When people find out what I do for a living they almost immediately ask two questions. 1) “what’s your favorite press loaner?” and 2) “I need a new car, what should I consider?” The first one is pretty easy, it’s the 2017 Cadillac CTS-V. The second one typically takes a bit more discussion. For anyone …
Whatever happened to small trucks? When I was a kid they were everywhere. The first time I experienced donuts in an empty parking lot covered in snow was in either a compact Toyota or B-Series Mazda. Thanks Dad, that is still a good memory. Then, after the mini-truckin movement came to and end, “poof” they …
I recently said out loud that basically “all new cars are good”. Some of my Weird Car Twitter friends out there may disagree, likely pointing to some 20 (30?) year old beater as the pinnacle of motoring. But, I stand by the notion that between performance, functionality, and technology there really aren’t bad cars being …
The automotive community, particularly those identifying as “an enthusiast” (a sect where I identify as a member) always has segment they don’t like and they’re pretty vocal about it. When I was young people couldn’t care less about the minvan or wagon. Now they’re both quite cool. Small trucks like the Mazda B-Series, Ford Ranger, …
Every once in awhile you get to experience a really special vehicle in a really special place. While I drive a lot of great cars, spending time with this 2018 Aston Martin DB11 was an amazing treat. What made it better was the location, the absolutely gorgeous town and road surrounding Monterey, California. I had …
I remember the beginning of the year 2000 fairly well. It was new years eve 1999 and we all hunkered down at a college friend’s place in the middle of nowhere and waited out what could potentially be an eventful night. Y2K came and went without the end of days or drama that prognosticators predicted. …
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First impressions count for a lot. I’m graciously given cars that I don’t own to drive around for a whole week. Sometimes it’s even more than one car per week. Ridiculous I know. It makes the first impression even more important as they vie for attention with the vehicles I already own. All this in …
Every once in a while something special comes along that makes this job a whole lotta fun. In a sea of anonymous crossovers, the Hyundai Elantra N is quite special. I usually start these reviews with a slow build, “is this new blah blah any good?”. Well the Elantra N is freakin fantastic. You can …
When I was a kid we had cars trucks, and vans. That was it. No, this isn’t a stay off my lawn moment, but I am prone to those. It is actually meant to highlight how it was a simpler time across the automotive landscape back in the 1980s. OK, it was slightly more complex …
Welcome to the very first new car review here at The Starting Line, powered by The Autoverse! We kick it off with a good one too, the brand new 2022 Ford Bronco! Ford product manager Donald Frey—who also supervised the development of the Ford Mustang—kicked off development of the original Bronco back in the early …