photos illustrate just how significantly different the 500L is from the 500 two-door.
It took BMW's Mini nine years to birth a four-door sibling to the Cooper hatchback in the Countryman, part of an Octomom-like propagation that dealt us two- and four-seat convertibles, a coupe, a panel wagon, two more hatchbacks, an electric-car test program and the Countryman.
Chrysler-Fiat is on its way there. The 2014 Fiat 500L, on sale this weekend, is a larger four-door version of the original 500 — which, in just the second model year since the company's U.S. return, has already spawned a convertible 500C, an all-electric 500e and now the four-door 500L.
Unlike the Minis, which share the same interior and (more or less) driving experience, the 500L is significantly different inside and on the road compared to its two-door sibling.
"It Pays to Advertise" may have been a farce on Broadway, but it's no joke where selling your used car is concerned. You'll want to stage your advertisement just right to put the vehicle in the best possible light if you want a quick sale. Follow the link below and consider our tips for placing an effective ad, such as using plenty of photos from all different angles, highlighting the attributes you've most enjoyed and being specific in your descriptions.
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