2007 Mercedes-Benz CL 550: Two Door Supremacy

When Mercedes-Benz decided to redesign their CL-Class of cars, I took a long breath and wondered out loud. “How can they improve a perfect design?” came the echoes from deep within. The last CL I’d driven was the CL 65 AMG, with its hand built twin-turbo, 6.0 liter [...]

BMW M3 Concept: Drool Magnet

The unveiling of BMW’s new M3 concept car at last week’s Geneva autoshow has, as we expected, created quite a stir in the automotive world.

As with any new car, reaction to the M3′s styling was mixed across automotive fandom. Progressive enthusiasts loved the huge lump in the hood created [...]

2007 Jaguar XK Convertible: Worthy of the XK Moniker

When I think of Jaguar XK Convertibles, I think back to my days at Baltimore City College Preparatory High School. The year was 1974, I was all of 14, and my art teacher, Bernard Byrd, had the prettiest XK Convertible I’d ever seen. Needless to say, I spent [...]

BMW 335i First Drive

San Francisco–we might’ve left our hearts there, too, but the bigger tragedy by far was the new-for-2007 BMW 3 Series 335i coupe we had to say goodbye to last week. After spending just a couple of days becoming familiar with the 335i twin turbo, we’re missing it more than any [...]

2007 BMW 335i Coupe First Drive: Benchmarking the Benchmark

San Francisco–we might’ve left our hearts there, too, but the bigger tragedy by far was the new-for-2007 BMW 3 Series 335i coupe we had to say goodbye to last week. After spending just a couple of days becoming familiar with the 335i twin turbo, we’re missing it more than any [...]

Preview: The 2007 Audi TT Coupe

Although the Audi TT has remained remarkably fresh since its 1998 release, the recent announcement of a restyled coupe for 2007 is right on time. Our first glimpse came at the auto show earlier this year, and it appears that the styling is a success. Meanwhile, the new Audi TT [...]

2006 Honda Civic Si: Simply Sizzlin’

The prodigal Si has returned! Having spent an introductory afternoon with it shortly before sales started, we already knew that the 2006 Honda Civic Si was a screamer. Our preview post was packed full of praise for this new pocket-rocket’s poise, power, and appearance. Now, after a week’s “work” with [...]

2007 BMW Z4 M Coupe Preview

Recalling the good-but-not-so-old-days of the Z3 hardtop’s unexpected debut, BMW “surprised” us in New York (and Detroit and Chicago and Geneva and so on) by “unveiling” a fixed-roof version of the funky Z4 roadster.

Well…yeah. Even if BMW didn’t claim that they never planned to build it, we saw this coming [...]

2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS…Bow Down?

Mitsubishi has been pumping out some seriously self-confident advertising these days. Seems the corporate financial woes haven’t put a damper on the mood in the advertising department. Still, you can buy all the TV time you want, showing competitors cars bowing down (or even frightened into incontinence), but what matters [...]

Improving on an Original: All-New ’05 Mazda MX-5 Miata

It was this reporter’s birthday, and one of the last weeks of warm sun and late days–the kind of week that just begs for a fun car. Perhaps it was kismet that the all-new Miata–the newest version of the car that practically *invented* fun–was in our driveway. Perhaps it was [...]

Chevy Tunes a Cobalt: The 2006 SS Kicks aSS

It’ll be a long time coming, but sooner or later, the public at large will realize that GM really has screwed together some decent automobiles of late. The base Cobalt is a case in point–sure, its Cadavalier predecessor was so bad they had to drop the name altogether for the [...]

2006 Porsche Cayman: Porsche Acknowledges New Coupe

Porsche officially acknowledged that a new steed exists in its stable of thoroughbreds. The Porsche Cayman will be available for the 2006 model year, and features a mid-engined, two-seat sports coupe design that’s based on the Boxster platform. Rumor mills and early spy shots had the Porsche Cayman pegged simply [...]