Tag: Buick

Top 12 Fun and Safe Family Cars Made in America

One out of every four Americans wants to buy an American vehicle. Which models that are fun to drive, safe for families, and priced under $50,000 qualify?

According to the 2017 Cars.com American Made Index, 25 percent of people surveyed want to buy an American car. That’s almost double the number of people who said so in 2016, and it doesn’t take an astrophysicist to figure out why. President Trump has clearly made Americans aware again.

Whether you agree or disagree with the man and his policies, it certainly doesn’t hurt this country’s economic fortunes to deliberately choose a vehicle that is designed, engineered, and built in America using American ingenuity, parts and labor. The question, of course, is this: What the hell is an American car in the first place?

Some people follow the profits. Ford Motor Company, General Motors, and Tesla are the only car companies currently headquartered in the United States (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is incorporated in the Netherlands with an HQ in London). But does that make a Buick Envision built in China an American car?

Some people consider the brand. Fiat Chrysler is a now single company serving as an umbrella for multiple legacy brands. Is an Italian-made Alfa Romeo Stelvio as American as a Detroit-built Jeep Grand Cherokee? Is an Italian-built Jeep Renegade as American as a Michigan-made Ram 1500?

Some people consider where a car is actually assembled. The Toyota Camry is built in Kentucky. The Ford Fusion is hecho en Mexico. Which one is American? Both? Neither?

With the help of American University’s Made in America Index, Speedy Daddy aims to define an “American” car.

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2017 New York Auto Show: 6 Speedy Picks for Under $60,000

Several family-oriented and fun-to-drive vehicles debuted at the 2017 New York Auto Show. Check out six of our favorites priced at less than $60,000.

While New Yorkers typically favor just about any form of transportation aside from a personal vehicle, that doesn’t prevent the city’s annual auto show from serving as one of the major American expositions of its kind. After all, Manhattan’s surrounding area is populated by one of the largest consumer audiences in the world, making the New York Auto Show an important venue for car companies showcasing their latest and greatest models.

This year’s lengthy list of debuts was no different, and included serious automotive firepower in the forms of the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, the Lexus LS 500 F Sport, and the Mercedes-AMG GLC63. But those all cost big bucks, and if you’re on a family budget, you’re seeking a cheaper thrill.

We’ve just returned from several days of press conferences in the Big Apple, and when it comes to fun family vehicles priced below $60,000, these six new models, listed in alphabetical order, are of the most interest.

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What is Teen Driver Technology from General Motors?

For 2017, GM expands availability of its impressive new safe teen driving technology.

As a car-crazy kid raised during the 1970s on a steady diet of “The Rockford Files” and “Starsky and Hutch,” I could not wait to turn 16 and get my driver’s license.

Shortly thereafter, while trying to impress a girl with my fishtailing expertise on a snowy residential street, I planted my mother’s 1980 Buick Regal into a telephone pole. The girl sat in the middle of the velour bench seat between my buddy and me, and none of us were wearing seat belts.

Miraculously, none of us got hurt. My pride? That’s another story.

Today, as a father to four kids ranging in age from 6 to 19, I’ve shared this story (and many others) with my older daughters in the hopes that they won’t repeat my mistakes. And I’m thrilled that new vehicles are now equipped with technologies like Teen Driver from General Motors, even though I would have hated them when I was a new and reckless driver.

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