People all over the world get to buy juicy, delicious cars that we Americans aren’t allowed to sample. Sometimes that’s because other countries’ regulations will allow cars that don’t meet America’s standards for safety and eco-cleanliness. But more often than not it’s because an automotive overlord smartly decides that Americans probably wouldn’t buy many of them. Read more…
If you want to understand the Honda Odyssey, you need to look at the ’96 Chicago Bulls.
Why the sports reference? Because that’s the year Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman played on the same team, making the ’96 Bulls one of the most dominant teams in the history of sports. They won 72 out of 82 games and made the NBA championship look easy. No other team has dominated like the ’96 Bulls, and no other minivan has dominated like the Odyssey. Read more…
Finally, A Hybrid That Handles
Like John Cleese in a Monty Python production, when it comes to the Lexus CT200h we feel like announcing “and now for something completely different”. That’s because this new entry-level Lexus offers the same hybrid benefits that we’ve seen in one form or another for the past decade, but doesn’t sacrifice driving pleasure on the altar of ultimate frugality. And no, we’re not counting the poor-excuse-for-a-hybrid Honda CR-Z and its piddling mid-30s fuel economy rating. Yes, we too were skeptical when phrases like “fun to drive hybrid” and “a hybrid with attitude” were being dropped by sales executives at the vehicle’s press introduction. But after a day spent driving around Palm Beach, Florida, we found ourselves uttering similar summaries of Lexus’s fifth hybrid. And we didn’t see that coming. Read more…
EX-L Model Shows Its Athletic Prowess
People often talk about the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry as if they’re interchangeable, like two different versions of vanilla. They’re not the same, though. They’re both from Japan; they both have great reputations; they’re both among the most popular cars in the world. But the similarities end there. Read more…
28 Year Old Males Rejoice! The Cool Scion Just Got Better
Graphic artists, computer programmers and aspiring music industry professionals turn down your iPods and pay attention. Scion has some big news for you and your spiky haired twenty-something friends. The handsome tC coupe that debuted in 2004 and has since brought Scion more than 40% of its sales is finally getting a well deserved redesign that focuses on improved fuel efficiency, overall refinement and, here’s where we get interested, increased performance. Scion recently invited us to a college campus teeming with its target buyers to get some seat time in the vehicle that officials hope will rejuvenate the brand’s stalled sales and lead the company into a new dimension of success. Read more…
If ever a vehicle defined excess, it would be the Cadillac Escalade.
For years, this monster Caddy has represented the epitome in American automotive hedonism — so powerful, so luxurious, so big. Everything about it is over the top, from its tugboat engine to its hide-covered seats to its dinner-plate-sized Cadillac logo on the back. It’s extravagance on a grand scale. Read more…
Years ago, new pickup trucks had incredibly long life cycles. Ford, Chevy and Dodge would come up with new designs, then let them age for nearly a decade before they made any major changes.
Truck makers don’t have that luxury anymore. Read more…
Normally when you drive a car you truly love, it’s like hot chocolate. It warms your soul, and you want to come back for more.
This car — the Audi R8 — is nothing like that. Read more…
Driving an off-road vehicle feels like piloting a giant concrete block.
They’re unweildy, heavy, bouncy, unresponsive and generally uncomfortable on the road. Vehicles like the Jeep Wrangler and Nissan XTerra might be great on the Rubicon Trail, but who cares about off-road ability when a trip to the Home Depot sends you to the chiropractor? Read more…
If you ever need proof that money doesn’t buy happiness, look to the Middle East.
Fifty years ago, this region was little more than sand and camels punctuated by a few ramshackle tents that housed people who hadn’t changed their standard of living in 1,000 years. Read more…
