We don’t get many surprises in the AT Garage these days. By the time a vehicle is teased and then detailed down to parts numbers in a thorough press release and then bestowed with a gala auto show debut we’ve pretty much formed an opinion. Which is how we came to assume the Nissan Juke was an ity-bity engined, cramped-cabin crossover abomination that puts the ugly in really, really ugly. Turns out only the last part is true, and even then the ugly is pretty much confined to one side. So what changed our tune? Read on. Read more…
Hyundai executives appeared to have much to celebrate about this year. Having ended 2011 with double digit sales increases as well as numerous industry recognitions and awards, Hyundai started 2012 by receiving the North American Car of the Year Award for its Elantra. Their Detroit introductions included two updates to their existing sporty cars, the Veloster and Genesis coupes. The big news for Veloster is a new 201 hp turbocharged 1.6L four cylinder. This new powertrain achieves 38 mpg on the highway partly due to the Veloster’s low power to weight ratio of 14 lbs/hp. The specific output of that 1.6L is an impressively high 125.6 hp/liter. On the outside the performance oriented coupe benefits from a unique grille treatment and can now be ordered with matte finish paint. Read more…
Low Tech Meets Low Compromise in the Battle for Fuel Efficiency
It’s not as if Chevrolet has never attempted this before. Take a mainstream small car, make some powertrain tweaks and attempt to turn the vehicle into a hyper-mileage car that passes as conventional transportation. As General Motors’ entry-priced brand, Chevrolet has a long history–not all of it memorable–at marketing highly efficient vehicles. Some notable–scratch that, tragic–examples include the Chevette diesel, the GEO Metro XFi, and the Cobalt XFE. None of these vehicles set the sales charts on fire (a scant 324 diesel Chevettes were sold in 1986), so does Chevrolet’s latest hyper-miler, the Cruze ECO, have any chance at succes? Read more…
A while back we were staring down a schedule featuring two consecutive Audis powered by the company’s latest 2.0-liter four cylinder. There was a time not so long ago that seeing such a pint size engine in a anything from a premium manufacturer like Audi would have spelled certain sales doom and a hearty round of “what were they thinking!” reviews from the automotive press. Having spent considerable time with these engines in various Volkswagen and Audi products, including an A4 that we tested and approved a few years back, we were confident we’d continue to like what Audi was offering. It didn’t hurt that both the A4 and A5 were equipped with the standard 6-speed manual transmission, an increasingly rare treat for us three-pedal fans. But the question remains, does a four cylinder belong in today’s premium cars? Read more…
Watch as Gernand takes a rally car out on the track for a couple of hot laps. Well, sort of. When we say “hot” we mean the mercury in the thermometer was pegged, and when we say “rally”, well, he drove a Subaru Legacy 2.5GT. So really, he took a family sedan out for a rather sedate spin. We’re blaming the boost gauge for our delusions of rally grandeur! Read more…
Since our weeklong foray with the Cadillac SRX 2.8 Turbo, GM has decided that Cadillac dealers no longer require the services of this “premium” offering of their midsize crossover and have decided to cancel the 2.8 Turbo engine offering after one year. Without tipping my hand too far here, I have to say we are inclined to call this a smart move. But let’s delve into the details a bit before we bury the hatchet on Cadillac’s troubled turbo crossover. Read more…
