Nik J Miles

“Infiniti’s G37 drop top: Still seductive”

For those looking for year round driving comfort in a convertible with the security of a three piece folding hardtop and seductive coupe-like styling, the Infiniti G37 convertible that first bowed in 2009 should fill the bill in admirable fashion. It is essentially one car with two souls, with power coming from a 3.7-liter DOHC, 24-valve VVEL V6 engine with sequential multi-point fuel injection, that develops 325 horsepower @ 7,000 rpm, while also delivering 267 pound feet of torque @ 5,200 rpm. The engine is positioned up front and connects to either a six-speed manual gearbox or an optional electronically controlled 7-speed automatic transmission with Drive Sport mode/manual shift mode, downshift rev matching and available magnesium paddle shifters, that gears motive force to the rear wheels.

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“Honda’s ST1300 ABS: An Ideal Sport Tourer”

Honda’s 2012 ST1300 Sport Tourer hits the sweet spot when hitting the open road. If like myself, you find that laying over the tank of an all-out sport bike with your upper body weight pressing on your wrists and holding your head up to see where you’re headed isn’t as much fun as it used to be, then you probably ought to start shopping for a multi-purpose Sport Touring bike. There are lots available in today’s motorcycle marketplace to choose from, but after riding the Honda ST 1300, you may not feel the need to look any further.

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By Barbara Schaffer

Austin, Texas — There’s an old adage that says, “Put your best foot forward”, and that’s exactly what Chevrolet is doing with the introduction of the new Malibu.  With gasoline pumps becoming all too familiar with the $4 a gallon gasoline, the Chevy planners are sending out the fuel-sipping Malibu Eco first as an introduction to the all-new Malibu lineup.  After all, who can argue with a gasoline powered midsize sedan getting fuel economy of 25 mpg city and 37 mpg highway.

Chevrolet is also expanding their market with the new Malibu; it will be the first midsize sedan sold globally in nearly 100 countries.

“The Malibu Eco is a smart choice for customers who want a great looking car inside and out with excellent fuel economy, but without the higher price of some hybrid sedans,” said Russ Clark, director of Chevrolet marketing. “In short, it’s an incredible value.” Read the rest of this entry »

By Barbara & Bill Schaffer

Toyota may have gone through the wringer the last year or two with recalls, earthquakes and Tsunamis, but if the new generation Camry is any indication, the company is better than ever.

The Camry may have been the number one selling car in the U.S. for the last nine years, but it has never had a strong emotional appeal for us.  It’s a great car, and probably one of the best cars built, but from a styling standpoint, it was like – vanilla — in a world of chocolate ripple and Chunky Monkey.  In fact, if we are not mistaken, Toyota invented vanilla. Read the rest of this entry »

2012 Harley-Davidson FLTRX Road Glide Custom”

One Slick Custom Bagger

By Arv Voss

If you’ve never ridden a Harley-Davidson Road Glide before, or if it’s been a while, do yourself a favor – swing a leg over and go for a test ride. The streamlined bagger benefited from a host of enhancements for the 2009 model year, and the big tourer continues to progressively evolve. There are some who seem to feel that both the Road Glide and Electra Glide are nothing more than Road Kings outfitted with a fairing. Not so….even though the mechanical architecture may share similarities, there are several worthwhile differences that exist. Take the fairing for example – the Road Glide’s fairing is a Sharknose affair featuring dual headlamps and a fixed “shorty” windscreen, fixed to the frame rather than being mounted on the front fork assembly – in other words, it doesn’t turn with the handlebars, which is the case with the Electra glide models.

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 Ford is adding its first-ever high performance version of the Ford Explorer SUV.

Taking advantage of the powerful and economical twin-turbocharged EcoBoost^® V-6 engine, the new Ford Explorer Sport boasts 350 horsepower and four-wheel drive with a Terrain Management System^™.

“Adding an EcoBoost drivetrain to Explorer Sport delivers even more fuel efficiency and performance to the lineup,” said Bill Gubing, Explorer chief engineer. “This is our highest- performance, most capable Ford Explorer ever.” Read the rest of this entry »

The Art of the Supercar

‘Form Follows Function’ is not only a guiding principle of architectural and industrial design, but it’s the title of Stuart Coding and James Mann’s beautiful book on the Art of the Supercar.Coding and renowned automotive photographer James Mann take 20 of the most significant supercars of all time into the studio and dissect them into 224 pages of art.  Photographed without scenic distractions, each of the 197 color photos in the book becomes an individual work of automotive art. Read the rest of this entry »

At the Houston Auto Show in January, Jeep® displayed a “blacked-out” production-intent Grand Cherokee concept and asked consumers to name the model.  One hundred thousand entries later from the 2 million fans on Facebook, the company chose a winning vehicle name –“Altitude”.

“The fact that well over 100,000 consumers entered our ‘Name My Ride’ contest reinforces the passion behind the Jeep brand, and its position as one of the most recognizable and popular brands in the world,” said Mike Manley, President and CEO – Jeep Brand, Chrysler Group LLC. “The extraordinary response to both the concept and the contest resulted in an easy decision to produce ‘blacked-out’ editions of the Grand Cherokee – and the Compass and Patriot. These new Jeep Altitude editions will clearly have a broad appeal among consumers, especially those looking for something distinctive, edgy, and just plain cool.” Read the rest of this entry »

By Barbara & Bill Schaffer

           For years we’ve been advocating the expanded use of diesel engine in cars, but every time we bring the subject up to someone, other than the owner of a diesel-powered car or another automotive journalist, we get a that strange ‘you are kidding’ look.

Most people seem to still associate “diesel” with the noisy, dirty, rough sounding pickup trucks they sit next to at stop lights, or behind in drive-thru lanes.  On the other hand, maybe people still remember the ugly diesel-powered cars from the 80’s.

Today’s diesel powered cars are amazing.  They are clean, quiet, powerful and the fuel economy is amazing, even with the higher price of diesel fuel. Read the rest of this entry »

“Acura’s RDX: Takes a new positive direction”

 The entry level premium CUV segment is currently in a strong growth trend, so it’s only logical that Acura’s popular RDX CUV has taken on the position of going in a different direction in a an effort to capture an even bigger piece of the pie. Acura, Honda’s luxury division’s truck lineup consists of their flagship ZDX, followed by their highest volume luxury and performance MDX, and lastly, the sporty and youthful entry model, the RDX.

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