New SUV Review: 2007 Chevy Trailblazer SS
Few really big things are graceful. Jackie Gleason managed it, despite his 300-plus pounds of curb weight. And so does the Chevy Trailblazer SS - despite being many times more bulky than Sheriff Buford T. Justice - and despite its truck-based, full-frame underpinnings.
It also runs to 60 in 5.7 seconds - just half a second or so off the pace of the current Corvette. Like a Saturn V Moon rocket - which is also real heavy - the four-door, five-passenger Trailblazer SS overcomes mass with sheer thrust. Its 395 horsepower 6 liter LS2 V-8 gets all 4,500 lbs. moving with an athleticism comparable to performance cars that weigh a thousand pounds less - and which seat only two.
Mass Transit's Great - If You Can Use It
Public transit's a great way to save gas (and thus money). The problem is, most of us can't use it even if we wanted to.This is true for country folk as much as it is for those who live in and near major cities. In Washington, D.C., for example, most people live in outlying suburban counties which were built up with no real thought given to mass transit. There is a metro rail line - but it only extends so far and stations are often miles away from the tract developments where so many people live. To use the trains, these people must first use their cars.
Driving is not a choice - it's often essential.
Double duty: Truck-like Cars (And Car-like Trucks)
Cars are designed mainly to carry people - while trucks are designed primarily for hauling (or pulling) things.But what if you need both attributes - and don't want or need two vehicles?
Years ago, hybrid car-trucks (or truck-cars) like Chevy's El Camino, Ford's Ranchero and the Subaru Brat combined elements of both into a single package. The El Camino, for example, was basically a car with a pick-up bed - while the higher-riding Subaru Brat was more like a compact pick-up that could also be used to carry people - including two passengers in the bed-mounted, rear-facing jump seats that were this vehicle's signature feature.
New Car Review: 2007 Pontiac G6 Retractable Hardtop
Remember when VCRs cost $1,500?Today, you can get one for $75 (or even less). Once the basic technology was hammered out, the focus turned to stamping them out in ever larger quantities - at ever lower prices. It's called "economies of scale." And it's the same with automotive gadgets and technology. Like GPS, which went from being an ultra-exclusive (and ultra-expensive) feature found only in a few high-end cars to a commonplace option on cars costing as little as $20k today.
Or retractable hardtops.
