The boys have spring fever but somehow managed to get a 2011 BMW 335i Coupe out for a little bit of track time. Catch up with them as they discuss the 2011 New York Auto Show and throw a quartet of new cars at Gernand’s Design Wall before driving down the middle of the road in a Nissan Murano.
Diesel Power and 28-MPG
Much the same as many ground breakers, the first generation Volkswagen Touareg sought to set the world on fire with its 5.0-liter 310hp and 553 lb-ft of torque V10 turbodiesel. But it didn’t. The price of entry was too high, $64,565, and then of course there is the fact that most American’s don’t like diesels, unless it’s under the hood of a Golf or Jetta. No matter, because Volkswagen is trying again. Read more…
Design Editor Gernand takes a ride in the 2011 Nissan Murano to discuss that while the design is bold and compelling, the vehicle itself rides down the middle of the road.
BMW’s Popular Coupe Loses a Turbo But None of its Charm
We’re sorry if a certain subset of our readers are tired of hearing the automotive enthusiast press gush about how great the BMW 3-Series (pick a body style, any body style) is. We maintain that if you don’t understand why the 3 earns our endless praise you’ve either never driven one, or are economically relegated to something far less German and far more Gremlin-esque. Either way we feel obligated to remind you that the 3-Series has been around a long time making used examples relatively affordable. Also, life is too short to drive something mundane. The rest of you already know how this review is going to end and just want us to get on with how the newly installed single turbo straight-six engine improves the breed. The quick answer is fuel efficiency. The 841 word answer is below. Read more…
Value and Style In a Right Size Package
There is no shortage of luxury crossovers. From Lincoln to Lexus any self-respecting automaker with their head in the game is trying their darnedest to combine luxury sedan dynamics with “I’m not a wagon” styling. Audi got into the midsize crossover game in 2009 with the Q5 and we liked what we saw. Apparently consumers did too since the Q5 is now Audi’s second bestselling vehicle behind the ubiquitous A4. Lately we’ve driven our fair share of these oh so vogue vehicles including the Lexus RX and the Cadillac SRX and decided to take a closer look at Audi’s offering. We were secretly hoping we’d get to plant our curious keisters in the newly available for 2011 2.0-liter turbo and 8-speed automatic model, but because beggars can’t be choosers we didn’t complain when Audi delivered a V6-powered Q5 for our evaluation. Read more…
It’s diesel week here in Automotive Trends land, and the boys have rounded up a pair of oil burning German SUV’s to mark the occasion. Join editors Gernand, Dye and Muxlow as they discuss the latest in Autodom and argue over where the BMW 335d belongs on the Design Wall.
Spring has sprung (albeit there is still snow on the ground) and to celebrate the occasion Senior Editor Jason Muxlow takes a BMW 335i coupe out to the Automotive Trends’ Test Track.
Senior Editor Jason Muxlow seeks a vehicle that returns great fuel efficiency and yet will haul along all the trappings of life. He finds the 2011 Mercedes-Benz GL350 BlueTEC. Read more…
Editors Gernand and Muxlow take a little road trip to get a gauge for just how fuel efficient the 2011 Volkswagen Touareg TDI can be. Tune in to the Automotive Trends Garage Episode 2 for final details on how the Touareg fared.
Executive Editor Brandon Dye reviews the 2011 Audi Q5 whilst driving through the frozen Thumb of Michigan.
