The 2007 Audi S6 had the grace and svelte of a German sports luxury sedan, and the heart of an Italian bull. The team from Ingolstadt shoe-horned a 5.2L FSI V10 from the Lamborghini Gallardo into the engine bay of an A6, threw in some fancy wheels, and lit up the front end with some rather handsome LED running lamps. In S6 duty the hoof-stomping nostril-snorting Gallardo V10 is detuned to 435-hp and 398 lb-ft of torque and routes its power to the ground via a 6-speed automatic and quattro all-wheel drive. A canyon carver the S6 is not, as nearly the entirety of that V10 hangs out ahead of the front axle. It will, however, pull away from a stop with authority! Click through for a more extensive photo gallery. Read more…
Bringing Value and Efficiency to Midsize Crossovers
Five years ago we reviewed the first-gen Equinox and had mostly good things to report about Chevy’s first crossover. Sure we noted a few ergonomic foibles and suggested that something closer to 250hp would earn more praise than we were willing to lavish on the 185hp mill in all Equinoxs at the time. But the general consensus around here was the Equinox was a nicely sized people mover that looked good and topped out around $30k. That market has proved a popular place among automakers since almost every one of them now offers a vehicle that we could sum up the same way. And as they were introduced they all put the Bow Tie offering a little further behind the curve. But at the 2009 NAIAS GM decided it wanted to lead the crossover pack instead of follow and debuted the 2010 Equinox with the right hardware to get it done. A few months later GMC dropped in as a player in the segment with its mechanically identical Terrain. Sure, the numbers are impressive, but how do they drive? We spent time in several versions to find out. Read more…
Once upon a time, automakers offered three basic body styles in the United States: sedan, coupe, and wagon. The sedans were the practical vehicles, and thus, the volume sellers. The wagons were offered for those who just couldn’t fit the whole family in something as limiting as a sedan. Coupes were clearly better looking than their sedan and wagon counterparts and appealed to those who wanted style and could live with the limitations imposed by two doors. Read more…
With the Crown Victoria being completely phased out at the end of 2011 Ford needed to prep another car for Police duty, or lose that market to Charger and Impala / Caprice completely. Enter the 2011 Ford Police Interceptor Concept. Think of it as a tough as nails Taurus. Read more…
We’ve always been a fan of the Ford Edge and it’s Lincoln MKX twin, but we’ve also always wondered what they would look like if Ford just took one more step away from the cautious line it’s been toeing for the better part of the 2000’s. Well now we know, and it looks like Ford loosed the cuffs on Dearborn’s imagination a bit. Read more…
Bringing Value To Big Crossovers
We’ve already reported that the General struck close to the bulls-eye with its first two big crossovers out of the gate, (GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook) and we’re willing to go on record saying the Buick Enclave is currently the best looking crossover in production. Since the Chevrolet brand is far and away the volume leader it should have surprised nobody when the Traverse debuted with design cues from the successful Malibu and displayed a window sticker with an impressive spec list and a very reasonable number at the bottom. The good news for GM: that’s a recipe for success. Read more…
600 Miles Later We Learn What The Evo Isn’t Good At
I’ve had better and I’ve had worse. Among the worse was a three-hour cross-country van trip through Mexico in a 20-year-old van. A trip like that will make you appreciate things like suspensions, air conditioning and even the Michigan DOT. Recently I embarked on a road trip that didn’t jar loose all the fillings from my teeth but did take a toll on the overall condition of my already weakened body. 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…
Stiff Competition Makes Life Difficult For The Improved XL7
Here’s a good example of just how competitive the auto industry is in 2007. Let’s be honest, Suzuki’s XL7 has been rubbish since it debuted. But when the details on the new generation started to leak out there was a lot of reason for hope. The whole thing was going to be based on a stretched version of GM’s Theta architecture, which works fine in the Chevy Equinox, and even better news was Suzuki’s decision to drop their old, underpowered engine in favor of GM’s 3.6-liter V6 and smooth shifting 5-speed automatic. Read more…
An Econobox With Traction!
Visually the Suzuki SX4 registers exactly nil on the coveted Muxlow fun-o-meter. It looks about as enticing as an emergency escape capsule from a space ship, and I don’t desire to pilot one of those either. But this little orange pumpkin was my charge for the week and I gave it all the tender loving care and affection I show all my cars. Well…sorta. Read more…
