After a barrage of new and updated product revealed by the Chrysler Group over the past few months, the Chrysler brand finally gave the world a live look at its next generation flagship model, the 300 sedan. While clearly evolutionary as compared to its award winning 2004 predecessor, the 300 appears to refine the model’s best attributes while correcting some of its most glaring faults: base powertrains and interior refinement. Read more…
More Than Just A Pretty Face
The XJ hasn’t been a contender for years. Even when the last generation stepped forward with advanced aluminum intensive construction for the 2004 model year, a ho-hum base engine, tired styling and uninspired interior guaranteed it would never light up the radar of discriminating luxury sedan buyers. The XJ’s disastrous reception forced Jaguar management to sever its retro stranglehold and turn to maestro of design Ian Callum to develop a modern design language, which we first saw on the svelte, but still traditional, XF. For the flagship XJ Callum pushes the envelope even further and blesses the big cat with a distinctive presence that we think will finally draw curious consumers to Jaguar showrooms. After a week with a long-wheelbase XJ we’re confident they’re going to like what they find. Read more…
Buick Injects a Bit of Sport Into Mainstream America
When General Motors introduced the Opel Insignia in Europe a few years ago, American auto enthusiasts took notice because it appeared to be the replacement for the well received Saturn Aura. The Insignia-based model promised to be the sporty front-wheel-drive midsize sedan that GM had consistently failed to offer Americans. That promise was broken in 2009 when GM killed off the relatively short lived brand as part of its bankruptcy restructuring. The promise broken by Saturn would curiously be kept by up-market Buick. Read more…
Best If Used By 2007
The little Versa washed up on our shores back in 2006 as an ‘07 model looking pretty much like the same car you see here. But dig into history a bit and you will find that the Versa first went on sale in Japan in 2004. The little Nissan has gone by the aliases Tiida, Tiida Latio, Latio, Versa and the Dodge Trazo. It has been sold in Japan, Latin American, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Canada, a select smattering of European countries, and likely a few more places we just don’t have the space here to list. So to say this car is getting a bit long in the tooth is a bit of an understatement. Nevertheless, when the Versa showed up in the AT Garage we had a road trip assignment ready for it. Read more…
If you think the 2011 Dodge Avenger looks a lot like the 2010 model, you are mostly correct. Aside from a new split-crosshair grille and lower fascia, the exterior visage is essentially the same. But with this Avenger, Dodge was a little more concerned about your driving experience. 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…
Buick Proves It Knows How To Do Entry-Level Luxury
In the 1980s, Buick’s jingle declared that “the great American road belongs to Buick.” As had been true for decades, this tagline was not an empty claim. Buicks from that era soaked up the pavement, comforting occupants in plush tufted couches that were passed off as car seats. However, it was during this time the once powerful line-up of LeSabres, Electras and Riveras was joined by smaller cars propelled by relatively crude 4-cylinders bearing the names of SkyHawk, Skylark, Somerset and Century. Read more…
Hyundai Shakes Up The Midsize Sedan Segment With Style
Shoppers weren’t kind to Hyundai’s Sonata in 2009. After convincing almost 150,000 people to pick one up in 2007, Hyundai saw sales drop to 120k last year. Sure, the new car market sank like Lindsay Lohan’s career during the worldwide meltdown but you must remember through it all Hyundai actually increased its sales and set a company record in 2009. Of course, if you’re a regular reader you’re enlightened enough to know the previous Sonata was about as competitive as Tiger Woods post-scandal. If you stumbled onto the site thanks to our friends at Google allow us to inform you. The Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Ford Fusion and Chevrolet Malibu rule the mid-size sedan segment and sell a bazillion cars annually because they are all varying levels of good. The Sonata, even after some substantial improvements in ’09, just couldn’t compete at the same level. But Hyundai has set a course for automotive world domination, and after driving their reborn 2011 Sonata, we don’t expect them to be caught with an uncompetitive product again. Read more…
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…
