Category Archives: AutoPilot

2015 Chrysler 300
Dec 22 , 2014 AutoPilot

Overview

Don’t wait for stories to appear in the store when you can become a member of Wheelbase Media’s weekly news service and save more than 50 percent while gaining instant access to the new features as they’re produced. Click here to get started.

If you are not a member of the media, but still wish to read this and other feature stories from Wheelbase Media, visit www.theoctanelounge.com to subscribe to Auto Shift Weekly newsmag, available for your Apple iPad or for your home PC or laptop in pdf format.

Description

The future looks pretty familiar, but fancier. Talk about shelf life. It just keeps going . . . and going.
Yes, the Chrysler 300 has made quite a name for itself over the past 10 model years and returns for 2015 with a renewed focus on luxury, but with less muscle to brag about.

Please contact us to order this feature.

2015 Nissan Murano
Dec 15 , 2014 AutoPilot

Overview

Description

Above all else, the Nissan Murano was originally created to appeal primarily to the buyer’s heart and not their heads. The eye-appealing five-passenger tall wagon remained true to this philosophy through its 2003 and 2009 model-year iterations, but charts a uniquely dissimilar course for 2015. For the first really major overhaul, Nissan’s designers have left virtually nothing on the table from the Murano’s previous shape.

Please contact us to order this feature.

2015 Ford F-150
Dec 8 , 2014 AutoPilot

Overview

Description

Ford’s new weight-watching pickup takes on the heavy lifting while keeping an eye on the fuel gauge. The face is familiar, but it conceals the biggest change below the surface: a body made out of aluminum, which saves as much as 700 pounds. Making the F-150 lighter on its feet should mean better fuel economy, better acceleration and braking.

Please contact us to order this feature.

2015 Audi A3
Dec 1 , 2014 AutoPilot

Overview

Description

Join the crowd, Audi.
In this case, the Audi Q3 joins a host of small-but-tall front- and/or all-wheel-drive wagons that populate the bottom rung of the premium-automobile ladder. The A3’s arrival places Audi in the thick of the luxury-compact wagon field and gives buyers on a budget a clear option when considering either a traditional sedan or something a bit more on the practical side.

Please contact us to order this feature.

2015 Subaru Impreza
Nov 24 , 2014 AutoPilot

Overview

If you are not a member of the media, but still wish to read this and other feature stories from Wheelbase Media, visit www.shiftweekly.com to subscribe to Auto Shift Weekly newsmag, available for your Apple iPad or for your home PC or laptop in pdf format.

Description

A good set of snow tires and the Impreza hatchback can take your buddies and their stuff pretty much anywhere. The all-wheel-drive system you get depends on whether you pick the manual transmission or the continuously variable unit. Light and nimble with plenty of standard equipment and all-wheel-drive for an opening price of less that 20 grand, including destination charges? It’s almost a no-brainer.

Please contact us to order this feature.

2015 GMC Sierra HD
Nov 17 , 2014 AutoPilot

Overview

Description

If Detroit’s heavy-duty truck pitches are any indication, buyers in this league are most concerned about hauling, towing and power capacities. The manufacturers’ respective stats in these categories permeate virtually all of their print, broadcast and Web advertising as if achieving numerical superiority represents the sole difference between success and failure. Well, there’s a lot more too it than that.

Please contact us to order this feature.

2015 Dodge Challenger
Nov 10 , 2014 AutoPilot

Overview

Description

Like the related Challenger Hellcat, the Charger version uses a mostly new 6.2-liter V8 engine with a big belt-driven supercharger sitting on top. There might be no practical point to 707 horsepower, but it does make from some good bragging rights, especially when the Dodge Viper sports car makes less power. Dodge claims that the current Charger was somehow inspired by the second-generation 1968-’70 cars. No matter how hard you squint, it’s tough to see, but the most obvious change for 2015 is a new aero-look nose that replaces the open-mouth grille.

Please contact us to order this feature.

2015 Lexus RC
Nov 3 , 2014 AutoPilot

Overview

Description

You’ll notice that Lexus has has joined the group with the 2015 RC coupe. The base RC 350 and the slicker RC 350 F Sport are more genteel packages for boulevard cruising and occasionally attacking twisty back-roads in all kinds of weather. The RC F is more of a hard-core performer that is capable of blistering acceleration and gravity defying cornering and stopping power.

Please contact us to order this feature.

2015 Colorado
Oct 27 , 2014 AutoPilot

Overview

Description

The return of both General Motors’ trucks signals resurgence in what was a mostly dormant class, namely the mid-size pickup.
Retired, seemingly for good, after the 2012 model year, the Colorado/Canyon are back with a new global platform, more power and standard features plus, most importantly, greater hauling and towing capacities, which should interest those who use pickups for work and/or play.

Please contact us to order this feature.

2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA45 – Oct 20 , 2014 AutoPilot

Overview

Description

That base GLA250, although hardly “base” in any real sense of the word, is equipped with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that generates a modest 208 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. However the AMG’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder steps up to the tune of 355 turbocharged horsepower and 332 pound feet of torque.