By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

Seems like the PS section in Road & Track isn’t quite what it used to be, but here’s an awesome one from back in the 90s. Via VWVortex

By Rob Einaudi

Editor-in-Chief

I’ve subscribed to Road & Track all my life, but tend to only read Car and Driver, Motor Trend and Automobile at airports or in doctor or dentist waiting rooms. Looks like Car and Driver is getting some minor tweaks with Eddie Alterman at the helm. Anyway, I’m curious, which is your favorite generic car mag?

[polldaddy poll="2336857"]

This isn’t the first electric Porsche we’ve had in the blog, but it’s probably the fastest. Ruf worked with Calmotors of Camarillo, California, to develop an all-electric powertrain for the Porsche 997. Road & Track got a chance to drive an early prototype and came away pretty excited about it. Their driving impressions remind me of my Tesla Roadster test drive. Basically, batteries weigh a lot, and an electric car will never sound quite as good as a combustion-engine car with a burly exhaust note. But they are still extremely cool. Read the full story at Road & Track.

Continue reading "E-Ruf" »

Road & Track claims that Honda is working on the successor to the S2000. Rumor has it that it may come with a 3.0 or 3.5 liter V6, but it’s all speculation at this point. Still, I hope that Honda keeps the roadster alive.

Last week’s Paris Motor Show was just another brutal reminder of all the cool cars we don’t get over here. Like the Euro Ford Focus RS below. That car is cool. We’re stuck with the boring US version. How about the Renault Megane with the crazy huge rear diffuser? We don’t get it. Same goes for the Alfa Romeo Brera TI, Fiat 500 Abarth and Volkswagen Scirocco. See these cars and read the full article over at Road & Track.

Hybrids are hot in Paris this year. Our buddies at Road & Track took a closer look at some of the concepts unveiled at the show, from the mild Honda Insight Concept to the wild Peugeot RC Concept pictured below (photo by John Lamm). After driving the Tesla last week, I think I’m ready to jump straight from gasoline to electric, without this intermediate step. But check out the article at Road & Track and see what you think.

Road & Track recently set out to determine which performance-oriented cars were the most frugal. Road & Track’s Matt DeLorenzo wrote, "we decided the car must be capable of exceeding certain thresholds including 0–60-mph acceleration of less than 7 seconds, a slalom speed in excess of 65 mph and an average EPA mileage rating of at least 20 mpg, all while carrying a sticker price of less than $60,000." After running their recent test cars through their magic formula, they came up with this top ten list:

Audi TT 3.2 Quattro
Mazda MX-5
Pontiac Solstice GXP
Nissan Nismo 350Z
BMW 135i
Mini Cooper S
Chevrolet Corvette Z51
Lotus Elise SC
Honda S2000CR
Chevrolet Cobalt SS

I was impressed that the Corvette made the list. Then again, the Grassroots Motorsports guys told me recently that they had averaged 30 mpg with a new Vette on the highway. Not bad for a car with 430 hp. You can read the full article at Road & Track.

Our buddies at Road & Track sent me this funky photo of the new Ferrari California (what’s with the weird building in the background?). And Jalopnik has a video of the convertible hardtop in action. It’s hard to not like a Ferrari, but this one leaves me feeling kind of cold. I was hoping Ferrari would come out with a modern and quasi-affordable version of the 246 Dino. Instead we get an Italian Corvette, priced about the same as the F430. So why not just get a F430? Is this car for the boulevard cruising crowd? More pics and a full story at Road & Track.

Sam Posey got a chance to take his old #77 Trans Am Challenger out at Infineon Raceway (formerly known as Sears Point) and compare it to the new Challenger. Sam loved the new Challenger, but #77 spanked it at the track–but then it’s 1100 pounds lighter than the porky new Mopar. Full story at Road & Track, and be sure to check out the video, too. Beautiful pics by Marc Urbano.

Continue reading "Trans Am Challenger vs. New Challenger" »

Road & Track just published their list of 10 Cool Cars For Graduating Seniors. Ok, so maybe I’m jealous cause my parents never bought me a car, but the idea of some parent buying their kid a brand new GTI as a graduation present just seems absurd. My advice to parents getting ready to buy their kid a $15k to $30k ride is this: give them the cash and let them figure out what to do with it. Or better yet, celebrate your new found empty nester freedom and put that money toward a ZR1 for yourself.