2013 Jaguar XF 2.0T Review: The last time Jaguar offered a four-cylinder engine, Dinah Shore topped the record charts with “Buttons and Bows.” Alas, Dinah has long since taken the celestial way in her Chevrolet, so it’s unlikely she’ll return with that tune any time soon. But – stop the presses! – Jaguar, for its part, is back with a four-banger for the first time in 65 years. Call it …
If good things come in twos, there aren’t many more impressive pairs of twins than Porsche 911 Carreras. Even better, in this Summer of 2012, those weren’t identical twins that came for a week’s visit each. One was a sleek, dark green Carrera S Coupe, and the other was a sleek, dark blue Cabrio, convertible. Both test cars had Porsche’s superb 3.8-liter 6-cylinder engine, rear mounted and attached to a …
2013 Scion FR-S Review: The all-new 2013 Scion FR-S is an evil twin—but in a good way. It is unquestionably a sports car, which is what was intended, but it is naughty because it comes at you in unexpected ways. Start with the basic concept. Toyota wanted to deliver a reasonably priced, rear-drive sports car for its youth-oriented Scion division, but didn’t want to go to the expense of developing …
2013 Ford Mustang Review: Ford succeeds on looks, speed and ride for 2013 model. Ford has hit a series of home runs with its Mustang lineup, and the newly freshened 2013 Ford Mustang, powered by a stout V-6, is the latest round-tripper. Ford succeeds on looks, speed, handling and ride. My test car was a light silver Premium model, a step up from the base Mustang. Both feature the same …
2013 Acura ILX Review: With the debut of its all-new 2013 ILX sedan, Acura delivers the automotive equivalent of the “The Three Faces of Eve.” The sensational 1957 movie was based on the true story of a woman who suffered from multiple personality disorder. A psychiatrist discovered three distinct personas in the title character: timid Eve White, outgoing Eve Black, and the relatively stable Jane. Actress Joanne Woodward (wife of …
2013 Mercedes-Benz SL550 Review: If your goal in life were to maintain a monument or nurture a legend, likely you would try to hew as closely as possible to the original. That would work with the Lincoln Memorial or the story of Sleepy Hollow and the headless horseman. But in the automobile world, where change is imperative, it would be a prescription for failure. Consider the 1960 Mercedes-Benz 300SL roadster, …
What a difference a transmission makes. Americans overwhelmingly prefer automatics, by a ratio of more than nine to one over manuals. These days there are a variety of choices: the familiar automatic with four, five, six, seven and even eight speeds; the continuously-variable, which uses belts and pulleys—or, in some cases, gears—to seamlessly transfer engine power to the wheels, and several types of automated twin-clutch or sequential gearboxes that operate …
2012 Fiat Abarth Review: Advertising can be coersive, exaggerated, informative, and meaningful, sometimes just annoying, other times fun. Then there are those special cases, where an ad can be so memorable it could only be improved if you could bring it to real life. Fiat has pulled off one of those special ads, and it started with the Super Bowl and carried through to the introduction of the 2013 Fiat …
