Archive for February, 2009
Review: 2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK350 4Matic
It’s post harvest time and space is plentiful in Santa Barbara, California, for the winter season. It’s the perfect time to find a cut-rate room amongst the vineyards and ostrich ranches to accommodate a bunch of slovenly media types to see the latest in niche SUVs from Mercedes-Benz. Is it a smaller, over-contented version of [...]
Review: 2010 Ford Mustang GT Premium
With the reborn Camaro just around the corner and Dodge’s retro-styled Challenger available in a variety of flavors, Ford decided it was time to keep up with the Joneses by releasing a throroughly revised Mustang – the car that introduced the world to the pony car concept almost 46 years ago.
Review: 2010 Ford Fusion
A product renaissance at Ford Motor Company is under way. Ten years ago, a thorough re-engineering of a volume seller after just three years on the market would have been seen as conspicuous consumption in Dearborn. But in late 2008, with so much riding on the automaker’s future product portfolio, the blue oval crew has [...]
Review: 2009 Jaguar XK Coupe
Cruising on Royal Poinciana Boulevard in Palm Beach, Florida, just around the corner from the classically timeless Breakers hotel, we’re acting like boulevardiers. With statuesque Royal Palm trees lining the street, we feel all is right with the world, in this, our own little slice of paradise. The pasty aging Brit in the E-type next [...]
Review: 2009 Toyota FJ Cruiser
Travel to the farthest reaches of civilization and you’re almost guaranteed to find a Toyota Land Cruiser of some sort. The term ubiquitous doesn’t even begin to describe the Land Cruiser in much of the world, where it has earned a reputation for reliability and capability. Toyota hoped to capture some of that mystique when [...]
Review: 2009 Buick Enclave CXL AWD
Full-size SUVs have proven to be some of the most profitable vehicles in the auto industry’s 100+ years of existence, but thanks to the proverbial perfect storm of high gas prices and rising environmental concerns, new car buyers are flocking to smaller, more fuel efficient models. This may be bad news for General Motors’ larger [...]
Review: 2009 Porsche Cayenne S
The vehicle that caused critics to question the sanity in the Porsche executive suites continues to plug away. Porsche is a car company, they scoffed. At one point, the Cayenne appeared to be on life-support. Now it’s a top seller. And oh yes, Porsche will soon introduce their new four-door sedan, the Panamera. What’s up [...]
Review: 2009 Jeep Patriot Limited 4×4
Chrysler’s coveted Jeep brand has had its share of imitators, weak offerings and quality glitches, but it remains a label respected worldwide thanks, in part, to an illustrious history and a rugged image. With more Jeep-badged vehicles on the market now than there have ever been, we decided to take a look at the revised [...]
Quick Spin: 2010 Mini E
Electric cars are nothing new. Once the horseless chariots of upper class society women, they are now back en vogue thanks to a renewed interest in achieving zero-emissions, minimal-compromise driving. Enter the 2010 Mini E, an electrified Mini Cooper that will go on limited lease availability to select customers early next year.
Review: BMW 335d
The diesels are coming! The diesels are coming! The European diesel invasion has finally arrived – or re-arrived, as it is. BMW’s diesel-powered 335d (and X5 xDrive35d – a mouthful of a name) will arrive in showrooms by the end of this year as part of a renewed effort by German automakers to sell the [...]
