We thought we could dodge the rain, but we were wrong. The plan was to bring our 2012 Jeep Wrangler to the obstacle course at Hungry Valley with both sets of tires for a shoot out.
Our goal was to see how the performance of our Jeep would change over the same stretch of ground -- see if the extra RTI and ground clearance afforded by the big 33-inch BFG tires would be obvious to the naked or camera-aided eye. Scott Jacobs came along to take stills while John Adolph shot video.
But things began looking gloomy when we finally arrived, so we dialed back our plan to push the Jeep to its absolute limit and settled for a simpler back-to-back comparison we knew we could finish before we all got dumped on.
The big BFG Mud-Terrain KM2s went first, for no other reason than they were already on the Jeep when we arrived.
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Categories: 2012 Jeep Wrangler
Made some noise with friends at a house party this weekend to kick off Super Bowl weekend. We exhausted nearly every tune we knew and plenty more we didn't. Everyone was psyched for Sunday's game, finding their singing voice, and having a good time. The cops didn't even respond with a noise complaint until almost 2 am, which blew everyone's minds; we'd expected them by midnight.
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Categories: 2012 Ford Explorer XLT EcoBoost
There's something about hearing a turbo under acceleration that just makes me smile. My first experience with this was in a 2005 Subaru WRX STi. The whoosh and hiss absolutely did it for me. But in every modern BMW with a turbo, those sounds have been absent. Maybe that's a good thing, since I suppose most BMW owners wouldn't find it as appealing as I do. But it's there, you just have to listen for it.
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Categories: 2012 BMW X3
There's a long list of things to get excited about within the swanky confines of our impeccably crafted A8, but one of my favorite things about the cabin is its handsome, well-designed steering wheel.
I like the grip circumference of it; it's easy to wrap your fingers around yet has a chunkiness about it that conveys just how substantial this car is. The steering wheel is one part of the car that the driver is always in contact with, and with the A8, it's interpreted in a way that's a pleasure to look at and to use.
Warren Clarke, Automotive Content Editor
Categories: 2012 Audi A8L
Random Mustang trivia of the day - the word "Mustang" does not show up anywhere on the outside of the car, and the sill plate(s) is the only place on our longterm 2011 Ford Mustang GT where I could find it on static display.
Anyway, reader mail time. Comment "christople" asks:
So after 20k miles, between this and the 370z you guys had new which of the two would you want in your garage?
Hmm. In my garage? Hit the jump.
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Categories: 2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0
We were doing some business at Cars and Coffee last weekend and found ourselves parked in a pretty remote spot when this big white car slotted in beside us.
So, which car would you rather have, a red Fiat 500 Sport or a white Ferrari F430 Scuderia?
Yeah, well, us too. Strangely enough, our little part of the weekly 400-car C/C show had a little something to it, as you can see from this picture of a multi-car comparison.
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Categories: 2012 Fiat 500 Sport
Click through for the video...
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Categories: 2012 Nissan Quest LE
Last week I asked our dear readers about the Brembos on our long-term 2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0. In that piece, I mentioned the California Special edition which piqued the interest of at least a few of you.
If you are interested in the California Special edition Mustang, first you have to order the Mustang GT Premium (same as our test car) which includes Sync, the Shaker 500 audio system, and Sirius sat radio, among other items.
Then you order Equipment Group 402A, and this is what you get...
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Categories: 2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0
We've had two electric cars in our fleet, a Mini E and a Nissan Leaf. Accumulating miles on the two plug-ins was difficult due to their limited range. Neither could venture very far from home. After 12-months we had only driven the Mini 7,683 miles and the Leaf only covered 3,551 miles during its 6-month stay with us.
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Categories: 2011 Chevrolet Volt
Oh, I know, this plastic piece does serve a function of sorts, it just doesn't do it very well.
Snap it into place and you get spring loaded thumbs that theoretically hold your drink in better. Need more room? Just pull it out and you get one gigantic receptacle that could possibly hold three drinks if you're really that thirsty.
In reality, the spring loaded thumbs don't grab all that well and when you pull the thing out it doesn't really give you that much more room. Would much prefer a more basic setup that concentrates on doing one thing well instead of two things poorly.
Ed Hellwig, Editor, Inside Line
Categories: 2012 Toyota Camry SE
Something's wrong with our new X3's climate control. Judging from the temperature setting shown, you'd think that I was slow-roasting myself on the way home. Not so.
Update: The car is fine. I'm broken.
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Categories: 2012 BMW X3
I pulled this image from the 2012 Chicago Auto Show site. According to the site: "Acura used the 1989 Chicago Auto Show to measure reaction to the prototype NS-X exotic sports car. The public loved it and it went on sale in the fall of 1990 as a 1991 model called NSX, minus the hyphen."
Follow the jump for a shot I snapped of the upcoming NSX at the 2012 North American International Auto Show last month in Detroit.
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Categories: 1991 Acura NSX
I was at a Super Bowl party this weekend. Between mouthfuls of corn chips and guacamole, a fellow attendee who knows what I do for a living asked me what I was driving. I told him an S60. He asked how it was. I replied that it's a nice sedan -- drives well, pretty comfortable, has a lot of features. "How much?" he asked. "Well, our car is loaded up. But mid 30s would be more typical," I said.
He nodded his head. Then he asked: "So why would somebody get an S60 when they could just get a loaded Optima instead?"
Super Bowl advertising influence, perhaps? But it's a good question.
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Categories: 2011 Kia Optima SX Turbo,2012 Volvo S60 T5
I had our buxom A8 for the weekend because my in-laws were in town and the two coupes in our household were not going to be roomy enough for squiring the Texas Tornados around town, particularly to a festive dinner and brunch to celebrate their 28th anniversary.
On the night that we went to Sky Room, a deco-style rooftop restaurant in Long Beach, we rolled in what I've always heard called Jersey Style, meaning guys in front, girls in back. It cemented for me the fact that the A8L is really meant to be a chauffeur-driven vehicle.
It goes without saying that it's not nearly as much fun to ride in the A8 as it is to drive it, but it is a pretty luxurious perch back there. There are untold amounts of legroom, seat heaters, reading lights, nicely placed speakers, power rear privacy shades that let you "keep out natural and social elements" as the Audi brochure so delicately puts it. There's also some nice horseshoe-shaped burl wood trim on the back of the front seats upon which to meditate while James or Jane or whoever your driver is takes you to your destination. My mother-in-law and I were tempted to practice our QEII wave to the hoi polloi as we purred by.
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Categories: 2012 Audi A8L
I was recently cruising eBay and AutoTrader for NSXs. I'm not in the market, just curious to see what they're going for. That's what many of us car guys do -- look at cars we're not going to buy. And judging by what I saw, it looks like we got a decent deal on our alluring Acura.
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Categories: 1991 Acura NSX
The Chevrolet Volt, and to a greater extent, plug-in hybrids, remind me of the combo VHS/DVD players from over a decade ago. Back then, many people were invested in their VHS tape collection and were hesitant to embrace the better, but more expensive DVD technology. The electronics companies noted this slow adoption rate, and released these VHS/DVD hybrids as a stop-gap measure. They offered the best of both worlds.
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Categories: 2011 Chevrolet Volt
Some things don't need to be "improved." I submit the above. Thoughts?
Chief Road Test Editor, Chris Walton @ 2,623 miles
Categories: 2012 Chevrolet Sonic LTZ
Judging from all the comments on the intro blog post for our new 2012 BMW X3, sounds like a lot of you are already bored by this long-term trial before it even began. "I literally could not care less. I tried to care less and failed," said commenter mkboyardee, which made me giggle but also made me wonder, what could we possibly cover that would interest you?
I mean, you have no interest in hearing how much I liked driving the X3 over the weekend? That I loved the way it handled and how much power it has? How I'd gladly pick it as my road trip vehicle, rush-hour savior, dog-toting mobile? And, oh, don't get me started on those fab seat heaters.
So out of curiosity, what would you like to see us blog about on our X3?
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 1,975 miles
Categories: 2012 BMW X3
Hadn't seen a Quest taxi until this one appeared on my way to work today. If you're a fleet owner who needs a minivan, the Quest seems like an odd choice. Given its seat arrangement and load floor height I would think any of the other current offerings might be better suited to this task.
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Categories: 2012 Nissan Quest LE
