Strange car spotted on AIA

A co-worker of mine, Rod Hagwood, spotted this customized car rolling along AIA in Fort Lauderdale Sunday afternoon. Does anyone know what car this is?  It's dropped really low to the ground. The car, which turned heads along the beach, reminds me of a classic Volkswagen Carmenghia but this one seems bigger.

Where do food trucks come from?

Where do food trucks come from? Food truck factories, of course, and they're churning out more mobile eateries thanks to the demand in South Florida. My article on how food truck builders are shifting into high gear

Beep beep! Trendy Trucks pulling into your neighborhood

La Boutique on Wheels in South Beach

First came the food trucks. Now mobile boutiques. These stores on wheels are popping up in South Florida as well as NYC, Boston, and Los Angeles.  Some of these trucks are former Chevy Step Vans from the 1970s. Others are library bookmobiles transformed into clothing stores.  Here is my Sun Sentinel article on the trend.

South Florida's hot (used) car market

South Florida tops the list of the most affordable places to buy a used car.  Vehicles sold in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties go for about 7 percent less than the national average, according to an article in the South Florida Sun Sentinel.  In addition, there are a lot of used cars for sale in SoFla that family members sell after their elderly loved one passes away.

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.