ablongterm

I regret to inform you that despite what the image above indicates, Autoblog's long-term Mini Countryman will again be passing hands without having been thoroughly tested in the type of inclement weather for which it's been prepared. While we thought there was no way it would escape a February in ...

Literally two days after my last update about our long-term Mini Countryman, I found myself trudging through a snowstorm at 30 miles per hour on Interstate 94 along Michigan's west coast. I guess Mother Nature had heard my cries about not being able to test our Mini in the snow, and decided to ...

January was not a busy month for our long-term 2011 Hyundai Equus. It did ferry one of our editors between auto company cocktail hours and dinners during the week of the Detroit Auto Show, but for the latter half of the month it wasn't driven all that much. But that's good news, because our Equus ...

Stellar fuel efficiency is still the name of the game when it comes to our long-term Volkswagen Jetta TDI, as it's averaging well over its EPA-estimated 30 city and 42 highway miles per gallon in our hands. In fact, with a deft throttle foot, it's not terribly difficult to crest the 50-mpg ...

As the newest member of the Autoblog crew, I got to take my first turn in the long-term Equus just before the holidays. But rather than the early Christmas present I expected it to be, two weeks behind the wheel felt more like hazing the new guy. Now, I'm a big fan of the Hyundai Genesis sedan, ...

As much as I detest the winter months here in Detroit, the truth is, I'm kind of bummed that we've only seen about a half-inch of snow so far this season. In fact, I was happy that our most recent snowfall actually started to stick to the parking lot across the street from my loft, simply so I ...

After spending September in the San Francisco bay area with Senior Editor Damon Lavrinc, our long-term 2011 Mini Cooper S Countryman All4 moved to southern California during the month of October to serve our esteemed photographer, Drew Phillips. In early November, I handed Drew the keys to our ...

I'll be honest – I don't love our 2011 Hyundai Equus. It's a perfectly fine luxury sedan, but as a daily driver, it has about as much personality as the new sofa I bought last month. Autoblog Editor-in-Chief John Neff, on the other hand, is quite fond of our long-termer, and in my ...