- James M Viola
2020
Honda Civic Review / Stream Companies
In
the competitive compact car market, the 2020 Honda Civic remains a
consistently top-selling and high performing player. Its 2020
incarnation features a subtle redesign in a sleek grill and
aerodynamic contours, with dynamic handling and fuel economy to
support its sporty looks.
Since
1972, the Civic has been a cornerstone of the Honda brand, a reliable
and affordable little car with plenty of pep for the long haul. Its
recent upgrades have sacrified a bit of its economic leanings for a
more adventurous compact model.
The Civic is available as a sedan, hatchback or coup, each accomodating five passengers with a roomy interior, and many trim and color options. The Civic is powered by a four-cylinder engine and forward wheel drive on all its models, with four powertrains and two transmission options offered. The LS sedan and sport coupe models come with a six-speed transmission, while the remainder include Continuously Varibable Transmission (CVT) for a smooth driving experience.
The 2020 Civic remains a fuel efficient compact
car regardless of its model, averaging 25-35 miles per gallon across
the board. It comes with a standard three out of five reliability
rating from J.D. Power and associates.
The Civic might look
like a compact car on the outside, but its storage capabilities can
accommodate a vasty array of passenger and lifestyle choices
includes 15.1 cubic feet of storage. The sport and sport touring
models can fit 22.6 cubic feet of storage, and avails 46.2 cubic feet
when the rear seats fold forward. Its hatchback models provides the
most storage space of the bunch, with 25.7 cubic feet of room behind
the rear seats, which expands to 46.2 cubic feet when they are folded
down.
With a price range of $20,650
to $29,780 – and a plethora of car types and variants to pick from
within that spread – the Civic has a slightly higher price point
than its compact peers, such as the Toyota Corolloa, Hyundai Elantra
or Mazda M3. However, the Civic reaped higher accolades than its
competitors. It ranked number one in U.S. News list of best compact
cars for 2020, with reviewers citing the Civic's higher grade
dashboard materials and more spacious interior as winning factors.
The
2020 Civic also comes in a luxury performance-based Type R, a
four-door hatchback available in manual only, at around $37,000. This
dazzling speedster looks like an entirely beast from the Civic's
humble economy car origins. Those who seek an exhilaring ride will be
rewarded with meticulous style and substance, from the futuristic
exterior, to its racecar-like cockpit, adorned with black and red
leather-seats.
Nearly half a century since its debut, the Honda Civic has evolved into a versatile machine. As one browses through all its configurations, colors and body types, it might feel more like customizing a car in a videogame. The Civic has a long history as a trustworthy compact car - and its 2020 model is no different in that department – but its most potent optimization might be its newfound sense of fun.
Here
And Now With Jazz Master Pat Martino / WHYY
67-year-old
jazz guitarist Pat Martino lives in the same home his parents raised
him in on 16th Street in South Philadelphia. But all of those
memories have been erased for Martino, who suffered an aneurysm in
1979. The resulting surgery to save his life removed 60-percent of
his temporal lobe, and with it, most recollection of his life to that
point. At that time Martino was 35 years old, had already released
some 12 albums and toured the world, yet he emerged as a stranger to
his own past.
With the help of jazz historian Bill Milkowski, Martino pieced together the forgotten periods of his life in his autobiography “Here and Now”. Martino will appear at the Spiral Bookcase in Manayunk on Sunday, Dec. 11, from 2 to 4 in the afternoon for a book signing. All About Jazz writer Vic Schermer will lead a question and answer session. “It’s about similarities,” says Martino of his autobiography. “It’s about the experiences of being 50 years involved in the arts…and the reemergence of power from a different direction, form an internal source as opposed to an external.”
Martino was born with arterial venous malformation, meaning the blood vessels in his left temporal lobe were entangled. Martino experienced seizures for most of his life, while doctors misdiagnosed his condition as manic depression. When the medication failed to prevent more seizures, Martino says the doctors resorted to even more drastic methods – locked wards and electric shock therapy. Martino endured his anneurysm one weekend in 1979, while he lived in California. The medical intern serving at the hospital where he was delivered gave him two hours to live, as all of the surgeons were gone for the weekend. Martino says he gambled and flew to Philadelphia to be with his family.
“As an only child, we had an interest in each other which was significant enough so to gamble and improvise and find my way back into their arms,” says Martino. “It’s similar to the very thing that takes place in performance as an instrumentalist, to take a chance and gamble with the harmony that coalesces from the harmony and rapport.”
After all, Martino says he originally learned guitar out of admiration for his father, a tailor by trade who listened to classic jazz records and encouraged his son to earn a living with the instrument. When the surgery to repair Martino’s aneurysm cleared his memory, Martino once again picked up the guitar to cope with his depression. He had no desire to learn at first, but Martino says his innate ability to play quickly resurfaced.
“My father’s deep desire for me to accomplish being a well-known professional guitarist all my life is something I’ve absorbed from childhood,” says Martino. “What I learned in the recovery process was how much I really cared for my dad. That was very much the canvas for the painting of our affair.”
Car
Dealers Left In The Lurch
Cover story for the Philadelphia
Business Journal
Business will go on for Gegnas Chrysler Jeep in Kensington, but no longer as a Chrysler dealer. Gegnas' business is one of 11 dealers in the area that will cease operations under Chrysler following the automotive giant's devision to cut 789 dealers on May 14.
“I wouldn't ever touch another domestic,” said Don Bragg, owner and general manager of Gegnas. Bragg, like many dealers that have received rejection notices from Chrysler, is moving ahead a pre-owned dealer until he finds another suitable brand to sell, most likely an export. As many as 20 General Motors Dealers received similar notices, although those dealers will get more time to make the transition.
“They send me special tools that I don't even use, but they bill me right away for them,” he said. “If they treat dealers like that, do you think they care about their customers?”
Bragg has until June 9 to halt operations as an exclusive Chrysler dealer and liquidate his inventory – including half a million dollars in Chrysler parts that the franchise refuses to buy back.
“We're really under the gun about the time we're given to do this,” Bragg said. “They're not going to allow us to do warranty work under the vehicle after June 9, and any new cars after June 9 we won't be able to sell with the rebates.”
Bragg insisted that his dealership, a 45-year-old business, has always been profitable and loyal to Chrysler. When given the choice a few years back to add another import to his inventory, Bragg said he declined, and chose to continue business as an exclusive Chrysler dealer.
“About 50 percent of the terminated dealers are paired up with another brand already. They have something to fall back on,” Bragg said. General Motors is also trimming down on dealerships. Kevin Mazzucola, executive director of the Automobile Dealers Association of Greater Philadelphia, estimates 20 of the 47 GM dealerships in southeastern Pennsylvania will be discontinuing their dealer agreements with GM, when the contracts expire in October 2010. This represents a 42 percent decline. The association's 2007 economic impact survey concluded area dealerships provide 17,936 jobs, with an average payroll expense of $3.5 million each. For Weathers Dodge in Lima, Delaware County, 87 years of operations, 237 five-star awards from Chrysler, and one of the highest customer loyalty ratings in the nation still failed to percent the dealerships from receiving a rejection notice.
Aqua Pennsylvania to Receive President's Award from the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce for Aqua America
Aqua has learned that it will be honored with the President's Award from the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce at the organization's 125th Anniversary Gala, scheduled for November 18 at the Drexelbrook Events Center in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. Aqua Chairman Nicholas DeBenedictis will accept the award from the company.
Aqua, which is also celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, is being recognized for its decades-long support of the Chamber through financial contributions and volunteerism. Aqua is one five companies selected for the prestigious award from a group of 54 companies that were also considered.
"We are honored to be among those
companies chosen for this special honor," said Aqua Chairman
Nicholas DeBenedictis. "It's particularly meaningful as we were
founded in Delaware County, and are celebrating our own 125th
anniversary this year —a year in which we will have invested more
than in infrastructure improvements in our ‘home county.'"
Aqua was founded in 1886 by a group of professors as the
Springfield Water Company. During that time, the water company has
grown to serve a approximately 1.4 million residents in 30 counties
throughout Pennsylvania, including about 1 million in southeastern
Pennsylvania. The company serves more customers in the Pa. than any
other.
Screamer
Highway Of Heroes
review / MetalInjection.net
Consider
the best traits of heavy metal from the late seventies and early
eighties. Righteous riffs. Arena-sized party anthems. Triumphant
lyrics with sing-along choruses. Screamer nails this equation on
Highway
Of Heroes,
and it's one of 2019's finest albums.
Metal music today is routinely pushed to its sonic extremes. Highway Of Heroes is a welcome dose of the classic stuff. Their old school approach seems even more revolutionary compared to their grim and guttural contemporaries. Judas Priest and Iron Maiden are bands whose golden aura strengthens with each year. Screamer understand the power of old, but surpass being a convincing facsimile.
The
opener "Ride On" kicks off with tight, crash cymbal chokes,
accenting a nasty, palmmuted riff. This song sounds like it could be
from Judas Priest's discography, circa '77-'82. The clean vocals
mostly stay in the mid-range, but launch into dazzling, Rob
Halford-esque falsettos for the chorus.
This album might be
light on innovation, but if a band is going to sound like another
band, it might as well be the greatest heavy metal act on the planet.
Screamer's newest also rings of Iron Maiden, The Scorpions, Dio, and
Thin Lizzy, without seeming like a blatant rip-off. Highway Of Heroes
plays out with a cinematic air. The soaring guitar leads and
ground-shaking vocal parts create a pitch-perfect atmosphere.
I
thought of leather gloves gripped at the wheel of a 1970 Pontiac
Thunderbird, cruising the desert plains on a mission to rock. The
title track slithers into one's ear with a slinky, metallic bass line
driving the beat. It crescendos into a bright burst of power chords
and twangy guitar solos. The "Whoa-oh-oh" gang chorus seems
straight out of Def Leppard's book.
"Caught In Lies"
concludes the album with a slightly more meditative pace. Rather than
end with a bang, its dueling guitar harmonies diminish into the
ether, like the tail lights of a muscle car shrinking into the
horizon. Put on your aviator shades and buckle up.
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