Author
Casey Williams

2014 BMW 328d xDrive Sports Wagon: A Very Sexy Diesel

Casey Williams 10
In the early 1980s, after their Pontiac Phoenix disintegrated, my parents bought an Oldsmobile Cutlass diesel wagon — woodgrain, burnt orange paint and all. It rattled like a Peterbilt, stunk like a truckstop, was anything but sexy, but sparked my affection for both wagons and diesels. I’m weird. While nothing you’d take to the club, it was efficient, perfectly-sized, and practical. Race ahead 30 years through a few trips to the gym and you get something like the BMW 328d xDrive Sports Wagon. [...]

BMW 335i GT xDrive Improves The Quintessential Sport Sedan

Casey Williams
BMW’s 3-Series is the quintessential sport sedan, setting a tough standard that others struggle to attain. But, it is not perfect. While it’s a finely-engineered toy from behind the wheel, rear seat passengers are better left behind. And, luggage space? There’s usually enough, but sometimes not enough. A low ride height enhances handling, but makes stooping in less than elegant. There’s room for improvement. [...]

2014 Toyota Corolla Gets Its “S” Together

Casey Williams 1
I was not a fan of the last-generation Toyota Corolla. It was an underdeveloped, over-hyped piece of boredom that relied more on the reputation of Toyota than its own virtues. The exterior was watered-down vanilla and its interior was about as blah. But, it went beyond aesthetics. The tall and narrow body allowed crosswinds to coax it into a gentle oscillation on the Interstate that its vague electrically-assisted power steering could not easily correct. Toyota should have done better. [...]

Mitsubishi Sees A Mirage

Casey Williams
Having left the Galant, Montero, and Eclipse behind, Mitsubishi is re-focusing itself towards plug-ins and compacts. It’s a dubious strategy given the insane competition from cars like the Toyota Yaris, Chevy Spark, Nissan Versa, and Ford Fiesta…not to mention the Toyota Prius and Chevy Volt. At least Mitsubishi’s newest sub-compact comes with a popular name and outstanding fuel economy. [...]

2014 Toyota Tundra: Bred By Uncle Sam

Casey Williams
Toyota has endured sorted success with its full-size pickups. The T100 was nice, but underwhelming. Same was true of the first-generation, not-quite-butch-enough Tundra. By gen-3, Toyota had constructed a new plant in Princeton, IN to assemble its full-girth full-size truck. It later moved to a gleaming new plant in San Antonio, TX, where the 2014 fourth-generation pickup, the first major update since 2007, is exclusively built. [...]

2014 Cadillac CTS Whips The Germans

Casey Williams
The fact that the 2014 Cadillac CTS won Motor Trend magazine’s Car of the Year is not astonishing: the last-generation CTS did the same thing in 2008. But this year, it won against redesigned Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5-Series sedans, making a frontal attack on the German Bismarcks. It also beat the Corvette Stingray, Mercedes S-Class, Infiniti Q50, Mazda3, Mazda6, and Kia Cadenza. Take a breath. [...]

2014 Buick Regal Finds Its Place In The Snow

Casey Williams 3
It’s been snowing and icing all over. Like, a lot. Some cities are handling it better than others, which will likely cause some mayors to have longer tenures than others. A European-engineered sport sedan with all-wheel-drive would be perfect for the nasty precip, making dust of city streets while still a blast when pavement clears. But forget Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Volvo, or even Volkswagen. Check out the Buick Regal, which was engineered (and initially built) by GM’s Opel division in Germany and significantly updated for 2014. [...]