Vehicle Reviews
Until now, one of those mythically unobtainable cars available only in their home country, the Nissan GT-R, for many years, has been but a video game fantasy.
If you've heard the buzz surrounding Ford's new crossover, you can be forgiven for thinking it must be the second coming of the almighty...as far as Ford is concerned.
'Is this a minivan?' someone asked as they climbed into the 2008 Buick Enclave. The second-row captain's chairs do give that impression, but the Enclave is not a minivan. If anything, it's the vehicle that killed the minivan, or so Buick would like you to believe.
Among affordable, sporty coupes, Hyundai's Tiburon has proven itself to be a survivor. It wasn't so long ago that it had lots of competition, but these days, the club is pretty quiet. Former challengers like the Toyota Celica and Mercury Cougar are gone, and more practical compact sports sedans have become the big bragging-rights fighters.
Longer and wider seem to be at the top of the list of improvements German manufacturers make in their cars with each new iteration of a successful model, and the 2009 Audi A4 is no exception.
With the SUV market steadily flowing south like the Mississippi River toward the Gulf of Mexico, one wonders why Kia would introduce an all-new SUV, much less one with a V8 engine!
Toyota's first off-roader enters its fifth generation with more power and more luxury.
Lacking the flash and rally-racing credibility of the compact Lancer sedan, Mitsubishi's Galant finds itself serving time as an undistinguished member of the bread-and-butter family sedan segment. Forgettable styling, reliable performance and generally sturdy build quality have made the Galant a darling of the rentacar community, a fact that hasn't done much for its image.
Sleek lines. Broad, real wood consoles and buttery-smooth Valcona leather. Soft LED ambient lighting. My passengers noticed right away that the 2008 Audi A8 was something special, even before the navigation screen powered itself up out of the dash and the pop-up Bang & Olufsen tweeters rose out of the instrument panel to offer concert-grade sound.
It's a safe bet to assume that the Toyota Corolla is a very popular car among people who are fond of safe bets. The Corolla isn't for gamblers or risk-takers. It is not the chariot for people who push envelopes and break paradigms. No, the newly redesigned Corolla's destiny is to be a calm, predictable oasis in a tumultuous and chaotic commute.
I had the pleasure of being among the first journalists to test Lincoln's brand new sedan. Starting out from the Ritz-Carlton Georgetown in Washington, DC, we were driven to a secret location for our first real look at the vehicle outside of the Internet.
Don't believe the hype; the electric car is alive and well. In spite of the pop-culture presumption that General Motors pulled the plug, no pun intended, an electric-car market is doing reasonably well in the U.S. With gas prices angling to hit the five-dollar mark, things will probably get even better.
The new Cadillac CTS really surprised me. I suppose I should have seen it coming; with the success of mid-sized luxury/sport sedans from overseas, the Big Three have been trying to crack the market for a long time. Lincoln's effort, the MKZ, is quite a long way off-base, possibly the right vehicle for Lincoln but not the best way to get the attention of the sport-luxury public, so to speak.
The first thing you'll notice about the new '08 Toyota Sequoia is that it's big. That's the first thing everyone notices, and that's because it IS big. For its first ground-up redesign, the Tundra gets a new body, chassis and interior.
Funky, compact multi-tasking vehicles are all over the place these days. Where the subcompact station wagon once ruled the light-cargo roost, these days there are retro Chrysler PT Cruisers and Chevrolet HHRs, quirky micro-minivans like the Mazda5, and offerings with more contemporary style, like the Kia Rondo and Pontiac Vibe.
Luxury sport sedans are built for a select few. The antithesis of basic transportation, a luxury sports car offers exceptional comfort, performance, and elegance at a price that reflects its outstanding quality.
If there is one thing to say about the GMC Yukon Hybrid, it's that this truck isn't shy about being 'green.' With gas prices on the rise and conspicuous consumption a serious social faux pas, the 'HYBRID' stickers and badges that cover just about every square inch of this truck seem to be both proud and defensive. 'Please don't slash my tires!' the Yukon Hybrid's garish decals beg.
I could see my target ahead; a vicious drug dealer attempting to make his getaway in a sleek black Maserati. There was no escape, though. This lowlife thug didn't know who he was dealing with.
When it comes to automobiles, minivans are something of a special case. You can't approach a minivan with the same criterion as a car; these were among the first vehicles to bring suburban family-room sensibilities onto the interstates, after all. To a car guy, the minivan is an enigma, a vehicle whose acceleration, braking and roadholding measures are largely irrelevant.
What's new at Volkswagen? Well, aside from cars and trucks, VW's moved to a new headquarters in Herndon, VA, signed a new multi-million dollar sponsorship of the D.C. United soccer team, launched a college tuition incentive with UPromise, and is hosting the new Jetta TDI Cup Race series. And by the way, it has also launched the Tiguan, an all-new sub-compact SUV and a VW first.
