what's in a car name?

South Floridians love to name their cars from Frank Sonata to Wanda the Honda. Here's an article I wrote on some of the more colorful and meaningful car names in the tropics


(image of Turtle, a 1952 Ford F-10 pickup truck)

Jeep Shifts into Rebrand mode

An article in today's USA TODAY, explores some of the upcoming name changes and new vehicles in development at Chryster Corp's Jeep brand.
Among them: a single vehicle with replace the Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot sometime in 2014/2015; the company is resurrecting its Grand Wagoneer name plate; and there is speculation that beloved Cherokee name will replace the Liberty.  To read more, click here.

Review: 2011 Jeep Compass Latitude w/ Attitude

Is it a SUV or a car?
That's what I asked myself when I hopped into my silver 2011 Jeep Compass (its clone is pictured to the left.)
Although the vehicle wears the Jeep badge and has four-wheel drive, it drives as comfy as a passenger car. My sister, who test drove it to haul groceries once and some furniture, said it drove like a truck. So let's call the Compass the Jeep-car.  It's what you need it to be.

The Compass isn't rugged like the Wrangler nor as powerful as its older brother, the Grand Cherokee or Liberty cousin but this sporty wagon with the heartbeat of a Jeep has its own distinct auto personality. To other drivers, it may shout "I'm a suburban youngish professional/parent running errands to Costco, afterschool pickups and soccer practice" yet the Compass also looks right at home ferrying you to the hills to hike or ski.

The looks 
Like a metal rhino, the body is squared off at odd angles and curves that soften toward the rear. It's refreshed front grill, adapted from the Grand Cherokee, looks at you as if grinning and preening, "Yeah, I know I'm different than the Patriot. You like my makeover?" The grill is a step up, a marked departure from the big round Thomas-the-Tank-Engine headlights that seemed to radiate "I'm really really really cute...really!" from the 2007-2010 models. Although it looks beefier and more solid than the Toyota Matrix, the Compass isn't that much wider or longer. The Compass just looks like it would win a wrestling match against the Matrix, err Corolla wagon. Among shoppers, the Compass has been more popular with women because of the vehicle's softer wagon look while men are the predominant buyers of the Compass's fraternal twin, the Jeep Patriot. (I wonder what this says about me as a car buyer?)

The drive

A few months ago, I nervously drove my Compass from Boston to Miami alone. I depended on this safe solid car to drive 1,600 miles for a new life. The ride was smooth while slightly nosy. Although the 2.4 litre, 172-horsepower engine whines when you give it gas to climb uphill or pass another car, that's just the continously variable (CVT) transmission pulling and pushing the car along. Most cars with CVT engines carry a similar sound. You get used to it after a while.

South Florida, UR SO VAIN

MY STORY on Y VANITY PLATES R POPULAR N FLA

The fast and fabulous

Members of the F.A.G.S. from sunsentinel.com

My Sun Sentinel article on South Florida's only gay car club - Flamingo Auto Group South (F.A.G.S)

Worst cars...ever!

The LA Times has a photo gallery featuring the 10 worst US cars.  Among them: the 1974 Ford Mustang and the 1971 Ford Pinto. (pictured at the left)
By coincidence, those two cars were driven by Sabrina (Kate Jackson) and Kelly (Jaclyn Smith) in the former ABC primetime detective series "Charlie's Angels."    (As Jill Monroe, Farrah Fawcett drove the white Ford Mustang Cobra (sportier Mustang.)



I'd like to add the 1979 Dodge Aspen to the list.

This was my parent's second new-car purchase in the United States after emigrating from Cuba in 1968. My dad was so proud of having bought this car spic-and-span new. With its dark green hue and white-toned top, the car at it's time was a stunner. But it was also a lemon. I was in first grade when we bought it and yet, I remember all the break-downs vividly. The engine belt snapping off at an intersection in Miami's Little Havana. The car's chronic stalls. (Will I make it to school?) The catalyic converter malfunction. The spark plugs had to regularly be replaced. (Which is probably why the car wouldn't start at times.) The muffler blow-out. The slipperty transmission. Battery died every other year.

While the car was comfortable and spacious (the backseat was large enough to easily fit my dirt bike) and the car offered a smooth nice ride, it wasn't reliable.  We never knew whether my dad would arrive atwork each day or whether I would make it back home in Miami Beach after my driving lessons.
And finally, in 1988 after nine long-years, the car finally croaked. We tried to resuscitate it (I don't why) and it crossed-over to car heaven. R.I.P Dodge Aspen.


It's replacement: a new 1989 light-blue Honda Civic sedan LX which was one of the best cars my father ever bought. We still reminisce about that car (which we owned for 10 years and 100,000 miles but that's another future blog post.) And since that Honda purchase, my father has never bought American-made cars again. Ironically, I've been loyal to the Jeep brand (whose parent company owns Dodge.)

Used? New? What's the difference?

2012 Ford Focus

 
There's an interesting article from USA Today that found that the gap between new and slightly used car prices has narrowed.  The article, based on a Kelley Blue Book study, reported that the window between new and used car prices has shrunk for particular models. The article points out how a new 2012 Toyota FJ Cruiser, which costs $28,500 or about  $244 more than a used one.  Or a new 2012 Ford Focus is priced $3,000 on average less than last year's model.