Reviews
-
It took years for Americans to embrace Japanese performance cars and the different philosophy behind them. If the 2018 Kia Stinger GT is any indication, it won't take South Korea nearly as long to gain a foothold with American performance shoppers. That's because there's something intrinsically American in the way the Stinger GT drives. It feels like a muscle car, like a downsized, twin-turbocharged Dodge Challenger. This Kia doesn't have the soundtrack to support the designation, but it has the straight-line speed, the sensation of acceleration, the in-your-face looks, and the affordable...
-
Chevrolet SS: the sport sedan that could, but never caught onIt was a common practice of American automakers decades ago. Take a family sedan, swap out the plain-Jane engine, drop in a big V-8, and you have a muscle car. The Chevrolet SS was one of the final examples of such a practice, albeit not a very American one from the start. For those unaware, the...
Sean Szymkowski -
2017 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X off-road review
Term limits don't apply to the new car industry. If they did, the 2017 Nissan Frontier you see here wouldn't be a dead-ringer for the 2005 Nissan Frontier that hit dealer lots during George W. Bush's first term. A lot has changed since 2005. But not the Frontier. Sure, it's up for a redesign, but...
Andrew Ganz -
2013 Nissan GT-R: First Drive
Nissan's 2013 GT-R is an improvement over last year's model, which itself upped the bar considerably from earlier models.
Kurt Ernst -
2011 Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid: Driven
GreenCarReports took the 2011 Cayenne Hybrid S for a spin and found it's not just kidding around with its hybrid system--and it's a fun-to-drive luxury SUV to boot.
Nelson Ireson -
2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe First Drive
Fighting for a top spot in the affordable sports coupe market means one thing: measuring up the BMW M3. That's been the game for decades now, and it hasn't changed with the latest iteration, despite the newest model's departure from much of the past M3's formula. In fact, the departure has been so...
Nelson Ireson -
What makes the RL distinct or alluring among luxury cars? How is it much different than the same-sized TL? And shouldn't a brand flagship feel a little more exclusive, a little less mainstream-lux? These are all questions shoppers will be wondering, and we couldn't help but be left pondering them even after several days with a 2011 Acura RL Advance. In short: Performance was satisfying enough, and we felt comfortable and at ease, but as soon as we thought about what else we could get with the same money, we couldn't help but think that we'd jump ship for a Jaguar XF, BMW 5-Series, Infiniti...
-
2012 BMW 6-Series Convertible: First Drive
If you've never been to the Los Cabos region of the southern Baja California peninsula, you should start making plans now. While you're at it, try to find a way to secure a 2012 BMW 650i Convertible to drive while you're there. I make the recommendation based on my recent trip to drive the car at...
Nelson Ireson -
Need For Speed Shift 2 Unleashed: Full Review
Brushing the red line, grabbing top gear and clipping the apex, AllCarTech brings you our full review of the latest racing title to hit your PlayStation 3, Need For Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed. Last week we brought you our first impressions of the EA Games and Slightly Mad Studios racer and with a few...
Antony Ingram -
Need For Speed Shift 2 Unleashed: First Impressions
Thanks to the kind folk at EA Games we've got hold of a copy of the latest game in the long-running Need For Speed franchise, Shift 2 Unleashed (S2U), in PlayStation 3 format. As with the previous Shift title, Unleashed errs more on the simulation side of racing titles rather than the franchise's...
Antony Ingram -
Video: 2011 Jaguar XKR Convertible - Two Minute Review
The 2011 Jaguar XKR Convertible is one of our favorite drop-tops here at High Gear Media, and for good reason. With a supercharged V-8 belting out 510 horsepower and 461 pound-feet of torque, oodles of luxury and street cred in spades, what’s not to love? See what else gets us excited about...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2011 Subaru Impreza WRX: Another Take
I’m kind of ornery when it comes to affordable performance sedans. Above all, I’m looking for a car that’s fun, with the right mix of decent horsepower, but more, exceptionally good reflexes without a punishing ride. People buy sports sedans as daily drivers, so they have to be...
Michael Frank -
This will be a partial defense of the Scion tC. I find myself in this odd position having read Bengt Halvorson’s less than glowing overview of the car. Mind you, I get where Bengt’s coming from. The tC has been upgraded, but it’s a poseur in the cheap two-door sports car market; he rightly says it doesn’t have the chops of either the V-6 Mustang or the Hyundai Genesis Coupe. So why defend the tC? Because that narrow, sub-$20k sports coupe slot in the market is fading for a reason. Young buyers simply haven’t been exposed to enough tossable, speedy machines...
-
2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe vs. 2011 Infiniti G37S Coupe
I'm a car nerd. I’ll confess, I love digging through stats for nuggets about performance. And I lean hard toward thinking a lot can be made of power-to-weight ratios. I’m always in favor of lighter cars, because low weight allows so many other efficiencies: a smaller engine, which leads...
Michael Frank -
Driven: 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe
I've had several encounters with the 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe before, including the press launch in California. But this past week with the most visually striking member of the standard CTS lineup shed new light on the car. Living with a car in the real world is a different experience from driving...
Nelson Ireson -
Driven: 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX Sedan
On the surface, the 2011 Subaru WRX doesn't sound all that exciting. Sure, it's got a turbo 2.5-liter Boxer four, but only 265 horsepower? The Honda Accord makes more than that. Yeah, it has all-wheel drive, but so does the Lincoln MKS. It wears the widebody treatment of the WRX STI, but it's about...
Nelson Ireson -
Driven: 2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster
The 2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster is a great cruiser, and a competent bruiser.
Nelson Ireson -
Driven: 2010 Corvette Grand Sport
The 2010 Corvette Grand Sport is a Z06 in Coupe's clothing.
Nelson Ireson -
Spend an hour or two behind the wheel of a Tesla Roadster, and you may walk away thinking that pistons, gasoline engines, clutches, gearboxes, and the many other mechanical bits of a standard sports car are just so...last century. Now you too can experience the rush of pure electric power from the driver's seat of a 2010 Tesla Roadster Sport. That's the model whose tweaked software and hotter electric motor slingshot it from 0 to 60 mph in a mere 3.7 seconds. It's quick enough that you'll pity most Porsches and Ferraris, smiling indulgently at their slow, stodgy, sluglike acceleration, just...
-
Review: 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe
Blending civility with speed and style, the new E-Class Coupe moves the CLK-replacement into a new realm.
Nelson Ireson -
Review: Fiat 500 1.3L Multijet
Like the new Volkswagen Beetle and BMW Mini currently on sale, Fiat’s new 500 minicar has been designed to reignite the nostalgia and the glory days of carefree motoring in Europe during the 1950s and ‘60s. Marking the 50th anniversary of the launch of the original 500...
Ralph Hanson
