Automotive Reviews
Posts tagged whee!
North American International Auto Show 2012
Jan 16th
It’s practically a tradition that the North American International Auto Show in Detroit is accompanied by the worst weather of the season. The second week in January in Detroit is rarely a pleasant place, but this year’s show was preceded by unseasonably warm and sunny weather. All thoughts of global warming aside, it seemed to indicate a subtle change in the climate of the automotive industry as well. No-shows included Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Jaguar/Land Rover, but all of the major industry players were present.
Several years of economic hardship (and more than a few casualties) have left the auto industry cautious; the wild abandon that characterized auto shows past is long gone. In its place, there’s a pragmatic realism–but for 2012, that realistic outlook is also optimistic. In addition to the upcoming products that are useful refinements of existing vehicles, Detroit also saw the debut of some honest-to-goodness concept cars, showing that the industry may have scaled back on the wildest flights of fancy, but it hasn’t forgotten how to dream. More >
2011 BMW X6 M
Sep 8th
The question of what, exactly, the BMW X6 is, and how to classify it, is not made any easier with the installation of a race-bred 4.4 liter twin-turbo V8.
Really, it was already confusing enough. This big BMW’s coupe-like five-door body and sporty lines would defy convention even if they weren’t riding on a tall, SUV-like chassis with all-wheel drive. And now, a powerful engine and the performance credentials of BMW’s M division are added to the mix? I just don’t know what to think. More >
2011 Cadillac CTS-V Sportwagon
Aug 2nd
Every once in a while, a car comes along that’s so unabashedly ridiculous, so completely beyond the pale of practicality and sensibility…that you’ve just got to have one. The Cadillac CTS-V Sportwagon is one of those vehicles. Oh, sure, it’s got a nice big cargo area that makes it useful for carrying groceries, luggage or the odd writing desk–but is there any reason that you would need to get your cargo there this quickly?
Of course there is, and that reason is the same reason that the CTS-V Sportwagon exists in the first place: because it’s awesome. It’s hard to imagine how a track-ready, monster-engined station wagon could fail to be awesome, in fact. But maybe that’s just me. More >