Category: Cars

The sporty commuter

18 Jul Cars No comment
Can-Am Spyder

The Spyder turns like a car but drives like a motorcycle.

What gets 35 miles per gallon and goes from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4.5 seconds? You might suggest a motorcycle, but you would only be 66 percent right.

BRP's Can-Am Spyder uses three wheels, two in front and one in back. The Spyder isn't exactly a motorcycle, a trike, or a three-wheeled car. BRP suggests calling it a roadster, but that designation is a stretch as well. » Read the rest of the entry..

Review: 2008 Honda Odyssey

18 Jul Cars No comment
Although Honda claims a major update for its 2008 Honda Odyssey minivan, the results look to us like a minor face-lift, with just a little work around the eyes and mouth but the same old body. The front of the car exhibits some modern touches around the headlights and grille, but the bulk of the car looks at home in the '90s. For the real updates, we have to look in the cabin electronics and under the hood. This new Odyssey gets Honda's Bluetooth hands-free cell phone system and a new rear-seat DVD screen. » Read the rest of the entry..

Is there anything the Mitsubishi Lancer can’t do?

17 Jul Cars No comment
Mitsubishi Lancer Dakar competitor.

The Lancer gets toughened up for the 2009 Dakar rally.

(Credit: Mitsubishi)
Mitsubishi announced today that it will enter a modified Lancer in next year's Dakar rally, the legendary grueling race through Africa. The base model Lancer is a small economy car with not much pep but a good cabin tech package, seemingly a poor platform for this tough race. However, Mitsubishi has been proving for years with the Lancer Evo, a heavily modified version of the car, that it can win World Rally Car races. The newest version, the Evo X, impressed the heck out of us on the track at Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif., earlier this year. Mitsubishi only released a sketch and some specifications of the car, designated MRX09, it intends to enter in Dakar. » Read the rest of the entry..

Review: 2008 BMW X6 xDrive35i

16 Jul Cars No comment
Even after driving the 2008 BMW X6 for a week, we're still not sure what to make of it. BMW's marketing campaign calls it the coupe's evil twin, but with the 3-liter twin-turbo inline six-cylinder in our xDrive35i model, it doesn't feel particularly diabolical. It seems more like the coupe's fatter twin, although it might refer to itself as merely big-boned. But it does handle like a BMW, which is to say, excellently, and certainly doesn't look like an SUV, so you don't have to live with that stigma. The front seats are particularly nice, but the rear seats have compromised headroom, and it doesn't offer as much cargo area as the BMW X5. » Read the rest of the entry..

Review: 2008 Pontiac G8 GT

11 Jul Cars No comment


With a 6-liter V-8 and brawny styling, the 2008 Pontiac G8 GT looks like the return of American muscle, only, it's not. The new G8, an example of International brand engineering, actually comes from Australia, where it's called a Holden VE Commodore. These origins explain some odd styling around the cockpit, such as window and mirror controls mounted on the console and a big red display showing battery charge and oil pressure. » Read the rest of the entry..

Video: Corvette ZR1 at the Nurburgring

11 Jul Cars No comment


GM posted this video of the Corvette ZR1 doing a lap of the Nurburgring. It's a cockpit video with a stat overlay, showing the car hitting close to 180 mph on the final straightaway. Put on your headphones and crank up the volume, because the engine and road sounds come through clearly. » Read the rest of the entry..

BMW does the electric Mini

11 Jul Cars No comment
2007 Mini Cooper S

BMW works on making the electric Mini, which sounds like a new dance.

If you had any doubts about an upcoming era of electric cars, put them aside. BMW announced it is testing electric powertrains in the Mini Cooper. Over the next year and a half, BMW will use a fleet of several hundred Minis to experiment with electric drive systems and, according to the press release, "determine the alternative drive of the future." If any company can do it, it's BMW. » Read the rest of the entry..

Prius to be American-made

10 Jul Cars No comment

2008 Toyota Prius Touring Edition.

(Credit: Toyota)
Americans will soon have another feel-good reason to buy a Prius.

Prius production in the U.S. will begin in late 2010 at a plant currently under construction in Blue Springs, Miss., Toyota announced Thursday.

So, aside from saving on the cost of gas through better gas mileage and raising environmental awareness, buying a Prius will soon be a product made by American workers...or at least assembled by them.

Toyota said the change is in response to consumer demand in North America.

As it's been widely reported, there's been a Prius shortage in the U.S. with some consumers being forced to wait as long as three months and pay as much as $3,000 over sticker price. Even celebrity techies have been told to wait their turn. » Read the rest of the entry..

Review: 2009 Mercedes-Benz SLK350

09 Jul Cars No comment
Although the 2009 Mercedes-Benz SLK350 looks tiny, the car is filled with much more tech and horsepower than you would expect. Mercedes-Benz updated the little roadster for the 2009 model year, giving it new styling cues, improving the engine, and loading it with its newest raft of cabin gadgets. The result is a car that may not be the most practical, but scores big on fun.



The SLK350 is a roadster with a fully-powered retractable hardtop. This top compromises trunk space pretty severely, but letting in the sun becomes convenient and easy. Styling changes emphasize sport, with a more pointed nose and a diffuser in back, but that doesn't make the SLK350 an exceptional sports car. Although we found it enjoyable to drive--especially fun on mountain roads, its sportiness seems diluted in favor of comfort. Read the review.

BMW redesigns 7-series, iDrive

09 Jul Cars No comment
BMW's new iDrive screen.

BMW's new iDrive screen is a radical change from the previous generation.

(Credit: BMW)
For years, BMW has heard complaints from automotive editors and enthusiasts about its iDrive control system, the interface for accessing infotainment and car functions in BMW models. But with the introduction of the new 7-series, iDrive gets a radical transformation. We don't have too much to go on, mostly a picture of the new main screen for iDrive, in German, no less, and some details from the news release. The controller for iDrive remains the same, a big knob with joystick functionality. BMW adds to that hardware a set of dedicated buttons for immediate access to the radio, CD, navigation, and phone menus. » Read the rest of the entry..


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