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Toyota adds hybrid option to its new generation of 4Runner

One of the original Japanese sport utility vehicles is back with a new edition, and it's a very nice step forward from the previous inSUVnation.

The 4Runner, which seems to have been around forever, has been a truck-based based SUV since day one (back then it was based on the Hilux, which is now the Tacoma) and it still manages to compete in a market dominated by the car-based units that make up the lion's share of today's SUV's.

This means the thing is nearly indestructible, as evidenced by the Toyota pickup Top Gear tried to kill unsuccessfully multiple times. That's a good thing in any vehicle, but it's especially important if you're leaving the beaten path and heading for the outback (no Subaru pun intended. Okay, it was…).

They also last forever, as evidenced by my son's 20-plus year old 4Runner Sport Edition that runs as well today as it did when he bought it used many years ago.

Toyota claims the new 4Runner is "all-new from the ground up" and is now using the same global truck platform as the Tacoma, Land Cruiser, Tundra and Sequoia. It uses a high-strength boxed, steel-ladder frame with a multi-link coil rear and double wishbone front suspension. The maker says this platform not only is stronger, but also allows for better ride comfort and "on-road manners".  

I can attest to its on-road manners. While obviously truck-based, the new 4Runner drives nicer than I can remember other recent generations did. In fact, it was sportier than it had any right to be, especially once you tweak its settings to access the sport and/or sport plus modes. Though it's still bigger than I like, and more robust than I need, I really enjoyed driving it.

The V6 is gone now, alas, but I have to admit this turbo four (2.4 litres' worth) with the hybrid is a peach. more...

William Castle schlock horror classic finally comes to Blu-ray

Just in time to miss Halloween comes one of the great guilty pleasure horror movies, from the mind of one of the greatest showmen in Hollywood history.

It's House on Haunted Hill, the 1959 scream fest (whether they're screams of fright or giggles I'll leave up to you) that saw some theatres dragging a model skeleton across the top of the auditorium to up the fright (or delight) oomph to an outrageous high.

It's also a movie that appears to have been quite an inspiration for at least one spoof many years later: Neil Simon's Murder by Death. Murder by Death was a deliberate comedy, however, while House on Haunted Hill at least pretends to be a scary movie – and it even has some decent chills for 1959.

Here's how the film is described on the box of this new Blu-ray from Film Masters: "A millionaire offers ten thousand dollars to five people if they agree to stay overnight in a large, spooky, rented house. When you consider that the millionaire is Vincent Price, and the film is directed by Schlock master William Castle, you can bet the five guests are in for a long, bumpy night. This "super shocker of the century" was a smash hit upon its 1959 release."

I really wanted to see this when I got the news that Film Masters – who have released several other such perhaps minor classics from decades ago – because I'd never seen it, and since Castle's follow up (The Tingler) is one of my favourite guilty pleasures. I'd also seen the remake of Haunted Hill and enjoyed it.

Vincent Price plays millionaire Frederick Loren who has decided to throw a party (with his wife, kind of) for a few select guests. The venue is, not surprisingly, the house on Haunted Hill, where in the past some unsolved murders had taken place.

Naturally, weird things happen including people disappearing, people freaking out, you get the drill. Between skeletons, disembodied heads, and general mayhem and angst, it's scare night at the haunted mansion. Which, really, is how it should be. After all, what's the use of having a haunted house if it isn't haunted? That, to channel The Simpsons, would be the most blatant case of false advertising since The Neverending Story. more...

Searching for a classic film on 4K for Christmas? Here are two great examples

Two American classics top the list of 4K outings that might want to be on your holiday gift list – for someone else or even for yourself. Neither is a new film, but both are superb.

One of them, a newly released on 4K Oscar-winner for Best Picture (back when that meant something), helped to make Jack Nicholson a huge star, while the other – which has actually been out for a while now (but I just discovered the existence of the disc) – pairs John Wayne with long-time collaborator John Ford in what's generally considered one of their best outings: The Searchers.

Let's look at the new release first: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest won "all five major Academy Awards" (according to the press release), of Best Picture, Actor, Actress, screenplay and director. That's quite an accomplishment!

It's also the film that helped propel the careers of comparative newbies (back then!) Danny DeVito, Brad Dourif and Christopher Lloyd. more...

Ford's maverick Maverick is a compelling choice for those who don't need a "real" truck

When is a truck not really a truck?

Well, in the case of the Ford Maverick, it's right now. Though its name once referred to a compact car from the early 1970's, today's Maverick is a car-like truck that competes head-to-head with the original modern car-like truck – the Honda Ridgeline – and Hyundai's version called the Santa Cruz.

I haven't driven the Hyundai, but I have liked both the Maverick and the Ridgeline and, as a definitely non-truck guy, would consider both if ever I had to purchase such a beast.

Why? Because I hate how trucks drive, especially the full-size ones. But even small trucks like the Ranger, Tacoma et al generally leave me cold, because I'm a car guy and I don't like the way traditional trucks drive, bouncing around and chittering over frost heaves, etc. etc... It's heavy-duty utility I'd rather eschew for sportiness, etc. etc.

Besides driveability, I prefer the small trucks because they're easier for a person of short stature like me to get into and out of. more...

Warners releases a great F1 movie and some Nightmares on 4K disc

Brad Pitt's latest start turn turns out to be a pretty compelling racing movie, one of the better ones in a genre where great racing seems to be the exception rather than the rule.

I mean, in a Hollywood that brought us such excrement as 2001's Renny Harlin/Sylvester Stallone IndyCar film Driven (which as a diehard IndyCar fan I really, really wanted to love) and 1990's Tony Scott/Tom Cruise Days of Thunder, one can be forgiven for being suspicious.

On the other hand, there have certainly been some great racing flicks. John Frankenheimer's Grand Prix (1966) is probably the best racing film ever, with its Cinerama picture and fantastic racing sequences (all of which were done analogue, of course). Ron Howard's Rush was also a great entry and I enjoyed the game/simulator-based Gran Turismo as well. Even 1969's James Goldstone/Paul Newman outing Winning, which has the classic Indy 500 as its climactic race, deserves mention as a decent racing movie.

So, it was with more than a tad of angst I allowed myself to be dragged to the IMAX theatre last summer to see F1 the movie. more...

Ford being seduced by the dark side with its new Expedition

I think it's time to opine about distracted driving, yet again.

No, I'm not going to whine about drivers on their phones, or bad driving per se. This time. Besides, anyone who drives regularly should have noticed by now that driving skills appear to be on a serious downward slide.

No, I want to talk about car manufacturers who in their zeal to make their vehicles more relevant to the online generation (and perhaps avoid even more onerous regulations than they have to navigate already) are making their vehicles so complicated that it's getting nearly impossible to just drive rather than operating a big, upholstered smart device.

Case in point: the latest Ford Expedition. Now, I don't mean to slag Ford exclusively here because they're only one manufacturer and, to be fair, I've traditionally found them to be one of the best brands (of the ones I get to drive) for not beating its customers over the heads with ridiculous tech and overly complex interfaces.

Time was when Ford's Sync system was one of the easiest touch screen/instrument panel interfaces around. It was straightforward and it worked. Oh, it may not have offered all the stuff today's carmakers seem duty bound to cram into their offerings (or is it "cram down our throats?), but Ford seemed to recognize the difference between a vehicle and a smart phone. And they seemed to understand ease of use issues. more...

James Gunn's Superman updates the legend without destroying it

Has James Gunn saved the DC comics universe with his new Superman film?

Maybe. I do know that I liked it a lot more than I had feared (I feared I'd hate it, and I didn't).

Good Superman movies are hard to find. It can be argued, I suppose, that some of the Supes that have come along since 1978's exquisite Richard Donner version were okay, but every one of them have left me cold.  I had practically given up on seeing a good Superfilm again.

And the movie mostly eschews political correctness and "wokeness", with the most blatant bit being the casting of a black Perry White, which I actually thought was quite funny even though he doesn't have a lot to do. more...

Ready for a cell phone that doesn't sing and dance?

Tired of your smartphone and looking for something simpler and less intrusive, or that doesn't watch everything you do?

You may be the target market for Polish company Mudita's Kompakt, a so-called dumb phone.

The Kompakt, according to the original press release I received, is "a minimalist mobile phone designed to help users reclaim their focus and well-being. As digital distractions continue to grow, the Mudita Kompakt offers a streamlined, clutter-free experience that supports a more balanced lifestyle.  It's an ideal gift that helps users regain control of their time and becoming more present in life."

That means it doesn't offer stuff like a web browser, email and the like. But it does offer you a cell phone that will let you text, take pictures, play music, even play some games and partake of some lifestyle thingies that struck me as being warm and fuzzy nonsense, especially in a telephone. Naturally, your mileage may vary… more...

Kia's new K4 trades on its forte in the compact sedan market

It was once a Forte, apparently, but now Kia's lone gas-powered car in Canada – as opposed to a slew of SUV's – is a K4, and it sports a new set of clothes and lots of other stuff.

And while it won't go down in my book as one of my favourites, at least it isn't a K9! That would be "ruff!"

Anyway, bad car and dog jokes aside, Kia's latest kick at the small sedan market is an interesting beast and as a Kia fan I liked it, but I wish I'd liked it more.

I remember the Forte well. In fact, I rented the last generation of the car for a two-month period a couple of years ago when I was in Ottawa helping take care of my aging father. I really liked that car and if I'd been in the market at the time, it would have been on my short list.

Alas, my short list keeps getting shorter – mostly because cars are getting scarcer, but also because I don't like a lot of the new vehicles on offer. If I were to trade my 2005 A4 on a new one, for example, I'd lose the V6, the manual transmission and the factory-lowered suspension. And I'd have to live with a bunch of electronics and "safety" nannies that would drive me nuts. More nuts, anyway. more...

Mazda offers an interesting alternative to its CX-5

Mazda's CX-5 is a terrific SUV, fun and, depending upon how you configure it, more luxurious than you might expect. So why would the company introduce a new model to compete with itself?

Beats me. That said, however, either the CX-5 or the newer CX-50 are excellent choices if you're shopping in this market niche. The 50 is a bit lower and wider than the CX-5, as well as being bigger all-around, while looking a tad more aggressive in its styling.

Underneath, they're practically the same vehicle, so choosing one over the other may come down to personal preference (I prefer the look of the CX-50, though it's close). Both models apparently share the same platform, which is apparently the same one used by the exquisite Mazda 3.

Mazda's sample CX-50 wore the GS-L trim level, which is the lowest, and I have to admit I missed a lot of the higher end features. That said, the 50 still looks, feels and drives like a Mazda and that's always a very good thing.

Powering the GS-L version is Mazda's 2.5 litre "SkyactivG" inline four with cylinder deactivation (to save gas when you don't need all the "Zoom-Zoom") and i-Stop. It puts out 187 horses and 185 torquey things, which is a tad anemic in this day and age. Toyota, for example, rates its current RAV4's entry level version at 203 horses, though I'm willing to bet the Mazda is more fun. more...

Ford Explorer continues to offer a compelling family SUV

It may not be an all-new version, but the 2025 Ford Explorer features a number of upgrades its maker undoubtedly hopes will continue to keep the vehicle relevant in a crowded marketplace.

One way Ford thinks they can do this is with what they call "The Ford Digital Experience infotainment system", which the company says lets drivers access their favourite apps and services through a "new integrated native experience", including from Google and Amazon, as well offering Apple CarPlay and Android Auto like just about everyone else does these days.

Ford says it's designed to allow "greater connection and personalization for our customers through profiles, content, and apps, helping make time behind the wheel more enjoyable, even when parked." 

It seems as if Ford has decided to get into bed with Google, because the system integrates Google Maps and it defaults to Google Assistant as its voice assistant, with Alexa available as an alternative "for in-vehicle controls including to set in-vehicle temperature, search information, find and set a destination and request a specific broadcast or satellite radio station. It can also help with making calls, sending texts, setting a meeting, and controlling connected home devices."

Or you could just forget about all that stuff while you're in the car and pay attention to the road.

The change may be welcome to many, but I think that, while it's a technological step forward, it's also a user-friendliness step backward. more...

Minecraft movie makes little sense but looks and sounds great on 4K disc

Fans of the Minecraft video game have a new guilty pleasure to play with, as Warner Brothers has released the movie (well, "a" movie, according to the title) version of the extremely popular game.

My grandkids are Minecraft fans and I've watched them play the game many times. I've even tried my own hand at it, rather ineffectively. My biggest issue with the game is its lousy graphics and I admit I have trouble getting by that.

But most of my Minecraft angst came, I found out when I sat down with the boys and watched some of the "Making of" stuff that accompanies the movie on this new 4K disc release, because I had no idea what the heck was going on. All I saw was the kids building stuff and wandering around the virtual world that Minecraft lets them create. But there's apparently a lot more to it than that.

Hence "A Minecraft Movie", a film the grandkids thought was okay but which I thought was stupid and boring, though it looks and sounds great.

Obviously, I'm not the target market for this 4K disc release, which is why I dragged my 11 and eight-year-old boys into this review. To them, the movie made sense Go figure.

Here's how the blurb describes the movie: "Four misfits are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into a bizarre cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home they'll have to master this world while embarking on a quest with an unexpected expert crafter."

That expert crafter is Jack Black, who I remember most from Peter Jackson's King Kong, where he played the lead character of Carl Denham. more...

The best of the Connery Bonds hits 4K disc

If you're one of the many people who think Sean Connery was the best James Bond, you're in for a real treat with Warner Brothers' new 4k disc set of all the "official" Connery Bond movies.

By "official", I mean that Connery's second return to the franchise in Never Say Never Again, which was never acknowledged as a "real" Bond movie to my recollection (I liked it, though), isn't included in this set, which covers Connery's original outings as Agent 007 plus one when he returned to the franchise for one more kick at the cat (in this case, Blofeld's Chinchilla Persian…).

So here we have brand new 4K editions, scanned supposedly from the original camera negatives. They also feature new, remastered Dolby Atmos audio that sounds very good indeed, as well as the original audio in lossless DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio format. more...

Mitsubishi's Outlander PHEV Noir tackles a mountain trip

What happens when you take a plug-in hybrid on a road trip far from any recharging stations?

Not much, as it turns out, except that you end up buying gasoline instead of electrons. And that's fine – it's really the secret weapon wielded by plug-in hybrids.

That's the upshot from my two-week adventure through the mountains of Alberta and British Columbia, with a side trip to the Home of the Brave: plug-in hybrids are great in the city if you don't want to buy that evil gasoline stuff – but away from charging stations they become just another car, SUV or truck.

And that's why, in my never humble opinion, hybrids – whether plug-in or not – are more practical than straight electric-only vehicles for people who venture far from their home bases.

My dear wife (as opposed to my other one…) and I had planned a trip to visit our son and daughter-in-law in Bellingham, Washington and then on to Vancouver Island to spend a couple of days with my brother and his wife in Victoria and my wife's cousin and his wife up the mountainside beyond Qualicum Beach.

Mitsubishi offered me the use of its Outlander PHEV for the trip, in top-of-the-line Noir trim. more...

Mickey 17's 4K dark comedy, Porschephiles' updated 911 tome, and Arizer's Solo gets an upgrade

"He's dying to save mankind."

Take an interesting take on the cloning (and MAID) issue, sprinkle in some dark humour and interesting situations, and you have Mickey 17, the latest offering from Oscar-winning director Bang Joon Ho.

Our hero – not surprisingly – is Mickey. He wants to get off Earth and have, as pitched in Blade Runner, "a chance to begin again."

Meanwhile, fans of Porsche's iconic masterpiece 911 have an updated edition of "The Complete Book of Porsche 911" to savour. This fourth edition of Randy Leffingwell's encyclopedia of my ultimate dream car retails for a whopping $80 in Canada but for that money you get so much 911 info that your head may spin. more...

Three Clint Eastwood classics receive excellent 4K adaptions

Warner Brothers has reached into its vaults and picked a trio of Clint Eastwood's most famous and honoured films to give the 4K disc treatment, and it really is a "treat"-ment worthy of note.

The films are Dirty Harry, Pale Rider and the Outlaw Josie Wales, one cop film and two westerns. Each of the films has received an exquisite transfer to 4K, including remastered sound that is worth the price of admission on its own.

Not only that, but the extras on each disc are also quite something; if you're an Eastwood fan, a movie buff, or a student of cinema, you'll probably find the stuff extremely interesting. Oh, some of it is repeated from feature to feature and disc to disc, but most of it isn't and it's well worth your time.

Dirty Harry, which was released in 1971, was a bit of a change of pace for Eastwood, who was known better as a guy who occupied westerns, from Rawhide on TV to the Man with No Name in Sergio Leone's "spaghetti westerns". more...

Ford Rangers offer some nifty versions of the compact pickup truck

If you happen to be looking for a compact pickup truck, Ford may be your huckleberry, thanks to its line of Rangers.

And judging from my couple of weeks in back-to-back Rangers, including the outrageous Raptor version, you just might think they have done it right.

Now, as my regular reader knows by now, I've opined many times that I am not the best person to be reviewing pickup trucks. This applies especially to full size pickups, but even the Rangers had me hopping out gingerly lest Parent Nature use her gravity powers to face plant me on the ground outside the truck. Still, ingress and egress were a lot better for me than in a big pickup and, thanks to the Rangers' running boards, my wife and I managed. more...

Electric cars the worst for depreciation – while used car values continue to soar

Can electric cars survive without taxpayer money? Should they?

Subsidies for EV's seem to be on their way out, which suits me just fine; they should sink or swim on their own, like evil gas-powered vehicles have to.

Subsidies or not, if you're thinking of getting an EV and want to keep it for a while, the folks at iSeeCars have some sobering news.

"Electric cars lose more value than any other vehicle type, dropping by nearly 60 percent after 5 years," says a new survey by the group. "This compares to only a 40 percent drop in value for trucks and hybrids, and an industry average of 45.6 percent across all vehicle types"

The survey notes that while the five-year depreciation of EV's is 58.8 per cent, trucks "only" lost value by 40.4 per cent, while SUV's lost nearly half their value (48.9 per cent) and hybrids were "down only" a tad more than as trucks, at 40.7 per cent. more...

Roger Corman's debut monster movie more guilty than guilty pleasure

Before there was an Audrey II, before there was the Raven and before there was a Wasp Woman there was the Monster from the Ocean Floor, Roger Corman's first foray into what became his signature style of cheap and/or exploitative popcorn movies.

Since then, Corman's name has become legendary, so perhaps this particular flick can be forgiven for its comparatively lackluster story and looked at as a forerunner to Corman's famed run of motion pictures. more...

Warners' new Christmas movie miss and old musical masterpiece hit hit 4K disc

Just in time for Easter, we get Red One, Warner Brothers' new Santa Claus-themed movie. And it could have been a really good Christmas flick, too. It has an interesting concept, a good cast, and excellent production values.

Alas, this movie about the search for a kidnapped Santa Claus (J. K. Simmons, who's mostly wasted here), never really decides if it's a Christmas movie or yet another comic book-like action-adventure special effects film. And that really works against it.

On the other hand, while the story of a long dead classical music composer may not sound like the stuff of which cinematic dreams are made, in the right hands it can be a compelling and highly enjoyable film. more...

Consumers appear leery of intrusive insurance apps – and AMC lives again in book form

Car insurance, and their related premiums, are a necessary evil in today's society and it always seems as if prices go up and never down.

Yet there is a way to control your insurance premiums at least somewhat, though the solution I'm talking about involves trusting your insurance company and that's not something I – and apparently many others – am comfortable with.

It's the tracking technology, or "telematics" some insurance companies offer that keeps an eye on where and when – and how – you drive. Can you say Big Brother?

Making American Motors Great Again?

On a more fun note, kind of, there's another new automotive book out, kind of in the vein of the one on John Z. DeLorean I reviewed a couple of columns back. more...

Consumers keeping the used car market alive and thriving

It appears that the lustre and the lure of new wheels is wearing off for an increasing number of car owners, and that older cars are making up a much larger portion of the used car market than even 10 years ago.

According to a study by iSeeCars, the number of older cars on the market has increased by nearly a third over the past few years, with conventional sedans, hatchbacks and, my favourite, wagons leading the way.

That may not be translating completely into people being able to keep as much of their hard-earned after-tax income, however. According to Karl Brauer, iSeeCars' executive analyst (I guess he analyzes the executives) "Consumers seeking relief from high vehicle prices are turning to older cars…but even going back a decade or more isn't shielding buyers from the massive used car price hikes in recent years, with the average older car now costing more than $12,000." That's U.S. dollars.

I can dig this. I review new cars and as much as I enjoy it, I wouldn't buy a new car today. Not only are they stupidly expensive (an entry level Toyota Corolla now lists on the company's Canadian website for $27,198.96 and for that you have to suffer through life with a cvt transmission) they're so full of technology and supposed safety and driver assistance aids that I find myself yelling at some of these vehicles rather than enjoying the drive. more...