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Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Cars Top Cars

Last summer, our man Damon Lavrinc drove the then-brand-new 2010 Mazdaspeed3 around California’s legendary Laguna Seca Raceway and then Caramel Valley’s world-class back roads. And he loved it. I mention this because we’re sure that under similar, near-ideal conditions, I would...

15-02-2010

Approaching the 2010 Lincoln MKT for the first time is like meeting a blind date. You’ve been told by friends she has a good personality, which immediately has you wondering what she looks like. From a distance you see your fears confirmed: She’s a big girl with a toothy grin and a weird...

30-01-2010

A November Nor’Easter had chewed its way up to New England, delivering a cataclysmic combination of rain and wind as we headed out on a late-night errand. Normally, such a prospect requires a potent blend of Italian roast and Krank20 to stay hyper alert. Instead, behind the helm of the 2010...

29-01-2010

“We’re not going to challenge the traditional big players with our volume,” says Icon’s owner and head designer Jonathan Ward as we’re admiring one of his company’s Toyota FJ recreations. “But we hope to challenge what they put into their products.”...

27-01-2010

The Nissan Sentra has long been the bridesmaid of America’s C-segment. Few consider it to be best-in-class, yet it would be a stretch to call Nissan’s second-smallest sedan the category’s cellar dweller. In the past, the Sentra hasn’t been the fastest, it hasn’t been...

26-01-2010

Marketing does funny things. Recently the word “coupe” has been rendered null and void of meaning by crafty marketing types behind cars like the Mercedes-Benz CLS, BMW X6 and Volkswagen CC, while the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo has sucked every last ounce of truth, honesty and passion from...

18-01-2010

With a slew of sensors and CPUs, the 2010 Lexus RX450h can pretty much drive itself. Want to go somewhere? Sit down in the driver’s seat, use the Remote Touch device (a.k.a. “mouse”) to tell the crossover where you want to go, and follow the easy-as-store-bought-pie instructions...

10-01-2010

Sigh. Another day, another 500+ horsepower supercar to babysit for a week. Such is my lot in life. Obviously I’m joking, to a degree. To be honest, I wasn’t that particularly jazzed about the Audi R8 with the defanged Lambo LP560-4 V10 shoehorned behind the seats, especially as I had...

8-01-2010

BMW’s storied history of building roadsters dates back to the original 328 of the 1930s. However, there have been gaps in the brand’s open-top lineage, including one extended stretch through the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. After a dalliance with the bizarre European market...

7-01-2010

Even in the face of a bleak economy and dreadful auto sales, Subaru managed to have a breakout year in 2009. Products like the Forester and the Impreza helped Subaru achieve consistent year-over-year gains while the Japanese automaker continues to post stellar quality ratings through J.D. Power and...

4-01-2010

In the automotive world, price is increasingly a function of degrees. How’s that? Dial in a faster windscreen angle, aggressively rake the rear glass and – voilà! – you’ve just padded your margins to the tune of a few thousand bucks. Take a plain-jane sedan, hire some stylists to...

2-01-2010
BMW heralds its X5 sport utility vehicle as a “Sport Activity Vehicle.” The tactic is designed to focus attention on the vehicle’s on-road handling and driving dynamics, but it’s also an attempt to eliminate any need for the automaker to apologize for the X5’s limited...

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