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Ford Escape updates onboard communications

The Ford Escape gets better for 2016 with a new, easy-to-operate version of its Sync onboard communications and control system that's quicker to respond and more user-friendly.The second best-selling sport utility vehicle in the United States is one of the first Fords to get a better Sync system, which has an improved arrangement of control menus for such things as entertainment and navigation. It has a swipe feature for accessing menus, larger on-screen buttons and can send texts from your cellphone while driving.The roomy, five-passenger Escape already stands out from the compact SUV ...

Dead and exploding batteries not uncommon

DEAR?DOCTOR: I pressed the pushbutton start on my 2012 Volkswagen Passat TDI and heard a loud bang, like a shotgun going off. All of the electrical systems went dead. I opened the hood and saw smoke coming from the battery and noticed the top and sides of the battery were blown out. I had the Passat towed to the dealer and he said it was a maintenance issue, but I argued that this was a dangerous defect. What should be done?- MichaelDEAR?MICHAEL: As for this being a defect I disagree. Car battery explosions are more common than you think. The explosion is caused from fumes emitting from ...

Hot cars at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Automakers are debuting key models at this year's Los Angeles Auto Show.Updated versions of big sellers like the Ford Escape, Nissan Sentra and Hyundai Elantra are there, as well as new luxury vehicles like the Alfa Romeo Giulia sedan, the Cadillac XT5 SUV and the Land Rover Evoque Convertible.There's some flash, with the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport race car, and some hints of the future, with concept cars from Volvo and Subaru and a three-wheeler from startup Elio Motors.Automakers are showing off in California because it's a hot market. It leads other states in new ...

1956 Chevrolet Sport Coupe: A project car

Jim Hamilton recalls a long-ago visit in Wisconsin from his uncle and being captivated by his 1956 Chevrolet. That car is but a memory. By 1980, a grown-up Hamilton started a search for a bargain-priced 1956 Chevrolet similar his uncle's car.He located such a car in the autumn of that year: It was a white-over-blue 1956 Chevrolet Sport Coupe that had been gutted, had no engine, no transmission, and had once been turned into a drag race car. It was exactly what Hamilton was looking for -- a project."It was a shell when I bought it," Hamilton says.The next step was finding two similar cars ...