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A car writer's year in new vehicles [w/video]

Christmas is only a week away. The New Year is just around the corner. As 2014 draws to a close, I'm not the only one taking stock of the year that's we're almost shut of. Depending on who you are or what you do, the end of the year can bring to mind tax bills, school semesters or scheduling dental appointments. For me, for the last eight or nine years, at least a small part of this transitory time is occupied with recalling the cars I've driven over the preceding 12 months. Since I started writing about and reviewing cars in 2006, I've done an uneven job of tracking every vehicle I've been in, each year. Last year I made a resolution to be better about it, and the result is a spreadsheet with model names, dates, notes and some basic facts and figures. Armed with this basic data and a yen for year-end stories, I figured it would be interesting to parse the figures and quantify my year in cars in a way I'd never done before. The results are, well, they're a little bizarre, honestly. And I think they'll affect how I approach this gig in 2015. {C} My tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015 it'll be as high as 73. Let me give you a tiny bit of background about how automotive journalists typically get cars to test. There are basically two pools of vehicles I drive on a regular basis: media fleet vehicles and those available on "first drive" programs. The latter group is pretty self-explanatory. Journalists are gathered in one location (sometimes local, sometimes far-flung) with a new model(s), there's usually a day of driving, then we report back to you with our impressions. Media fleet vehicles are different. These are distributed to publications and individual journalists far and wide, and the test period goes from a few days to a week or more. Whereas first drives almost always result in a piece of review content, fleet loans only sometimes do. Other times they serve to give context about brands, segments, technology and the like, to editors and writers. So, adding up the loans I've had out of the press fleet and things I've driven at events, my tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015, it'll be as high as 73. At one of the buff books like Car and Driver or Motor Trend, reviewers might rotate through five cars a week, or more. I know that number sounds high, but as best I can tell, it's pretty average for the full-time professionals in this business.

Acura may go all AWD in bid to mimic Subaru's success

Acura's struggles have been well publicized. The Honda-owned luxury brand doesn't seem sure of where it's going or what it's trying to accomplish, with its cars and marketing lacking a coherent theme. Now, a new report from Automotive News claims that the brand could follow the success of Subaru and (to a lesser extent) Audi, and adopt all-wheel-drive as standard across its model range.
"I think that's the way we should go," Acura boss Koichi Fukuo told Automotive News.
Acura already offers some form of all-wheel drive on every vehicle in its line aside from the lamentable ILX sedan. That could change as Acura begins rolling out next-generation versions of its still relatively new stable of sedans and crossovers.

2016 Subaru BRZ gets new touchscreen, lower price

Subaru is freshening up its lovable BRZ coupe for 2016, adding a spate of new options and tweaking the price ever so slightly. On the options front, the rear-driver gets a new 6.2-inch touchscreen multimedia system. Like the current car's standard 6.1-inch affair, it offers AM/FM/HD radio, satellite radio, and Bluetooth connectivity. The new system will also play nice with your smartphone, adding integration for Aha, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, and a few other more mundane, everyday apps, adding weather and news features. A rear-view camera will also come standard. While the new infotainment system is added across the range, it's the only real change happening for 2016. The Limited trim remains identical to the 2015, offering owners an Alcantara trimmed cabin, with suede and leather seat accents and keyless access, while the car's exterior gets a body-color spoiler and fog lights. Dual-zone climate control, heated seats, and heated mirrors also come standard on the up-market trim. Despite the new 6.2-inch display, Subaru has actually cut prices by $300 on both versions of its two-door model for 2016. The base model kicks off at $26,190, while the Limited rings up at $28,190. Fans of the BRZ's six-speed automatic Philistines can get a two-pedal BRZ for $29,290, which includes the Limited trim equipment. Read on for the official press release, direct from Subaru. Related Video: SUBARU ANNOUNCES PRICING ON 2016 BRZ® MODELS SUBARU STARLINK™6.2"Multimedia System standard across all lines Priced $300 lower than previous model year Rear Vision Camera now standard Cherry Hill, N.J. - Subaru of America, Inc. today announced pricing for the 2016 BRZ line. Starting at $25,395, the BRZ, powered by a 200-horsepower 2.0-liter BOXER engine, marks a return to the fundamentals of sports car design, emphasizing low vehicle weight, an ultra-low center of gravity and precision steering. Available in Premium or Limited trim, BRZ models boast performance features, such as the sport-tuned suspension with front strut brace and TORSEN limited-slip differential. For 2016, the BRZ receives the SUBARU STARLINK 6.2" Multimedia System with a 6.2-in. single-touch gesture display, AM/FM stereo with HD Radio®, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, Radio Data Broadcast System, single-disc CD player, Bluetooth® hands-free phone connectivity and audio streaming, iPod® control, iTunes® Tagging, a USB port and an auxiliary input jack.