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At first glance, Kerry Jenkins might seem to be a perfectly normal California girl, with her wispy blond hair and tanned complexion. But in a part of the country where getting an automobile has long been a rite of passage, the 19-year-old Los Angelino is quite content to live without a set of ...

Some years ago, sitting in my office with the windows open on a warm spring day, I heard a deep rumble – not unlike the sound of a freight train passing by... but closer, more menacing, and immediately followed by a violent shudder as a rare Midwest earthquakes rolled out from under Lake ...

In the event of war, you can't hurl Hyundais at the enemy Former General Motors Chairman Rick Wagner used to talk of "externalities," those uncontrollable factors that he routinely blamed for the humbled automaker's continuing decline. Other industry leaders preferred the term "headwinds," but ...

Who Will Save EV Sales? Call In The Fleets Nissan recently cut off preliminary registrations for its new Leaf battery-electric vehicle. With 20,000 potential buyers plunking down $99 just to get in line for the Leaf, the maker is confident it will more than exceed its first-year sales ...

J.D. Power Initial Quality Study analysis When I bought my first new car, back in 1973, I'd been warned by friends to expect a good half dozen defects that would need to be straightened out by the dealer. It turned out there were only five, I quickly counted, before taking my little sedan back ...

Buick Back? Later this month I'll be heading out to San Diego to get my first ride in the new Buick Regal. It's a trip I'm looking forward to, something I couldn't have said about most of the Buick product previews I've attended over the course of my 30 years on the auto beat. Let's face it: ...

Betting on small cars... My friend, Sam, is your classic Texan. Big home, big pool, big personality and, of course, a big car, a Chevrolet Silverado pickup that he uses a couple times a year to haul lumber and yard supplies from the local mega-mart. But most of the time he's sitting in Dallas ...

Toyota conspiracy theorists have it wrong We're becoming a nation of conspiracy addicts. It's not just the shots fired at the Kennedy motorcade from the grassy knoll in Dallas. These days it seems just about everything is up for some wide-eyed explanation, often pointing to some wicked government ...

Return of the Wagon...? We all have our favorite memories from childhood, and one of mine was piling into the back of the family station wagon, along with a passel of friends, to head to the Jersey Shore for my eighth birthday. Growing up as part of the "Leave it to Beaver" generation, the wagon ...

Toyota Crisis Likely to Trigger Change Across the Auto Industry Don't be surprised to see yet another recall or two from Toyota in the coming weeks. Among other things, the embattled automaker may reveal a fix for unexpected stalling involving hundreds of thousands of recent Corolla and Matrix ...