Category Archives: Used Car Gems

Late model cars that we have deemed worthy to road test. You will have to buy these pre-owned, but it may be worth it.

Cars We've Driven, Used Car Gems

Test Driven: 2004 Pontiac GTO

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The three letters “G-T-O” are legendary in automotive culture. They stand for “Gran Turismo Omologato”, an Italian phrase which means “Grand Touring Homologation”. Ferrari is the most famous manufacturer to use this phrase, as the famous 250GTO entered history as one of the most famous and sought-after Ferraris ever built. The other manufacturer to use this acronym heavily was General Motors during the same time period. From 1964 to 1974, Pontiac built its GTO, at first just an option package on the midsize Tempest, then later on a fully-fledged model. The GTO kicked off the muscle-car era, an era that went down as one of the most famous in American automotive history, but died in 1974 as a flabby memory of its former self, downgraded to an option on the Ventura (Pontiac’s Chevy Nova clone). But, in 2004, GM decided to bring back the name, 30 years later. They took the Holden Monaro, slapped a new front and rear end on it, moved the steering wheel, and gave it a few Pontiac badges. I took this used 2004 model to the streets to see if it was any good.

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Cars We've Driven, Used Car Gems

Test Driven: 2000 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor

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The cops have had an interesting automotive history in this country.  Chrysler had a great grip on the market until the Eighties, then Chevy, and now Ford.  But, the Crown Victoria, Ford’s greatest offering to the altar of the fraternal order of police, died on September 15, 2011, after being in production for over three decades.  It’s not the best looking ride in the stable, and it certainly isn’t the one that gets all the girls.  But, it’s got room for six, eight cylinders, rear wheel drive, and a reputation for working around the clock and then some.  I grabbed the keys to this decade-plus old detective’s chariot and asked myself a very good question: Can a modern-day Blues-Mobile be worth 3 grand? Continue reading Test Driven: 2000 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor →

Cars We've Driven, Used Car Gems

Test Driven: 2009 Chevrolet HHR SS (6/10)

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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.   Continue reading Test Driven: 2009 Chevrolet HHR SS (6/10) →

Cars We've Driven, Used Car Gems

Test Driven: 2004 Subaru Forester 2.5XT

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The WRX can be considered a car that turned Subaru’s image in America around virtually overnight.  Once a seller of slightly staid, yet nearly unbreakable AWD sedans and wagons, they are now a seller of reasonably priced AWD vehicles and rally sport specials such as the Impreza WRX, STi, and the Legacy 2.5GT.  By 2005, every single model Subaru built had the turbocharger option available, as Subaru saw fit to make the WRX’s legacy work across the board.  The Forester, a Subaru staple since 1995, received the turbo engine in 2004.  The example I drove was a 2004 2.5XT Limited with about 80,000 miles, in average shape. Continue reading Test Driven: 2004 Subaru Forester 2.5XT →

Cars We've Driven, Used Car Gems

Test Driven: 2000 Cadillac Eldorado ETC

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“And best of all…it’s a Cadillac!” Those words certainly meant something back in the days of 8-tracks, pimpmobiles, and Gerald Ford. But, now is the time of iPods, hybrids, and Barack Obama.  So, I wanted to know if this 10 year old Cadillac Eldorado was in any way still a great cruiser. I grabbed the golden keys and started her up.  Cadillac has not produced the Eldorado since 2002, and only recently started producing two-door coupes again with the CTS Coupe.

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Cars We've Driven, Used Car Gems

Test Driven: 2009 Pontiac G8 GT

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Pontiac’s long history came to an end in 2009 amidst GM’s bankruptcy and Pontiac’s lack of distinction within the General Motors family.  But, the announcement came at at time when Pontiac began to distance themselves from the GM marching order, and a few years before had started producing some models with some real “driving excitement”.  The GTO, which was a bit of a market fluke, may not have looked the part of a muscle car, but certainly went like one.  The Solstice, the General’s answer to the Miata, hit the streets in 2006, after a very positive reception on the auto show circuit.  On the heels of the Dodge Charger (and the renaissance of the big RWD-V8 American sedan), Pontiac launched the G8 in 2008, right when I turned 18–and I kept going back to the local Pontiac dealership waiting for one to arrive.

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Cars We've Driven, Used Car Gems

Test Driven: 2011 Toyota FJ Cruiser

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It won’t win beauty contests, but at least it looks like a proper truck, and has the credentials underneath.

Toyota is one of three major automakers still offering an off-road biased SUV, the other two being Nissan (the Xterra) and Chrysler (the Jeep Wrangler).  The FJ Cruiser calls up Toyota’s heritage of offering tough-as-nails trucks to go anywhere and do anything, no matter how hard the task or the climate.  The old FJ40 Land Cruisers are some of the most famous trucks in the world, but on the surface, the FJ Cruiser seems to be a different story.  When I first saw it on sale, I thought it looked like an oversized Tonka Truck, but thanks to the FJ40’s reputation, I figured it was worth a drive, so that’s exactly what I did. Continue reading Test Driven: 2011 Toyota FJ Cruiser →

Cars We've Driven, Used Car Gems

Test Driven: 1997 BMW 840Ci

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It’s a shark with wheels. I always loved how this car looked when I was little.

It isn’t every day that you find a car in your area that’s one of only 801 like it in the country.  Yet, that is exactly what happened to me, when I was surfing the Internet, an opportunity landed in my lap faster than a hot bowl of soup.  Just around the bend was a 1997 BMW 840Ci—with less than 90K miles under its belt, I decided it deserved a drive. Continue reading Test Driven: 1997 BMW 840Ci →

Cars We've Driven, Used Car Gems

Test Driven: Mazda Mazdaspeed6 (7.5/10)

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This is a car that often goes overlooked by those looking for fast, practical fun. The allure of such cars as the rally bred Subarus and Mitsubishis or the German engineered Audis and BMWs seems not to leave much room for other competition in this segment. Maybe that is why Mazda produced the MS6 for only two model years. Despite its short lived production run the MS6 does offer many of the same things that make the aforementioned cars so great, including all wheel drive, a turbocharged engine, a manual gearbox, sporting dynamics, and quite a fair bit of comfort and refinement. As a package it is very intriguing so I decided to take one out for a spin and see how it drove first hand.     Continue reading Test Driven: Mazda Mazdaspeed6 (7.5/10) →

Cars We've Driven, Used Car Gems

Test Driven: 2005 Jaguar XJ Vanden Plas

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Very classy looking car, from the Leaper up front to the chrome trim at the rear.
Jaguar’s been having an interesting decade since 2001.  The XJ’s been redesigned twice, they’ve attempted to branch into the low-price luxury car market (without success), and Ford sold them to Tata Motors of India.  So, while all that’s been going on, how have the cars that they made in the middle of the last decade aged? Continue reading Test Driven: 2005 Jaguar XJ Vanden Plas →

Cars We've Driven, Used Car Gems

Test Driven: 2007 Honda S2000 (9.5/10)

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Honda S2000 (AP2)

When the S2000 came on the scene it was hailed by much of the media as being one of the best affordable sports cars money could buy. Having tried one out, I would have to agree wholeheartedly. The S2000 offers everything you would want from a pure roadster, a lot like a Mazda Miata, but it is a much more serious performance car all around. Honda has a long history of racing and when they decide to really make a proper car, it shows. It is just a shame they don’t make more cars like the S2000, and that they stopped its production altogether in 2009, with no successor yet planned.     Continue reading Test Driven: 2007 Honda S2000 (9.5/10) →

Cars We've Driven, Used Car Gems

Test Driven: 2006 Mazda RX8

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Mazda RX8

I have always been a bit hot and cold on the RX8. I always saw it as a downgrade from the FD generation RX7, and I thought it was underpowered, especially when compared to the likes of its competition. I had also heard it had no torque at all and needed to be pushed hard if you wanted to go anywhere at all. Everyone I had ever met who owned one loved it and swore by it as a proper driver’s car, and of course on Top Gear Jeremy Clarkson loved it as well. So, there are a lot of people who like it, but I was left wondering why. I realized the only way I could really finalize my opinion was to go out and drive an RX8, so I did.     Continue reading Test Driven: 2006 Mazda RX8 →