Well, we’ve done it again: we’ve been ambitious! Join us as we bring you the best of our witty automotive dialogue in Episode 1 of the Automotive Trends Garage. Today we review the 2011 Audi Q5, discuss the long-in-the-tooth 2011 Audi A3, debate some of the more newsworthy debuts at this year’s Geneva Auto Show and put our design editor on the spot. Click through to watch! (And we promise to make some audio improvements for Episode 2!) Read more…
We won’t even pretend that we’re serious football fans, but we are serious car fans. And if a major event like the Super Bowl will incite the world’s automakers to create great footage of their latest metal then sign us up! Chevrolet decided they needed to whet our appetite for this Sunday with a brief spot featuring none other than that lovable Camaro known as Bumblebee. Have a watch as our favorite vehicular hero puts the dealership mascot in his place!
We’d be lying if we said there’s never an amusing moment behind the scenes of Automotive Trends, and even more so during an auto show. So we figured we would shed a bit of light on what happens during our coverage of the NAIAS Press Days. Click through for more video and a gallery of the moments you’re not supposed to see. Read more…
We tried to lead with something more insightful, but that is pretty much the best way to describe the third-generation Toyota Tundra. It’s big. Very big. Every aspect of it seems purposely designed to out-scale the domestic competition once and for all. In fact, I don’t think the pictures do it justice (and I took the pictures!) It almost has the look and feel of a three-quarter-ton Ford Super Duty. It’s as if Toyota overshot the half-ton class and landed in a five-eighths-ton class of one. Clearly this Tundra makes up for Toyota’s last two half-hearted foray’s into the full-size pickup realm with girth to spare. But there is more to being a successful pickup truck than size. Has Toyota done their homework? Read more…
Down In Power, But Still A Contender For The Sports Sedan Crown
In case you haven’t noticed, horsepower numbers are ballooning like Al Gore after public office and the new threshold for contenders in the sports sedan race is something north of 300 horses. Competitors from Acura, BMW, Cadillac, Infiniti and Lexus all offer up power ratings starting with a three, and even though Audi’s standard A4 can’t play with the big boys you can step up to the supercharged S4, which is available for about a grand more than the C350 that is the subject of this review and could certainly be considered a competitor. The problem for Mercedes is that their class entrant only puts out 268 hp, so even before delivery we were preparing to treat it as an entry-level luxury car instead of a true sports sedan. But when our baby Benz showed up wearing bright red paint, AMG wheels and cross-drilled brakes we knew the boys in Stuttgart weren’t going to let a horsepower deficit keep them on the bench. Read more…
The CX-7 is Mazda’s first real foray into the ever-expanding crossover SUV market. Yes, they had made a go with the Tribute, but under the direction of the Ford design studio, let’s just say, they weren’t all speaking the same language. But now Mazda is serious with an entry that ties its roots back to the family. Chief among these are the RX-8 and the MX-5, favorites among the AT staff. Editor Dye has sworn that an RX-8 will find a home in his garage someday. We’ve never yet turned an MX-5 down and on more than one occasion found a way to tease out every ounce of handling prowess it could muster. Read more…
