Car Reviews

Since the 215 Grand Nationals produced in 1982 to commemorate the success of reigning NASCAR Grand National series champion Darrell Waltrip, Buick made refinements to its last RWD body on frame coupe from an era that was rapidly fading into history. Beginning life as a naturally aspirated V6 that dripped 125 horses from the crank, the special project managed to improve its performance and ...

Bigger is better, right? From houses and cell phones, to American waistlines and consumer debt, everything keeps growing. So too does our everyday vehicle choice, with the midsize crossover reaching ever larger sizes. VW’s Atlas, Subaru’s Ascent, and now the Kia Telluride all tell the tale of limited success with limited size, therefore a larger size should lead to larger success, right? ...

Enter the 2020 Jeep Gladiator before a cheering crowd. Cue Russell Crowe screaming “Is this not why you are here?!” Er, sorry, we’ll lay off the Gladiator quotes (a bit). Jeep pretty much prints money these days, which is good news for the rest of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).  After winners like the Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart, the Fiat 500L that no one bought, and Alfa Romeos that ...

As any muscle car enthusiast will tell you; 1970 was the best of times, and it was the worst of times.  Detroit's big three manufacturers were consumed by the notion of “win on Sunday, sell on Monday”, and year after year seemed to produce exponentially greater power, and larger displacement engines. Critical mass was reached by 1970 when insurance premiums brought too much pain to consumers’ ...

Since 1953, Corvettes that have made it into production have been two things: Front engine-rear wheel drive, and relatively affordable. Since 1959, designers and engineers in the young program have flirted with the idea of sticking the motor behind the driver. Many design studies, from Chevrolet Experimental Research Vehicles (CERV), to open wheel racer development vehicles, the ‘Vette has ...

Land Rover Range Rover Velar (180 S and 380 HSE Dynamic Tested)... The Range Rover Velar wowed the world with its sleek lines and elegant interior at its unveiling in 2017, but does it still feel special today? Looking through the current Land Rover model lineup it’s clear that many of its offerings fulfill the same needs and solve the same problems. So why pay more for a Range ...

The other day, while working on a review of the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, a couple of little guys came by the driveway and stared at it. After a time, the kids started running around yelling “VROOM! VROOM!” Do you want to know something? That pair of kids pretty much spelled out what the mystique of the 911 GT3 RS is: it’s about fun, performance, and hugely great engine sounds.   GT3’s ...

The other day, we had a chance to look closely at the 2019 Lincoln Navigator.  It is one of the largest – if not biggest – full-sized SUVs on the road. Yes, the GMC Yukon and the Chevy Suburban and Ford Expedition are big SUVs, but the Navigator-L still stands out at the top of the ladder.  There are two members of the Navigator family, the standard and the L, which stands for, as you might ...

The first time you drive the DBS Superleggera it takes you by surprise.  You expect it to be good, the DB11 has something of the feel of a well-tailored suit.  The DBS is like finding out the suit is being worn by a heavyweight boxer.  Use the 12 cylinders to their full potential and gearing up through the transmission with the wheel mounted paddles results in a crescendo of noise.  And ...

Just one month after unveiling the 2019 G-Class, Mercedes dropped the first AMG iteration of the model during the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. However, if at the time the G 63 AMG was just sitting there to be admired, now it was time to actually see what the timeless design off roader is actually capable of. It’s been 40 years since Mercedes released the first G-Class. Back in 1979, the ...