Chariot of the Gods: The Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé

What would Zeus drive? It would have to be opulent, powerful, solid, and strong. And, it would be nice if it impressed the ladies, too. So, when Zeus comes down from the mountain, we suggest he head straight to the nearest Rolls-Royce purveyor and ask to see the Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupé.

We recently were among [...]

smart fortwo: A smart Idea?

Over 25 years ago, the seeds were planted for the smart fortwo. Back then, Mercedes-Benz tabled a design that they didn’t feel could meet their stringent safety requirements with 1972 technology.
Ten years ago, technology caught up, and a creative and technical collaboration between Mercedes-Benz and Swatch brought the smart fortwo to the world. Since then, [...]

2008 Honda Accord: Better Than Ever

The first Honda Accord debuted in 1976 as a hatchback known for being fun to drive and reliable. The first Accord sedan bowed in 1979, and Honda has never looked back. The name Accord was derived from Honda’s effort to achieve “accord” between people, society and the automobile through advanced technology. Indeed, [...]

2008 Nissan Altima Coupe First Drive

You may be wondering why Nissan is bothering to launch a new car (the Altima coupe) into the auto market when they are already doing so well. The warranty claim rate on Nissan vehicles has dropped 60% in the past two years. The company hopes to launch a 3-liter, Nissan-original hybrid that gets [...]

The 2007 BMW 650i: The Second Coming

Excluding the M6 with its 500-hp V10, the V8-powered 650i is BMW’s top-of-the-line coupe. The 6-series returned in 2003, after being absent from the US market since 1989, and BMW enthusiasts couldn’t be happier. It has a 4.8-liter V8, making 360 horsepower and 360 lb.-ft. of torque, and is a worthy successor to [...]

 2007 BMW 650i Road Test and Car Review [4:10m]: Download

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 V12 that poured out 604 [...]

More pictures - 2007 BMW 3 Series Coupe, the 335i and 328

Here are another 30 pictures of the new 2007 BMW 3 Series Coupe. We added pictures of a Silver 328 Coupe and an Interlagos Blue 335i.
Here’s a link to the full photo album of all 2007 BMW 3 Series Coupe Pictures.

BMW 335i puts M3 on Notice!

The launch of BMW’s new twin-turbo 335i is the opening shot in a new German horsepower war. However, this war is not being waged between the major German manufacturers, but within the confines of BMW’s own stable.
The 335i feels very quick to us, and should easily beat BMW’s predicted 0-60 time of 5.4 seconds. [...]

2006 Mazda RX-8: The Essence of Zoom-Zoom

Oh, joy! The 2006 Mazda RX-8 is in the fleet, and all is right with the world. One of our perennial favorites, it’s a serious sports-car with soul to spare. Mazda has done a lot right with this car–and it all starts with balance.

Round it up a couple of tenths, and the RX-8’s weight distribution [...]

Pontiac G6 GTP Coupe: A Lemans Sprint for the New Millenium

Extra points if you’ve already pegged the reference. Back in the 1960s, Pontiac was known more for innovative high-performance than blandness and body cladding. The ‘64 GTO sparked Detroit’s muscle car wars; the near-unique Tri-Power 389-cid V8 was so popular it annoyed Chevy engineers enough so they had GM issue a corporate edict against multi-carb [...]

A New Standard in Compact Cars - Honda Gets Its Civic On

In the world of basic transportation, it’s ubiquitous. Honda’s Civic compact has been a perennially popular automotive appliance for over three decades now–the best-seller for the last nine years. The baby Honda has been a true green machine, pleasing gasoline misers and pollution-preventers alike with its above average mileage, below average emissions, and all-you-need-and-nothing-you-don’t design. [...]

2005 Scion tC: Scion’s Latest & Greatest-The Versatile tC

If you’re over 30, you can be forgiven for missing the ‘buzz’ surrounding Toyota’s new youth-oriented Scion brand–after all, they’re not marketing to you. The line, first populated by funky little econobox xB and xA models, is aimed squarely at twenty-something and younger buyers, many of whom will be plunking down their first new-car dough [...]