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PAYPAL
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| February
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Cover Story - Cadillac: Back In The Game (No one ever set Cimarron to music like Coupe de Ville or Eldorado. Yet in 2005, Cadillac is intent on putting a song in the hearts of real car guys with the supercharged STS-V and XLR-V) Road Tests -Scion tC (After the poor man's Mini, the xA and the lunchbox-on-wheels xB, what for an encore? Try the Scion tC, a coupe that brings a healthy shot of class and performance to Toyota's youth brand); Infiniti M45 Sport (As kids, most of us wanted to be astronauts or firefighters, but this 335-bhp V-8 Infiniti is what the G35 wants to be when it grows up...how about a 5.3-sec, 0-60 and 0.90 on the skidpad?) First Drives - Mazdaspeed6 (Remember the turbo 626 GT of the mid-1960s? Well, it's baaaack, this time with the 6's aero-enhanced body, a full 274 bhg, a 6-speed manual, all-wheel drive and not a trace of torque steer); Chrysler 300C SRT-8 (If Capone were alive today, he might fancy this 6.1-liter, 425-bhp Hemi hot rod that corners and stops nearly as well as it accelerates. They's probably get him for gas-guzzler tax evasion); Chevrolet Cobalt (A little word association: Cavalier? Cost-cutter. Cobalt? Class challenger. Chevy has done a complete melt-and-repour of its entry-level sedan, and we like the result (especially the SS version) Features - R & T Readers Choice Winner: The Best Car 2005 (Drum roll, please...of course, we won't tell you here: you'll have to turn to page 70 to find out whether the Chevrolet Corvette, Chrysler 300C or Ford Mustang GT took home the top honors); Sino-Car-Crazy (Cars, they are a-comin' to China, by the millions. A brief history of the automobile in this sprawling Far East country, plus thoughts on its future and a nail-biting drive in a Cadillac CTS); Long-Term Test: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution (Our Evo's stay is over, and some of us are taking it much harder than others. Aside from a huge appetite for tires (and snowbanks, Kott and Bomhop!), it's been the model of reliability) Competition - Profiles In Speed: A.J. Foyt (Things are big in Texas, and Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. is larger than life. The four-time Indy winner on his transition from dirt to asphalt, the art of the endurance race, and knowing when to quit) Technical - Michelin Challenge Bibendum, Shanghai (Sampling the very latest crop of advanced vehicles...diesel, bio-diesel fuel cell, pure electric and hybrid...around an equally cutting-edge venue - the Shanghai International Circuit) Columns - On The Road: Cadillacs On The Cover? (What, no Lamborghini, Porsche or Ferrari beneath the R & Tvery trick glass targa top, Chrysler's Corvette (?) and the totally cosmic Saturn Sky); Sport: Red Bull Driver Search (The story of how a certain Austrian energy-drink maker may put the first American since Michael Andretti in the seat of a Formula 1 car. It may give you wings, but it gives you wheels as well); Pole Position: Car Or Driver? (Our intrepid Editor-at-Large puts Michael Schumacher - and all race-car champions; for that matter - under his microscope. Is it the driver who ensures success? The car: The team? The Fates?); Tech Tidbits: Are You Ready For Aerodriving (Although attempting a Lomcevak in a drift car might prove problematical, there's a movement afoot to categorize car maneuvers much acrobatic ones. Plus, the juice on Jowett in a great book) Departments - People, Places & Things; Your Turn; Technical Correspondence; Road Test Summary; Time & Place; Finish Line; PS
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| March
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Cover Story - Best All-Around Sports Car (What makes a great sports car? Well, high lateral g's and low lap times certainly factor in, but you wouldn't want to commute in an Indy car either. We find the best blend of aggression and civility. BMW Z4 3.0i; Chevrolet Corvette Coupe; Dodge Viper SRT-10; Honda S2000; Lotus Elise; Mercedes-Benz SLK350; Nissan 350Z 35th Anniversary; Porsche Boxster S; Porsche Carrera S Coupe) Road Tests - Chrysler 300C SRT-8 (When the regular, 340-bhp Hemi just seems a little feeble...how about another 85 horses, sticky 20-in. Goodyear F1 Supercar tires and a suitably locked-down suspension to match) First Drives - Ford Mustang GT Convertible (Consistent with the "different horses for different courses" way of thinking, Ford's affordable new pony-car soft-top is the ideal steed for crisp spring mornings and balmy summer afternoons); Mercedes-Benz E350 (The torquey, sweet-sounding 3.5-liter V-6 that earned rave reviews in the SLK is now playing beneath the hood of the E Class, with the new 7-speed automatic in an Oscar-worthy supporting role); Toyota Avalon (Toyota's version of the Buick LaCrosse takes a step up in both size and prestige, inching ever closer toward Lexus-dom. It's not exactly an R & T car, but it's mighty impressive in its own right); Lexus RX 400h (Proving that performance, luxury and ecological sensitivity can peacefully coexist, this Lexus hybrid manages to both out-accelerate and out-miser its purely hydrocarbon-burning counterpart) Features - Brock Superformance Coupe (Forty years after penning the lines of the Cobra Daytona Coupe, Pete Brock has had another chance. And he's made the most of it with this South African-built, 550-bhp 210-mmph reincarnation); Long-Term Test (Staff ponderings, insights, revelations, musings and epiphanies about the Toyota Prius, Nissan 350Z, Mazda RX-8, Mini Cooper S, Jaguar XJ8, Volkswagen Phaeton and Infiniti G35x) Competition - Race Of Champions (Riding shotgun with Schumacher? It could - and did - happen to our contributing photographer, on hand to photograph the 2004 Race of Champions in Paris. It's a ride he won't soon forget) Technical - Is Racing Relevant? (A Who's Who of racing's elite (do the names Mosley, Brawn and George ring a bell?) weighs in on the cost of competition, driver aids and why Ferrari beats up on everyone else in F1) Columns - On The Road: Atmosphere And Light (A photograph tells no lies (at least before the digital age), but an illustration can more powerfully evoke the time and setting. In the automotive realm, Barry Rowe's works have that sort of magic); Ampersand: Super Coupes...And More (Lexus builds a supercar (the IF-A); Chrysler, a Corvette connection ("Firepower" is the working title) BMW shoehorns M5 urge into the 6; plus other previews from the L.A., Detroit and Geneva shows); Side Glances: Deer In The Headlights (Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug. But hitting a deer with an automobile, or motorcycle, is fraught with consequences that don't merely wipe off with Windex and a rag); Tech Tidbits: Hats Off To Snell (The next time you don your Simpson Bandit and cinch the double D-ring, think of William "Pete" Snell and the helmet safety foundation he inspired. Plus, Goddard on race-car "rocket science"); Sport: Macau! (How a tiny region in Hong Kong's shadow has risen to prominence as the premier Formula 3 venue: Adam Cooper reports. Plus, Ferrari 360 Modenas on a go-cart track at the 2004 Race of Champions); Pole Position: Apples, Oranges And Kickers (In a precedent-setting move, our Editor-at-Large has willingly agreed to withhold his opinion about who's the best racing driver in the world, biting his lip till it hurts. I'll give it about three weeks) Departments - People, Places & Things; Your Turn; Reviews; Road Test Summary; Technical Correspondence; Time & Place; Finish Line; PS
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| April
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Cover Story - Mustang Stampede! (From the petting zoo V-6 convertible to the ornery GT-R Concept, a 2005 Mustang is a thing to behold...and drive. We test six variants, including Shelby's blast from the past, the G.T.500E. * Mustang V-6 Convertible * Mustang GT Coupe * Saleen S281 3-Valve * Steeda Q * Mustang GT-R Concept * Shelby G.T.500E "Eleanor") Road Tests - Audi A6 3.2 Quattro (If you can get past the deep abyss that is the new A6's grille, you'll find there is a lot to like about Ingolstadt's latest, including a noticeably roomier interior and substantially stronger V-6); Zamboni 500 (Hockey players the world over, flash a gap-toothed smile and salute the humble Zamboni, iec-resurfacer extraordinaire. It's as much a part of the game as a hearty high-stick to the face) First Drives - BMW 3 Series (BMW's major breadwinner outdoes its former self (no mean feat) with crisp styling that avoids the excesses of the 7 Series and Z4, sublime handling and potent new inline-6 engines); Volkswagen Jetta (Shedding its "Golf-with-a-trunk" persona once and for all, the new Jetta is larger, more luxuriously appointed and has an unusual base powertrain - ain inline-5 mated to a 6-speed auto) Features - From The Ralph Lauren Collection (Like choosing between Van Gogh and Renoir: Famous drivers and celebrities weigh in on their favorite car from Lauren's "Speed, Style And Beauty" exhibit at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts); Long-Term Test: Cadillac CTS-V (Imagine a '57 Eldorado hustled through teh Nurburgring's Karussell. Don't see it? Yet Cadillac's Corvette-engined CTS-V has seen thousands of laps there, and the development shows) Competition - Rookie Stripes (School is in session, and the final exam is taking an IRL car flat-out around Homestead's 1.5-mile oval. The telemetry tells no lies, and Derek Hill passes with high marks (i.e., throttle pinned)) Technical - Seeing The Light (Where will out automotive photons come from in five or 10 years? Well, the clock is ticking on the incandescent bulb. The safe bet? High-intensity-discharge (HID) or LED light sources) Columns - On The Road: Miscellaneous Ramblings (Our editorial package this month is our usual whirlwind of diversity - our Mustang cover story, prime examples of Ralph Lauren's incredible car collection, and Sam Posey's insightful driver rankings); Ampersand: The Next Big Thing (Jag's Advanced Lightweight Coupe protends the next XK8; captains of industry weigh in on trends at Detroit and Los Angeles; and a Saleen S7 variant that could huff, puff and blow your doors off); Side Glances: Our Old Pal, The Prince Of Darkness (After all these years, shouldn't Lucas be crowned King of Darkness? Not necessarily, claims our Wisconsinite Editor-at-Large, who finds the silver lining in the simplicity and repairability of said components); Tech Tidbits: No Wonder They Call It "Grand Touring" (TIme spent behind the amply-sized wheel of a 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540K proves memorable; classes in automotive restoration prove educational. Plus, buffering - it's not just for aspirin anymore); Sport: Formula 1's Top 10 Drivers (Sam Posey picks on Formula 1's standouts in 2004. Okay, the No. 1 spot is a gimme (hint: M. Sch_m_ch_r) but the suspense mounts as Posey descends through the talent-packed field); Pole Position: Youth Must Be Served (As if pre-programmed from the womb, drivers are reaching greater heights of success at an increasingly early age. Cases in point: The current crop of F1 up-and-comers and Team 16 (as in "years old") at Daytona) Departments - People, Places & Things; Your Turn; Reviews; Time & Place; Technical Correspondence; Road Test Summary; Finish Line; PS
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| June
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Cover Story - Topless Exotics (Forget tousling your hair; these four will pull it out by the roots. Aston Martin DB9 Volante, Ferrari F430 Spider, Lamborghini Murcietago and Pagani Zonda Roadster) Road Tests - Mitsubishi Eclipse GT (With Mitsubishi's livelihood teetering in the balance, the '06 Eclipse seems a make-or-break proposition. Chalk one up in the 'make' column, with its gutsy 263-bhp V-6 and updated second-gen styling); Morgan Aero 8 (If 'high-tech anachronism' seems like a contradiction in terms, well...we'd like to show you rolling proof-of-concept from Malvern Link - with the author's 1965 Plus Four along for perspective); BMW 545l, Infiniti M45 Sport, Lexus GS 430 (Long the all-pwerful diva of the midsize sports-sedan class, the BMW 5 Series of late has all the job security of Whitney Houston. The reason? Star-quality competitors from Infiniti and Lexus); Mercedes-Benz CLS500 (It's said that clothes make the man...with the corollary that sheet-metal curves make the curve. And so it is that Mercedes is testing the waters with a snappily dressed E-Class called the CLS500) First Drives - Land Rover Range Rover Sport (Marlin Perkins - remember him from Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom? - would have loved this. But instead of outpacing a charging rhino, this Rover will leave a few so-called sports sedans for dead); BMW 5 Series With xDrive (Off-camber slippery curves? Temperatures that would ice over a Finnish sauna? These BMW sedans (and now, a wagon) scoff at Old Man Winter with sophisticated all-wheel drive first used on X3) Features - Used Car Classic: BMW 23, 1996-2002 (Miss Moneypenny would approve of the Z3, the most parsimonious of the Bond cars. They're affordable, sweet-handling and come in an incredible variety from 138-bhp ragtop to 315-bhp coupe); Classic GTs, Contrtasted: Ferrari Dino & Porsche 911 (Peering into the sould of two watershed GTs or decidedly different characters, through the eyes of renowned designer Freeman Thomas. Who just happens to own and cherish an example of each); James Dean's Last Race ('Too fast to live, too young to die, bye bye' goes The Eagles tribute. But Dean lived his short life to the fullest, seeing his competitors grow smaller in his Porsche's mirrors); Long-Term Test: Nissan 350Z Touring (Our year of living dangerous-Z...a truly bad pun for a most excellent sports car that was problematic at first (a crunching gearbox and a toasted clutch) but generated miles of smiles afterwards); Coming Within An Inch Of Disaster (A mere 25.4 mm seperated the author's Porsche Cayenne Turbo from becoming a pricey hunk of German scrap metal. Thankfully, he lived to tell the tale of a first-time raid on Pikes Peak) Technical - Eternal Combustion (Don't write the obituary just yet. Clean petroleum - and bio-derived fuel, hybrids increasingly efficient catalysts and direct-injection strategies breathe new life into internal combustion) Competition - 12 Hours Of Sebring (GT1 was a hard day's night for the C6-Rs at Sebring. What used to be a Corvette benefit race was won this year by Aston's DBR9, with Maserati's MC12 as a colorful, controversial backdrop) Columns - On The Road: 10 Years Of Gratitude (One decade and counting for Bill Wagner's magnificent Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance; Remembering Bill Devin; and a very worthwhile update of a benchmark book on racing, Robert Daley's The Cruel Sport); Ampersand: New York International Auto Show (Thunderous horsepower and applause from the Big Apple's annual event, headlined by the Shelby Cobra GT500 and Dodge Charger SRT-8. Also, Porsche's tin-topped Boxster, the Cayman; Toyota's Supra); Side Glances: Rebirth Of The Car Worth Having (As quandries go, it's a pleasant one. Buy the forlorn classic that needs thousands of dollars or restoration work or it's modern equivalent that's appealing, cost-effective and chock-full of convenience? Hmmm); Sport: The IRL Goes Road Racing (Tim Tuttle reports on the IRL's first right turns in 10 years with Andretti Green finishing 1-2-3-4 on the streets of St. Pete. Wheldon's the winner, followed by Kanaan, Franchitti and Herta); Pole Position And The Winner Is... (Ponder this, Grasshopper. In the last half-century, who has had the most significant impact on auto racing in America? (Hints. For Joe's pick: ultralight pilot, John Player sponsored, son raced F1 in the '90s); Tech Tidbits: Wheeling To 800 KM/H (If that land-speed record car is wheel-driven, then I've got a prime parcel of Everglades property for you. Plus, torpedo-shaped record cars, circa 1899, and hot-wiring Morgans for fun and profit) Departments - People, Places & Things; Your Turn; Technical Correspondence; Road Test Summary; Reviews; Finish Line; Time & Place; PS
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| July
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Cover Story - Chrysler Firepower (With the Viper's skeleton, a heart of Hemi goodness and lines that suggest a blast through the Cotsworlds rather that a static display at Cobo Hall, the Firepower imprsses. Question is, wil they build it?) Road Test - Audi A3 2.0T (Audi's premium 5-door hatchback looks like a shrunken A4 Avant, channels the TT's interior and pairs a stout 2.0-liter turbo with the magical DSG sequential gearbox. But, um, 0.71g on the skidpad?); Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren & Beechcraft Premier I (In an effort to get more fiber in our diet (okay, carbon fiber), we look at two exclusive conveyances made of the stuff, their construction and their relationships with lift); Mercedes-Benz ML500 (Shedding its plain, minivan-esque skin once and for all, the new ML wriggles into 2006 with an available 5.0-liter V-8 (a 10-bhp bump, but bodywork and wheels that look fast standing still); Road Test Updates: Nissan Altima SE-R & Pontiac GTO (Syringes of power and style inject new life into the Pontiac GTO Inow with 6.0 liters and 400 bhp) and Nissan Altima SE-R (a 10-bhp bump, but bodywork and wheels that look fast standing still) First Drives - Acura TSX A-SPEC (Have Honda engineers taken to eating stuffed penne and wearing Italian loafers? We ask only because this TSX seems to have the high-spirited heart of an Alfa with, we suspect, better reliability); BMW M6 (The M might as well stand for "Muuuwwwaaahhhhhaaaahhhhaaaa which is what you might yell after uncorking the M6's 507-bhp V-10 and experiencing its centrifuge-like handling limits on a Spanish racetrack); Bentley Continental Flying Spur (The "Flying" part is no exaggeration as this elegant sedan, which shares its twin-turbo W-12 and awed chassis with the Continental GT, can outpace some small civilian aircraft at its 195-mph top speed); Subaru B9 Tribeca (Some may doubt the wisdom of its name (B9=benign?), but it's hard to fault the slickness of this 7-seazt sport ute that has a 250-bhp flat-6 and a grille that could come only from a former Alfa designer); Hyundai Sonata (Outwardly it seems a mish-mash of borrowed styling cues, but this Alabama-built sedan impresses with its interior spaciousness, plus handling that's a cut above that of its prime competitors) Features - The Road To Sebring (Driving a Panoz Esperante GTLM to the Gulf Coast, with a buddy, to take in the Sebring 12-Hour? The bag's already packed. It proved a memorable trip and, for a Sebring first-timer, a rite of passage); Long-Term Test (Feeding our cravings for high horsepower (CTS-V), classy motoring (XJ8), relaxed touring (Phaeton), high revs (RX-8), all-sheel-drive handling (G35x), and ecological one-upmanship (Prius) Competition - Le Mans 1955: Three Who Were There (It was racing's darkest hour when Levegh's Mercedes launched into the French crowd. It profoundly affected those who witnessed the aftermath. John Fitch, Phil Walters and Phil Hill remember); Road & Track 250 (If 51 howling, dicing, scrapping Daytona Prototypes and GT cars charging around Laguna Seca's 2.2-mile circuit doesn't get your blood racing, check for a pulse and order an EKG) Columns - On The Road: Fast Friends And Fast Cars (Fast Porsches at California Speedway with Hurley Haywood, a fabulous birthday present for a famous guy, an award for a faithful reader's car and teh inaugural Road & Track 250 at Mazda Raceway Laguana Seca); Ampersand: Blasts From The Past (The Acura NSX and Skyline GT-R get a new lease on life, an inexpensive (it's relative, isn't it?) Ferrari is arriving. Lotus flowers anew, Lexus goes green, Jaguar has kittens and Rover goes bye-bye); Side Glances: The Cadillac From Cyberspace (In the pursuit of automotive happiness, sometimes you have to break your own rules, like buying a car without first seeing it in person. And so it is with a green 1953 Cadillac, purchased with a single keystroke); Tech Tidbits: NASCAR Would Have Pomeroy Spinning (If you thought Formula 1 piston speeds were high, wait until you read this...it'll have NASCAR's connecting rods filing for women's comp. Plus, 42-volt automotive wiring systems get the electric chair); Sport: Carl Edwards (Dave Argabright reports on the NASCAR Nextel Cup phenom, a personable guy with a gift for self-promotion and the talent to back it up. It just goes to show that nice guys can finish first); Pole Position: Fight To The Finish (Tracy and Bourdais, or Kanaan and Wheldon? Road courses or ovals? Whether your allegiance lies with the Champ Car or the IRL, a reunification of the two series would do much to ensure survival of the species) Departments - People, Places & Things; Your Turn; Technical Correspondence; Road Test Summary; Reviews; Finish Line; Time & Place; PS
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| August
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Cover Story - Fun Factor (Stuck in the automotive doldrums, Bunkie? Well, here are a dozen 4-wheeled, gasoline-fueled roller coasters (think Six Flags over R&T) guaranteed to put a thrill in your heart and a smile on your face) Road Tests - BMW 330i (Just when you thought it was impossible to better the 3 series, BMW proves us wrong. Sublime handling, more room and power, and flame-surfaced body panels that don't resemble a poorly ironed shirt); Bentley Continental Flying Spur (A land yacht in the best sense of the term, this Bentley coddles with hand-stitched leathers and lavish wood veneers. Oh, did we mention that at 195 mph, it's the fastest sedan in production?); Audi A4 2.0 T Quattro vs. Volvo S40 T5 AWD (What pushes your buttons in a premium compact European sedan? If your priorities lie in smart and restrained style, all-wheel-drive traction and impressive performance, your cars have arrived); Road Test Updates: Audi S4, Scion xB & Volvo S60 R (Performance numbers on two rocket ships (the Audi and the Volvo); and the Scion xB, whose forte isn't exactly the 0-60 sprint. Acceleration? Bring a book) First Drives - Mazda MX-5 (Remaking the best-selling roadster of all time is not a task to be taken lightly. We're duly impressed with Mazda's Miata remix, with character intact, power added and driving dynamics improved); Ferrari Superamerica (A 575M Maranello with a twist...in the form of a unique, pivoting glass top with electrochromatic technology that allows five different tints at the push of a button. Too bad all 170 cars are already sold); Dodge Charger Daytona R/T (The Hemi roars back in yet another retro iteration, the Charger. Never mind that it has four doors to the original's two, and that it looks a little like a 1957 Chevy Bel Air in profile...it's still very cool); Mercedes-Benz R-Class (Imagine a Chrysler Pacifica, done by Mercedes, that's actually capable of strong acceleration - voila, the R-Class. Fitted with the 305-bhp V-8, it's a people-mover with the emphasis on "move") Features - Long-Term Test: Jaguar XJ8 (We bid farewell to our al-yew-minium luxury sedan, the XJ8. It piled on miles with the pace of a...er, Jaguar and outside of normal maintenance work and a faulty fuel sensor, was trouble-free); Owner Survey: Mazda MX-5 Miata, 2001-2005 (The Miata was a revelation, a non-leaking modern incarnation of the MGB. We've always suspected that their owners love them to a fault, Now it's official, with survey results in for the second-gen cars); Driving Sims: Forza Motorsport & Gran Turismo 4 (Drive the Nurburgring in your living room! If you can make the distinction between Schwalbenschwanz and Schwarzenegger, then you'll want to read up on these two amazing driving simulators) Technical - SAE At 100 (Ever ponder why ratchet drives are 3/8 and 1/2 inch? Me either, but we have SAE to thank for this, and many other examples of standardization that makes mass production possible); Surround Sound (We've come a long way from 8-tracks playing through cheesy, swap-meet 6x9s. The latest car audio can practically put you in the center of the orchestra pit. (Easy with that violin bow, mister) Columns - On The Road: Factoring In The Fun ("When it comes to cars, which ones are simply the most fun?" A simple premise, but one at the core of our enthusiastic hearts. Here's a behind-the-curtain look at how it all came together); Ampersand: Pony-Car Wars (The Motown rumor mill is running dangerously near redline: reports of a Chevrolet Camaro replacement, a slick new Dodge Challenger and an exclusive drive os the Shelby GT500 prototype); Side Glances: Rust Sometimes Sleeps (The American Southwest is known for the Grand Canyon, Route 66, In-N-Out Burger and most important, a sizeable cache of solid, relatively rust-free cars from the '50s. The author's Cadillac is one such find); Tech Tidbits: Insist On A Donut And A Starburst (No, we're not talking Winchell's and wrapped candies; rather, we're urging you to look for two distinctive seals of certification when you buy motor oil. Plus, alveoli - not an Italian pasta dish); Sport: Shuffling The Deck (Ferrari and a certain M. Schumacher seemed unbeatable in 2004, but guess what: The other teams haven't exactly been playing tiddlywinks in the off-season. Adam Cooper reports. Plus, NASCAR pit crews); Pole Position: That '70s Show (In American road racing, making the cars relatively simple and affordable doesn't equate to a huge fan draw. Maybe Porsche's new LMP2 race car, with some help from Penske Motorsport, can turn things around) Departments - People, Places & Things; Your Turn; Road Test Summary; Technical Correspondence; Time & Place; Finish Line; PS
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| October
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Cover Story - New Car Fix '06 (Want a magazine load of the new-car smarts? Well, you're in the right place with our guide that contains information, photos and specifications of every 2006 car that's sold in the U.S.. Also, place your vote in our Reader's Choice polls for Best Car and Dream Car, and find a wealth of opinions in our High Tech/Why Tech rankings of the latest electronic safety and convenience aids. Acura, Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Bugatti, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ferrari, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Jaguar, KIA, Lamborghini, Lexus, Lincoln, Lotus, Maserati, Maybach, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mercury, Mini, Mitsubishi, Morgan, Mosler, Nissan, Panoz, Pontiac, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Saab, Saleen, Saturn, Scion, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo Road Tests - Pontiac Solstice (Five years ago, if we predicted GM would have an affordable rear-drive 2-seat roadster that would directly compete with the Miata, you'd probably chuckle. Turns out Pontiac has the last laugh); Mazda MX-5 Miata (The task: reinvent a hugely successful reinvention of the classic British roadster. The result: the 3rd generation Mazda MX-5 Miata that's quicker, roomier, only a bit heavier and still a blast to drive); Lexus IS 350 (Toyota's upmarket outlet creates a sports sedan that drives like a junior GS. This is excellent news if you crave high style and pampering; not so good if you're looking for a BMW 3 series competitor) First Drives - Honda Civic Si (So long, frumpy tall-boy body and short-of-inspirational engine. Hello, rakish new coupe with a high-revving 197-bhp 2.0-liter. It's a Civic worthy of the Si badge, in both acceleration and handling); Ford Fusion (Five bars on your cellphone means a strong signal; on the Fusion's nose, they indicate Ford's powerful new look. A rewarding chassis and smooth V-6 also bode well for this Taurus replacement) Features - Chevrolet Corvette Z06: Driven, Tested, Analyzed (Three days, two tracks and one 505-bhp Corvette. We drive it through Eau Rouge, test it later at GM's proving ground and scrutinize every component through cutaway drawings) Columns - On The Road: The Best Car I've Ever Owned (Everyone has fond memories of their favorite 4-wheeled friend. To that end, we've collected some great reminiscences from friends, racers, a comedian, an architect and a captain of industry); Ampersand: Jag Sharpens Its Claws With The XK (Ian Callum's latest cat, on the prowl in the first official photos. Plus, two fascinating future versions of the Miata, gut-wrenching Galiados and Porsche's modern 4-door 928, the Panamera); Side Glances: The Fabulous '50s (The 1950s weren't all that great...or were they? Taste in home furnishings might have been at a low ebb, but consider the Stratocaster, the Super Constellation, Brigette Bardot and the author's own Cadillac); Sport: Deja Vu At Le Mans (History, as it often does, repeats itself. Obvious is the Audi R8's fifth win at La Sarthe, less so is that the winning ADT Championship Racing entry is the first U.S.-based team to win since Gurney/Foyt in 1967); Pole Position: Formula (G)One (Is the sand in the hourglass running out for Formula 1 racing in America? The Michelin tire fiasco that turned the U.S. GP into a 6-car procession certainly didn't help matters. Amends must be made, and soon) Departments - Your Turn; People, Places & Things; Road Test Summary; Technical Correspondence; Finish Line; Time & Place; PS
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| November
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Cover Story - Road Test: Porsche Cayman S (Apparently, all the good names are taken. But this tin-topped, 295-bhp Boxster doesn't lack for goodness in terms of style, handling and acceleration. We hook up our test gear and see what she'll do); Porsche Mid-Engine History (From its Gmund coupe to the Le Mans conquering 956/962 to production cars such as the 914 and Boxster, the company best known for its rear-engine bloodline has a strong mid-engine pulse); Porsche RS Spyder (Partnered with Penske, Porsche re-enters big-time endurance racing with an LMP2 car that will contest the American Le Mans Series. We check it out, and chat with Porsche's motorsports principals) Road Tests - Aston Martin V8 Vantage (If James Bond ever falls on hard times, he won't have to pawn his Walther PPK to drive this relatively affordable Aston. It's priced to compete with the Porsche Turbo, and is as quick as the D89); Audi S4 Avant vs. Dodge Magnum SRT8 vs. Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG Sport Wagon (Pace, grace and cargo space...they can all coexist, as proven by these muscle-bound haulers that transform family transport into fire-breathing objects of lust) First Drives - Subaru Impreza WRX (Questionable move: giving the WRX a grille that resembles the B9 Tribeca's. Good call: a multitude of mechanical changes, the most prominent being a torquier, 230-bhp 2.5-liter flat-4 for the base WRX); Volkswagen Passat (Think of the new, larger Passat Lite instead of Jetta Cum Laude, as this sumptuously appointed Volkswagen offers upmarket luxury and power, especially with the 3.6 narrow-angle V-6); Morgan Roadster (That wire-wheeled Brit from Malvern Link that just smoked your Porsche Boxster (in a straight line, anyway)? It's that born-again Morgan Roadster, now with 225 bhp from a Ford 3.0-liter V-6) Features - Star-Crossed Sports Car - The BMW 507 (BMW and designer Albrecht Goertz really started something with the sublime, V-8-powered 507. The V=Baverian automaker celebrates the car's 50th birthday with a drive from Verona to the Villa d'Este); "Long-Term" Ferrari Enzo (Purists may recoil in horror, but the author has had his Enzo's doors neatly clipped off to better enjoy the driving experience. And drive it he does, as his second set of Bridgestones will attest); Long-Term Test: Mini Cooper S (Despite some teething problems, the odd creak and rattle and an engine that suffered death by drowning (no fault of the car's), our Mini was the bee's knees when it came to buzzing around town) Technical - 100 Run-Flats For All Seasons (Compressed air in tires is highly overrated, at least when your run-flat picks up a nail. And these rubber marvels are ever-improving, now in summer, winter and all-season varieties) Competition - Diesel Record Run (Get in, buckle up and stand on the gas - or should we say diesel? - for 100,000 miles in a Mercedes E320 CDL. Average 139.699 mph over 30 days. And set three outright world records in the process) Columns - On The Road: Mid-Engine Magic (Handling dynamics of cars with engines amidships have advanced mightily since the Maserati Merak. Porsche does especially well with the Boxster and, now, the Cayman S); Ampersand: Beautiful Bodies (A Witness Protection Program for cars? Henrik Fisker's Latigo CS and Tramorto assume identies far removed from their Mercedes and BMW origins. Plus, the Viper Coupe and early Frankfurt faves); Side Glances: Running With The Big Dogs (Our Editor-At-Large gets in a heated scrap with Rubens Barrichello and Mark Webber, not ensconced in Formula 1 cockpits but astride racing bicycles. Be it 10-speeds or open-wheelers, my money's on Rebens); Tech Tidbits: Sir Isaac Newton And The Quarter Mile (The drag-racing slick as a continuously variable transmission, exhaust pulses as downforce, SAE Certified Horsepower explained, and why London motorists can expect an even greater Pounding); Sport: The Challenge Of Change (It's said a great race driver can race anything successfully. That's true to a point, but time is needed to learn the nuances of, say, Nextel Cup versus Champ Car; Tim Tuttle reports. Plus, super-quick superkarts); Pole Position: Fixing F1 (If it's broke, fix it. In an open letter to the FIA's big cheese, Max Mosley, our irascible Editor-At-Large offers suggestions to improve the three-ring circus that is Formula 1. Now, chop-chop, lst's get to it) Departments - People, Places And Things; Your Turn; Reviews; Technical Correspondence; Road Test Summary; Finish Line; Time & Place; PS
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| December
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Cover Story - Rivals! (Best buddies? Quite the opposite. If cars were grade-schoolers, the teacher would note that these "don't play well with others," as each has a wicked foe intent on making life miserable for its adversary); Full Test: Chevrolet Corvette Z06 vs. Dodge Viper SRT10 Coupe (The Viper, now with a fixed roof and ducktail spoiler, intimidates with sheer displacement and raw roadholding. But the Z06 counters with power, sophistication and value); Ferrari F430 vs Ford GT (The venue here is not a racetrack, but you can't help thinking back to the epic Ford/Ferrari battles at Le Mans. Ferrari had its way often, Ford owned 1966. Which excels on the road today?); Dodge Charger SRT8 vs Pontiac GTO (When pushrod comes to shove, these resurrected 1960s muscle cars honor their forebears with at least 400 bhp apiece and the easy capability of turning tire rubber to smoke. Care to take odds?); Mitsubishi Lancer EVO IX MR vs. Subaru Impreza WRX STI (Turbos, 4-wheel traction, technology and never a dull moment. Swords drawn, these Shogun warriors lunge at each other with a vengeance. Hail to the victor, hara-kiri to second place); Mazda MX-5 Miata vs Pontiac Solstice (Fun, responsive, $20k roadsters never go out of style, and the recently re-engineered Miata has some real competition in the form of the wide-track, Kappa-platform Pontiac Solstice) Road Tests - Honda Civic Si (With it's rev-happy 197-bhp 2.0-liter, slick 6-speed and Krazy Glue turn-in, the new Si channels the S2000. But the jury's still out on whether its performance can atone for that wacky dash) First Drives - Mercedes-Benz S500 (This much is certain: The new S-Class makes a bold design statement, reasserts its flagship status and will not be mistaken for a well-fed C-Class. And more powerful V-8s are nothing to snivel at, either); Jaguar Super V8 Portfolio (Dipping a claw into the pool of $100,000-plus luxury sedans, this feline makes a beehive toward competitors such as the Maserati Quattroporte and Audi A8 L 6.0 with lavish doses of luxury); Chevrolet Impala (The Clark Kent version can seat six and moves along respectably with V-6 power. But the SS...now we're talking. With 303 bhhp from a 5.3-liter V-8, it's able to leap tall stereotypes in a single bound); Kia Rio & Rios (A powerhouse it's not, but this latest entry-level Korean has a fresh appearance, more refinement and tighter handling. Those marks it leaves on your bank account? They should polish right out) Features - Used Car Classic: Mazda RX-7, 1993-1995 (With twin turbos force-feeding its 2-rotor Wankel engine, the third-gen RX-7 was a fast, focused driver's car. Here's what to look for, and what to avoid, when searching for a secondhand example); Long-Term Test (New shoes (again) for the CTS-V; cruisin' the Phaeton; oil's well (but hard to top off) with the RX-8; and close encunters of the sheet-metal kind with our remarkably unremarkable Prius); The Monterey Weekend: Classics On Parade (The inaugural Pebble Beach Motoring Classic has 100-point concours cars driving long distances under their own power. And a slow orange Sprite is a moving tribute to a fallen friend); Formula SAE (On a clear day in Michigan, you can see a depth of engineering talent. And not just from the Big Three; check out what enterprising college students have wrought with their SAE open-wheelers) Technical - Road Test Reading, Self-Taught (Heel-and-toe is not a squaredance step, and understeer has little or nothing to do with position relative to our bovine friends. You knew that. Herein are the other road test terms, explained) Columns - On The Road: Handing Out The Hardware (For the owners of six inspirational vintage and racing cars, the trophy shelf just got little more crowded. Presenting the winners from Road America, Laguna Seca, Little Rock and The Quail); Ampersand: Bahn-Burner (At high speed - try 217.1 mph - with the Ruf Rt 12, the low-down on Infiniti's GT-R; and the full complement of gleaming concepts and production cars from the Frankfurt Show); Side Glances: The American Driver (Stuck immobile again...behind a convoy of vehicles oozing along like cold molasses. But wait, this is Canada, seemingly the last bastion of the courteous driver, where the rearview mirror is used as designed); Tech Tidbits: A Neat Alfa, A Cool Studebaker, Etc. (The Monterey Weekend had a rich mixture of vintage tech and fascinating stories - an Alfa with a war tale, a cool Studey, a pewter V-12, selected tools and a starlet with endurance); Sport: Competition Or Show Business? (Tom Cotter's take on the spectacle in racing, greatest or otherwise. Where is the line of demarcation between competition and entertainment? Plus, Zimmermann on the moveable feast of historic Formula 1); Pole Position: The Name Of The Game (Say it ain't so...the Wal-Mart/Microsoft/Trump 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway? The Indy 500 has and always will have a better ring to it. Let's not let corporate America rob our racetracks of their identity) Departments - People, Places & Things; Your Turn; Technical Correspondence; Road Test Summary; Reviews; Finish Line; Time & Place; PS
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