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The 10 Best of Detroits Past


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It’s the beginning of January, and that can mean only one fantastic thing: the 2014 North American International Auto Show is right around the corner. While kids all over the world were sitting up last month waiting for Santa, we were sleeping soundly, knowing Santa probably didn’t have the ability to bring us the things on our wish list.

My, how the tables have turned. Now we’re the sleepless ones, waiting impatiently for Detroit’s auto show to kick off Monday (for the press, at least—the general public can’t go until next Saturday). This year looks to be a particularly promising one, with cars like the 2015 Subaru WRX STi, 2015 GMC Canyon and 2015 Lexus RC F set to make their debuts. We could go on for hours about what we’re excited to see in Detroit this year, but we thought it would be more fun to take a look back at our favorite cars that had their big coming-out parties at the North American International Auto Show in years past. (Don’t worry—we’ll have plenty to say about the 2014 show in a few days.)

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Can an Electric SUV Save Mitsubishi?


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When a car company begins to flounder, it has three options:

  1. Keep doing the same things and hope sales come back.
  2. Plan to substantially upgrade cars and add models to the lineup.
  3. Go electric.

Mitsubishi is the definition of floundering in the U.S. market. With Suzuki out of the picture, Mitsubishi is next in line to pull out. The automaker, though, has stood firm on its plans to commit to keep selling cars here, and it seems it has chosen option 3 as its plan of action.

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This Was My Father’s Oldsmobile


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Yesterday, in the course of my adventures, I overheard one sentence from someone’s conversation. It was one of those moments when you walk past someone, hear a snippet of what they said, and spend the rest of the day thinking about it.

This is what I heard:

“It’s not your father’s Oldsmobile.”

That’s it. I have no idea what the context of the conversation was or what was said directly before or after. I heard only that one phrase.

It triggered memories from many moons ago of ads that attempted to sell the “modern” Oldsmobiles as less stodgy and more hip than the Olds cars of the past.

The campaign obviously wasn’t all that effective, considering the brand ceased to exist soon after. I have a theory as to why: I think the ads were right. Those newer cars weren’t my dad’s Oldsmobile.

My dad’s was way better.

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Big Family, Big Cars, Big Prices


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You’ve seen the stickers on the back of Suburbans everywhere. You know the ones, the little caricatures of each family member happily bouncing soccer balls or petting a puppy.

There’s usually a mom, a dad, 4 kids or more and two pets. Presumably they are all in the vehicle at the same time, and I’d almost guarantee they aren’t nearly as happy as their sticker-selves represent.

A lot of crying and yelling happens in the back of those Suburbans, I’m just sayin’.

For large families in need of a 7+-passenger vehicle, the choices are surprisingly ample. Expensive, but ample.

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Are Pre-Paid Lifetime Oil Changes Worth It?


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Here’s the offer: Pay $799 and get 4 oil changes per year with synthetic oil for as long as you own the car.

Here’s the question: Is the offer worth it?

Here’s the answer: It totally depends.

Keep reading for the full details and a look into whether or not pre-paying for a lifetime of oil changes is a wise idea.

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