The latest Ride of the Week is another flagship sedan, this time from the most celebrated American luxury automaker. The 2013 Cadillac XTS Platinum is all new, making its debut last year as a 2013 model. The big, 4-door, 5-passenger sedan is powered exclusively by a 3.6-liter V6 engine, and the test car, equipped with the top Platinum trim, also [...]
The Ride of the Week is a 2013 Audi A8 L 3.0T Quattro Tiptronic, winner of the Luxury Choice award at the Greater Atlanta Automotive Media Association’s (GAAMA’s) recent Family Choice Challenge event. Media members of our organization drove and rated 21 family-oriented vehicles at our first signature event, including four contenders in the Luxury Choice category. The Audi A8 [...]
Here’s a first look at the latest Ride of the Week, a 2013 Lexus IS 350. This year marks the final one for the current-generation IS. The completely redesigned 2014 model debuted at the Detroit Auto Show and is due to hit Lexus showrooms in June. So now is the last chance to buy a new, second-generation IS 350 like [...]
Here’s a first look at the latest Ride of the Week, a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Turbo LTZ. If you told me just a few years ago that I could soon buy a Chevy Malibu with a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine instead of a V6, I would’ve guessed that was unlikely. If you told me that this engine would have a displacement [...]
Here’s a first look at the latest Ride of the Week, a 2013 Acura ILX Hybrid. The ILX is an all-new model for Acura, the automaker’s entry-level compact sedan. The ILX Hybrid represents a first for the brand too, applying parent company Honda’s proven gasoline-electric hybrid system to improve fuel efficiency. It’s one of three available powertrains Acura offers in [...]
With Valentine’s Day here, I’m thinking about love. And cars. I certainly love cars, but do they love me back? Any science fiction fan will tell you machines are incapable of love. But I still managed to find the seven best new car options that will make you feel loved by keeping you warm and comfortable, by helping you out [...]
Robert Farris of Speedwell Engineering, LTD invited me on a tour last Saturday of an inclusive collection of interesting automobiles. Spread over two locations, the private collection totals about fifty vehicles from the brass era to the modern era. Race cars, elegant pre-war classics, muscle cars, European GTs and exotic supercars are on display side-by-side, most in show-quality condition. The [...]
Here’s a first look at the latest Ride of the Week, the 2013 Nissan Quest LE. Minivans get a bad rap. Critics say these vehicles are uninspired and boring, that they’re transportation appliances designed with the sole purpose of moving people. The naysayers recommend car shoppers that want engaging styling and driving dynamics look elsewhere. I disagree. After owning a [...]
Read more ›Here’s a first look at the latest ride of the week, the 2013 Infiniti M56 Sport. Infiniti just announced it will change its model nomenclature for the 2014 model year, so this will be the last model with the M56 designation. Next year, we’ll see the M line of large luxury sedans sold as the 2014 Infiniti Q70. The current [...]
Read more ›My friend Robert Farris of Speedwell Engineering, LTD posted on his Facebook page today a photo of the engine compartment of a 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB he’s tuning up for a client. The photo shows the 275′s triple Weber carburetors lined up atop the Colombo V12, a glorious sight on its own. But I egged Robert on to post a [...]
Read more ›Here’s a first look at the latest Ride of the Week, the 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE. You may already know that the Toyota Camry has for years been the best-selling car in the U.S. It’s combination of practicality, reliability, affordability and overall quality have helped it to keep this coveted position for more than a decade. Toyota introduced a [...]
Read more ›Honda’s venerable sedan enters its ninth generation with slightly smaller proportions and a new, more efficient engine and transmission. After following the completely redesigned 2013 Honda Accord from its debut this summer to its arrival in Atlanta at our GAAMA September luncheon, I was unusually excited to get behind the wheel for a drive. Sure, it’s a midsize family sedan [...]
Read more ›Here’s a first look at the latest Ride of the Week, the 2013 Acura RDX AWD. This second generation of Acura’s popular 5-passenger crossover SUV not only looks different from its predecessor, it’s significantly updated underneath its bodywork, too. Its predecessor used a four-cylinder turbocharged engine; the latest RDX packs a new, 273-horsepower V6 and a standard 6-speed automatic transmission. [...]
Read more ›Mercedes-Benz provided us a glimpse of its Black Series enhancements applied to the already incredible SLS AMG gullwing coupe. This is the 2014 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series. With a 563-horsepower dry-sump V8, the original, “stock” SLS AMG offers just about everything one could want in an exotic sports car. It’s beautiful, extremely fast and packed with technology you’d expect [...]
Read more ›Here’s a first look at the latest Ride of the Week, the 2013 Scion FR-S. Jointly developed by Subaru and Toyota, Scion’s parent company, the FR-S is a small, 2+2 sports car that arrived this year as an all-new 2013 model. Except for some styling details, it’s identical to the Subaru BRZ. The name “FR-S” stands for “Front-engine, Rear-drive Sport.” [...]
Read more ›Here’s a first look at the latest Ride of the Week, the 2013 Honda Accord EX. Now in its ninth generation the latest Accord is completely redesigned with new features and styling, a new direct-injection four-cylinder engine and a continuously variable transmission (CVT), the first of its kind for Honda’s popular midsize vehicle. Accord continues to be offered in both [...]
Read more ›Members got a look at the completely redesigned 2013 Nissan Pathfinder at the October luncheon of the Greater Atlanta Automotive Media Association (GAAMA). With unibody construction replacing a truck-like body-on-frame architecture, the 7-passenger crossover is a departure from its predecessor yet maintains much of the outgoing model’s capabilities. The luncheon at Ray’s on the River in Atlanta included a presentation [...]
Read more ›
