Wheels
Kia Borrego's pitch: Bargain-priced luxury
The word "luxury" is often overused. Now consider the Kia Borrego. Kia has a clever ad campaign that pokes fun at the cliches of SUV marketing while pitching its new midsize truck as a luxury SUV without the lofty price tag. The Borrego is well-equipped...
JIM MATEJA: Stability, not ads, sells cars
Q. The negative effect on auto production in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois from the recent bad news about the auto industry bailout is huge to the entire economy. This would be an excellent time for you to suggest that people give a second look to domestic...
Local car shows and events
Car show a part of new Home Show 2009FORT WALTON BEACH - The Emerald Coast Home Show 2009 is coming to town Feb. 14 and 15, 2009. The event will feature a home show theme with a health care section and a general business selling section, as well as a...
Niche brand is exactly what Pontiac should be
General Motors' plan to make Pontiac a niche brand is a public acknowledgment of where the brand was already headed, and a move that frees Pontiac to fill the role that suits it best in GM's lineup. Pontiac's previous twin goals of simultaneously being...
Local car shows and events
Car show a part of new Home Show 2009FORT WALTON BEACH - The Emerald Coast Home Show 2009 is coming to town Feb. 14 and 15, 2009. The event will feature a home show theme with a health care section and a general business selling section, as well as a...
GM, Ford have potential best-sellers ready for Detroit Auto Show '09
DETROIT - In the auto industry's hour of darkness, General Motors and Ford will unveil promising new models vital to their survival at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January. A stylish, European-bred new Ford Taurus aims to...
Consulting firm booms by improving truck technology
DETROIT - It took 18 months for engineering consultant Ricardo Inc. to build a monster military truck. Its tires stand as tall as toddlers, sitting under an armor of khaki steel. Inside, it's a hybrid, which gets about 6¼ miles per gallon, 25...
Mini says its time has come: Electrics due in U.S. next year
DETROIT - The U.S. car market may be moving toward Mini's kind of small, fashionable and fuel-efficient vehicles, and the British brand will be ready as it prepares to launch its first electric vehicles in the United States in 2009 and a small crossover...
JIM MATEJA: Big SUVs are in trouble
Q: Any chance the industry will stop making full-size trucks and sport-utility vehicles? - S.D.Libertyville, Ill. A. It's unlikely trucks will disappear. Trucks for decades were work machines that became playthings when decked out with leather...
Local car shows and events
IRS changes rules for automobile donationsHere's a message from your local Boys and Girls Clubs: The Internal Revenue Service has changed its policy from allowing the Blue Book market value of a donated automobile. The new way to receive a donation...
'Wheels' Archives
67°F
Winds From the South at 6 MPH
Last Update: January 5, 2009 - 9:20PM
