We may be CarGurus, first and foremost, but that doesn’t prevent us from being proud pet owners, too. From French Bulldogs and Miniature Pinschers to Labradors and Great Danes, the dogs of CarGurus are a widely varied bunch. My own dog, Taylor, looks enough like a Labrador to keep landlords and kennels at ease, but her mix of breeds puts her solidly in the “mutt” camp. Regardless of size or breed, however, dogs are always a hit at CarGurus. Maybe that’s because dogs have such a social history with the automobile. They chase them, they hang their heads out the windows, and I don’t think I’ve ever met a dog who didn’t get a case of the wiggles every time it hears, “Want to go for a ride in the car?”
New Cars
A Whole New Way to Look at Fiat?
Fiat has a problem.
Sales in the United States continue to fall as American car shoppers fail to recognize Fiat’s value proposition. Either that, or the marginal reviews of Fiat’s cars to this point have turned buyers off the brand.
Sales so far for the year are down over 16 percent from last year.
Fiat has some great things going for it now, though, including the 500X mini crossover and the 124 Spider roadster.
To help change how Americans perceive the Fiat brand, FCA has launched a series of video ads aimed at giving U.S. shoppers a “Whole New Way to Look at Fiat.” The ads feature innovative camera techniques, but will that be enough to convince people to put Fiat on their lists?
Changes Coming for Popular Nissan Juke, Leaf
Electric cars shouldn’t look like electric cars if they are to go mainstream.
Tesla figured that out early, while other automakers, especially BMW and Nissan, made their electric cars look more and more… electric.
The BMW i3 and Nissan Leaf are perhaps the “most electric” looking of today’s electric cars.m BMW shows no signs of easing up on its polarizing styling, while Nissan, known for pushing the limits of good design taste, will soon unveil all-new looks for the Leaf and a slightly tamed-down design for the soon-to-be-hybrid Juke.
What to Buy: A Base Premium Brand or a Loaded Non-Premium Brand?
New-car shoppers continually debate between buying a fully loaded economy vehicle or a base-trim premium car.
When buyers realize that $40,000 can either buy a Kia or a Volvo, some interesting comparisons arise. Is it better to get a lower-end brand with the latest high-end features or a luxury brand that’s missing some desirable options?
For the sake of comparison, I spent the weekend shopping for two vehicles: a 2016 Volvo XC90 T5 FWD Momentum and a 2017 Kia Sorento Limited V6.
The base price of the Volvo is $2,450 more than that of the loaded Kia. Is the extra cost worth it?
Audi, Toyota Ready Subcompact SUVs
The unofficial car of Seattle is the Audi Q5.
Driving through the Emerald City is like navigating an Audi showroom, as it seems every third car on Interstate 5 sports the 4-ringed logo up front.
It’s grown so common that my family now plays the “Q5 game,” where the first person to spot a Q5 gets to punch someone in the shoulder. It’s a lot like an updated version of the old “slug bug” game involving the Volkswagen Beetle.
This weekend my wife punched my arm, then quickly had to retract it when she noticed the passing car was a Q3, a smaller sibling to the Q5 that we had both forgotten existed.
The Q3 competes against the BMW X1 and Mercedes-Benz GLA, some of the smallest SUVs on the market, but Audi is now going even smaller with the upcoming Q2.
How small can SUVs get?