#sedans

Last week, Steph penned a QOTD where he let commenters loose on front-drive American cars made between 1980 and 2010. The ask was to pick a favorite from the wide selection; one you’d buy today as new.

This week we’re going to take the opposite tack and talk about the front-drive car you like the least.

Changes come to Mazda’s midsize 6 sedan slowly, with mild — some might say imperceptible — styling refreshes and content changes usually occurring halfway through the model year. Last year saw a big and long-awaited addition to the slinky sedan: an available turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-four aimed at silencing, once and for all, enthusiasts’ cries of moar powah.

That mill brought 277 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque to a model often regarded as the most engaging midsize on the market, though buyers couldn’t pair it with the base model’s six-speed manual transmission. For 2019, however, it looks like no one will get their hands on a stick.

Earlier this year, Mazda showed off its all-new 3 sedan in Los Angeles. The new compact’s intent is to impress a revised, upscale image on the brand. While the 3 delivered in quality, overall refinement, and driving enjoyment, it managed only middling marks with regard to power.

Now, Mazda has upped its game with a more stylish hatchback variant and the additional capability of an all-wheel drive system. But do style and substance mesh in the more expensive hatchback? We went back to California to find out.

Despite having risen from the grave in 2007, following its brief stint as the Ford Five Hundred, the Taurus has been reburied. The last example rolled out of Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant a few weeks ago (to make room for SUVs), though the car lives on in China. However, we doubt you’d be interested if the manufacturer suddenly began exporting them.

A seventh generation of the Ford Taurus was introduced there in 2015, looking like a hybrid of the American sixth-gen and Australia’s FG X Falcon. A mid-cycle refresh is right around the corner, and you’ll probably be glad it’s staying in China.

Recently, I’ve shared musings about selling my old Infiniti, as well as the coupe or sedan options pegged to replace it. You readers had your helpful hearts in the right place, with funny suggestions of Challenger, Charger, and Mustang. A couple of weeks have elapsed since then, and there have been developments. Let’s chat.

Having already provided Gran Coupe (fastback sedan) versions of the 4 and 6 Series, BMW is planning on doing the same for the “entry level” 2 Series. However, it doesn’t appear as though it will be based on the rear-drive 2 Series we’ve come to appreciate as the one of the best driving cars currently residing in the company’s stable.

Instead, BMW claims the 2 Series Gran Coupe will be based on the same front-wheel drive UKL modular platform that underpins most of the brand’s smallest models. That means the four-door Gran Coupe will probably have more in common with the X1, X2, 2 Series Active Tourer, and China’s 1 Series Sedan than it does with the standard 2 Series.

Not giving up on a segment many Americans have already crossed off their shopping list, Cadillac debuted its strategically placed CT5 sedan this week, sparking no shortage of debate as to its aesthetic attributes.

While one man’s opinion holds about as much weight as a feather, this author gives a thumbs-up to the CT5’s Escala-inspired front clip and a hearty thumbs-down for rear flanks that seem to mimic the Nissan Versa sedan — or perhaps a mid-2000s Maxima. It won’t be the only new sedan Caddy unveils this year. Following on the CT5’s heels is a sedan that brings its trunk game to the party.

For the past couple of weeks, Wednesday’s QOTD posts have asked a simple question: What was the most overpriced non-luxury vehicle of a given period of time? The first inquiry dealt only with 2019 vehicles, and last week we covered the 2000s — where I picked on the overpriced, retro Ford Thunderbird. Many of you thought I was wrong (I wasn’t). Today, we’ll head back to the decade we all like to discuss — the one that’s popular right now with youths.

It is, of course, the 1990s. I’m already wearing my blazer and shoulder pads.

I hinted at today’s QOTD last week, when the original post for this line of questioning got the ball rolling. Last time we asked which non-luxury vehicles of 2019 were the most overpriced. The subsequent comments reflected a wide variety of nuanced opinions, ranging from “Everything over $25,000 is overpriced” to “Cars should come used from the factory.” Just kidding (maybe).

Today we step back over a decade and talk about everyone’s favorite rounded and cheap plastic era: the 2000s.

Though much of the luxury vehicle segment is immune from the depressingly practical concept of “good value,” the less aspirational vehicles of the proletariat are not so fortunate.

Today we discuss overpriced non-luxury vehicles for sale in 2019.

Today’s Rare Ride is the European luxury sedan you’ve never heard of. Plush, brown, and boxy, it’s the Talbot Tagora from 1982.

In an introductory post last week, I detailed a couple of cars I was considering as a replacement to my decade-old Infiniti M. The comments (some filled with unusual anger) prodded me to add another car to the list.

A week later, I can tell you that two of those former options are absolutely out of the question.

With sales of the IS 300 leaving something to be desired these past few years, Lexus has bestowed the obligatory black-themed appearance package on the compact sedan for the 2019 model year.

Available on both rear- and all-wheel drive IS 300 F Sport models for 2019, the Black Line Special Edition offers a handful exterior features that help to distinguish it from the standard IS. However, the appearance package will be only be available in three exterior colors: ultra white, obsidian and atomic silver.

In last week’s QOTD, we asked you to share the vehicles that pleasantly surprised you after spending some time behind the wheel. Whether your expectations were high or low to start, it’s always nice to recall transportation that impressed.

Today we turn in the opposite direction, and talk about cars that left you feeling disappointed.

Some heavy thoughts are weighing on my mind lately; some might even call them urges. And those urges are telling me to sell a blue Datsun sedan and get something else. Should I give in?