Automotive Reviews
Four Doors
2010 Lexus ISF
0505 days
Thinking of fire-breathing sports cars doesn’t usually bring the name “Lexus” to mind, but that’s just what the Japanese luxury manufacturer is planning to do shortly, with the introduction of the LF-A supercar in 2011. If you’re surprised by this, then you probably didn’t pay attention to Lexus’ first shot across the bow of the sports-car establishment. That would be this car, the IS F, which hit the streets in 2008 and has been quietly chewing up unsuspecting BMWs and Audis since then.
The concept is simple enough: the IS F is an extremely angry IS sedan with a 416-horse V8 shoehorned in where a six-cylinder engine would normally reside. Big wheels, a lowered suspension and massive Brembo brakes do the rest. It’s a tried-and-true way to sport-sedan stardom. The IS F hasn’t really become a major player though, in spite of blisteringly fast 0-60 runs and a few racing appearances. Is it just the expectations of the “L” badge, or is there something else going on here? (more…)
2006 Isuzu i350 Crew Cab
0513 days
When you’re not sure of where to go next, it never hurts to take a step back and see where you’ve been. Isuzu is doing just that for 2006. We’re probably not the only enthusiasts who are happy to see that Isuzu is back. After a few years of declining sales and a shrinking porfolio, the brand’s future has been somewhat in doubt lately. Things aren’t completely grim, however; in the commercial market, Isuzu’s one of the best-sellers, and it’s been producing joint engineering products with General Motors for quite some time. It’s the Japanese brand’s SUVs that have faltered. In an effort to spread its sales base out again, Isuzu is returning to the pickup truck market that helped it get its foot in the door in the U.S. market in 1972. The i280 and i350 mid-size pickups are thoroughly modern, tough vehicles that come ready to work.
Don’t look at the i350 and assume that it’s just a thinly-disguised Chevy Colorado, either. The Colorado was jointly developed with Isuzu in the first place, and Isuzu was actually selling this vehicle in Thailand before the Colorado ever went on sale. So who did it belong to first? You be the judge. (more…)
2005 Ford Ranger Edge Tremor
0528 days
Consider the case of the Ford Ranger. It’s old. It’s outdated. Every other compact pickup truck on the market has grown larger, more powerful, and more refined in recent years, and some of them have gone through an entire generation or two since the last significant update to the Ranger in 1993 or so. And yet every time we slip behind the wheel of a Ranger, we’re struck by the just-rightness of it. Has Ford really been neglecting its compact truck for the past decade, or have they chosen not to mess with a good thing?
Ranger STX pictured.
For 2005, another round of evolutionary changes includes skid plates for 4×4 models and new 15″ and 16″ wheels. That’s it? Yup. The compact pickup market has softened in recent years, eaten up by SUVs and increasingly people-friendly full-size trucks, and the Ranger still manages to outsell its competitors. It’s been the best-selling compact pickup for seventeen years, so clearly Ford’s done something right. (more…)