By Martin Schwoerer
October 7, 2009
I’m anything but a Trekkie, but a recent drive in the Tesla Roadster made me think of the Starship Enterprise. To be more precise, the Enterprise a second after warp speed has been deployed. Imagine for a moment that your brain is Captain Kirk and the “gas” pedal is Scotty. When Scotty receives the warp [...]
Review: Tesla Roadster
Posted in Car Reviews | Other | 74 comments 
By Lyn Vogel
August 17, 2009
There's a big difference between myself and Lotus founder Colin Chapman. When I change a flat tire, I find that I have two lug nuts left over. Chapman could create fully functioning sports/racing cars out of the detritus found in the average kitchen junk drawer. One-handed. While sipping tea. The Lotus Seven---later Super 7---is perhaps the best-known and longest-lasting example of his Frankensteinian genius. Debuting in 1957 and running on to 1973 (when Caterham Cars grabbed the baton), the 7 has undergone decades of continuous development. Yet is essentially the same vehicle that Chapman created. And none the worse for it.
Review: 2009 Caterham 7
rating summary and performance review: 2009 Caterham 7
Posted in Car Reviews | Other | 38 comments
By Martin Schwoerer
June 24, 2009
After a few seconds in the
Mindset, I was thinking: Whoa, this thing is fast. And Goddamn, it feels good. And then I remembered a movie I hadn't thought of in a decade, and it struck me: this doesn't seem like 2009, this is more like
Gattaca. You know: the sci-fi movie starring the
Studebaker Avanti, Rover P6 and Citroen DS Décapotable---all running with electric motors. They are breathtakingly, inimitably beautiful cars. In the movie, they only make a whirring noise. It's all very 2030, and somehow, it works. Of course, if you had an electric droptop DS at your disposal, then why would you drive a Swiss-made, electric Mindset? But I'm getting ahead of myself. So, what is this car about?
Capsule Review: 2010 Mindset EV
Posted in Car Reviews | Other | 36 comments
By Martin Schwoerer
June 11, 2009
My first car was a 1970s–era Opel Rekord. It was one of the most beautiful cars GM ever made. It was also roomy, reliable, as well as cheap to own and service. Those typical brand values made Opel a star player in Europe, and demoted Ford and many others to the status of also-rans. Later, Opel lost the reliability and beauty part of the plot. Is today's Rekord – the Opel Insignia – good enough to lead an almost-dead company to the future?
Review: 2010 Opel Insignia 2.0 Diesel
rating summary and performance review: 2010 Opel Insignia 2.0 Diesel
Posted in Car Reviews | Other | Sales | 34 comments
By Adrian Clarke
May 14, 2009
Dante Giacosa's original 500 was an industrial design master class for mobilising Italy's poor after the war. Fiat's nuova 500 springs from no such noble sentiment; it is meant to convince the foccacia buying classes there is an alternative in the baby premium market to the ubiquitous neue Mini.
Review: Fiat 500 1.3 Multijet
rating summary and performance review: Fiat 500 1.3 Multijet
Posted in Car Reviews | Other | 57 comments
By Robert Farago
May 7, 2009
Why did Maybach put a speedometer in the rear of the cabin? The salesman's line: "so you can tell the driver to slow down." I don't think so. Plutocrats don't get to be plutocrats by ambling about, caring about the hired help's driving record or hiring chauffeurs who can't drive safely. [NB: Mohammed Al Fayed wasn't a plutocrat.] My explanation: velocity equals distance over time. Maybach figured its patrons would want to note their speed, check the flanking clock and calculate when they'd get to where they're going. In other other words, Maybach owners would want to know when they're going to leave their Maybach. The roof-mounted speedo embodies the luxury limo's underlying philosophy. Maybach. The ideal conveyance for people who'd rather be somewhere else.
Review: 2006 Maybach 57S
rating summary and performance review: 2006 Maybach 57S
Posted in Car Reviews | Other | 57 comments
By Sajeev Mehta
April 29, 2009
Per Wikipedia, the Marxist theory of False Consciousness claims, “material processes in capitalist society are misleading to the proletariat.” Trabants aside, it's pretty clear that the founders of Communism would love today’s Smart ForTwo. It’s the one-dimensional vehicle that denies its occupants the luxury of time, space and value. But it’ll pop eyeballs like Gisele Bündchen in a Target. It didn’t hurt that my tester had the blessings of noted Mercedes tuner, Carlsson Autotechnik. Too bad it didn’t help.
Review: 2009 Carlsson Smart ForTwo
rating summary and performance review: 2009 Carlsson Smart ForTwo
Posted in Car Reviews | Other | 101 comments
By Sajeev Mehta
March 13, 2009
Walked into a HUMMER dealership lately? The poster child for everything wrong with the automotive industry went from a vibrant, stylish lounge for conspicuous consumption to a somber, museum-like tribute to modern architecture and failed business models. It’s a sad combination of soaring heights and eerie, uncomfortable silence. This also describes the Hummer H3T Alpha to the proverbial T: the brand’s failed promises of functionality and fashion for a premium price culminate into the worst product rollout of the 2009 model year.
Review: 2009 HUMMER H3T Alpha
rating summary and performance review: 2009 HUMMER H3T Alpha
Posted in Car Reviews | Other | 59 comments
By Robert Farago
February 26, 2009
As the salesman retrieved the key for the demo GranTurismo, I approached the trunk of the sleek silver siren sitting on the showroom floor. Even though I was opening the Maserati's boot rather than its bonnet, I felt like a pre-teen rifling through a copy a Playboy while the drug store owner helped Mrs. Myers with her prescription. The fact that the Maserati's electric rear lid opened at all was heartening. And then I saw it: a blue box. Genuine Maserati parts. Fumble, fumble. Uh-oh. A trickle charger. A classy, digital battery booster, but a direct link to the most troublesome car I'd ever owned (a British two-seater named after a man called Trevor). It seems that Maserati's latest product for the American market is still a bit... problematic. But not for the reasons you might think.
Review: 2008 Maserati GranTurismo
rating summary and performance review: 2008 Maserati GranTurismo
Posted in Car Reviews | Other | 33 comments
By Jack Baruth
February 17, 2009
"Consultant" is the new way to say "unemployed." But, from time to time, it can be quite lucrative to
consult on various vague enterprises. Such was the case a few years ago when I found myself with the urge and the ability (temporary, alas) to add something truly outrageous to my personal Island of Misfit Cars. A racing buddy of mine mentioned to me that Spyker was bringing their "demo car" through Detroit. There might be a deal or two to be had. And that's how I found myself opposite-locking a $296k car across two lanes of Troy, Michigan's "Big Beaver Road" at the top of second gear, idly contemplating my personal liability in any potential collision while my corporate babysitter clawed feebly at his door like a kitten kneading its mother's stomach.
Review: 2009 Spyker C8
Posted in Car Reviews | Future Vehicles | Other | 24 comments
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