reviews
2010 GMC Terrain: Not Pretty, But Functional
The GMC Terrain is a perfectly reasonable crossover, but it wouldn't be high on my list of cars to recommend. The Terrain shares its underpinnings (and much of its interior bits and pieces) with the Chevrolet Equinox, a vehicle we've been outspoken about over the last month. The long and short of it: we love the Equinox but not the Terrain.
Review: Google Maps turn-by-turn navigation on Android 2.0
It's no secret that we've been openly critical of the prices charged by automakers for built-in GPS navigation systems. Frankly, paying $2,000 or more for an in-dash system when you can buy stand-alone navigation units for as little as $100 is ridiculous. It's only "sort of" free because the Google maps turn-by-turn navigation app is built into the new Motorola Droid smartphone (see sister-site Engadget's full review of the Droid here) that recently became available from Verizon Wireless.
Review: 2009 Infiniti G37X Sport makes no excuses
In past years, the Infiniti G sedan has been close, but compared to the Kaiser of the Klasse, BMW's 3 Series, the G35 was near the stake, but not a ringer. When the G37 arrived, our initial thought was it was simply an amplified G35, a car that's delighted our socks off in the past. Just as gourmet chefs tinker with recipes, Infiniti has made adjustments.
Quick Spin: 2011 Chevrolet Volt charges toward production
Three years ago this December we first walked into a Manhattan conference room for a background briefing on a new concept being developed by General Motors for the upcoming Detroit Auto Show. The movie and announcement of the all-electric Tesla Roadster lit a fire under GM to get back into the plug-in electric vehicle game. GM folk on hand that day included vehicle line executive Tony Posawatz and former VP for environmental affairs Beth Lowery.
Revealed: 2011 Ford Mustang
It would be reasonable to expect that Ford might pass over the Mustang and instead devote more attention to its other models since it's fresh off a comprehensive revamp for the 2010 model year. For 2011, the Blue Oval is introducing a new 3.7-liter V6 Mustang that should give it the firepower and refinement needed to take on Chevrolet's six-cylinder Camaro and Hyundai's upstart Genesis Coupe. In addition to the Cleveland-sourced mill, there are a pair of fresh gearboxes, a new V6 performance package, and a host of nip/tucks to the interior and elsewhere.
Review: 2009 Audi A8L - requiem for a heavyweight
Next week the newest generation of Audi's aluminum spaceframe panzer will greet the world in Miami, and we expect it to be a leap through a wormhole compared to today's car. That might make the Audi A8 the Megan Fox of automobiles. A funny thing happened on the way to reviewing the 2009 Audi A8L: we discovered ourselves writing compromising things about the four-ringed flagship.
Quick Spin: Nissan Leaf the tip of mass market EV spear
Nissan has gone into a back room, pulled out its Ouija board and decided that the time is right to make a huge bet. The Japanese automaker, along with its partner Renault, wants to be the world leader in pure electric vehicles. This time around, Nissan believes the future belongs to vehicles without an internal combustion engine (ICE) and is preparing to put its own foot forward.
First Drive: 2011 Buick Regal prototype looks to be a good sport
Back in the late '60s and early '70s, General Motors wanted to shift a few sporty-ish four-cylinder models from its Opel division into America, so they turned to their Buick dealers. This time out, with the Opel Insignia-derived 2011 Buick Regal, GM knows it needs massively better results. This is a Buick the likes of which we have never seen before.
Review: 2009 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8
In many ways, the Jeep Grand Cherokee is one of the best vehicles in Chrysler's lineup. It's an authentic Jeep, first and foremost, and makes no excuses for being anything another than a full-fledged SUV. This is what happens when you let the hot-rod mavens at SRT play with time-honored Jeep tradition.
First Drive: 2010 Mitsubishi Outlander GT is a CUV we can live with
Mitsubishi presented its best and brightest rides for us to drive over the course of an eight-hour event in the parched desert oasis of Palm Springs, CA. Odd then that the focus of this particular review – and in many ways the star of the party – isn't some carbon fiber body kit-enhanced EVO X, but rather the new 2010 Mitsubishi Outlander GT. Mitsubishi first introduced the second generation Outlander in 2006 (replacing the more wagon-esque first gen.), and 2010 marks a major refresh.
Quick Spin: Superformance MKIII R Cobra kickstarts our hearts
After all, not only is the Cobra Daytona Coupe the single greatest car I've ever driven, but I'm what you might call a Shelby-head. At least once a week my fiancee is hollering at me to put one of my several Shelby books back in the bookcase. No, this particular Cobra – the Superformance MKIII R, a special version of their MKIII – is built in South Africa.
First Drive: 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
On one hand, it may seem like an odd time for Mercedes to be jumping back into the ultra-premium end of the car market, particularly in light of its recent less-than-standouts efforts (think: McLaren SLR and the salesproof Maybach). The SLS is actually an Aufrecht Melcher Gro?spach project. It's AMG's first bumper-to-bumper, start-to-finish project -- and having just torn around the California countryside and hot-lapped around Laguna Seca, we're left wondering only one thing: Why did it take more than 40 years for this to happen?
Review: 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8 six-speed reveals its true character
The six-speed-equipped Dodge Challenger SRT8 drives exactly as it looks. Unlike the countless poseurs promising handling with oversize tires, performance with monstrous exhaust pipes, or luxury with overstuffed cabins, the Challenger SRT8 delivers only what its exterior suggests – a mountain of machismo-infused muscle-car entertainment. Contrary to its automatic-equipped siblings, the manual gearbox transforms the SRT8 from merely entertaining to positively supernatural.
First Drive: SMS 570X makes 700 hp, gobs more joy
- Steve Saleen Normally, when the head of a company that takes existing cars and modifies them says something like that, you nod politely and draw your own conclusions. For one thing, he's been at this for 25 years – in fact, a 1984 Saleen Mustang just sold for $80,000. For another, he's the man behind the Saleen S7, a totally bespoke beast of a machine that's one of the most dominant supercar-based race cars ever.
First Drive: 2010 Lincoln MKT EcoBoost
In 1998, Lincoln's overall sales made it the number one luxury brand in America. The Navigator, Continental and Town Car weren't exactly world beaters -- let alone an enthusiast's cup of Darjeeling, but the typical Lincoln buyer was getting precisely what he or she expected: soft, cozy, squishy cruisers for soft, squishy old people. In the decade that followed, Ford's U.S. luxury arm has seen about as much success as a modern day typewriter salesman.
2011 Buick Regal Returns After Seven-Year Absence
Fortunately, those dark days are gone and General Motors and Ford at least have gotten their heads around how to build the kind of cars they sell in Europe. Just bring over European cars. When bankrupt GM decreed that Buick would survive as one of the company's four core brands, it quickly became clear that Buick would need more models to flesh out its showrooms alongside the LaCrosse and Enclave.
First Drive: 2010 BMW X6 ActiveHybrid is technologically impressive... but to what end?
BMW's pitch on how great the X6 ActiveHybrid is goes like this: it's the world's most powerful hybrid vehicle, fuel consumption is reduced about 20 percent compared to a similar vehicle without a hybrid drivetrain, and no matter what speed you're going, the incredibly complicated powertrain is performing at the most efficient level possible. On the other hand, the size and weight of BMW's luxury hybrid crossover means that, well, the X6 hybrid is no Prius in the mileage department, either. Let's start by congratulating BMW for bringing its first batch of hybrids to market (the 7 Series ActiveHybrid is launching alongside the X6).
2010 Chevy Equinox: Yes They Can
In fact, GM has been in the crossover game for years, too, but nothing they produced ever came this close. For all the quantum leaps that GM claimed over the last ten or so years, most of it was simply hot air: products that were incremental improvements relative to the rest of the industry (even if, internally, they were massive improvements over GM's previous model). After years of GM's insistence that, say, the Pontiac G6 was a great product, a lot of people stopped believing them.