Test Driven: 2012 Mazda Mazdaspeed3
Posted: August 30, 2012 Filed under: Cheap Fun!, TEST DRIVEN | Tags: 2.3, 240, 263, 3, 4, 5, back, Car, compare, cylinder, door, Drive, driving, dynamics, Evo, Fast, four, front, fun, FWD, Hatch, hp, Japanese, Liter, manual, Mazda, MazdaSpeed, Mazdaspeed3, Mind, moded, Modified, motor, new, Nick, Over, pleasure, practical, Ralliart, space, speed, Sport, STi, stock, Transmission, tune, tuning, turbo, Used, vs, Walker, wheel, whp, WRX 1 Comment »
I have yet to meet an owner of a Mazdaspeed3 (MS3) who didn’t legitimately love their car. Something about the car seems to inspire people, they always have that “I know something you don’t” smirk on their face. Mazdas have always had a good sporting dynamic to them, but the enthusiasm that owners seem to have about this car goes beyond that. I have always known about the MS3, but somehow, while I’ve been out driving all sorts of fun cars over the years, it has eluded me. So recently, I decided it was time I take one out for a spin to see what these owners are so smug about. Read the rest of this entry »
Test Driven: Chevrolet Sonic LTZ Turbo
Posted: May 11, 2012 Filed under: Green & Economical, TEST DRIVEN | Tags: 1.4, 1.8, Abarth, back, Chevrolet, Chevy, Compact, Cooper, Drive, Fiat, four, front, General, GM, Hatch, Hot, Inline, LTZ, manual, Mind, Mini, motor, Motors, Over, review, RS, S, SONIC, Test, Transmission, turbo, wheel 1 Comment »
Chevy Sonic LTZ Turbo
The Chevy Sonic comes from a line of shamelessly terrible econo-boxes. The first generation Aveo made car lovers cringe every time they saw one, and the Sonic is its replacement. So, things don’t look good for the Sonic if its family tree is anything to go by, but thankfully it seems the Sonic was adopted. Up front I will tell you that this car is a vast improvement, and tangible evidence of GM’s improvement over the last few years. I had seen the Sonic at a few car shows, and I thought it was pretty cool for what it was, but other than that I never gave it too much consideration. Then I recently started seeing comparison tests in magazines pitting the Sonic against the Fiat 500 Abarth and the Mini Cooper S, which peaked my interest big time. Read the rest of this entry »
Test Driven: 2009 Chevrolet HHR SS
Posted: March 29, 2012 Filed under: TEST DRIVEN, Used Gems | Tags: 2.0, 260, 4, back, Chevrolet, Chevy, cylinder, Drive, ecotec, FWD, GM, Hatch, HHR, hp, manual, milk, Mind, motor, Over, review, Small, space, SS, steer, SUV, T, Test, Torque, Truck, turbo, Wagon 2 Comments »
Chevy HHR SS
The HHR is a car that is definitely overlooked by most people. It was a reaction to the Chrysler PT Cruiser, but it took GM 5 whole years before it was in showrooms. The HHR was often referred to as a small SUV, but honestly its proportions are only slightly larger than those of a Mazda3, and it lacks the ground clearance of a true crossover. It is a bit of an oddball car, and it looks like an old milk truck to boot. That however does make it more interesting than the average car, especially the SS, where Chevy decided to throw in the same turbocharged 2.0L motor from the Cobalt SS. In fact I got the idea to do this review off of a whim when a bright red HHR SS pulled up next to me at a light. The car looked cool, and it peaked my interest enough that I went out and found one to test drive. Read the rest of this entry »
A look back at 2011
Posted: December 31, 2011 Filed under: INDUSTRY TALK | Tags: 1M, 2011, A7, Audi, Aventador, back, Bentley, Benz, BMW, CLS, Evoque, Ferrari, FF, GTR, Happy, Honda, Huayra, Lamborghini, Land Rover, Leaf, look, Mercedes, Mind, motor, new, Nissan, Over, Pagani, Rang, recap, review, Rover, Toyota, Volkswagen, year Leave a comment »
2011 will be remembered as many things by many people, but one thing it will not be seen as is a boring year. So much happened this year around the world, from terrible cataclysms to amazing and inspiring revolutions. Obviously being a car site, we want to focus more on the auto industry, but it would be a great injustice not to first acknowledge the events of this year that have changed the lives of millions of people around the globe. Now as for the auto industry, many great things have happened as well as a few that are not so great. Read the rest of this entry »
Test Driven: 2008 Volkswagen Golf R32
Posted: October 13, 2011 Filed under: TEST DRIVEN, Used Gems | Tags: 250hp, 3.2, all, AWD, back, bucket, DCT, Drive, Golf, GTI, Hatch, Hot, Mind, motor, Over, R32, review, seats, SMG, Test, Transmission, V6, Volkswagen, VR6, VW, wheel Leave a comment »
VW R32
The R32 was the hottest Golf you could buy back in 08. It offered a more comfortable, grown up alternative to the Japanese rally cars, but wasn’t quite on their level of performance on paper. Today good R32s can be found for on either side of the $20k mark and they still offer the same mix of practicality, comfort, and performance as they did three years ago when compared with current brand new models. Read the rest of this entry »
Obscure Auto: B. Engineering Edonis
Posted: August 29, 2011 Filed under: Obscure Autos, SHOWCASE | Tags: 110, B, B. Engineering, back, backfire, Bugatti, Car, Drift, EB, Edonis, Engineering, exhaust, Exotic, fire, flames, from, hyper, hypercar, Italian, load, Mind, motor, on, Over, quad, Super, supercar, twin turbo, ultra, V12, video, yacht Leave a comment »
B. Engineering Edonis
This car is linked heavily with the Bugatti EB-110 covered previously. B. Engineering, an Italian firm made up of many ex-Bugatti engineers, designed a chassis based on the design of the EB-110 in order to make an extremely exclusive supercar that would commemorate the turn of the 21st century. They called their car the Edonis, and while it did share its chassis design with the EB-110, major changes occurred everywhere else. Read the rest of this entry »
