Being late to the party has its advantages. This was as true in college as it is in adult life. It’s especially true in the auto industry, where the buying public can be quite merciless in its criticism of outlandish or groundbreaking ideas (anyone remember BMW’s original iDrive?). Nissan has...
Since its inception, Kia’s Soul has been near the forefront of a movement toward what might be called “hip, utility vehicles” (HUVs). Other examples would include Nissan’s Cube or Scion’s xB, to name just two. Not surprisingly, hipness is an essential ingredient in any HUV, meaning they’ve got...
The Ford Focus ST doesn’t appear too dissimilar from the standard Focus upon which it improves, but there is plenty to set it apart visually. It has its own front and rear fascia, with lots of aerodynamic touches, including a bold rear spoiler that looks great in person. The center-exit dual...
Our reviews of the Ford Explorer have been pretty positive since our initial test in late 2010. The big seven-passenger made a successful shift to a unibody platform, and has found a level of refinement the nameplate has never known. We’re also quite bullish on Ford’s EcoBoost range of engines...
Understandably, the first thing we were stricken by upon being reunited with the new Ford Fusion was the same thing that caught our attention when it was first unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show: its outward appearance. The new grille gives the car a much more upscale vibe. It looks somewhat...
First, it’s important to temper expectations regarding the Sonic RS. It is not an SS. That fact was made abundantly clear in our tech briefing before we drove. It’s also not some willy-nilly styling package, like RS models of old (or new, if you count the RS packs on the Cruze and Camaro)...
There is no shortage of options when we’re talking about executive limos like this. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi all make some very compelling vehicles. As much as we like the S-Class, 7-Series, and A8, though, were we getting chauffeured about, we’d have a very tough time ignoring the Lexus LS.
All 83 pound-feet of torque are available at 4200 rpm, meaning this is a car with zero low-end grunt. Patience is rewarded though, as the climbing revs gave us more and more to work with, until we were zipping about at a surprisingly brisk pace. All along the way, we were accompanied by a burly...
Until now, Chevy only offered its Malibu as a mild-hybrid Eco and a rather tepid 2.5-liter four-pot. The arrival of the 2.0T delivers a healthy power boost to the Bowtie’s bread-and-butter sedan.
The 2013 Honda Accord marks the 30th anniversary of the well-known nameplate. With an opportunity to commemorate this milestone with the best version of the car to date, well, we’ll go ahead and spoil it for you and say that Honda has succeeded. If you’re looking for a mid-sized family sedan...
The Audi R8 coupe has undeniable road presence and personality. It has a look all its own, and it is one that hints very clearly to the car’s performance prowess. Its shape belies its character, and standing behind the car, viewing its V-8 motor through the rear glass, it’s difficult not to be...
There is a much better way of owning a supercar, that doesn’t require quarter-million-dollar investments while still delivering thrills, and with enough comfort to be a 12,000-mile-per-year vehicle. Might it surprise you that we’re talking about a Porsche?
On the road, the 2013 Ram 1500 was nothing less than the smoothest-riding pickup we’ve ever tested. Secondary motion, notably that obnoxious shuddering sound that you hear and feel when you hit a big bump in a regular truck, was precisely controlled. It’s this quality that gives the Ram a...
Road or track, complex corners or never-ending sweepers, the underlying element of goodness here is the M5’s stirring powertrain. The twin-scroll turbo-fed 4.4-liter V-8 engine puts out an astonishing 560 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque for its lucky operator to make use of—figures that...
Alpina has been in the business of turning out hotted-up Bimmers for half of a century now. The tuning-house-cum-racing-outfit has maintained its independence throughout that time, though, never becoming a slightly different flavor of M car, for instance. That independence, and subsequent...
In that sense, the most impressive part of this Ford is the strain-free powertrain. Although the C-Max uses a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and a relatively small engine (2.0-liter four cylinder with 141 horsepower), it was able to accelerate pretty easily in urban traffic or on...
We love wagons. We’d like to see more of them on American roads. We love their utility, their unassuming looks, and the sense of nostalgia the evoke from us. We also love Mercedes-Benz’s performance department, AMG. The sheer power and sporty luxury they combine are things we don’t think we...
What Ford has done with the interior and exterior design of the Focus Electric is to strip away the intimidation factor and make this the first truly approachable electric vehicle. It doesn’t look like the bleeding-edge piece of technology that the Leaf is or the EV1 was. It’s just a Focus that...
AMG has seemed to master the big power from its turbos with a minimum of lag. Even though they are pumping out 18.8 pounds of boost, the 5.5-liter V-8 still gets up and goes with little hesitation. Power is abundant in low, middle, and high parts of the rev range, which allowed us to dive into...
...in The Fast and the Furious? Near the end of the movie, during the street race Dominic Toretto had against O'Connor, where we can see Toretto's Dodge Charger with problems, what kind of mechanical failure occurred?