2010 Suzuki Kizashi GTS – Long-Term Road Test Update
Neglected but respected, our long-term Suzuki presses on in search of miles.
Date: August 2010
Months in Fleet: 7 months
Current Mileage: 12,192 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 25 mpg
Range: 415 miles
Service: $45
Normal Wear: $0
Repair: $0
A long seven months in and our Kizashi is short on miles. But don’t blame the Suzuki, which has a logbook full of praise. It’s [...]
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Nissan Announces New 1.2-Liter Three-Cylinder
When automakers talk about downsizing, often they aren’t referring to the size of a vehicle or even the force required to move it—they simply mean they’re making the engine smaller. In order to meet increasingly stringent fuel-economy and emissions standards, automakers are turning to smaller-displacement forced-induction engines to replace larger, [...]
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Cam-Torque Actuated Variable Valve Timing System – Tech Dept.
Cam Phasers, Activate! BorgWarner’s new approach to variable valve timing is cam-torque actuated.
Most modern variable valve-timing (VVT) systems use a cam phaser that rotates the position of each camshaft relative to the timing chain. Think of making a record turntable go faster or slower by spinning it with your hands. The cam phaser has two [...]
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2011 Mazda 2 Touring Automatic – Short Take Road Test
The automatic Mazda 2 remains fun and frugal, just a bit less so.
It’s a poorly kept secret that small economy cars are more fun to drive on the street than high-performance cars, since they can be used to their full potential. You can floor the gas pedal at every stoplight without getting arrested and slide [...]
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2012 Infiniti M35h / M Hybrid – Prototype Drive
The gas-electric M is powerful and uses less gas, but it comes at the cost of weight and, well, cost.
As the first in-house hybrid from Nissan/Infiniti, the M35h is pretty unassuming. Indeed, while the test cars we drove in Japan were covered with decals advertising their gasoline-electric-ness, small “hybrid” badges on the production models’ [...]
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2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid – Prototype Drive
With this new gasoline-electric Sonata, underdog Hyundai starts looking like the favorite.
It’s time to revoke Hyundai’s underdog status and start expecting as much from the South Korean automaker as we would from any other mainstream brand. Case in point: the new Sonata hybrid. Hyundai has created its own unique hybrid system rather than licensing technology [...]
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2011 Infiniti M56x – Short Take Road Test
We prefer the rear-driver, but you don’t sacrifice much with the AWD M56. (Except a few mpg, that is.)
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: There’s a rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan that’s also available with all-wheel drive, and its sticker price and curb weight are slightly higher while its performance and fuel economy are lower. [...]
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Take that Mustang? Hyundai Develops 429-hp, 5.0-Liter Tau V-8, Will Hook It To Eight-Speed Auto
News flash: Hyundai’s 5.0-liter V-8 makes 429 horsepower. In your face, Mustang! Okay, nobody from Hyundai actually said that about Ford or its iconic pony car. In fact, Hyundai’s figure isn’t even a certainty. It’s an unofficial estimate given to me (and the rest of the media assembled in South Korea to drive the Sonata [...]
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2010 Chevy Corvette Grand Sport vs. 2010 Lotus Evora, 2010 Porsche Cayman S – Comparison Tests
Strange Bedfellows: Three different approaches to the same sports-car goal.
This three-car roundup has us feeling like Goldilocks, and only one of us is blond. We’ve got the usual complaints: One’s too cramped, one’s too slow, one’s too hot, one’s too lumpy, and so on. What we have here are three quite different sports cars with [...]
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2011 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive – First Drive Review
Smart finds a way to make the Fortwo slower, but we like it more.
The Smart Fortwo Electric Drive is not going to be a geopolitical game-changer. It’s not even going to change neighborhood energy policies. That’s because the initial run of this vehicle is limited to 1500 cars, only 250 of which are coming to [...]
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