Review: 2010 Audi A5 is a personal luxury coupe for the modern age
With the introduction of the A5 for 2008, Audi launched itself into a vehicle segment it had never competed in – one which has waned significantly over the past two decades. Not so long ago, the personal luxury coupe was one of the top selling segments in the U.S., but for a wide variety of reasons, the overall sales picture left it behind. Now you might ask yourself, "How is an A5 in any way similar to the likes of a 1970s-era Chevrolet Monte Carlo or Ford Thunderbird?" At first glance, the A5 is something completely different, but when you dig ...
Officially Official: Ferrari 458 Challenge races in
The 458 Italia, like any other roadgoing Ferrari, draws its inspiration and development from the Scuderia's considerable racing prowess. Turning the 458 back into a racing car, then, is an extra special feat – one to which Maranello is well accustomed, from the Challenge versions of the 348, 355, 360 and 430 that came before. The new race car will run alongside the F430 Challenge as part of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo next year, the latter of which is also getting a new Asia-Pacific series for 2011 as well. While the Challenge car maintains the production 458's 5.5-liter V8 drivetrain, it ...
First Drive: 2011 Porsche Cayenne V6
The Porsche Cayenne wears many hats. It masquerades as both the automaker's entry-level vehicle and as its flagship turbocharged SUV. Broad-shouldered in stature, one variant can blast to 60 mph in less than five seconds and top 170 mph, while another may be propelled quietly under the emissions-free power of electricity. Regardless of where they rank in the hierarchy, multi-talented Cayenne models are capable of traversing deep streams, towing 7,700-pound trailers and carrying five passengers and their luggage into the hands of waiting luxury hotel valets. The six-cylinder Porsche Cayenne is hardly the automaker's crown jewel, but it's frequently one of ...
Subaru recalling nearly 74,000 2010 Outback and Legacy models over wiring issue
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Subaru is recalling 74,000 2010 Outback and Legacy models built between February 16, 2009 and April 12, 2010. It seems that a bundle of wires located behind the steering wheel can develop stress cracks and eventually break. If this happens, some vehicle functions with controls on the steering wheel – such as the horn, cruise and radio controls, paddle shifters and even the driver's airbag – could fail. Owners of affected vehicles are urged to contact their local dealerships to see if their cars are equipped with a possibly defective steering roll connector. ...
First Drive: 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T
We've watched with a sense of awe as Hyundai has gone from a discount also-ran brand into a genuine industry powerhouse in startlingly short order. But we've also long suspected that its vehicles have gained so much ground by being among the best values in their respective segments – not because they've necessarily been the best vehicles to drive. The addition of the Genesis Coupe may have served notice that Hyundai isn't content to just be the industry's value leader (see Battle of the Sixes), but the keystone draw of most of the brand's offerings has remained their affordability. Which ...
Rich people are different from the rest of us. Their wants and needs involve parameters and details completely foreign to the proletariat. While we use our vehicles for transportation, utility and sport, the rich view their automobiles as a necessary accoutrement to their elevated lifestyles. For the...
It looks like customers opting for the upper trim levels on the Chevrolet Camaro will have to pay a little bit more when the 2011 models roll into showrooms this fall. According to a posting on the Camaro5 forum from a dealer employee, the 2LT and 2SS models will see a $350 price increase to $28,075...
Tesla Motors announced last week that it was definitely going to build ist Model S at the former NUMMI factory in Fremont, California. Or it might not. This isn’t the first announcement about where this car might be produced. That was way back in February 2007 when the car was still being referred...
Imagine, for a moment, that the Porsche engineering team has dropped 4,177 individually wrapped Twinkies on the lab floor. The yellow cream-filled sponge cakes are scattered shin-deep across the smooth ceramic tiles and kicked into the corners by technicians wearing white lab coats as more hit the floor....
If there’s to be a singular automotive theme guiding us into this second decade of the 21st century, it’s downsizing. If not in dimensions, then in displacement. Automakers, forced to adhere to higher government-mandated fuel economy standards and lower CO2 emissions, are beginning to collectively...
ften imitated, never duplicated. We’re talking about the Maybach Exelero, the high-speed test bed commissioned from Daimler by Fulda tires. Unfortunately, only one was ever made, and it was subsequently sold for nearly $8 million, reportedly to an African diamond tycoon named André A. Jackson. Since...
