Category Archives: Roadtest

Road Test: 2011 Cadillac CTS-V vs. Audi A8L "Jekyll, Meet Hyde"

November 19, 2011 9:02 PM1 Comment

Life is full of polar opposites. For every man in a corner office endlessly gazing over spreadsheets there is a man who prides himself in the amount of light bulbs he can eat in one sitting. As much as the one looks down on the other, there is an unspoken acknowledgment that the one begat the other. And so we have come to a crossroads where two monsters of the luxury market meet. The Audi A8L is a car for the highfalutin, practical, and overall respectable drivers of the world. The Cadillac CTS-V is more of a car for those who exude adrenaline, take life as it comes, and for those who may have a slight tendency to keep their right foot planted to the floor. Both of the vehicles will require a check north of $70k and both offer the prestige and notoriety that you expect from brands like Cadillac and Audi. We have decided to dive deeper into both of these adversarial vehicles and present the information so that you may answer the  metaphorical question for yourself… will it be the blue pill or the red pill? Continue Reading →

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Quick Look: 2012 Audi A7

November 12, 2011 10:09 PMLeave a Comment

Vehicle:

2012 Audi A7 S-Line

Exterior Color:

Interior Color:

Engine: 3.0 TFSI V6 Quattro

310 hp/325 lb-ft Torque

Transmission: Eight-Speed Tiptronic Automatic

MSRP: $59,250

As Tested: $68,630

Exterior Styling: 10/10

The A7 is stunning to look at…with its masculine lines, wide stance, and swooping rear end. The car is  perfect from every angle. The S-Line kit really gives it the sporty look it deserves, from the S-Line bumpers down to the 20″ ten-parallel-spoke wheels.

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Road Test: 2011 Saab 9-5 "Walking On Water"

September 7, 2011 8:22 PMLeave a Comment

It’s hard to even know where to start on this particular article. The state of the Saab brand is progressively getting worse day after day since we took the keys of the all new 2011 Saab 9-5. The company had been given little attention by GM during its ownership and then had seemed to find some gleam of hope from auto maker Spyker in 2010 when they had assumed ownership. Then earlier this year Saab had ran out of money and Spkyer has struggled since to find financial support from Sweden and several companies in China. The most recent news is that many of the suppliers for the company have moved to force Saab into bankruptcy to resolve their debt issues. Saab workers are worried about receiving paychecks and dealers are ordering vehicles like this new 9-5 and the all new 9-4x in quantities that you can count on your hand. It seems that the company that was “Born from Jets” is no longer soaring and it looking like only a miracle akin to walking on water that would keep the company around to see any additional new models. The new 9-5 has the looks to be a contender… but is it enough?

 

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Road Test: 2011 Tesla Roadster Sport "It's Electric"

August 5, 2011 9:58 AMLeave a Comment

In the current automotive market there are a very limited number of brands competing for customers and you don’t often hear of all new brands entering in trying to compete with the major established brands. I can actually count on my hand the number of companies that have started up producing cars in the last decade and there are far less that anyone would consider having been an actual success. Yet back in 2003 Elon Musk and a group of others decided they could make an all electric sports car to compete with the likes of Porsche and Lotus to prove their electric technology was feasible in a production car. They believed this technology would eventually be used in sedans and compacts to replace gasoline and move their company into the mainstream market. As we take the keys to this Tesla Roadster Sport the company has announced the last batch of cars will roll off the assembly line in the coming year to end production. Having produced and sold around 1,600 Roadsters worldwide, the company believes it is ready to move forward to its expansion into more affordable mainstream vehicles. We push the button on the center console to start up the motor and quietly head out to the streets of Santa Monica to see if this is the future of the American automotive scene or just another start up that will only live on in our memories.

 

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Road Test: 2011 GMC Acadia Denali "Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow"

June 14, 2011 6:00 AMLeave a Comment

General Motors has been criticized at many points in its history for trying to sustain too many brands and using slight differentiations in the exterior and interior to try to pass a similar car off as an entirely different model in another brand’s portfolio. As the boys at GM have axed several brands and tried to break away from the corporate thinking that has gotten them into trouble in the past, the LAMBDA platform that underpins this GMC Acadia Denali may be one of the last remaining traces of the old platform sharing ideals from the 80′s and 90′s. Recent news from the General Motors camp has the Acadia slated to die an honorable death after 2012 as the company realizes the lack of a need for a vehicle identical to the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave. We borrowed the new Denali version of the Acadia to see if this is a mournful goodbye or an execution of the last of the bad blood that remains in the GM gene pool.

 

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Road Test: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze LTZ "Third Time is a Charm?"

May 25, 2011 4:25 PM2 Comments

They say the third time is a charm, with Chevrolet and its current compact cars, we have gone through the Cavalier, Cobalt, and now we have the new Chevrolet Cruze. As gas rolls back into the $4/gallon range, this may be one of the most important launches the company has had in recent years save for that of the Chevrolet Volt. The Cruze has the best chance to win in the current marketplace. The Corolla has taken a sales hit from quality issues and the Honda Civic has gone the way of Myspace as the market has progressed forward. On paper the new Cruze can jump out with phrases such as “36mpg” with “interior refinement” and a staring price around $16k. So we shall see if the marketing and hype can keep up with reality and see if Chevrolet has finally got a compact to compete with the Japanese, and also the new heavy hitters from Korea.

 

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Road Test: 2011 Audi A4 "The Red Baron"

May 24, 2011 10:23 AM1 Comment

Manfred von Richthofen was born in Breslau, Germany in 1892. At age 11 he started his military training in the German army. As WWI began Manfred grew tired of not seeing much action and applied for the Imperial German Army Air Service. This would later be known as the beginning of one of the most impressive piloting careers in all of history, for Manfred would later be known in infamy as the Red Baron. The Red Baron would go on to 80 air combat victories, more than any other pilot, and would be known world wide by both sides of the war. The Audi A4 has made a similar rise to fame, going from just another attempt at a luxury sedan to a real contender and often front runner in the luxury segment. Just as the opposing pilots knew the markings of the Baron’s plane, the menacing front end and the signature LED headlights can be detected by any of the drivers in competition luxury sedans. We took this modern “red baron” out to the streets to see if it could truly soar with the best that the market has to offer.

 

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Quick Look: 2011 VW Touareg Hybrid

May 21, 2011 2:30 PMLeave a Comment


Vehicle:

2011 Volkswagen Touareg Superchared Hybrid

Exterior: Night Blue Metallic

Interior: Black Anthraciate

3.0L v6 6 speed Automatic

4Motion Permanent All-Wheel Drive System

MSRP $60,565

As Tested $61,385

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Road Test: 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee "Signs of Life"

March 23, 2011 1:09 PMLeave a Comment

In the book of Genesis there is a great flood in which a man named Noah builds an arc to save the creatures of the Earth. Upon landing on a mountain top after a year of flooding, a dove is sent out to bring back some signs of life and dry land. This new Jeep Grand Cherokee, is Chrysler’s dove. Coming out of a change of ownership and bailouts from the government this is the only vehicle that the Chrysler Group had to prove itself for the first half of the year. In my opinion this is the most important launch the company has had in decades. So we were given this “dove” in an attempt to see if it was to produce an olive branch or be lost in the flood.

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Road Test: 2011 Audi A3 TDI "Green Gets Chic"

January 30, 2011 6:28 PM1 Comment

I remember the first time we met Johan de Nysschen, the President of Audi America. We had just witnessed the Audi press conference and were sitting inside the company’s new Audi R8 GT when a man with a distinct mustache sat down in the passenger seat. “Look Here” he says pointing at the serial number on the car “zero out of 333, this car doesn’t exists.” We chuckle and respond, “you guys have had a good year so far.” With a big grin he responds “Yes, yes we have.”

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