For 2007, GM introduced a brand new version of the Chevrolet Tahoe known internally as GMT 900. The previous generation GMT800, which lasted from model years 2000 to 2006, has suddenly become an attractive choice for the pre-owned SUV shopper not afraid of high prices at the pump. Many people who own this truck are quick to lavish praise on their vehicles, and it's worth exploring the model's history to find out what makes them such a content bunch.  more...

There are so many variations on the SUV theme these days that the kinds of sport utilities that started the genre off in the first place, the ones with real off-road, four-wheel drive capability bolstered by tough truck frames underneath, get almost completely overshadowed. What, with everything from crossover wagons sporting gray composite bumpers, slightly raised suspensions and light-duty all-wheel drivetrains, to 400-horsepower super SUVs more luxuriously appointed than most top-tier luxury sedans yet still more capable off the beaten path than most anything that came before, it’s no wonder that the simple utilitarian off-roaders that paved the way for this segment to exist have been put out to pasture.  more...

Chevy’s Malibu goes way back. Even further back than my teenage years when, driving a 1976 Malibu coupe I experienced my first MVA, having been sideswiped by a yellow cab as I turned left through an intersection at the age of 17. No, the first Malibu debuted a few months later than I did (literally) in 1963 as a matter of fact; as a 1964 model. But it was the ’76 that knew so intimately as a youth. The rear-drive, V8-powered midsize model was little more than a tarted up Chevelle, and a very different animal than anything Chevy has produced in recent years. Opportunities for power oversteer are now null and void, replaced by gentle, predictable understeer and, well, a lot less high-speed floating and end-to-end bobbing.  more...

The Devil Wears Prada? Or At Least Extremely Expensive Hides  more...

Before the sportbike-meets-go-kart S2000, Honda fans looking to enjoy a sporty two-door experience had but one choice: the Prelude. Debuting in 1978, the Prelude constituted the third model in Honda's then-tiny lineup, joining just the Civic and Accord as Honda's sporty model, with 72 horsepower and a five-speed manual transmission. It's come a long way since then.  more...

Toyota doesn't normally lure in auto enthusiasts, other than those enthusiastic about reliability and safety issues. With such thrilling models as the Yaris and Camry dominating the auto giant's lineup, the company has built a reputation on constructing safe, dependable, and soullessly sensible automobiles. However, historically speaking Toyota's focus on building top-tier A to B transportation has wandered from time to time, and the result has produced such awesome vehicles as the Supra, MR2, and of course, going way back, the classic 2000GT. These momentary lapses in lucidity and judgment have given many enthusiasts pause, for it is obvious that while Toyota prefers to air on the side of families and/or economy, they have the capability to produce amazing performance cars.  more...

If we call a car that reaches back in time for its stylistic inspiration retro, what do you call a car that never really changed its design? You call it a Jeep. Derived from the vehicle's ancestral military designation (General Purpose, or GP) circa World War II, even the Jeep name is retro in ways the Mustang, New Beetle, and Mini Cooper can only dream of.  more...