Tweet 2013 Lexus ES 350. All photos by Randy Stern A Victory & Reseda review of the 2013 Lexus ES 350 and ES 300h Do you remember when Lexus was introduced in 1989? Toyota’s luxury brand was indeed a breakthrough at a time when the segment was about to get a serious boost. Yet, our …
Tweet 2013 Scion xD. All photos by Randy Stern Opposites do attract. At the Twin Cities Auto Show, I partook in the annual Ride and Drive event featuring one brand only – Scion. Not sure why they were selected, since other brands activated similar drive experiences at other auto shows similar to the one in …
TweetA Victory & Reseda review of the 2013 Dodge Dart On February 7th, Chrysler Group LLC was formally presented with the Victory & Reseda Vehicle of The Year award – its first in the six-year history of this accolade. A few days later, the recipient of that framed certificate arrived at my doorstep. What makes …
Tweet 2014 Kia Cadenza at the North American International Auto Show. Photo by Randy Stern There are premium brands. Then, there are premium cars. What is the difference? Good question. One might argue that it comes down to pedigree, the sales and post-sales experience. Others might argue on the side of snob appeal, enthusiast's chauvinism …
Tweet Photo by Randy Stern As I mentioned in my 2013 Chicago Auto Show piece, two Ride-and-Drive experiences were actually available on both Media and Social Media Preview days. In a city where you are shuttled between hotel, McCormick Place, private affairs and so far, the opportunity to take the wheel of a vehicle is …
TweetA Victory & Reseda review of the 2013 Volkswagen CC Dear Merriam-Webster, forgive me for my curiosity, but I must quote your second definition of a coupe here: "usually coupe : a 2-door automobile often seating only two persons; also : one with a tight-spaced rear seat — compare 'sedan'" For as long as humans …
Tweet2013 Infiniti JX35 AWD. All Photos by Randy Stern A Victory & Reseda review of the 2013 Infiniti JX35 One of the greatest cars I ever driven in my lifetime – it might surprise you to know what it is. In 1993, I took a test drive in an Infiniti Q45. I was a fan …
TweetAnd, now, a brief look back at 2012…OK, moving on… Photo by Randy Stern No, the Mayan Prophecy was not fulfilled. You can breathe now… The notion of trusting a calendar that supposedly ended on December 21, 2012 is to trust anything a nut job would say. Instead of naming a slew of nut jobs …
Tweet 2013 Ford Escape Titanium 4WD. All Photos by Randy Stern A Victory & Reseda review of the 2013 Ford Escape What was your first reaction when you saw the new Ford Escape? I cried. No, seriously, I did. You see, the Escape and I go back plenty of years. My first encounter with Ford's …
TweetDid you know I had a hand in the introduction of the car pictured above? Well, sort of. At the last Chicago Auto Show, I was with Alex Villani and Nick Saporito of GMInsideNews as we were talking to one of the product managers for GMC's crossover lines. We talked about our experiences with the …