GM’s Sexy Twins Get Some Spunk
The Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky are gorgeous vehicles, and if you don’t agree you must work for Mazda. So, considering their perfect proportions and confident handling, producing a follow-up to the uber-successful roadsters can mean only one thing: more power. And GM was happy to provide lots of it. Read more…
Aren’t Greek Goddesses Supposed To Be Beautiful?
We wanted to like the Eos, we really did. After all, it has one of the slickest convertible roofs ever designed and matches a smooth and powerful V6 engine to our beloved DSG transmission. Why then, didn’t it earn our affection? It comes down to our core belief that convertibles should be beautiful cars, and the Eos simply isn’t. Read more…
GM Arrives On The Crossover Scene In A Big Way
In case you’ve been out of the new vehicle market for the past few years, allow us to catch you up. SUVs are dying; sent to their graves by rising gas prices and fickle consumers who demand better ride and handling quality than the big, lumbering body-on-frame workhorses can ever hope to provide. Read more…
Still A Contender
When the SRX debuted at the 2003 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, we were ecstatic. After decades of being so far behind the state of the art they weren’t even in the country of the art anymore, Cadillac was finally going to be selling a product that could legitimately take on competitors like the Lexus RX, Acura MDX and Lincoln Aviator. It was sitting on a modern rear-drive (or optional all-wheel drive) architecture, offered the smooth Northstar V8, a standard 5-speed automatic and looked clean and contemporary from all angles. The only downfall we could see was an interior that shared almost everything with the CTS sedan—not exactly the stuff dreams are made of, unless you own a plastic factory. Read more…
Automakers Show Off Their New Hardware
The second day of the Detroit Auto Show is usually reserved for the production vehicles that automakers will be betting the company on in the upcoming year and 2007 was no different. With the exception of Chrysler most of today’s big news was in the form of production, or thinly disguised production vehicles that we’re looking forward to getting out on the road in the upcoming year. Here’s our thoughts on some of today’s highlights. Read more…
A Grab Bag of Automotive Goodies!
Auto shows don’t come any bigger than the NAIAS and if day one was any indication the 100th anniversary of the Motor City’s annual automotive celebration will be one long remembered. Today we saw crossovers and convertibles, electric cars, sports sedans and monster diesels with more torque than any one transmission should be asked to contain. No, there doesn’t seem to be a central theme to this year’s show, but one universal truth remains: It’s still the granddaddy of them all! Read more…
Dirt Cheap Looks Better The Second Time Around
We last drove an Aveo in 2005 when we called it the rolling definition of dirt cheap. Sure it sounds critical, but after plenty of jabs below the beltline we admitted that for people on the strictest budget the Aveo offered basic transportation with a factory warranty and only asked for $12,690 in return. Read more…
Exceeding Even Our Lowest Expectations
In the interest of full disclosure we must confess we weren’t expecting a lot from the yellow H3 that GM sent our way. It didn’t help that our colleagues were reporting that the H3’s 220-hp I5 engine made for a seriously slow vehicle. We’re talking getting passed by a Chevrolet Aveo with an automatic transmission going uphill into a stiff headwind slow. Read more…
Audi Gets Serious About Its Smallest Sedan
There’s good news and bad news regarding our review of the hottest Audi to hit these shores since the RS 6 discovered exactly how limited “limited production” is when Ingolstadt stopped turbocharging the daylights out of its midsize sedan in 2003.
The good news is we got our anxious little driving-gloved hands on an example, and not just any example. This was an Imola Yellow screamer so shockingly noticeable area cops were planning Hawaiian vacations on their lunch hours. A radar detector or cleavage should come standard. Read more…
Nearly Puuurfect
Forgive the corny subtitle but it accurately sums up our feelings for the completely redesigned and sexy-as-ever XK Coupe. In fact, Coventry’s latest cat melted our cold, cold hearts so much if we picked a Car of the Year there’s no doubt the XK would be a strong contender. Sure its annual production is about one zillionth of Camry sales, but no Toyota looks like this or sounds so glorious. Read more…
