Preview Drive

Our test location couldn't have been more fitting -- barely 30 minutes south of San Francisco's international airport, right along the coast in a tiny hamlet called Half Moon Bay. You can be in downtown San Francisco in less than an hour from here, yet -- as we put the all-new Lexus ES 300 through its paces on curvy two-lane roads -- I notice a surprising lack of cars on the road. Not what I expected from suburban San Francisco.

The 2002 Altima is a much larger vehicle than its predecessor -- almost 6 inches longer, 2 inches taller, and more than an inch wider. And its wheelbase has grown by more than 7 inches. Yet Altima´s weight has barely increased, partly because designers replaced the steel hood and trunk panels with lighter aluminum ones -- a first for Nissan.

PS Technology Quotient: 39 (out of 50)




Powertrain: 9

Road Manners: 8

Safety: 7

Electronics: 8

Design: 7

If you want to push the 2002 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 -- and this car begs to be pushed -- I suggest taking it home. Not your home; its home: Bavaria, where the original Porsche was conceived and hundreds of miles of wide open, speed-limit-free autobahn now lie. Simply point toward the Alps, slide into the left lane, and go.

PS Technology Quotient: 39 (out of 50)




Powertrain: 9

Road Manners: 8

Safety: 7

Electronics: 8

Design: 7

If you want to push the 2002 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 -- and this car begs to be pushed -- I suggest taking it home. Not your home; its home: Bavaria, where the original Porsche was conceived and hundreds of miles of wide open, speed-limit-free autobahn now lie. Simply point toward the Alps, slide into the left lane, and go.

PS Technology Quotient: 34 (out of 50)




Powertrain: 8

Road Manners: 6

Safety: 6

Electronics: 7

Design: 7

This is no ordinary SUV. Over the past 25 years, Mercedes' renowned G-Wagon has protected foreign dignitaries and coddled off-road explorers. And now, a modified version, the Mercedes-Benz G500, is coming to a Mercedes dealer near you.

PS Technology Quotient: 34 (out of 50)




Powertrain: 8

Road Manners: 6

Safety: 6

Electronics: 7

Design: 7

An 18-inch crack in a 3,000-foot-thick glacier is small in the
greater scheme of things, but it's a formidable obstacle if your front wheels are stuck in it, as mine are.