Cars

Safe used cars for teens can be had for under $20,000

By Donna R. Walsh 2 weeks ago

The safest cars don’t need to be expensive and teen drivers don’t need to be driving old beaters, according to a new survey. 

The IIHS teamed up with Consumer Reports to develop a list of the 65 safest cars that are valued between $5,300 and $19,600. This is the first time the two organizations have worked together in developing their recurring safest cars for teens recommendations.

While the list prioritizes safety for the most inexperienced and at-risk drivers, it can apply to any car shopper who values safety on a budget. 

Vehicles on the list have to meet six criteria.

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2021 Kia K5 vs. 2020 Hyundai Sonata: Compare Cars

By Donna R. Walsh 2 weeks ago

2021 Kia K5

The 2021 Kia K5 wears a new badge like it’s the first day on the job at Best Buy. The  four-door family sedan’s an upgrade from the former Optima, Kia tells us.

It looks the part, but is it different enough to put its kith and kin, the 2020 Hyundai Sonata, in its rearview mirror?

If you missed the executive summary, it goes something like this: Both the K5 and Sonata tap 4-cylinder engines and automatic transmissions for performance, but the Hyundai has a base inline-4 that Kia skips—while Kia gets all-wheel drive that for now isn’t

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5 American cars that are better than fireworks

By Donna R. Walsh 1 month ago

Organized fireworks during this year’s July 4th festivities will be as hard to find as a manual transmission. But the domestic auto industry has plenty of fireworks of its own. America suffers no shortage of pomp and whomp, and American muscle has reached steroidal strength with these chest-thumpers. While the lunatics at Dodge keep squeezing out more from an old V-8, the wizards at Ford and Chevy enhance their V-8s with great efficiency and power, and Tesla creates gut-dropping acceleration with electrons. Here’s our way of saying happy Independence Day, 2020 style. 

2020 Chevrolet Corvette

2020 Chevrolet Corvette

If you

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Convertibles just as safe as cars with roofs: IIHS

By Donna R. Walsh 2 months ago

The lack of a roof does not mean a lack of safety when it comes to cars, according to an IIHS study released on Tuesday. 

Even with cloth tops, modern convertibles don’t pose a greater crash and fatality risk than sedans or coupes. In fact, there were fewer crashes and fatalities in convertibles. An analysis of crash fatality data of convertibles that were up to five years old during 2014-2018 showed that convertibles were involved in 6% fewer crashes per miles traveled and death rates were 11% lower than in conventional cars.  

“There’s no statistical basis for concerns that the

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