In my view, the Ford Fiesta rates well against an impressive choice of recently redesigned subcompacts. Completely redesigned in 2011, Fiesta offers no significant changes for 2012. Any bugs have been worked out in the first year, yet the design is still new enough to offer the latest advances in safety and fuel efficiency. read more »

Our state will be forced to hold a special election in November to replace former U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee for just one month — an election that will no doubt be confusing for voters, burdensome for candidates seek-ing to replace him, and enormously costly for us taxpayers — at a time when we can least afford any unexpected additional and/or unnecessary expenses. Inslee, a Democrat, as you know, resigned his congressional seat so he could campaign for governor on a full-time basis. read more »

Completely redesigned in 2011, the 2012 Infiniti QX56 is lower, wider, and certainly more eye-catching than the previous version. And while reports of the death of the full-size SUV abound, the fact is, in spite of the segment now about a third of its former size, there are still people, businesses and families that absolutely require seven or eight passenger seats, and an 8,500-pound towing capability. read more »

I’ve been writing the car reviews that appear here in the Business Journal as well as a number of city and lifestyle-type magazines around the country for almost 20 years now.

Although I’m sure I’ll have lots of brand-loyalty disagreements, here’s the answers to my most frequently asked car questions based on cars I’ve either personally test-driven during the 2011-2012 model year, or am familiar with. Please note I haven’t driven nearly everything on the market, and these are in no particular order and grouped kind of — but not exactly — by price. read more »

As we go to press, two Republicans have announced their intention to challenge County Commissioners Charlotte Garrido and Rob Gelder come November. Chris Tibbs, who ran against Gelder last time wants a re-match, and Linda Simpson, who ran for the legislature against Fred Finn, wants to take on Garrido. Redistricting moved Simpson from the 35th into Garrido’s territory, although she didn’t move.

It’s no secret Tibbs, who touts himself as a “successful businessman,” declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2005, over a paltry $12,658.97. That makes his claims of business acumen somewhat suspect at best. read more »

I’ve had a number of different opportunities to put the Buick LaCrosse through its paces since it originally debuted in 2009, and every time I drive it, I like it more.

The LaCrosse marked the beginning of a more luxurious and stylish era for Buick. And with China the world’s largest potential car market, coupled with the fact the Chinese have a serious love affair with Buick read more »

I was more than skeptical about Electric Vehicles (EVs) — until I actually drove one. I came away a believer that EVs are the future — not everyone’s — but for a lot of folks. While the automotive industry has seriously experimented with alternative fuels or the past decade, they’ve settled on electricity as the alternative power source. read more »

After four years of holding public office and generally taking a hands-off approach in this space to people I had to work with, now that I’m back in the private sector, there’s not a lot of reason to continue that policy. So enjoy, or… read more »

The C-Class is the least expensive Mercedes-Benz in the showroom — but offers nothing less than you’d expect from Mercedes. The 2012 C-Class includes a new coupe, while the sedans underwent a major mid-cycle update. Our test vehicle was the C350 coupe, so this review will be confined primarily to that vehicle. read more »