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1 week ago | 
ellsworthamerican.com | Tim Plouff
Over the 10-year run of the existing Volvo XC90, it feels like a sample has visited almost every year. This frequency has led to a love-hate relationship with the stylish XC that is, well, evolving. The Volvo’s chassis has always been better than competent, displaying a nice balance of ride and handling prowess that some rivals still seek. Combined with a relatively roomy cabin with above-average driving chairs, the XC90 checks several boxes.
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2 weeks ago | 
ellsworthamerican.com | Tim Plouff
Right on the heels of the “unofficial” end of winter, as well as the Genesis GV80 Coupe, came this week’s similar-sized Lincoln Nautilus, the brand’s top-selling SUV last year in a lineup of four luxury class SUVs. During this wet visit, the fire hose of constant changes in the auto industry continued with more announcements about import tariffs, EPA regulation changes, supplier constraints, stubborn interest rates, plateauing auto sales, EV sales drops, EV manufacturers filing for bankruptcy...
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3 weeks ago | 
ellsworthamerican.com | Tim Plouff
If the goal is to craft premium-appearing luxury cars — eye candy for buyers who relish flash for their hard-earned cash — then Genesis has the styling template down pat. Oozing with panache inside and out, while undercutting the competition on price, is helping Hyundai’s fledgling luxury brand accumulate sales at the expense of more established rivals. The new GV80 Coupe is a sleek, two-row rendering of the brand’s three-row crossover wagon.
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1 month ago | 
ellsworthamerican.com | Tim Plouff
Once typical winter weather arrived — enough snow — we scheduled multiple snowmobile trips to “Northen Maine,” this year visiting the wonderful King family operation at Shin Pond Village, west of Patten. With various lodging options, a wicked friendly staff and an excellent dining hall/bar/nourishment retreat, two separate riding groups got all of the winter fun we needed visiting the Eagle Lake Ghost Trains, dining at remote Libby Camps and racing up and down the Huber Road trail.
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1 month ago | 
ellsworthamerican.com | Tim Plouff
For decades, the auto industry’s standard-bearer was the family sedan. Big, long and usually a six-passenger conveyance, these sedans were a staple here and in most other markets, covering basic driving needs and luxury customers as well. In the mid-1960s, the Chevy Impala was the best-selling automotive product in America, at one time accounting for over 12% of total market sales all by itself, a dominance not seen since.
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1 month ago | 
ellsworthamerican.com | Tim Plouff
Like many automakers today, Honda’s Acura luxury division is more focused on its profitable crossover/SUV products, like this week’s compact class RDX. Still (loosely) based on the CR-V platform, the RDX is the second best-selling product in Acura’s small lineup, with more units sold each year than all of the brand’s sedans combined. These five-door devices are the market’s bread and butter.
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1 month ago | 
ellsworthamerican.com | Tim Plouff
It had already been a long day when I slid into the massaging power seat of the top-end Santa Fe Calligraphy. With 310 miles to get home, there was plenty of time to get acquainted. Hyundai gave the midsize Santa Fe an extreme makeover last year. With a squared-off body and front fascia with distinctive H-pattern LED lights, larger rear portal opening, plus a wider, more open cabin, the latest Santa Fe has long abandoned its initial compact class crossover roots for a more modern, up-tempo style.
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2 months ago | 
ellsworthamerican.com | Tim Plouff
The roads were snow-covered and greasy as I headed southbound to meet Tommy for the next review vehicle. The morning commute was well underway, before the buses, but the total absence of any road plowing or salting was notable as the number of vehicles off the road escalated with each mile traveled. Six cars were off the side of the hill in Holden. As I met Tommy with this week’s Soul Red Metallic Mazda CX-70 in Topsham, the sun was breaking out and the roads were getting needed attention.
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2 months ago | 
ellsworthamerican.com | Tim Plouff
If Nissan were an oil company, you’d have to admit that they have hit some “dry holes” of late. Their Ariya EV has been a dud in the marketplace, the full-size Titan pickup truck experiment has ended after flailing about for 20 years, while its most popular midsize sedan — the Altima — has been fading against its primary rivals, which remain popular. And Nissan currently has no hybrid powertrains in its lineup, the power systems that buyers are gravitating towards.
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2 months ago | 
ellsworthamerican.com | Tim Plouff
Back in 2008, GM rolled out a foursome of jelly bean-shaped three-row people movers to replace its slow-selling minivan lineup. Based on a new unibody platform called Lambda, the Chevy Traverse, Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook had the space, driving comfort and functionality of a minivan — without the sliding doors and the negative marketing stigma evident at the time. The driving public immediately gravitated to these “new” family wagons.
