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2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness Review: Built for Dirt
Filed Under: RidesFound In: New HampshireThe 2026 Outback Wilderness is probably the best argument yet for what Subaru has been trying to do with the Wilderness badge. It still isn’t a hardcore off-roader, and I don’t think it needs to pretend to be one. However, I’ve taken this car off the beaten path, down two-tracks and minor off-road trails, and…
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Wink Mark3 and Slate Truck Bet on Small, Cheap EVs
Filed Under: RidesA handful of new developments show that American car companies finally are taking a realistic approach to electric cars. The most interesting and promising new initiatives come from young companies operating outside of the traditional American auto industry. That isn’t surprising, because the established U.S. vehicle makers – Ford, General Motors, and the remnant of…
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The Quickest RAV4 Yet Can Skip Gas for 54 Miles
Filed Under: RidesFound In: New HampshireRemember Transformers when you were a kid? You know, Autobots, Decepticons, robots that transform into cars, Michael Bay action movies, etc… Well, that’s what the new Toyota RAV4 PHEV reminds me of. The RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid may be the most interesting vehicle in the new RAV4 lineup because it essentially gives you two vehicles in…
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Lime Rock Historic Festival 44 Honors Newman and Alfa Romeo
Filed Under: PlacesFound In: ConnecticutThe average American associates the Labor Day holiday weekend with picnics and barbecues, swimming and boating, and hiking or biking. But for more than four decades, hundreds of thousands of car nuts have been celebrating the holiday at Connecticut’s Lime Rock Park at the racing circuit’s annual Historic Festival. Organizers describe Historic Festival 44 as…
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Muffler Men, Porsches, and Dirt Roads: Route 66, Part Two
Filed Under: RoadsFound In: MaineClip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop—the rhythmic sound of six big tires slapping against the aged cement surface of America’s most widely recognized road varies from soft-spoken to jolting reactions as our Ford F-350 Super Duty works its way southwest through Illinois. After easy, smooth-flowing Ohio—the best I-80 surfaces we have experienced—Indiana and Illinois illustrate what happens when…
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A Ford Super Duty, a Trailer, and 2,300 Miles of Route 66
Filed Under: RoadsFound In: MaineIn 1914, Henry Ford and naturalist John Burroughs wanted to visit Thomas Edison in Florida. They explored the Everglades and other regions, starting an experience, a movement for more Americans to see their country. The following year, Harvey Firestone joined the trio as they explored the state of California, now with a larger assortment of…
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The South Weare Garage Was NH’s First Ford Dealership
Filed Under: PlacesFound In: New HampshireCuriosity may have allegedly taken a few feline lives, but it also led to numerous stories for those with an inquiring mind and a need to fill column inches in the old newspaper world. After driving by an old, abandoned gas station one day in Weare, New Hampshire, I thought there were cars sitting in…
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Visiting Bennington: A Turn-by-Turn Vermont Road Trip
A turn-by-turn road trip to history and to rural Vermont For a road-trip destination in rural New England over this year’s Independence Day holiday – July 4th during this 250th anniversary year of America’s birth – there could be only one choice: Bennington, Vermont. But even though the 4th has passed, don’t feel that you…
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Granddaddy of Hill Climbs Has a Record Weekend
Found In: New HampshireTake a road trip anywhere in New England, and you’re likely to see a bumper sticker proclaiming, “This car climbed Mt. Washington.” Recently, thousands of spectators watched 80 bold souls storm up the Mt. Washington Auto Road, but they were chasing headlines and bragging rights, not bumper stickers. The chasing took place Aug. 7-9 in…
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Marina Car Gives Visiting Boaters the Keys to New England
Filed Under: PeopleThe rapid expansion of technology into every facet of our lives provides ample opportunities for new ideas that improve our economy as well as create new entrepreneurs. Peter Rauscher is one such individual working to create additional visitor convenience, gainful relationships, as well as an untapped service for traveling mariners. Rauscher, the son of a…
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Wink Motors CEO Talks Tiny EVs on The Car Doctor
Does your next around-town errand really need a two-ton SUV? That question is at the heart of the latest episode of The Car Doctor Podcast, where host John Paul, AAA Northeast’s Car Doctor and a longtime New England automotive journalist, sits down with Mark Dweck, the founder and CEO of Wink Motors. Wink Motors, based…
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The Car Bonnie and Clyde Loved So Much They Died in It
Filed Under: RidesFound In: MassachusettsOn the morning of May 23, 1934, a new Ford V8 sedan sped along a quiet Louisiana country road. Ahead, a disabled truck blocked the road. The Ford slowed and swung around it. Before the car could regain speed, a burst of gunfire hit the Ford. The now bullet-riddled Ford coasted silently to a stop.…
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2026 Acura Integra Type S: A Hot Rod for Gen X
Filed Under: RidesSeveral days a week, I have to pick my son up at the high school. I typically show up 15 minutes before he gets out so I can get out of the parking lot before an endless line of buses try to exit ahead of me. I’ve done this in a lot of cool cars…