Automotive Reviews
Archive for October, 2010
2011 Honda CR-Z
0566 days
At first glance, you might think it’s obvious what Honda’s trying to do here. The shape of this stubby car, the fact that it arrived just as the S2000 roadster bowed out, and even the new CR-Z’s name all suggest that it’s the legendary CR-X sports hatch returned from the grave and updated for the new millennium.
It’s not, though. Don’t forget that Honda is “not about chasing market share,” as they put it. This company has a strong corporate vision of sustainable performance, in marketing-speak. In plain English that means that Honda has a good idea of the sort of cars it wants to build, and it’s not driven solely by focus groups or public opinion. (more…)
2005 Toyota X-Runner
0566 days
Get this; when folks ask the Toyota people about the possibility of a resurrected Supra now that Nissan’s Z and Mazda’s RX are back, they smile and point to the new Toyota X-Runner. Excuse me? Yes, that’s right, a compact pickup truck inherits the brand’s performance mantle.
Is it up to the task?
The numbers certainly suggest that it is. Toyota has run 0-60 in the six-second range with this lowered and ground-effect’ed pick’em-up. The X-Runner hits the streets as a limited edition–only 3500 will be built. (more…)
2005 Cadillac STS
0566 days
You may think you’ve seen plenty of this car, but chances are you haven’t. This is not the Cadillac CTS, American slayer of German performance giants like the Audi A4 and Mercedes C-Class. No, what you’re looking at is the 2005 Cadillac STS, the CTS’ all-new big brother.
Cadillac does away with the former STS’ soap-cake styling in favor of the angular look that’s been working its way across the brand for the past few years. At a glance the STS looks just like the smaller CTS, and that’s exactly what the folks at Cadillac want. Like BMW’s twin-kidney grille or Jaguar’s svelte curves, the folded and pressed lines of the new STS are an instantly recognizable hallmark of the brand. It’s not a clone of the smaller car, although they do share some platform similarities. The STS has a sharper, more steeply raked profile than its little brother, however. After a while it’s easy to tell them apart, we promise. (more…)