Live Q&As

Good morning. Hyundai owns Kia. They share vehicle platforms and components in the same way that many sublings share clothes. So, yes, any car you buy from hyundai is structurally similar to anything you'll find at Kia. The difference is in personality and presentation. You and a sibling might have the same familial DNA, but you have distinctly different personalities. Car companies achieve that magic via computer assisted design. Lou Ann?

Lou Ann-- I agree Warren. Both Hyundai and Kia have made great strides and both are bringing out turbo and hybrids. Kia has a game changer for them with their new Kia Optima. Hyundai's Sonata is beautiful in any engine.

Hyundai has an Elantra coming out that will give the Chevy Cruze eco and the new Ford Focus competition.

Looking at the sales numbers, the public already is responding favorable to the Chevrolet Cruze. The little Spark is, well, little and new. The U.S. does not have a good record with little cars, subcompacts, from anybody. Our political leaders are, so far, afraid to to anything with fuel taxes to make small cars more attractive in an age of hard-to-get oil. We'll see.

Lou Ann here - Warren and I just talked to Ed Welburn at the 2011 Detroit auto show and he talked about the difference in little cars.

It used to be that small and midsize cars didn't get the respect they are getting now. Welburn made the point that people who are buying those cars are sometimes spending a bigger percentage of their income on those cars and that needs to be given more respect.

And if you're going to want respect for spending money on the old line luxury car you need to buy the Mercedes S-Class. If a Mercedes owner (C-Class, or E-Class) is asked if they own a Mercedes they say yes, unless it's an S-Class. Then the owner says "I own an S-Class".

The countryman is the smartest car MINI has come out with yet. It's an answer to all the questions. But be warned, if you buy a MINI you will have instant friends. The MINI seems to be a cult car with MINI rallys and events for all MINI owners. In fact, I think there is a MINI rally later this year in Portugal.

Or an attractive man. Agreed.  I did a winter-driving piece on Fox yesterday (If your're on the left, don't hate me. If you're on the right, don't love me. I'm just a guy plying his craft).  In the Fox piece, I made many of the same points you made here, especially about trires. You don't necessarily need all-wheel-drive or dedicates four-wheel-drive to get through the snow. What you need are common sense, winter tires, and a well-balance (front-wheel- drive or rear-wheel-drive) automobile.  "Balance" here refers to front-rear weight distribution,

Common sense: If your car's ground clearance is 5.4 inches and the snow on the ground is eight inches, you are likel to get stuck, regardless of your drive system.

Common sense: Ice means no traction. No traction means skidding regardless of the drive  system, because all drive systems need traction/tire-road friction.

Common sense: Sometimes, it's best to stay put, which is what I did last night, eschewing several dinner/party invitations because my street began to glaze over around 5 P.M.

Winter tires: Check with Tire Rack, Goodyear, Michelin, et cetera for a proper fit for your car.

The accelerator: Our contributor is correct. Think foreplay. Go slowly, carefully, respectfully.

Yes, I will be there most of the day tomorrow, beginning at 11 AM. I also will be there Sunday at around noon until about 5 pm. I think we'll have a Washington Post table set up. If not, here's alerting the people in our public relations office to set up a WP table and at least one chair. I'm 63. Sometimes, I like to sit.

It's the thing about Warren, he makes sensible answers. the car you bought fits your needs. Consumer Reports could have different tests then the one you have.

Buick is doing a great job, so enjoy your vehicle.

Both BMW and Mercedes have great cars. I don't count them out. But Hyundai is coming up and BMW and Mercedes both know it.

Most people don't take their cars on the race track, just like most SUV owners don't go off-roading.

Warren and I try to test drive the cars we drive like most owners do.

Warren and I talked to Dr. Degenhart, CEO of Continental AG at the Detroit auto show.Warren asked Degenhart why Continental still had drum brakes in their portfolio and Degenhart said it was for emerging markets, China - India, etc.

So yes, America is getting away from them, but not other countries.

Just asked the MINI group for you. Here is their answer - Yes, MINI has announced its comeback to the international rally circuit at the Paris Auto Show last year. From 2011, MINI will compete at selected rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship and will go on to contest the entire season from 2012 onwards.

Please, good people, dispense with that kind of silly thinking. Here's why: Hubris is the friend of collision on icy roads--especially icy, congested roads. We saw way too much of that in Wednesday night's heavy snowstorm in the Washington Metropolitan Area. Some people with dedicated four-wheel-drive, locking differentials and all of that, apparently thought they had been tapped by God to move up the food chain. Some of them literally were bullying their way through traffic, only to crash into lesser-wheeled souls. The end results were traffic jams all over the place. The problem? The 4x4 bullies misunderstood God's tap. The Dude was trying to tell them to be careful, more considerate of their road neighbors. He was trying to tell them to take it slowly, to treat their accelerators gently, to understand the Golden Rule of Winter Driving: "ICE IS THE GREAT LEVELER. DON'T BE A FOOL. YOU WILL CRASH, SOONER OR LATER, IF YOU DON'T RESPECT ICE. PROCEED WITH EXTREME CAUTION, REGARDLESS OF YOUR DRIVE SYSTEM."

Lou Ann, if you are there, can you help with this?

Lou Ann--Checking around now, but I don't think I can get an answer this week. I know the government has been pushing more ethanol and more ethanol would mean cleaner emissions and less fuel economy. I can't verify the winter blend has more ethanol, but that would be my first guess.

I just drove the manual Cruze Eco this week from Los Angeles to San Diego and back again. I am happy to report I got 42.8 mpg on the highway and my back never hurt! I liked the interior and really appreciated Onstar when I got lost.

You can also check out the Ford Focus and the Hyundai Elantra. I like the Golf TDI as well, and agree with you that diesel can be higher, but we all have to keep in mind that gasoline and diesel are forecasted to go back up within a year.

Proportionately, American manufacturers make more use of turbochargers and superchargers as anyone else. And you'll see more of those in coming years as domestic and foreign manufacturers try to meet tougher fuel economy standards without kiilling the fun-to-drive genie in their cars.

Quick tutorial for the rest of us:  Engines essentially are air/fuel pumps. Engines that use more air and fuel tend to produce more power. The trick is to use that air and fuel more efficiently to produce more power without an appreciable increase in fuel consumption. That's where turbochargers and superchargers come in. Turbochargers use exhaust gases to spin an impeller and pull more air into engine combustion changes. Gives a bigger bang for the buck. Superchargers are more up front in pulling in the extra air to acvieve the same purpose.

Yes, I will do that review as soon as I have access to the car, which is all my fault. I should have requested it much earlier. Ria is working on it. Seriously.

Wow - you are right, two different types of cars!

Do you own a dog? I love hatchbacks because I have a dog and can take him with me.

The Sonata is affordable and fuel efficient and has striking good looks.

Really depends on your lifestyle.

Warren?

Any ecoboost car has turbo - so if you see a Ford or Lincoln with ecoboost you've got the turbo

Make sure the certified is through the manufacturer. If you buy a certified, or a warranty, through the dealer and the dealer goes under you may have problems.

Even if a car is certified you can always get your mechanic to look it over.

Peace of mind is best

Huh? Yeah, there are Mini rallies and all of that. But the Mini is very much a mainstream car. Look at the sales numbers (www.automotivenews.com/data center). That "cult" sems to have become a religion. Saturn, by comparison, is more of a cult. It's worshiupped by owners, but is no longer made by a manufacturer.

You can't beat physics. It's a beautiful car, but it is heavy. Power to weight ratio is a real thing that causes fuel economy to go down.

I'd go with the Audi A4 or the Mercedes-Benz C-Class 4Matic. And I'm so torn between those, it choice would depend largely on price, day of week, personality of the respective dealership.

Since the Sonata is getting a turbo and the Kia Optima is getting a turbo, I'm thinking it could happen.

I liked the new Elantra and it gets 40 mpg. The new competitors are the Ford Focus (which will be even better with an ecoboost engine) and the Chevy Cruze eco.

Many SUT models, such as the one sold by Hummer in its last gasp, were stylistic/marketing answers to a question no one really asked in the marketplace. For example, anyone wanting a pickup with dedicated 4x4 prowess had only to walk over to Ford, GMC, Chevrolet, Dodge, or Toyota and get one--usually at a lower price and with more utility.

Aaah, my first car was a green VW beetle. named Herman - get it, her man :)

If you're looking at the Mazda also look at the MINI, the Scion.

I'm also intrigued by the Fiat 500, which I've observed in static form at International car shows. My understanding is that one also is rolling into the Washington Auto Show, underway at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, open to the public today (Jan. 28) through February 6.

I have yet to drive a Fiat 500, but should be doing so in a bit. If it drives as good as it looks, it could be a contender to the mighty MINI.

Have you looked at the Mazda speed3? BMW? BMW SUV/CUVs are made in South Carolina, so you'd be helping the US economy, but getting a European feel car. 

Yes, it holds 20 gallons of gas.

Yes, it seems like a lot for that size of car.

I join you in that protest/demand. Not to Capitol Hill: Governing could be easy.  Use common sense. If, for example, one fossil fuel (diesel) gives 30-percent better fuel economy than the other (gasoline), tax accordingly. And please don't give us that gibberish about "picking winners." The idea is to improve fuel economy.

Congrats family man

Subaru forester, non-turbo'd. the new one is bigger, but the older ones are great too.

Sounds like something for my friend, Lou Ann. But I've got to tell you that the lady doesn't know didly about communism. We were in Communist China together on several occasions. She wanted to shop for high-end, Western name brands!

Lou Ann- Yes comrade, anything for a party!

Love you warbro.