Week of December 17 through the end of the year

It's the holidays, which means lazy car salesmen have given up for the year and I'm lucky if I even get called in for a full day of work. It's OK, I have a new arrangement with my Mortgage company that I can start paying in good intentions.

12/17/12

• 2010 Subaru Forester: Steering is light and drifty on center so don't look away from the road on the freeway. Overall good feel and as usual great low center of gravity like all Subaru.
• 2006 Lexus IS-250 Sedan: Good dynamics, but it just feels too small above the belt line and especially in the foot wells, How big is that transmission?
• 2009 Saturn Outlook XE: Solid CUV feel. Ending Saturn was a bad choice.

12/18/12

• Work? Hah nobody needs cars. 

12/19/12

• 2009 Volkswagen CC Turbo 6spd (long trip): Great powertrain, good turn in, but controls are numb and pedals are skewed too far to the right. Great shiftier feel.

12/20/12

• 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 w/Plow: Plows on the freeway are a pain. Overheating, horrible mileage  and boy do big bumps have new meaning when there's that much weight forward of the front bumper and nothing in the back.

12/21/12

• 2010 Jeep Patriot: Too tight inside, brakes are needlessly stiff. This is just too primitive for its price.
• 2000 Ford F-350 Lariat V10: This isn't a truck, it's a land borne tug boat!
• 2006 Volkswagen Jetta 2.5: This is a really great simple small sedan. Get it as a stick and just drive it.

12/26/12

• 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser: The novelty of these just doesn't seem to wear off. 
• 2006 BMW X5 4.4i: It's big outside, but small inside. Not super great as far as AWD traction goes. Too reliant on the traction control to fake it.

Also just say no to soft touch plastic. Sure it looks nice in the show room, but it just doesn't hold up.

12/27/12

• 2008 Chevy HHR: Great little hatchback. Doesn't try to be "retro" too much. Drives very well. If this is what Chevy needed to to do in order to make a nice 5 door then so be it. WAY better than the PT cruiser was.
• 2009 Kia Borrego V6: A GREAT full size SUV that looks like, but isn't, a crossover. Stylish and comfortable, but not trying to be "Luxury" Kind of like what BMW used to do. If you can't bear to just get a great minivan, this is a good choice. Sadly it was sold here for only one year before being replaced with a CUV. http://www.edmunds.com/kia/borrego/

12/28/12

• 2010 Ford Fusion SE: Fantastic sedan, comfortable, roomy, dynamic, the layout and interior design is top notch for it's class. Soft surfaces wherever your legs/arms rest. Sync controls are logical and smart. The steering wheel especially is well done, with radio/infotainment controls on the right (same hand you reach to the radio with.) and Cruse and dash info controls on the left. Also AUTOSTICK is the RIGHT WAY AROUND!!!! (Forward to Downshift, Back to Upshift, as Racing God intended.) More people need to love sport cloth seats; grabby, warm, and tough! And you don't need to feed them like leather.
• 2009 Kia Borrego V6: Yes sometimes they sell that fast. When they are good,
• 2009 Mazda CX-9: Responsive and well appointed, but still too tall, Autostick is the right way round.
• 2005 Chevy Equinox LT: Sits tall, compromises interior quality to pay for the extra sheet metal, but hey, you aren't driving a wagon right......

Week of November 12th

11/12/12

• 2012 Subaru Legacy: Great center of gravity feel, good turn in, new boxer engine is fantastically smooth. The interior however should decide if it wants to be luxury or sporty.
• 2010 Nissan Rouge S Krōm: Yes Krōm, I dono...Great drivetrain and steering, but it's clear you can cut the most corners in the CUV "we swear it's not a minivan" segment. But nice use of NON soft-touch plastic.
• 2013 Mercedes-Benz ML350: Beautiful interior, miserably top heavy coupled with numb over-boosted steering. If you have no idea what a parking brake is, this may be the CUV for you.
• 2004 Chevy Silverado: Just like a TrailBlazer with a light rear end.

11/14/12

• 2001 Chevy Silverado 1500: It's a truck.

11/15/12

• 2000 Pontiac Firebird V6: T-TOPS! Flip Up Head Lights! Retracting Antenna! Fuels your inner mullet! Great blast from the past!

Business in the front, Party in the back!

• 2002 Saturn L200: Spartan but not chintzy, nicer than a Chevy but not crappy.
• 2002 Saturn SL2: Low, Low car, feels like they were shooting to copy the Honda Civic, they sorta missed.

11/16/12

• 2007 Cadillac CTS:  Tight and Responsive. Interior is a bit low rent compared to a German premium, but Nice!
• 2006 Lexus IS 250: Feels like its in the CTS category, but not the 3 Series. Hard surfaces in uncomfortable places. 

Week of October 29th

10/29/12

• 2004 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 SLT HD: Great power and HUGE towing Brakes!
• 2004 Ford Taurus SE: BLAH?
• 2003 Acura MDX: This is a LUXURY SUV?
• 2005 Chevy Impala: It doesn't even have a DOME LIGHT!?

10/31/12

• 2004 Volkswagen Jetta: Like putting on a well worn pair of boots. The MkIV aged real well, except for that "soft touch" plastic. That stuff should be banned.
• 2005 Mitsubishi Endeavor: CUV, it sits like a chair, rides like a box.
• 1979 Honda Trail 90: It's like a scooter meets a mountain goat. Can't wait to ride it to work in the spring. 100 MPG!

It does however need a bit of work to be road legal again.

11/1/12

• 2005 Subaru Baja: Feels lighter and more responsivethan the Outback. I want this turbo engine in my Outback. "Metal" trim instead of "wood" so you know it's "tougher".
• 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse SE: Too much form over function. Like an "idea" of the old Eclipse, but only visually. Quick initial turn in, but then washes out, back end does nothing, it's just allong for the ride.
• 2007 Nissan 350Z: Very track oriented car. Stiff and well planted; good power anywhere in the rev range.

It's like a car version of Mega Man.

• 2005 Ford Explorer XLT 4x4: Meh...

11/2/12

• 2006 Saturn Ion: Tight, much more euro than the old Saturns.
• 2005 Ford Explorer: Bleh, so middle of the road. When it's not flipping off it.
• 2011 Volvo C70 T5: Incredibly solid for a hard top convertible. Good power and good auto transmission
• 2009 Volkswagen CC: Too tiny inside. Ok Headroom, but the door entry is way too low, I hit my head EVERY TIME.

Week of October 22nd

10/22/12

• 2005 Chevy Monte Carlo LT: Overall Ok ride, but every sense says late 90's car, not 2005.
• 2005 Cadillac SRX: It's ok for a tall wagon CUV, but a CTS Wagon would do as good a job or better.
• 2006 Lexus GX470: The 4-Runner is the perfect covered light truck, But this one needs new rear shocks.
• 2002 Honda Accord EX 4dr. Comfortable and nice, but steering is way too light.

10/23/12

• 2003 Honda Accord V6: This drives GREAT! Smooth competent power, V6 Steering feels really good!
• 2002 BMW X5 3.0i: Too tall, too upright.
• 2010 Ford Explorer Sport Trac Limited: I really kinda like Sync. Truck is Ok, but CG is in a weird spot, somewhere midway between an SUVs and a crew cab pickup.
• 2010 Subaru Impreza WRX STi: Good low CG, but feels bigger and less powerful than the EvoX by a significant margin. Nicer interior though.

Evo wins this round.

10/24/12

• 2007 Hummer H3: Surprisingly it does ride different than a TrailBlazer. Like riding in a TONKA TRUCK, but visibility is pillbox poor.

10/25/12

• 2007 Acura RDX Turbo: Great pickup, fun turbo noise, comfortable and responsive, great primary and secondary controls. Bit too darty on the freeway, not much on center feel.
• 2010 Lexus GX460: Man I love Toyota Trucks. Fantastic new interior, but I'd rather this truck Un-Luxed and ready for the dirt.
• 2008 Ford Mustang V6: GREAT! Very American car. Drives like my old 90's T-bird did. Perfect for the beautiful sunny warm day!
• 2009 Cadillac Escalade ESV: 4 Gallons doesn't even make the gas gauge move!
• 2004 Saab 9-3 Turbo 2.0: Fun Driving, very European feel for a "GM".

10/26/12

• 2003 Ford Windstar: You can defiantly feel it is biased around the Taurus.
• 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab: Big Truck.
• 2012 Ford Focus SE: Fantastic total execution! Great Power, great maneuverability, Fantastic!