You know you drive a big SUV when it comes standard with a rear-view camera.
Infiniti’s yacht-size luxury SUV, the QX56, comes from the factory with a fish-eye camera mounted above the license plate on the rear bumper to eliminate a big blind spot when backing up. Read more…
Cross Sport Mini Something-Or-Other
You know it’s bad when even the minivans don’t want to be known as minivans. GM is calling these latest renditions, crossover sport vans. No, the minivan segment is seeing nowhere near the booming growth it was in the early 90’s. However, this practical method of mobility still has many great functionality purposes. Like it or not, the minivan is still the more economical and practical way for getting the kids to and from soccer practice, much more so than dad’s full-size V8 SUV. Read more…
Post contributed by Dan Baldyga.
In the past I’ve been fortunate enough to have this absolutely sensational publication The Left Lane print several of my articles on “Pain and Suffering” however (upon an in-depth review of them) I’ve discovered there’s now even more information I can add. Alright, so now, this will bring the readers of The Left Lane right up-to-date as of late 2004. Read more…
With so many variations of the Envoy available, it seems GMC is trying to make an SUV for everybody.
After starting with the basic Envoy in 2002 — a solid, midsize SUV with a nice ride and quiet cabin — the honchos at General Motors decided it wasn’t big enough. So a longer version was created and dubbed the Envoy XL. Read more…
Good Medicine
There are certain things people should experience in life. Things so utterly enjoyable that they will temporarily mask the deepest worry and eliminate all stress. Driving a new Corvette convertible is among these things. In fact, the new C6 and its 400hp can work wonders for almost any ailment. Read more…
Only a few years ago, I hated driving Cadillacs. They were big, quiet and had lots of gadgets in the cabin, but they were about as exciting to drive as a John Deere tractor through a Kansas cornfield.
To put it bluntly, Cadillac designed its cars for rich old ladies. Read more…
My Screaming Yellow Stallion
Call it retro, call it heritage, call it old style; whatever you call it, it looks good. Ford hit their mark with this one. The 2005 Mustang looks fresh and timeless, new and old blended together in one hot product. Looking at this Screaming Yellow Pony car brings back mental images of the 60’s and early 70’s Mustangs. That’s no bad thing. Read more…
When the Jaguar S-Type was introduced a few years ago, it was criticized for being too much like a Ford and too little like a “real” Jag. It looked great on the outside — like every Jaguar should — but showed far too much of its Taurus DNA in the cabin.
Jaguar rectifies some of this Fordness, though thankfully not all of it, with a heavily revised S-Type. It retains its gorgeous body and chic style, but its interior, ride, handling, and horsepower are made more appropriate for a car with such a rich pedigree.
Read more…
No Style But A Little Substance
As I stated in my review of the Ford Mustang Mach 1, muscle cars are about two things and two things only. Style and power. Having one without the other is a recipe for poor sales and even poorer reviews from guys like us. General Motors however, was faced with the reality of not having an affordable sports car in its lineup after the retirement of the Camaro and Firebird models. It didn’t take Bob Lutz long to realize GM needed to offer some performance, especially in its so-called Driving Excitement division. The most time and cost-effective solution was to borrow the big coupe from Holden, a division of General Motors in the land Down Under. After all, the well-finished 2 + 2 was already powered by the Corvette’s small-block V8 and adapting the car to meet some of our stricter regulations would be rather easy. The green light was given to get the car badged as the GTO and on sale in America as soon as possible. Sounds good, right? Read more…
Like a son discovering his father’s liquor cabinet, Buick has gotten a taste of the lucrative SUV market and like all other automakers who tip the SUV bottle, it has become addicted. So in an attempt to satisfy it’s craving for more customers and the all-mighty dollar, Buick will add a second SUV, called Rainier, to its lineup for the 2004 model year. In its previous life, the ’04 Rainier was known as the ’02 Bravada. When the General decided to kill one of it’s own and sent Oldsmobile packing, the all new and class leading Bravada was put up for adoption. Read more…
