Dodge Challenger SRT8 — a hot rod for the 21st century
Hunker down, I say. Hunker down, son, and dream about the old days, back in the 1960s and 1970s when God made engines the way they were intended to be made. Hemi. Four-forty. Big, big four-barrel...
View ArticleLand Rover LR2 — the empire’s off-roader
Land Rover is still here, still slogging faithfully along in its traditional, British way — it still has that somewhat dated look, an upright SUV, with its boxy shape and very traditional lines. You...
View ArticleJaguar XKR coupe — rule Britannia
Rule Britannia, indeed. Here comes Jaguar, with its 2010 edition of the XKR — that would be the hotted-up version of the XK (this series of two-door grand touring cars comes in both coupe and...
View ArticleKia Forte — new competitor in the small car field
First impression of the new Kia Forte, the replacement for the pretty dull Spectra — it’s a rental car. It’s just the kind of car that you’d pick up at an airport when you asked for something...
View ArticleFord Mustang GT — pretend you’re in “Bullitt”
Ford is on a roll. No other way to put it. In monthly auto sales, Ford’s Escape posted the largest increase of all models — July 2009 over July 2008 — a 94% gain, according to figures released by...
View ArticleToyota RAV4 V6 — when a big SUV won’t do
It’s the Legend of the SUV — it is a big, hulking brute of a truck, sometimes dubbed “a bully car.” The SUV, like Rodney Dangerfield, can’t get any respect (except, of course, from the people who buy...
View ArticleFord Edge Sport — a crossover with rims the size of cartwheels
There’s little argument about the attraction of one singular aspect of Ford’s Edge Sport, a crossover utility vehicle that wants to look and feel like a race car. It’s the wheels. They are 22 inches in...
View ArticleLexus RX450h — luxo hybrid SUV
It’s not that Toyota is a cautious company — they have a huge and varied menu of cars, SUVs, crossovers and trucks in Toyota, Scion and Lexus lines. But with the new Lexus RX450h (for hybrid), Lexus...
View ArticleHyundai Genesis Coupe — Chapter Two in Hyundai’s bid for upscale
The other day, a friend of mine asked, “so what are you driving this week?” When I said “a Hyundai Genesis Coupe,” he said, “coming down in the world, aren’t we?” That may well be the world’s...
View ArticleToyota Venza — a wagon by any other name
Toyota is nothing if not coy about the Venza, a car whose name defies any logical etymology (does the word stanza have a role? what about venue? anything else?) They don’t want to brand the Venza as an...
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