Every time Porsche changes the 911, they take the risk that they'll ruin it (I know, purists will argue they did that when they switched from air to water-cooled engines). What's remarkable is how, every time, they dodge that bullet. It's the greatest high-wire act on earth...with continuous performances for the past 46 years.
If you'd asked me, I'd have told you that the 2008 911 was as good as they'd ever be able to make. I'd have been wrong.
The 2009 immediately announces its superiority. It performs better (even in the "base" Carrera, which I drove for a week recently), the interior is nicer, the electronic aids (Porsche Stability Management, Anti-lock Braking System, Anti-Slip Regulation, Engine Drag Torque Control and Active Brake Differential) all do their jobs with less intrusion on the joy and sport of driving.
And the styling refresher is a resounding success...taking the headlights ever so slightly more vertical evokes memories of the 911s of the 60s, 70s and 80s without being overtly retro.
Looking for excuses not to buy?
How about price? Porsches are insanely expensive, right? Wrong. The 911 Carrera base price is $75,600...there are a lot of far less capable vehicles that cost a lot more.
Gas mileage? Nope. The EPA says 18 city/25 highway.
Well, it can't possibly be environmentally responsible, Mike.
Um...it qualifies for LEV1 (Low Emission Vehicle) status.
Actually, price (and, okay, practicality...the back seats are a cruel joke) is about the only disqualifier that's genuine for most people. But in about five years, this is going to be the best used car purchase you've ever made.
Always admired the rakish good looks of the Infiniti G37 Coupe but wished the price were a little lower?
Nissan's been listening. The Nissan Altima Coupe has a lot of the same attitude and style for a chunk less change. Yes, you give up 60 horsepower, but only 12 pounds per feet of torque, so the off-the-line thrills are in the ballpark. And let's be honest...270 horsepower in a car this size is nothing to sneeze at. And there's a bunch of good stuff in the SE trim level...18 inch alumnium wheels, 8-way power driver's seat, a power moonroof, an AM/FM/CD audio system with six speakers and a bunch more for a starting price of $26,390...nine grand less than the Infiniti G Coupe.
In fact, the Altima Coupe SE is so complete the one I tested had only two options...floor and trunk mats ($175) and Vehicle Dynamic Control ($600). Total price, including destination charges, $27,780. Not too shabby. Mileage is decent, too...EPA says 19 city, 26 highway. Very much worth a look and a test drive.
The second car I ever tested as a professional TireKicker 11 years ago was the 1998 Corvette. Zero to 60 was 5.3 seconds. Top speed was 171 miles per hour. Price tag: $45,000 as equipped.
It was the fastest, most incredible thing I'd ever driven.
Well, 11 years can change a lot. I've driven 1,375 cars since then, for starters. But the Corvette has changed too...especially when you step up to the Z06. Try zero to 60 in 3.7 seconds. Top speed 198 miles per hour. And the price tag? $82,065 as equipped.
Actually, the base price of a Z06 is $72,405...but the one GM sent me for a week had a $6,515 "3LZ Premium Equipment Group" (Upgraded Bose audio system, power telescoping steering wheel, heated seats, memory package, universal home remote, side impact airbags, a luggage shade and parcel net, Bluetooth, and a custom leather-wrapped interior). There was also $1,995 worth of Z06 Original Chrome Aluminum wheels and $300 for Atomic Orange Metallic paint (which looked stunning in direct sunlight).
I'd love to tell you what this car is like at wide open throttle, but c'mon...half throttle is enough to jeopardize your future of a licensed driver in less than the time it took to read this sentence. Way less. Let's just say that this is Chuck Yeager jet jockey X-15 rocket stuff. Brute strength in a candy-colored wrapper.
It's also surprisingly livable for what began essentially as the track version of the 'Vette (standard Corvettes still start around $46,000 base price, though it will take you 4.1 seconds to get to 60 and you surrender 8 miles per hour of top speed...can you live with only 190?).
And, the factoid that I love to use to shock people with: It gets great mileage. The EPA says 15 city/24 highway. If you can square that with 505 horsepower in less than ten seconds, congratulations...that piece of data alone can usually launch a ten minute argument.
Look, Corvettes not only aren't for everybody, they aren't for most people. That's the point. It's an exercise in awe...executed precisely because they (the engineers) can (or at least could).
I have only two questions: How much more incredible is the ZR1 (630 horsepower)? And will GM be making these (or any) cars much longer?
Time, development and refinement. Those are three things that can improve a car, and the Mazda RX-8 has benefited from all three.
Like most people, I was wowed by the look of the RX-8 when it first came out a few years back (making its screen debut in the "X-Men 2" movie)...but a bit underwhelmed when getting to know it in person. The suicide-style four door arrangement looked cool in photos, but was awkward in person. The body's proportions never looked just right from any given angle...and, frankly, it wasn't that fun to drive.
Well, the doors are still dorky (not much can save that but a restyling and possibly a return to two doors), but a bump up to 18 inch wheels has solved the proportion issue handsomely, and the engineers have obviously been working overtime to make the Zoom-Zoom a little zoomier.
The Grand Touring level comes standard with a six-speed manual transmission coupled to a 1.3 liter rotary engine making 232 horsepower. Not a monster, but more than adequate. You also get a sport-tuned suspension (which gets a lot of credit for the increased fun factor), high-performance tires (ditto), and nice stuff like a power moonroof, air conditioning, a 300-watt Bose audio AM/FM/6-disc CD changer audio system, Bluetooth, leather-trimmed seats, and a bunch more for a base price of $31,670.
The tester had only two options, Sirius Satellite Radio ($430)and a navigation system ($2,000), taking the price with delivery charges to just under $35,000, and making it prime competition for say, a loaded Nissan 350Z.
Mileage has never been a rotary engine strong suit...the RX-8's EPA estimate is 16 city/22 highway...which is midsize SUV mileage these days. Props, though for stellar safety ratings...four stars for the driver in a frontal crash, five for the passenger, as well as four stars for front seat and rear seat protection in a side crash and five stars for rollover.
The RX-8 isn't an instant must-have, but Mazda's been working hard to make sure that if you give it a chance, it will make a better than average case for itself.
It's the question professional TireKickers (aka automotive journalists) get asked all the time:
"What's your favorite car?"
For 11 years, I had to answer the question with a question. What type? I mean, the Rolls-Royce Phantom is a great car...but so's the Honda Accord LX. I've never met a Porsche 911 I didn't like...but on the other hand, if you've got two or more kids and strollers, Pak-And-Plays and trips to Costco are part of your life, Chevy Suburbans just plain rock.
All those things still apply. But if you gave me a Venti Sodium Pentathol (half-caf, please) right now, I'd fess up:
The Audi R8 is my favorite car.
There have been a lot of cars over the years that I wouldn't have minded if the manufacturer forgot to come get at the end of a week's worth of testing. The R8 had me praying for mass amnesia at Audi of America.
Yes, this is the car I referred to in my review of the Audi A5/S5 as the car I'd look over my shoulder at after I parked it. Not that I'd ever walk very far. The R8 is a people magnet. Car people, non-car people...doesn't matter. They all want to know what it is...and most are shocked to hear it's an Audi (they were guessing Ferrari or Lamborghini).
The cockpit is tight, but supercar cockpits are, and the R8 is by far the most comfortable and user-friendly of the bunch. Fire up the engine and you know you've got something special. A 4.2 liter V8 with 420 horsepower gets the R8 from zero to 60 in 4.4 seconds. It does the quarter-mile in 12.7 seconds. Top speed is 187 (electronically limited because the tires couldn't take more). It handles like a slot car.
Gas mileage (are we really talking about this?) is amazingly good for this type of car...an EPA estimated 13 city/18 highway for the R-tronic manumatic...12 city/19 highway for the stock stick. With a 23.8 gallon tank, that means 425-plus miles worth of cruising range. Breakfast in Boston? Lunch in Laguna Beach? Dinner in Denver? Getting there in the R8 would be more than half the fun.
If you can find a dealer willing to sell you one at list price, figure on $125,000, give or take. It is so worth it.
Some cars are like a good hamburger. Too many add-ons keep you from getting the true flavor.
Volkswagen may or may not have been thinking of that metaphor (I'll bet not) when they re-christened the Golf the Rabbit here in the U.S. and re-positioned it as more basic transportation.
If you have never driven a Rabbit, go to your local dealer now, because this is where a chunk of the automobile business is heading...to cars the Europeans were embracing while we were in our SUV-induced coma.
Ford hasn't brought its Euro-spec Fiesta and Focus to our shores yet, but like GM's import, the Saturn Astra , the Rabbit is all about strong, solid German engineering. Everything, from major maneuvers to subtle switchgear, is precise. Not too soft, not too hard. Exactly right.
VW's press fleet loaned us an example with only four options...a six-speed automatic transmission, electronic stabilization, 16" alloy wheels and an iPod adaptor in the armrest. We'd have passed on the automatic (which would have saved $1075), but even so, the bottom line was only $18,524 (from a base of $15,600). You could easily buy two Rabbits for less than the price of some cars that simply aren't as good.
And though gas prices are easing compared to where they were in July, it's still three bucks a gallon or more...so 21 city and 29 highway miles per gallon is nothing to sneeze at, either.
Just in time for rising gas prices (and tightening consumer credit), Ford has freshened the Focus Coupe.
This is a great time to have a competitive product for under $20,000 (under $18,000 is even better)...and the Focus, decently equipped, can slot in around $17,000. For that, you get a roomy (by subcompact standards) coupe with better-than-decent performance and very good fuel economy. We'd pass on the trick lighting that can make the footwells and the cupholders light up in seven different colors...but we'd definitely keep the SYNC audio system that allows you to hook up your iPod or other digital music device and then control it by voice.
We're still not getting the truly great stuff...the European Focus...but the U.S. version is way better than a lot of reviews from journalists ticked because we don't have the Euro-spec version yet would have you believe.
If, in 1968, Ford had introduced a car that looked like the 1928 Model A, there would have been more stockholders selling shares than dealers selling cars. But pop culture is a funny thing...and a 40 year flashback can work...as long as it's the right 40 years.
The Ford Mustang Bullitt is a car that trades on two images...one, of a car...and two, of the man who drove it: Steve McQueen.
The 60s were full of cool cars on TV and in the movies, but you don't see Dodge trying to rush a Dodge Dart GTS Mannix edition to market, do you? Steve McQueen was beyond cool (for the record, I like Mike Connors, too).
If you haven't seen the movie Bullitt (is that possible?), buy it. McQueen is Frank Bullitt, a San Francisco cop and it's a good story, but the movie is best known for a 7-minute chase scene featuring McQueen at the wheel of his Highland Green Mustang GT (with decidedly non-stock wheels, blackout grille and a lack of badging) and a couple of murderous thugs with a '68 Dodge Charger.
Despite some continuity errors (the Charger loses six hubcaps and that green VW bug is everywhere), it's widely regarded as one of the best, if not in fact the best movie chase scene ever. See it once and it's burned into your brain.
But even before the big scene, McQueen and the Mustang peg the cool-meter. There's just something that says...yeah, he'd drive that car. And he's so cool, we'd all like to have it rub off on us.
Ford tried a Bullitt edition a few years ago, before Mustang's re-design...and it didn't really work. But now that Mustang looks like a Mustang again, the effect is dead-on. It's achieved by taking a Mustang GT Premium coupe (base price $27,020) and adding the Bullitt Package (interior revisions including a 60s-era Ford font on the gauges, 3.73 limited slip axle, 18" wheels that look like the movie car's mags, and packed exhaust tips for $3,310).
In reality, you get a better car than McQueen drove. This one's faster, can actually go in directions other than a straight line, and comes with the killer Shaker 500 audio system, including AM/FM and an mp3 capable 6-disc CD changer. Our tester also had Sirius Satellite radio. Steve was stuck with just AM (though KFRC and KSFO in 1968 weren't exactly punishment).
And you'll get way better mileage, even if you drive it like Steve...the EPA says 15 city, 23 highway. All for a price of $34,705 as tested. So, go buy the movie and then go test drive one of these...and then tell me with a straight face you're not at least tempted.
Wake up your Stang's inner beast with a Mustang cowl hood from your aftermarket Mustang authority, AmericanMuscle.com!
