Long-Term 2006 Nissan Titan SE 4×4 Crew Cab: Initial Report

We’ve spent the last few days reacquainting ourselves with the full-size Nissan Titan pickup that recently joined the Roadfly long-term fleet. At-first-glance impressions and technical specs are covered elsewhere on this site, so we won’t spend much time on them here. Instead, we’re approaching this as sort of an “open [...]

2006 Audi A3 S-Line

The 2006 Audi A3 S-Line is a wagon with sex appeal. With no competition in the field from other luxury contenders, the V6 AWD wagon fills the niche of luxury and practicality plus performance. The A3 S-Line is a bit shorter than other wagons but the passengers [...]

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 [...]

2006 Infiniti QX56: Leather-Lined Leviathan

Fit for an up-and-coming rapper, and big enough to haul his whole entourage, the QX56 has undeniable presence–’bling’ personified. Maybe it’s that super-sized, snub-nosed grille, or the omnipresent chrome garnish, starting with the six-inch Infiniti badge, shining everywhere–this sled’s street cred is unmistakable. Still, popular culture being at best an [...]

2006/2007 Mercedes-Benz E350 4MATIC: Improving Upon Perfection

The product portfolio at Mercedes-Benz has proliferated rapidly in the last few years. New models from the C-Class Coupe to the savage SLR have kept the brand abreast of the niche-market trend. Still, there is no other model that so inherently defines Mercedes than the E-Class. Buttering the Benz [...]

The All New GMC Yukon

After spending a week with the 2007 GMC Yukon, we wonder how much better this brawny sport-utility vehicle can get. With everyone’s eye on the pump and truck sales slowing, some observers are predicting the end of the American SUV. But the Yukon is GM’s latest and slickest [...]

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, [...]

2006 Lexus IS 350: Pacing Perfection

This was supposed to be the BMW-beater. Lexus aimed the IS development target squarely at the 3-series, and made no bones about it. The cognoscenti met this contention with skepticism–seemingly every carmaker has claimed to have conquered the kingpin Bimmer at one time or another, and yet the 3-series remains [...]

2006 Audi A6 Avant: A Teutonic Perfection for the Entire Family

Inevitably, every time an Audi appears at our doorstep for a full review, certain scenes play out–as surely as death and taxes, and so similar they could be scripted. For example, being behind the wheel of a new Audi–be it an A-line or an S-line model; no matter what series–one [...]

2006 Volkswagen Passat Wagon 3.6 – A Country Squire for the Alpenstrasse

Latest in a slew of redesigned staple vehicles, the Volkswagen Passat hit the market late last summer, as part of a barrage of new product planned to counter plummeting market share. Along with improved iterations of the Jetta, Golf (soon to be renamed the Rabbit) and even a new New [...]

Acura RL: Accurately Assessing a High-Tech Wonder

The Acura RL, flagship of Honda’s flagship line, suffers a lame-duck reputation among the automotive cognoscenti. Up against flashier rivals with more-potent powertrains and more-prestigious pedigrees, the premier Acura must by now be afflicted by a severe inferiority complex. The hierarchy having already been set, the RL lost the [...]

2006 Mercedes-Benz ML500: Four by Fifty (Grand)

We finally got some real seat time in the all-new M-Class–and it was worth the wait. The new Mercedes truck is everything the old ML wasn’t, beginning from bare metal. Where the old M was a body-on-frame, overweight truck with a leather-and-wood wrapper over sturdy but plebian mechanicals, the new [...]