Review Your Cars

When first hearing about how the supercharged Audi S4 performed so well, I was immediately skeptical of the 333hp rating and stated as much on April 29th, 2010. When owner Greg Helstrup of Collateral Resources contacted me asking if I wanted to check out his 2011 S4, I immediately made arrangements to get behind the wheel. Greg’s impressions of the car are smooth, comfortable, solid, quiet and “go-kart”. It isn’t a “go-kart” like a Lotus, but compared to floaty and boaty sedan or an SUV, it feels like it. This current generation referred to the B8, is significantly larger than the B7 visually and for the driver, most apparent in the driver legs area where more room was desperately needed. This is truly a proper sized sedan and the impression is that this is a do-anything automobile. It’s fast, practical, all-wheel drive and full of luxury and technology. With a long list of options and technical features that are covered in a 66 page brochure, a lot of time is really needed to fully re...

In light of the recent controversy of the guest authored Mustang GT 5.0 review, the timing of evaluating this 305 horsepower V-6 model couldn’t be better. After a long weekend and over 200 miles, there is plenty to share. It’s smooth around town, quick and gets very impressive mileage yet still very “domestic”. The car has nice styling, the polished dual exhaust mufflers a nice touch on the base V-6 model. The taillights are distinctively Mustang with cool sequential lighting pattern when a turn signal is activated. One thing that has bothered me is the dark, rectangular body strip on the side of Mustang that has been prevalent for years. It seems like a styling shortcut, like a big mudflap. Of course loading luggage was the first part and although having a high sill, the trunk space is pretty good, far better than the larger and heavier Camaro. The rear badge is enormous which as we learned later, is a recurring theme. A large center console has great storage yet oddly the large doors...

I was checking out the Camry Hybrid online. Gas prices here are spiking up a bit. It says mpg is 31/35, but someone said that in winter, when running the heater, the mpg goes down. Is this true? Thanks, Jeff Chicago, IL _____ Hello Jeff, yes that is true. In cold weather, batteries lose efficiency which means the gasoline engine will turn on sooner and for a longer period of time, increasing fuel consumption. A recent trend is to have heated seats work in conjunction with the heater to reduce the demand on battery power from blowing heated air. In hot weather, the same may occur with the air conditioning being constantly on even though it's equipped with an electric compressor vs. the standard accessory belt driven unit to eliminate parasitic losses. A word of advice regarding any car with a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Make sure you drive it as you drive your current car and make sure you don’t find the constant revving objectionable when accelerating. If most ...

Mr. Gary Richards AKA Mr. Roadshow of the San Jose Mercury News recently reported that the new southbound 680 express lanes have added on average a minute to the commute time. The study cited was done by the Alameda County Transportation Agency. What that means is the results of the new lanes are an absolute and total failure contributing MORE pollution from idling vehicles than before. I would also like to know just how bad the spikes are and how badly the statistics show the real story every day. ALSO, on southbound 680 AFTER the express lanes end during the evening rush hour, traffic slows down while there is a very large median area next to the center divider that could easily accommodate another lane. Why it hasn’t been made into a useful lane is beyond me. Finally northbound 680 during the late afternoon and evening looks horrible as well, observed during late afternoon drives southbound. Why California continues to mandate harmful and/or useless fuel additives, lower octane ...

Part 3 of the coverage of the Silicon Valley Auto Show with slideshow featuring manufacturers "M" through "V" The Silicon Valley Auto Show offered a great value for those wanting to really take a close look at new cars. Although highly desirable marquees like Porsche and Audi were absent, considering the $9 admission price which includes a 1-year subscription to Motor Trend, or $7 with an online coupon, it’s more affordable than virtually any other auto show. While debating the merits of a comparatively small show vs. the International level events, keep in mind versus something like a Goodguys custom car show in Pleasanton, not only is it less expensive, including parking, but here you can sit, touch and feel all these cars and trucks and many of them have much nicer interiors, if not as colorful. But as I wrote before, either one is a nice alternative to the zoo. Check out the slideshow for the remaining cars from the manufacturers.

Part 2 of the highlights of the 2011 Silicon Valley Auto Show. In San Jose, the 2011 Silicon Valley Auto Show presented by Motor Trend held Thursday 1/6 – Sunday 1/9 is much improved over last year. Additional highlights of the show are listed below. Be sure to check out all the observations in the slideshow as well. A free subscription to Motor Trend magazine with each ticket purchase. Ford Mustang Dream Giveaway benfitting the Healing Heroes Network. It's actually for two Mustangs, a '69 Calypso Coral High Performance Boss 30 and a matching 2012 Boss 302. The 2012 model is the only one offered in Calypso Coral as well and the Boss package means 440hp. Be sure to see the Laguna Seca edition in the slideshow too. Ride and Drives from GM (Chevrolet, Buick & GMC), Ford and Toyota. Specialty Vehicles from Chevrolet include the Corvette Stingray concept, the "American Pride" Camaro and the SLP ZL585 Camaro. See the slideshow from Part 1. Also a magic show as w...

In San Jose, the 2011 Silicon Valley Auto Show presented by Motor Trend held Thursday 1/6 – Sunday 1/9 is much improved over last year. Although not as large as the “other” major city shows like Chicago, Detroit, LA and New York that feature new model and concept introductions, there are distinct advantages and some very interesting observations. Access is particularly easy and parking is affordable. Since it’s not too big, and on Thursday night not too crowded, you can really crawl around the cars and take in all the details. And of course, some under-supervised little kids walk all over the cars leaving details too. Hint to parents – pretend these cars belong to your boss, okay? Perhaps the lack of the crowd meant everyone seemed to be friendly, courteous, in good humor and polite. This folks was not like a trip Costco. Sadly, Porsche, Nissan and Audi among others were missed and these smaller-show cars tend to be in drab black and grey colors. And Mercedes, in a dimly lit ...

In the $40,000+ price range, it’s hard to make a bad choice when buying a new vehicle. If you’re looking for a sporty and luxurious coupe with usable rear seats you really can’t go wrong. Even if you pick on styling alone, you won’t make a bad decision. The G37 Coupe from Infiniti has great curves that make a convincing case. Exterior Spending time with this car in black and studying the styling, I came across a realization. Make some minor changes such as eliminating the chrome, round the tail lights and add some yellow prancing horse badges and it could easily pass for a grand tourer from Ferrari. That is how well the lines on this car look in person. The same could be said in the 4th (and last) generation Toyota Supra from 1993 to 1998. Details like the headlights, hood line and front fenders are exquisite. Fit and finish are exemplary with excellent fitment of the body panels. Even the standard 18” rims look proportionate in this day of 19s and 20s on many models. Interio...

Hey Car Guy, Can you tell me if the Supra came in an all wheel drive configuration? Thanks, JH, Seattle, WA Thank you for writing, JH. The Toyota Supra was never offered by Toyota in an AWD configuration although a search online reveals some aftermarket attempts. The Supra was sold in the United States from 1979 to 1998 with the 4th generation (MKIV) from '93 to '98 having the most notoriety. However there was an AWD Toyota Celica sold in 1988 to 1993 which spanned two different generations. It featured a 190hp turbocharged 4-cylinder engine and saw success in World Rally Championship racing before Mitsubishi and Subaru were competitors. _____ Have a question about cars you would like answered? Want to know about performance, racing, modifying, shopping, makes, models, events, etc. Reach me here: AskRobAboutCars@gmail.com and I'll do my best to answer your question and publish it! Continue reading on Examiner.com: All Wheel Drive Toyota Supra? Ask Rob About Cars - San Jo...

Now that fall is here after a busy summer, there are some thoughts that have come to mind that are worth sharing. Incorrect transmission references still abound. Industry members and journalists still refer to automated manual transmissions as an automatic transmission. An “automatic transmission” definition should not change. It’s a transmission that uses fluid to transmit power until a physical lock-up occurs. An automated manual, single or dual clutch uses actual clutches for a physical connection for power transfer at all speeds. They are distinctly different but neither one has a clutch pedal and both can be driven without manually selecting gears. A Saleen S7R won its class at LeMans for the first time and it was the last running of the GT-1 class. This is quite a momentous event after 10 years of gallant attempts. This time the usually dominant Corvette C6-Rs lost and note they are no longer factory backed. The non-factory backed Aston Martins lost as well. AutoWeek ma...