Road Tests

The third-generation Acura TL first debuted in 2008 and immediately came under heavy artillery fire from pundits of automotive aesthetics. The lines were clean and crisp but the grill was referred to as a "shield", "cheese grater", "plow" and so forth. The blinged out wedge shape design was something many folks couldn't seem to get past. We're all so critical these days and the controversial styling was like a homing device for naysayers. It's always safe to say you don't like something -- it seems like you have a more discerning eye than everyone else. Throwing in a verb such as "like" leaves you vulnerable and suggests questionable taste, but I will go out on a limb here and give the new 2010 Acura TL a firm nod. The styling of the fascia is integrated particularly well with the rest of the car and is solidified with the V-shaped insert below the rear deck. And after all, as a general rule, we like it when car companies are willing to take risks.

When the newly redesigned Acura TL was released, the lack of a Type-S version as well as a manual transmission option also threw some of us for a loop. The company has rectified this with the introduction of the 2010 Acura TL SH-AWD with 6-speed manual. Including the Technology Package this car runs $44,195 which puts it in stiff competition for the luxury performance sedans under $60,000 category. So, how does a vehicle derived from the Honda Accord stack up with its German brethren? Surprisingly well, and with plenty of room left in the budget...

What stands out in a crowd, likes to make lots of noise and doesn't require its operator to have a working relationship with rocket science? Why that would be the new 2010 Chevy Camaro SS. After being teased in concept form starting in 2006, and making appearances in several Transformer movies (ok, like 2,) the 5th generation muscle car from the General hit the market in the spring of 2009 as as 2010 model. Thankfully, the concept styling has been left mostly intact without turning the Camaro into a vehicle that's more concept than car.

I'm going to cut right to the chase -- the 2010 Chevy Camaro is a true rock star. Let the love fest begin... The American muscle car scene has been stuck in a rut of mediocrity most of the last decade, but of late, there has been a resurgence of inspiration. With the latest reincarnations of the Mustang, Camaro and Challenger the landscape has changed considerably. There was a time when comfort was thrown out the window, cornering ability disregarded and reliability an afterthought. Now, you get all of these with same breakneck speed of old. That said, the Camaro has seemed to emerge as the true champion of the people. Participants at last year's SEMA Show were wowed as the Camaro stole the show. We didn't really know what to think until just recently when we got the opportunity to put the car through its paces and officially enter the fan club. 

What if you were able to zip to Whole Foods for that forgotten spice, or drop the kids off for Karate practice, or meet your BFF half way across town for a latte-- from the comfort of your living room? And what if you could still be as agile as Dwayne Wade (pre-injury)? Surely I jest, but the 2010 Range Rover Sport Supercharged provides about as much comfort, luxury and convenience as one could ever need in a package that still allows for plenty o' driving thrills. Land Rover revised its entire lineup for 2010 and the Range Rover Sport emerged as the destined-for-greatness offspring of the big-daddy Range Rover and the petite LR4. 

While the 5.0-liter engine is sprinkled across all models along with an updated electrical architecture, the RR Sport gets its predictive adaptive suspension damping, monster brakes and optional 510 hp supercharged V8 from the elder statesman. Most of its underpinnings, including the body-on-frame platform and use of control arms in front and rear (as opposed to the Range Rover setup with struts fore and a multilink system aft), are shared with the LR4. 

When you think of well-known performance models, pair those up with car companies and put together a list; any way you cut it, Hyundai ends up somewhere between last and second to last. After all, this Korean powerhouse is best known for making cheap daily drivers with warranties that smack every other automaker across the face. So, it was a big risk they took going after a market dominated by the likes of Mustang, Camaro, 370Z and G37. Not only did they have to deliver a compelling sports car but they had to keep within the brand's design aesthetic and maintain their value proposition (yes, I went to business school). At this point in the story, we all know they succeeded. Whether you are talking the Four P's or the Three C's, these guys executed flawlessly. 

We've all heard the tremendous hype as well as the unflattering barbs directed at this vehicle but, like most things, the truth falls somewhere in the middle. A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to road test the Hyundai Genesis Coupe 2.0T Track edition and walked away extremely impressed though not totally blown-away (due to some minor quirks). So, we were really looking forward to seeing how the supposed Mustang slayer, the Genesis Coupe 3.8, performed in the wild with its bigger engine and beefier guts. And so the journey begins...

Back in 2005, Jaguar's hottest selling model of all time ended its production run. That car was the XK. In the spring of 2006, the 2007 model emerged as a completely reworked vehicle that Jaguar hoped would continue to see record sales. The challenge for the company has been competing in a segment - Large Premium Sports Cars - that doubled from the mid 90s to the mid 2000s. Jaguar sought to blend the two major groups - grand tourers and sports cars - into a single outstanding car.  

That generation ran through 2009 offering a 4.2-liter V8 good for 300 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque as well as a supercharged variant providing 420 hp and 412 lb-ft of torque. But with everyone stepping up their game, Jaguar quickly realized that even though they had satisfied their goal, they certainly had no BMW M6 or Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG killer…

I am not a big fan of convertibles. Like a pretty girl wearing a promise ring I generally write them off as a waste of something perfectly good. The reason for this is twofold. First, convertibles are usually hardtops that have had a lobotomy. What this means is a designer spent countless hours perfecting a gorgeous coupe, and then 5 minutes before a big meeting someone from marketing said, “Can you make a convertible design too? Thanks.” In a rage the designer simply erased the top and left. So they rarely look as good as their coupe sibling. Second, chopping the top affects the car's performance, which is against the law.

However, it's not the idea of a convertible that I dislike, simply the execution. However, when done right, it's something special. So when Matt Farah asked me to ride along in the 370Z with TheSmokingTire on a road trip to Pahrump, Nevada, I quickly obliged. I had read about this car plenty, but I had to see for myself whether the 2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster was a proper roadster or another soft-top tanning bed with a motor. So I sat down at Matt's house and waited for it to arrive. It only took a moment's glance at the silver 370Z pulling into the driveway for me to think, “That's a good looking car.”

Finding an affordable sports car with rear-wheel drive, a six-speed manual, performance aspirations and tuning potential has seemed like a Herculean task of late. The Nissan 370Z and Honda S2000 are solid sports coupes but break the $30k ceiling, making gear-heads on a budget frown. Scion has been producing fun and exciting cars that capture the tuning spirit for under $20k, but exhilaration from the driving experience there is not. It's taken an unlikely contender, Hyundai Motors from Korea, to bring to market a sport compact at a compelling price point which also serves as a launching pad for all kinds of modification possibilities.

Hyundai didn't just slip the Genesis Coupe into the mix as a replacement for the discontinued Tiburon, they hurled it into the product lineup while doing a power slide complete with smoking tires. You have to look no further than the press pictures taken at a track, as opposed to the typical scenic park (like ours), to see that there is no doubt that this model is aimed at 18 to 35 year old males looking to cause some havoc.

Why do we buy the cars we buy? There are hundreds of different reasons; looks, performance, capacity, efficiency, etc. The truth is no one buys a car because it has only one quality they like. The Alfa Romeo 8C, for example, is the most beautiful car I've ever seen. It's supposed to handle like cement truck, stop like a sailboat and taking one to the 'Ring would be only good if you appreciate being passed by everything short of a school bus. But it also has one of the best exhaust notes I've heard from a modern exotic car. So it looks good, and sounds good. Add to that it's Alfa's halo car to jump back into the U.S. market, and now it has history and purpose; 4 reasons.

But what if, instead of a $200,000 exotic, you want a fast, affordable sedan? On paper the 2010 Honda Civic SI Sedan seems like a great choice. But you can't make that kind of decision with a spec sheet, you have to drive the car. Luckily, my friend Matt Farah, host of the entertaining and informative web show The Smoking Tire, had just finished filming his review episode with this car, and was kind enough to lend me the keys. When I climbed behind the wheel it was my job to find out what will make people buy this car. It was a lot harder than you might think...