All Things To All Men
Our review of the 2007 Land Rover Range Rover Supercharged wasn’t exactly a glowing compilation of superlatives and conjunction. In fact, it emphasized several things that the Rover didn’t do well. So now that Land Rover has stepped out from the corporate umbrella of Ford Motor Company and into the tent of Tata, the manufacturer of the world’s cheapest car (the Tata Nano), does the proud Range Rover stand a chance of making it back to the position of its former glory? Read more…
Eat My Soot-Free Ammonia-Treated Exhaust!
Talk about your one-up! Starting this week Ford will step out from behind that shadow the General was casting with its 6.6L Duramax V8. Ford’s new 6.7L V8 PowerStroke turbodiesel says I’ll see your 397-hp and 765 lb-ft of torque, and raise you to 400-hp and 800 lb-ft of torque. Ah, horsepower wars at their finest! Read more…
Categories: Miscellaneous, Previews Tags: 2011, 4x4, diesel, F-Series, F250, F350, Ford, Super Duty, truck, turbodiesel, V8
For 2011 Chrysler wisely decided not to let it’s Jeep Grand Cherokee, the flagship of its legendary off-road brand, get stale. This marks the fourth generation of the model, which took over the place of the ancient Grand Wagoneer after its departure in 1991. 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…
I’m Cool Because I Said So!
Sport means cool and/or active. (Ed’s Note: Webster disagrees) I drive a sports car; I am cool. I drive a sport utility vehicle; I am active. My presence on the road is commanding. I work a 9 to 5 during the week in the city. On weekends I ford rivers and leap boulders. Read more…
Slick Sierra
We feel sorry for the Dodge salesman stuck peddling Ram pickups in today’s market. Aside from some small updates along the way the Ram hasn’t had much to write home about since the current generation debuted with the famous Hemi V8 back in 2001.
Sure, the sales guys can still say our truck has a Hemi, but the window sticker says it’ll require 13 miles per gallon in the city and 17 miles per gallon on the highway. That’s pretty thirsty in today’s world of $3-a-gallon gasoline. Besides, even if a prospective customer can overlook the thirsty engine and tired styling there’s no getting past the interior, which is a rolling exhibition of the plastic automakers should never use. It’s really rather awful. Read more…
Making 400 Horsepower Feel Slow
When the current generation of Range Rover debuted back in 2002 it was embraced by wealthy suburbanites and praised by the media as the greatest luxury vehicle since the S-Class. Ok, maybe nobody stood in front of a banner declaring such, but that seemed like the general tone to us. Its distinctive retroish body shared the same unimaginative upright greenhouse and short wheelbase that Range Rovers have always shared. But the only real important part of the exterior was the large Range Rover lettering just above the grille that let everyone know this was an expensive SUV far above the realm of mere Escalades and Navigators. In our opinion the contemporary interior was the crowning achievement, although BMW power and plenty of luxury features didn’t hurt the vehicle’s prospects for success. But all that can be gleaned from the glossy brochure photos and slick television commercials. We recently spent a week with a nearly six figure fully loaded Range Rover Supercharged model, and we have to admit we were disappointed. Read more…
More Power Than A Corvette, And More Room Too!
Everyone expected the new Escalade to be good, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to hear us proclaim that, indeed, it is good. The bigger question we have to answer is this: is the new Cadillac $15k better than the fully loaded Tahoe we drove a few weeks before this stylish new ‘Slade showed up? That’s tougher to answer than you may think. 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…
