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Archive for the ‘Test Drives’ Category

2005 Lexus GS330

February 11th, 2010 No comments

       If you want a glimpse at the future of automobiles, take a ride in this Lexus.
     It’s not a “car of the future” in the sense of GM’s Autorama show of the 1950s, which featured cars with wild styling and out-of-this-world gizmos that never made it into your garage. Read more…

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2005 Porsche Cayenne

February 9th, 2010 No comments

      I love old Porsches for a couple of reasons.
     One, they’re the only Porsches I’ll ever be able to afford without winning the Powerball. And two, they’re so wonderfully raw and mechanically sensual that they feel alive — like a steel extension of your own body. They represent the epitome of what a sports car should be.

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2005 Nissan Pathfinder

February 9th, 2010 1 comment

      When it came time to design a new Pathfinder, Nissan had to satisfy two camps.
     On one side were the loyalists who surely wanted the Pathfinder to be a Japanese Jeep, the kind of truck that’s reliable, affordable, rugged and capable of driving just about anywhere. They’re the kind of buyers who don’t give a rip about comfort, so long as they can traverse Death Valley without breaking a sweat. Read more…

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2005 Scion xB

February 9th, 2010 No comments

     Before I write about how much I love this car, I’ve got to get one thing off my chest.
     I think it’s ugly.
     No, make that dang ugly. Michael Moore ugly. Pontiac Aztek ugly. Roseanne Barr naked and covered in zits ugly. Read more…

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2005 Infiniti QX56

February 9th, 2010 No comments

     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…

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Dealing with Adjuster Henry Hard-Nose and Your “Pain and Suffereing”

February 9th, 2010 No comments

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…

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2005 GMC Envoy

February 9th, 2010 No comments

     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…

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2005 Cadillac STS

February 9th, 2010 No comments

     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…

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2004 Jaguar S-Type

February 8th, 2010 No comments

     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.
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2004 Buick Rainier

February 8th, 2010 No comments

     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…

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