Published by Jason October 25th, 2006
in 4 Stars and Mini.
Over the past few years, I’ve had a chance to drive an impressive list of cars from manufacturers such as Audi, BMW, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover, and Infinity plus more common cars from Toyota, Honda, etc. However, not one single car gained the attention of my friends, family and co-workers like the Mini Cooper. It’s not uncommon for people to ask me what I’m driving that week, or what’s coming next week, and without fail, whenever I mentioned the Mini Cooper, I got an excited response. “Really? Will you take me for a ride?” “Oh Man, I love those!!!” “Wow, how is it?” Over and over, the small, modest car earned me more conversations than anything else I’ve driven. At one point, I was followed out of a local hardware store by the elderly owner and his wife to look at it. “Have you seen that one movie… The Italian Job? That’s a great movie… Those cars are so neat…”
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Published by Jason October 23rd, 2006
in Preview.
I recently was invited to attend both a dinner hosted by Mercedes-Benz and a luncheon hosted by Jaguar. Both were looking to announce some new products and give local journalists a chance at seeing them in action. Mercedes brought their new diesel powered ML 350s and an R 350, both beautiful and stunningly quiet. Our walkaround came at dusk and so apologies for the dark images.
The third-generation CDI brought several improvements over the non-diesel counterparts as well as its previous generation motor. Everyone couldn’t help but comment on how remarkably quiet the motor was, and how smooth the engine revved from idle on up. High marks to the German engineers who’ve improved upon a great engine. Another striking improvement was in fuel economy. Boasting an average 5 mpg rating above its gasoline counterparts (21-27 diesel vs. 17-21 gasoline), it still managed at delivering a 0-60 sprint in under 8 seconds. Not bad…
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Published by Jason October 22nd, 2006
in Preview and Mudfest.
Each year the Northwest Automotive Press Association (NWAPA) holds a competition plotting the best SUVs around the world in grill-to-grill combat against each other. The test includes both an on-road handling course as well as an off-road mud and dirt track testing all aspects of cornering, handling, braking, and good old fashioned mud. I had the opportunity to attend this years event and had a blast riding around with the generous members of NWAPA (I had gotten my information in a week too late, and therefor missed out on the driving portion… Better luck next year…).
Highlights of the day included a motocross track hosed down to afford about 6-12 inches of deep, sticky mud in which to test the SUVs. Other highlights was Toyota’s FJ Cruiser, which seemed to please almost everybody I talked to, both on- and off-road. I personally had the most fun in it than any other car and was glad to see it in true form amidst steep mud and grime. Author Bengt Halvorson also gave me my most thrilling ride during the on-road slalom course in a loose and sloppy Tahoe Z71. I also really enjoyed getting to ride in the Audi Q7, which I had yet to see ‘in the wild.’
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Published by Jason October 18th, 2006
in 4 Stars and Nissan.
About two hours after I stepped out of the Mini Cooper, I went back outside to get in the new car for the week, a Nissan Armada. “You could put the Mini into that thing if you wanted…” was the quote of the day coming from the PageOne courier. Big, boxy, high off the ground. It appeared as if would eat the mini, or at least throw it onto its roof and parade around with it like a giant toy on its roof rack. However, once I climbed into the car, settled down and took inventory of the giant expanse of the car, it became quite cozy. The way a small house is cozy.
It completely changes the way you think about driving through a city when you’re in something this big. You don’t merely pull into any parking lot and start looking for a spot, and you don’t merely dive down small, narrow neighborhood streets. You plan your moves and execute with confidence. You ignore even huge gaps in on-street parking while forging ahead to the parking garage and hoping for a straight-in spot. Also, when you’re coordinating going out with friends, you don’t hesitate to invite anyone in earshot, as there is enough legroom for even very tall people regardless of which seat they end up with. It’s just a different type of automobile than most people drive.
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