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Quick Drive: 2010 Kia Forte Koup SX
For the price, of course, it takes some work to think of a better car. The Fit is more tossable and agile, but it lacks the Koup’s style. The Cube has style, but of a different sort, and isn’t as fast as the Koup, even if it is more entertaining. The Scion tC is a direct competitor, and I thought the tC was more engaging if slightly more ragged in its presentation. Of course you can spend more and get some really interesting cars (MazdaSpeed3, Civic Si, Mini), but we’re talking substantially more coin. So, all in all, the Koup seems like a pretty good value.
Blog: Buick Does It Again—2 Million Americans Won’t Even Know
A lot of photons have been shot at General Motors over the past 20 months or so, which I suppose comes with the territory when you run around with government bailout financiers. Beyond the cheap shots and ridiculously impractical advice, two themes seem to stand out and at least resonate a bit:
1. GM needs to build better cars
2. Ford is doing a better job
Secondhand Gems: $30,000 Sports Cars
It’s been a long, harsh winter for many of our readers, and for some of you, record snows have translated to record floods. The Winding Road office in southeast Michigan received no shortage of the white stuff this year, but then a curious thing happened around these parts. Somewhere around the end of February, winter just, well, disappeared. We don’t mean to brag (okay, maybe a little), but for a state prone to prolonged stretches of truly miserable spring weather, the abrupt about face from snowy cold to summertime heat has us positively giddy. As of this writing in early April, we’re already moving into our second day of 80-degree temperatures. Michigan may be leading the nation in unemployment, but at least we can work on our tan between job interviews.
Blog: Three Stories With The Chevy Volt
Chevrolet is touring the country with the Volt, inviting journalists to drive the car in an autocross environment (something about it “not being good for prototypes to be seen on real roads”). Naturally, when the tour came to Austin, I went over to a local mall to pilot the Volt and ponder its future.
Throw Down: Mazda RX-8 R3 Stands All
We were recently lucky enough to have Mazda’s RX-8 R3 in the Winding Road office for a week. Truly touched by the car’s utter brilliance for a relatively small sum of money, Editorial Director Tom Martin declared that he could justify the Mazda’s abilities versus any sporting car on sale today.
Driven: 2011 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive
Globally and for every year since its inception, Smart has been a major bust in every business-case sense apart from spot markets like Italy, some southern German cities, London, and some Japanese cities. 2008 was a boom year for the brand in North America and the US was suddenly a top market with over 24,000 customer sales. Then 2009 hit and smashed the Smart sales charts to bits at just roughly 14,500 sales.
Gamer: Gran Turismo 5 Release Date, Trailer, Collector’s Edition
Sony is making the most of this year’s E3 expo, and Gran Turismo 5 is in the spotlight again. We now have a (new) release date, another trailer, and details about the $99 Collector’s Edition.
Secondhand Gems: Thinking Inside The Box
There are few automotive genres that polarize the motoring masses more than the one we’re about to discuss. Perhaps the word genre isn’t entirely accurate here, because the three vehicles featured in this comparison have, at one point or another, been labeled the following: crossover, sport-utility vehicle, compact, subcompact, five-door hatchback, station wagon, and our personal favorite, foxy boxy. (It’s possible we made that last category up.) What matters here is that these three cars are pretty much all of the above, making them a bit hard to pigeonhole. And therein lies the appeal for these, um, vehicles. They’re not status quo, they’re not cookie cutter, and while their love-it-or-hate-it styling isn’t for everyone, there’s no denying the sense of individuality these vehicles bestow upon their owners. So go ahead and label these non-conformist rides goofy, or hideous, or ugly, but don’t forget to include quirky, cool, and the most important descriptor of all, successful—especially in the youth market where individuality is everything.
Blog: What Is The Lotus Evora?
As I stepped into the Lotus Evora, it occurred to me, as it might to you, that I knew the car had received its share of plaudits, but I wasn’t exactly sure what character was really being delivered. “Well”, thought I, “let’s see.”
Quick Drive: Suzuki Grand Vitara XSport V-6
Viewed in isolation, the Grand Vitara comes across positively. It has good room, lots of features and drives acceptably. Still, I couldn’t help feeling that the Grand Vitara would have been a standout car 5-10 years ago, but is middle-of-the-pack in 2010.
Quick Drive: 2010 Infiniti EX35
You have to applaud Infiniti for trying to put some dynamic character in almost every vehicle it makes, even when that might not be what is expected. In the case of the EX35, we have a mid-sized SUV that feels a lot like you might expect a SUV would feel if it had a lot of G37 DNA.
Driven: 2011 Mini Countryman Cooper S
Well, here we go again, leaping into another car company’s grand attempt to expand the niche into which we’ve niched it. Okay, Mini has definitely also niched itself, but we humans do have a habit of insisting companies can’t change much or we’ll get really angry and whatnot.
List: Top Ten Best Power-To-Weight Ratios Under $40,000
Here, we offer the top ten new cars with the best power-to-weight ratio available for less than $40,000.
Driven: 2009 Mini Cooper John Cooper Works Convertible
Anyone that has driven, ridden in, read about, or even paid a little bit of attention to the universe of Mini cars over the last few years, probably can understand that having the letters “JCW” attached to one’s Mini can mean magical things in terms of urgency and athletic handling. So, when the arrival of this John Cooper Works convertible happened to coincide with the first really beautiful week of spring weather we’ve had so far this year in southeast Michigan, we were understandably stoked.
Driven: 2010 Scion xB
When Scion was launched in 2003, its mission was to bring younger buyers who were looking for an edgy alternative to the economy and compact cars that were currently on the market. Although the success of this mission is debatable, there is one thing that is not, and that is the success of original xB. Upon its launch, the xB was lauded for its style and affordable entry price. For model year 2008, the second generation of the psychedelic little box was released. Unfortunately, the new model grew fatter in every dimension and lost the sharp boxiness of the original.
Secondhand Gems: $17K Front-Drive Heroes
Front-wheel drive gets a bad rap. Not every performance machine on the planet needs a buffet of horsepower and torque driving the rear wheels. And yeah, torque steer can sometimes be a handful, but then again, reining in a Corvette ZR1 on an aggressive launch isn’t exactly a simple case of point and shoot. Like it or not, plenty of really great cars tend to be overlooked just because they’re labeled as wrong-wheel drive, and folks, that’s just a shame.
First Look: 2011 Hyundai Azera Is More Of The Same
With all of the hype surrounding the Hyundai Genesis and the all-new 2011 Sonata, it’s easy to forget that the relatively well-received Azera is still sitting on dealer lots. And while we’re still waiting for an all-new model to come forth, the Toyota Avalon of Hyundais does get a few improvements for the 2011 model year.
First Look: 2011 Ford Edge
Since its launch in late 2006, the Ford Edge has grown to become the best-selling vehicle in its segment. (Don’t worry, we didn’t know, either.) So when it came time for the Edge’s mid-cycle refresh, Ford wanted to do a lot more than just a standard nose job. Much like the Lincoln MKX, the Edge isn’t all-new, but it certainly looks the part. And to be honest, we rather like it.
Hyundai Prices 2011 Sonata From $19,195
The new, rakish Hyundai Sonata is only a few weeks away from its on-sale date, poised to take on the Ford Fusion, Toyota Camry, and other midsize favorites. And like many other cars in the Hyundai stable, the 2011 Sonata’s low price point is its most attractive selling feature — only $19,195 to start for the GLS model with a six-speed manual transmission.
First Look: 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe Gets More Power, Better Fuel Economy
Hyundai’s Santa Fe crossover is only due for its mid-cycle refresh this year, but that doesn’t just mean touch-ups to the front six inches and rear six inches of the vehicle. Instead, Hyundai is making good on its promise to increase fuel efficiency across its lineup, and the Santa Fe will receive two new engines for the 2010 model year, as well as some other interior upgrades.
Detroit 2010: GMC Granite Concept Is An Urban Cruiser Bred In The U.S.
Based on the Chevrolet Orlando platform, the Granite features rear-hinged rear doors with no B-pillar, making it extremely easy to load people and things inside of the useful little vehicle. The overall interior design is very open and airy, but is still very functional. This meshes well with the angular, edgy exterior lines, finished off nicely with LED lighting and twenty-inch wheels.
