Latest Posts

The Return of the Toyota Venza!

by Peter Ciani for RPM News Weekly The original Toyota Venza made its debut in 2009 as a competitor to the Ford Edge, Nissan Murano, and Mazda CX-7. It was the definition of the crossover sport utility vehicle formula: take a car platform (in this case the Camry) and plunk a station wagon-y body on top – but please don’t call it a station wagon. Back in those old days (2008), even Motor Trend wasn’t sure what to call it, as evidenced by their First Drive review titled “Identity Crisis: Is it a Car? No. An SUV? Not Quite. A…

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Kicking It Up With The New Ford Bronco Sport

03-16-21 Tech Talk ~ Recorded Live from KOWS FM 92.5 ~ Given the opportunity, Tech Talk host Rick DeMeis took the new 2021 Ford Bronco Sport offroad into what he describes as "mud and maple sugar country" for what turned out to be a sweet ol' time. One wonders how it could have been anything but that with all that this 4x4 has to offer. Listen in for more details – and while you're here, let your ears fill up with the rest of this week's news including a study by iseecars.com on the longest lasting cars. You'll also learn…

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2020 Toyota Corolla Targets Sportiness

By Peter Ciani, for RPM News Weekly ~ When competing in a market dominated by SUVs and Crossovers, you might think that a manufacturer would NOT focus their precious resources on a sub-compact sedan. Unless, of course, that sedan is the best selling Toyota Corolla. Entering its twelfth-generation, the Toyota Corolla sedan is completely redesigned for the 2020 model year and rides on the Toyota New Global Architecture, or TNGA. This platform actually made its "Corolla" debut in the new for 2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback – a car that we, here at RPM News, really enjoyed driving.  With the new chassis…

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2021 Toyota Avalon Limited Channels Luxury

03-02-21 Tech Talk ~ Recorded Live from KOWS FM 92.5 ~ Yes, it's possible to find a noteworthy luxury sedan priced under $50 thousand, as Tech Talk host Rick DeMeis discovered this week in the first ever all-wheel drive 2021 Toyota Avalon Limited. Bells and whistles aside, this mid-size passenger vehicle proved comfortable, safe and efficient, even if one sacrifices a little bit of power in the name of fuel economy. Listen in for more on this, as well as tech topics that include a vehicle sales study, the orbiting Tesla roadster, a neutron rocket, micro 3D printing and a…

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Kia Teases The All-New 2022 Carnival ‘Multi-Purpose Vehicle’ aka Not-A-Minivan

by Peter Ciani, RPM News Weekly Co-Founder ~ It's a curious thing how automakers are fastidiously avoiding the term minivan these days. Case in point, this week's press announcement for the upcoming February 23 reveal of the all-new 2020 Carnival where Kia teases the not-a-minivan Carnival Multi-Purpose Vehicle without ever mentioning it as a replacement for the long-running Kia Sedona minivan. Curious, indeed! But Kia is not alone in reframing the the minivan's personality to attract buyers. On last week's episode of the EV Power Podcast, hosts Rich Taber and I discussed the refreshed 2021 Chrysler Pacifica minivan, which takes…

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How The 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Defines The Term ‘Sport Utility’ Vehicle

By Peter Ciani, RPM News Weekly Co-Founder ~ There are several definitions for the term ‘Sport Utility Vehicle’ to be found online. Merriam-Webster defines the SUV as, “A rugged automotive vehicle similar to the station wagon but built on a light-truck chassis.” Whereas, Oxford Dictionary simply says, “A high-performance four-wheel-drive vehicle.” The category Sport Utility Vehicle kind of says it all, Sport = fun, Utility = usefulness, and Vehicle = well...vehicle. So, when you Google-search the term Sport Utility Vehicle the very first picture that comes up shouldn't be a Honda CR-V (really, Google?) it should be RPM News Weekly's…

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