This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page

Automotive websites

Below are a few useful links for car nuts to examine.
Autopedia. Good source of links to auto manufacturer sites around the world, like Ssangyong, Lada, or Yulon. Check it out.
Hemmings Motor News. The Hemmings readers all think their cars are pretty special. Occasionally they're right. Often they're wrong. But where else can you get a correct original trunk mat for a 1952 Plymouth Cranbrook?
Edmunds Car Pricing Guides. An old standby for getting the jump on the dealer.
Kelley Blue Book. Another old standby. They tend to give the dealer the benefit of the doubt on used cars, so their "retail" value is for a car in literally perfect condition--which few used cars really are.
Autosite. Build your own window sticker for any new car here.
Intellichoice. Consumer information source.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A mixed bag of good information (recalls, for example) and anti-automobile propaganda. Your tax dollars at work, for good or evil.
Acura. Acuras are pretty neat cars, though most of the new ones don't have as much personality as the original Legend and Integra. Still among the best automobiles anywhere. See also Honda.
Audi. Once maligned for poor reliability and questionable placement of major controls, Audi cars have matured nicely to the point that the A4 model was chosen as one of Car and Driver Magazine's Ten Best Cars. The upmarket A6 and A8 models are nice now too, if you have the money. (I don't.)
BMW. The former Yuppie Holy Grail has returned home to the car nuts who made it famous in the first place. Again, nice if you have the money.

Chrysler Corporation. Now that Lee Iacocca and the K-car are gone, the cars really are competitive (for the most part).
Ferrari. Terrific website. I like the cars too.
Ford USA. Also look at Ford Global Operations. From the European Ka to the South American Courier to the Australian Falcon S6, it's all here.
General Motors. The big guy.
Tofas. Turkish Fiats?!?
Infiniti. For those who just can't stand the thought of driving a Lexus?
Jaguar. Who would have thought it? Ownership by Ford has given Jaguar a lot of capital to develop new models, and has also brought improved quality control.
Kia. Um, who? They're the ones who don't make Hyundais.

Lamborghini. So what if they don't have the racing history that Ferrari does. Still one hell of a car.
Land Rover. Foxhunting in style.
Mazda. The people who brought you the 12 mpg economy car in the 1970s, then followed it up with the brilliant first-generation RX7. Now they build Miatas, and some decent but often-forgotten sedans. But where's that rotary-powered Miata Coupe we've been waiting for?
Mercedes-Benz. Still one of my personal favorites every time I drive one, unless it's an old 240D.
Nissan. Made right here in Smyrna, Tennessee. Does that explain the number of Nissan pickups with Rebel flag tags on the front? There's one for the southern historians to figure out.
Porsche. If you need a pronunciation guide, don't bother. (It's two syllables, not one.)
Saab. GM took over, and the cars didn't turn into Oldsmobiles. Still, the 9-3 and 9-5 are not your father's two-stroke.
Subaru. The only car company whose entire line was recommended by Consumer Reports this year.
Toyota. Why can't they make Corollas and Camrys as interesting as their web site is? Solid, dependable transportation, aimed at middle America.
Volkswagen. Remember them? They still make great cars.
Volvo. Not just the professor's choice any more. Even the styling is beginning to soften up a bit.