Search results for: mercedes-benz
Driven: Honeywell BMW X5 3.0d
It’s no secret that we American automotive journalists are anxiously awaiting the arrival of BMW’s new U.S.-spec diesel offerings, the 335d and X5 xDrive35d. In the meantime, however, the folks at Honeywell (who specialize in turbo technologies) provided us with a Euro-spec X5 3.0d for a week in order for us to experience BMW’s current diesel offerings.
Driven: 2009 Volkswagen Routan
Badge engineering. This is the common practice in the automotive industry of taking a vehicle designed for one brand, and tweaking to work for another. But is this a good thing or a bad thing? We all know examples of the Chevy that is also a Pontiac or a Ford that is also a Mercury with little but trim differences. That cynical approach to marketing has led to a tarnished reputation for badge-engineering, among the pundits at least. The term even sounds pejorative.
Driven: 2008 Maserati Quattroporte
We at Winding Road and NextAutos frequently get the chance to sample luxury offerings from Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, et cetera. And while all of those German manufacturers make wonderful vehicles, it’s a rare occasion that some Italian blood works its way into our test fleet. Our Maserati Quattroporte test car proved to be a sporty, elegant cruiser, and can turn heads in a way that none of the German automakers can.
Driven: 2009 BMW 7-series Gives Less Bangle, More Bimmer
This was an incredible sensation we have to tell you about first. We’ve melted tires and drifted BMW M3s, M5s, and M6es without any effort whatsoever. We tried getting the 128i or 135i to do these things and it wasn’t easy. We tried the 335i and it’s just too composed to make it easy, though it can be done under certain circumstances. Bottom line is that BMW makes cars that must seize the driver’s heart and soul without much ado. They should goad us to play.
Winding Road’s Top Twelve Cars Of 2009
Over the past twelve months we’ve driven or reviewed (and often both) something on the order of 250 vehicles. Be it on some far-flung and usually stunning road served up by an automaker for a new car launch, or on the slightly more humble highways and byways that surround our Michigan and Texas offices, we’ve had a fair taste of what was on offer in the automotive universe during 2009. We figure the very least we can do is to tell you which ones we liked best.
Winding Road’s Guide To Winter Driving
Despite the April Issue indication you may have noticed on the cover of this month’s Winding Road (check out our full new issue at www.magazine.WindingRoad.com), it’s actually just around the middle of the long Michigan winter as we write this. That’s bad news for anyone who values anything in the way of a short sleeve or a naturally occurring tan, but it’s surprisingly good news for us driving enthusiasts.
We lean towards that group of people that embrace four full seasons in all of their glory, and love to drive through each of them. Which is why we’ve been paying special attention this year to the motive joys that can be had when our world is white. Be it driving a sports car or a convertible, with a new set of snows or in a frigid testing environment, we’re into winter driving. Find out why.
