test drives

11.21.09

Test Drive: 2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI

After a four-year break, Volkswagen brings the Golf diesel back to the US. Don't call it a Rabbit, but do call it good, clean fun

By Mike Spinelli Posted 10.12.2009 at 9:08 am 4 Comments

With not quite 50 horsepower at the wheels, the original Volkswagen Rabbit diesel couldn't hit 125 miles per hour from the barrel of a circus cannon. Yet here we are in the 2010 Golf TDI, outgunning the locals (at least some of them) on a stretch of autobahn near the company's Wolfsburg headquarters. Not since I found my stash of Kiss solo albums in the attic has 1978 felt so long ago.

Volkswagen's on-again-off-again production of diesels for the US in the ensuing three decades entered a new "on" phase in 2008 with the reintroduction of the Jetta TDI. This year, the company is returning the diesel Golf TDI (formerly Rabbit, formerly Golf, formerly...) to the US after a four-year absence.

[ Read Full Story ]

READ MORE ABOUT > auto news, cars, diesel cars, tdi diesel, test drives, volkswagen

Test Drive: 2010 Lincoln MKT with EcoBoost V6

The 3.5-liter V6 EcoBoost engine is the first to provide the luxurious power and easy maintenance of a V8 with the fuel economy of a V6

By Mike Spinelli Posted 06.01.2009 at 5:04 pm 1 Comment

Imagine the laughter, back in 1965, if Ford had crossed the kid-friendly Country Squire station wagon with the stately Lincoln Continental. A car shopper would have spit-launched his Lucky Strike right into the salesman's shirt pocket. These days, luxurious motoring and conveying a large brood to Chuck E. Cheese or the World's Largest Ball of Twine aren't as mutually exclusive as they once were. Take as exhibit, well probably O at this point, the Lincoln MKT.

[ Read Full Story ]

READ MORE ABOUT > ecoboost, ford, lincoln, luxury cars, test drives

Driven: the 2010 Jaguar XKR Coupe and Convertible

On a trip to Provence, this Jag drives like a fine wine

By Dan Crane Posted 04.24.2009 at 12:14 pm 2 Comments

It's difficult to dispute the notion that in winemaking, handcrafted artisanal production tends to yield a finer, more complex wine. Similarly, when one gets behind the wheel of the 2010 Jaguar XKR, the craftsmanship and care are more than apparent.

I invoke the wine analogy because I was fortunate enough to be flown to the South of France to test-drive the new 510-horsepower supercharged 5.0-liter V8 Jaguar XKR.

[ Read Full Story ]

READ MORE ABOUT > cars, jaguar, luxury cars, reviews, test drives

Hard Times at the LA Auto Show

At the height of the automotive industry crisis, carmakers tried to smile through the pain

By Seth Fletcher Posted 11.24.2008 at 3:21 pm 4 Comments

The movement of the crowds at the semi-funereal 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show said it all. No one, it seemed, wanted to hang out with the most beleaguered of the Detroit automakers, Chrysler and GM. As plenty of attendees noticed, Chrysler’s large expanse of showroom floor was all but empty most hours of the day. Same across the room at the General Motors stand: Aside from a small group milling about the Chevy Volt, all was quiet.

[ Read Full Story ]

READ MORE ABOUT > bmw, cars, detroit, gm, l.a. auto show, Mazda, recession, test drives