Section: AUT

Driving Down the Road: 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid

unknown@hometownannapolis.com (Unknown) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:00:00

When you think "hybrid", Ford Motor Company is probably not the first manufacturer that you think of. Which is unfortunate, because Ford's gasoline-electric hybrid technology is every bit as advanced as Toyota's. Ford has expanded its hybrid offerings for model year 2010, adding the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan Hybrids to the existing Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner Hybrids. And, if you're a technology-savvy person under th...

Driving Down the Road: 2010 Chevrolet Camaro

unknown@hometownannapolis.com (Unknown) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00

It took a while longer than expected to make it to the street, but the latest version of the Chevrolet Camaro makes that wait worthwhile. It's the strongest, fastest, baddest, and most powerful ever — and also the most sophisticated. If anyone was wondering if beleaguered General Motors could built first-class automobiles, the 2010 Camaro answers that question with an emphatic "yes".

If the styling harkens back to th...

Driving Down the Road: Camaro - New vs. Old

unknown@hometownannapolis.com (Unknown) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00

Research is fun, and enlightening.

To get a feel for the performance potential of the first-generation Chevrolet Camaro, I pulled some relevant magazines off the bookshelf. To wit: Car & Driver, November 1966 for the 350, March 1967 for the Z-28, and September 1967 for an aftermarket streetable drag car by Nickey Chevrolet and Bill Thomas Race Cars, with a blueprinted twin-four barrel 427 cubic inch Corvette big block in the engine ...

Driving Down The Road: 2010 Toyota Prius

unknown@hometownannapolis.com (Unknown) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00

A decade ago, it was hailed as the car of the future. Today, the Toyota Prius defines the gasoline-electric hybrid genre, and is the benchmark against which every other hybrid is compared. And if the majority of cars sold are not hybrids — yet — hybrids are no longer merely vehicles for the high-tech fringe. Welcome to the future, or at least the beginning thereof.

And, for model year 2010, welcome to the next generation of Prius. ...

Driving Down the Road: 2010 Lexus RX 350

unknown@hometownannapolis.com (Unknown) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:00:00

Once, there were no luxury crossovers. That was back in the days of old, before Lexus invented the now-popular genre with the debut of the RX 300 back in model year 1998. Competition soon ensued, but Lexus kept ahead with the second generation RX in 2004, and with it the first hybrid luxury crossover in the form of the RX400h. With over one million Lexus RX models sold, one might think Lexus would rest on its laurels.

Not a chance. The third-g...