Page 10 » Reviews » page 10 » Car news, reviews and auto show stories, photos and community

2011 Cadillac CTS-V vs 2012 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG

I spent the majority of seventh grade daydreaming either about Jenny in my algebra class, or dropping a supercharged 454 into my family's brown Pontiac Parisienne Safari station wagon. Not that I really knew what a supercharger did, but I knew it would look cool sticking up out of the hood. My fantasies also included painting the brown wagon yellow and giving it a flame job, of course. As a 12-year-old, the idea of a "superwagon" thrilled me. Who wouldn't want a ridiculously endowed version of ye olde family truckster? Back then -- in the middle of the 1980s, when minivans were new and the idea of a family SUV laughable, before AMG was officially part of Mercedes-Benz -- there was one hottie wagon in particular that blew my little mind. It was called the Hammer Wagon, and it was AMG's 5-door version of its mighty Hammer sedan. Never heard of the Hammer? It was a W124 E-Class with a hopped-up 375-horsepower 6.0-liter V-8. It usually was painted black with black wheels. The Hammer Wagon was the same, only wagon-y, and its claimed 180 mph top-speed made it faster than a Ferrari Testarossa. To me that makes AMG's first wagon one of the absolute greatest cars of all time.

2011 Cadillac CTS-V vs 2012 Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG

First Look: Aston Martin V12 Zagato

The Aston Martin V12 Vantage is among the rarest, prettiest, and most desired automobiles on sale in the U.S. But if you're one of the very few who find Aston's little car with the big 6.0-liter 12-cylinder engine too common, too bland, and, with a starting price above $180,000, just too darned obtainable, Aston has another option for you. Have you seen the new V12 Zagato?

First Look: Aston Martin V12 Zagato

First Drive: 2012 Mini Cooper S Roadster

The first thing I do when I encounter a new car like the 2012 Mini Cooper S Roadster on a press junket is to quickly walk around it. It's a circling instinct I can't explain, but the rapid laps create a kind of whirlwind notion of the car's essence before any one detail can distract from its essence.

First Drive: 2012 Mini Cooper S Roadster

First Test: 2012 Honda Fit

"This is probably the best car Honda builds." That seems to be the common phrase around our office when discussing the little silver 2012 Honda Fit we've been passing around for the last week and a half. The Fit obviously isn't the fastest or best-appointed Honda, but as far as accomplishing the job it was designed to do, it is hard to beat.

First Test: 2012 Honda Fit

2013 BMW M6 Coupe and 2012 BMW M6 Convertible

Back in 1987, BMW's M GmbH performance wing unveiled the first M6 coupe. The formula was simple: take the company's stunning grand tourer and add more performance. Today, the M division has once again upgraded the 6 Series, giving us in the form of the 2013 BMW M6 Coupe, which will bow at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. Curiously, the accompanying M6 Convertible will come slightly earlier as a 2012 model, but will be shown a month later at the 2012 New York Auto Show.

2013 BMW M6 Coupe and 2012 BMW M6 Convertible

2012 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Coupe vs. 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S

"Slow down, Jonny. I can't keep up with you." So said Scott Evans to moi as we raced around a corner. One of us was in a 2012 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Coupe; the other behind the wheel of a 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S. Well, perhaps the word "raced" is a bit of macho hyperbole, because when I looked down, all I saw was 42 mph on the speedo. I mention this not to poke fun at Scott. He basically grew up on Laguna Seca and is a much better driver than I. No, I mention that Mr. Evans couldn't keep up with the car I was driving to illustrate the difference between the red car and the yellow one. The inclement weather -- rain and snow -- had turned our idyllic California canyon comparison test into something of a struggle. Especially as one of the cars had been rendered almost completely undriveable. Which one? I'll give you a hint: It's not the yellow car.

2012 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Coupe vs. 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S

First Test: 2012 Lexus IS F

"Haven't you driven this thing A BUNCH of times?" asks my half-awake girlfriend, Tiffany, as I begin packing my test-drive essentials -- an iPod cable, sunglasses, water bottle, and snack bar. It's barely 7 a.m. on a Saturday morning, which means nearly everyone except for yogis, boat rowers, and surfers are sound asleep. More important, they're off the roads.

First Test: 2012 Lexus IS F

Arrival: 2012 Honda Civic Si

Honda Civics, especially the performance Si versions, have always found fans in the Motor Trend offices. The mix of sport-tuned suspension, light curb weight, slick six-speed manual transmission, and a high-revving four-banger has been a welcome alternative to the Civic's comparatively wheezy forced-induction engine competitors. However, what the Civic has always lacked in comparison with its turbocharged peers is a praiseworthy torque figure. For the 2012 model year, Honda has tried -- maybe to the detriment of the Civic's soul -- to rectify the situation with the introduction of the larger, less-willing-to-rev 2.4-liter engine.

Arrival: 2012 Honda Civic Si

2013 Ford Mustang V-6 Premium First Test

The refreshed 2013 Ford Mustang V-6 isn't a lightweight, tipping the scales with 3511 bred-in-America pounds. But despite its corpulence, it can accelerate, turn, and stop quicker than most of the competition. Take a look at the spec panel -- 0-60 mph in 5.3 seconds, quarter mile in 13.9 seconds at 100.1 mph, lateral acceleration of 0.95 g, figure eight in 25.4 seconds, and 60-0 in 110 feet -- and it's evident the Mustang overachieves in almost every major objective test. The updated $27,375, 274-horsepower 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 2.0T R-Spec, for instance, trails the Mustang to 60 mph (5.7 seconds), in the quarter mile (14.2 seconds at 98.4 mph), around the figure eight (25.5 seconds), and in 60-0 braking (111 feet). Granted, the numbers are very close, and the Genesis, at 0.97 g, actually outgrips the Mustang, but the bottom line is that Ford's pony car is the real deal.

2013 Ford Mustang V-6 Premium First Test

First Test: 2012 BMW 328i Sport

I'll admit it: I didn't like the idea of a turbo-four in a BMW 3 Series. I know it has precedence and all that, but as someone who used to have a poster of an E46 M3 on my wall, to me the inline-six has always been synonymous with the 3 Series. And having driven the X1 with both the four and the six, I didn't think the four-cylinder engine was right for the 3 Series.

First Test: 2012 BMW 328i Sport

Long Term Update 2: 2011 Kia Sorento SX AWD

I drive a lot of cars. As a matter of fact, I drive a majority of all models built every year. There are bad cars and good cars, great cars and even cars so exceptional they define us as a species. Just about every car sparks some reaction. Then, there are cars that just exist. The more I drive our long-term Sorento, the less emotion and feeling I have for it. At this point, I acknowledge it as part of our reality but have no real attachment to it.

Long Term Update 2: 2011 Kia Sorento SX AWD

2012 Hyundai Elantra Limited Long Term Update 4

Truck Trend editor Allyson Harwood spent the holidays in my Elantra while I used her Silverado to pull around a crappy "race car" up and down the great state of California. Here are her thoughts

2012 Hyundai Elantra Limited Long Term Update 4