Intro Video by Drive Time Review

By David Coleman

Model Tested: 2012 Cadillac SRX AWD Premium Collection

• Engine: 3.6 liter SIDI V6
• Horsepower: 308 at 6,800rpm
• Torque: 265 lb.-ft. at 2,400rpm
• Fuel Consumption: 16 MPG City/23 MPG Highway
• Price as Tested: $51,550

For:

• Value
• Stealth Looks
• Standard Luxury Features
• New V6 is powerful and efficient

Against:

• Owner’s Manual Printed on Newsprint
• Poor Rear Visibility
• Difficult Radio Tuning Procedure

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Sean reviews the 2012 Mazda CX9

I’m a sports car guy. And therefore the prospect of a week in a massive SUV with third-row seating carries just slightly more appeal than stabbing myself in the leg with a dinner fork. But when the CX-9 showed up at our offices I was intrigued. After all, it’s a Mazda, built by the same great minds who created the iconic Miata and RX-7, and they promise ‘the soul of a sportscar’ is instilled in their line of SUV’s.

Pros:

• Sleek, understated styling in and out.
• Handles and drives like a slightly smaller, lighter vehicle.
• Seats seven comfortably.

Cons:

• Still not small or light.
• Modest gas mileage.
• Sleek and understated may also be bland.

Driving Impressions

Mazda’s lofty claim that a seven-seat, 4,000lb pseudo-truck is designed to handle well is not far from saying a sumo wrestler was trained as a ballet dancer—it might be true to some degree but you still shouldn’t get your hopes up. And this definitely applies to the CX-9. With big wheels and tires, tall ride height and seating position, there’s no denying that you’re behind the wheel of an SUV–body roll and brake dive are still present–but Mazda worked hard to sharpen the reflexes of the CX-9 to a more acceptable level. Good visibility and a better-than-average sense of where the CX-9’s corners are help with tight mall parking situations. Compared to many vehicles in this class, the CX-9 felt almost as smooth and plush but notably less cumbersome.

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Introduction by Francis Cebedo:

I took this Jeep to my daily grind of work and picking up the kids for a few days and it didn’t do so well. On the freeway it is a bit rough and darty. Keeping it in the lane was a bit of a challenge as the vehicle was easily persuaded to move to adjacent lanes when hitting bumps and imperfections at speeds over 70 mph.

Picking up the kids,  they couldn’t get in the back seat as they couldn’t push the seats forward and the opening to get in back was tiny even for active youngsters.  I took this vehicle mountain biking but  there was hardly any space in the back to put my bike.  So I took the heavy rear eats out and it was better space-wise but only slightly. Finally, I took the front roof off to get some sun but then all the cold wind seemed to descend in to the cabin at highway speeds. Even the mighty heater and heated seats had a hard time of keeping me warm.

Off-roading in Hollister Hills, CA

That’s when I decided to take this car off-roading.  This is the Rubicon, 2-door so it should feel right at home on an off-road jamboree. It is 2-door so it is short wheelbase and ideal for keeping the tires in contact with the ground. The tires are massive 31 inch with meaty rubber. Other trail worthy features are:

• High ground clearance
• Heavy duty front and rear Dana axles
• Rock rails for true underside protection, skid plates all around the under side
• Electronic front sway bar disconnect – gives 20% more suspension articulation to keep the wheels on the ground.
• Electronic locking front and rear differentials.
• Removable roof, doors, rear seat to lighten up the vehicle

By Dan Tsuchiya

Pros:

• 100 miles on a full charge
• Eco Mode for dummies
• Drives like a car, not an enclosed golf cart
• It actually looks good and not a social statement
• Batteries are mounted very low so out of the way physically and lowers the center of gravity
• Total energy cost for a year is about $500
• It turns a new leaf in the saga american motoring

Cons:

• 100 miles on a full charge (run it down, you’re stuck)
• 14-16 hour charge using 110V household current
• Front seats are very basic
• $35k base will keep it away from the masses.

Video from Roadfly.com (click ’360p’ to watch in HD)

Remember the first time you rode/drove an EV? It could have been a battery powered toy car, a golf cart, or even a gas powered car converted to electric, but they all had one thing in common; acceleration like an on/off switch….no modulation. More than 10 years ago Toyota brought the hybrid Prius to the United States and it was one of the first cars with fantastic modulation and packaged in a base car that was previously gas powered. I currently have a second generation Prius in the stable and our staff was lucky enough to test the Chevrolet Volt a couple of months back.

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By David Colman

The Carreview Window Sticker

Specs: $67k price, 302 HP, 19/26 Mileage and 0-60 in 5.5 seconds

Pros:

• The best SLK styling in years
• Slingshot Acceleration and excellent handling
• Custom Tailoring
• Slick Roof with on-the-fly adjustable tint
• A roadster that appeals to many of the buyer’s instincts

Cons:

• Lack of Storage
• No Manual Tranny
• Steep price of $67k

The SLK is the closest thing Mercedes makes to a sports car. It is small, nimble and fast, seats only two, and functions as a convertible or a closed coupe. The SLK is a stunning piece of design. You can learn more about a car’s true mettle if you wash and dry its metal. In the process of cleaning the SLK for a photo shoot, I marveled at the complexity of its shape. This roadster has more flutes than a champagne glass. In fact, you can hardly find a single flat plane on the entire body. The bodywork looks muscular and buffed, with short overhangs fore and aft, and bulging fenders to accommodate the beefy tires and AMG alloys. 7.5 inch front rims carry 225/40ZR18 Pirelli P Zero rubber, with 8.5 inch back rims equipped with 245/35ZR18 Pirellis. The simple AMG 5-spoke rims are part of a $2,500 Sport Package that includes appealing “Sport Body Styling” plus haunting interior illumination in “SOLAR red.”

What prevents the SLK from full sports car status is lack of manual transmission availability. Like so many other manufacturers, Mercedes sees no point in Federalizing a separate (manual) gearbox for a customer take rate of 5 or 10 percent. Still, those are the very customers who will buy an Audi TTS or Porsche 911 expressly because those companies offer them the choice to shift gears by depressing a cutch pedal. Not that the SLK’s 7-speed automatic is a bad piece of engineering. To the contrary, it offers the driver Efficiency, Sport and Manual modes, while providing small steering wheel-mounted paddles to control up and down changes. Even so, the SLK is less driver-involving than it could be with a slick stick shift.

Video by Driverseat.tv

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Video from Top Gear (click ’360p’ to watch in HD)

Pros:

• Legendary Range Rover all-terrain capability
• Same adaptive damping system as a Ferrari provides excellent ride quality
• Buttery-soft leather seats for all-day comfort
• Extensive list of customizable options
• Roomy for a small SUV
• Tiny 2.0 engine is efficient, powerful and torquey from 1750 rpm
• Excellent driving position and fun to drive with great balance of on road and off road handling

Cons:

• Oversized outside view mirrors
• Small number available worldwide for its first year of production
• visibility out of side rear windows is less than normal

The 2012 Range Rover Evoque is a compact, luxury crossover that offers premium levels of craftsmanship, luxury, performance and renowned Land Rover all-terrain capability. Available as a coupe or 5-door model, the Evoque will be in high demand as only 2200 units are being built and sold worldwide in its first year of production which begins this summer.

CarReview was invited to test drive the new Evoque on the city streets of San Francisco. Granted, the potholes and broken asphalt of a concrete jungle are not considered a true test of the Evoque’s off-road capabilities, but it was a good proving ground to show off how well the Evoque can maintain a comfortable ride on roads that could qualify on the list of top ten worst maintained roads in the U.S.

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By Alex Kramer

Introduction by Francis Cebedo:

For the longest time, it seemed like GM and other US makes looked at small cars as poor man’s cars.  They saw them as cars for the entry-level buyer, the fresh college grad, the lower income bracket, the people who had no appreciation for automobiles.  The great minds and the engineers always went into the Cadillacs, Corvettes and the Silverados.

That thinking was wrong then and it is even more wrong now. Small cars have always been appreciated by the drivers with an eye for fashion, performance, ergonomics and agility.  And it was simply the choice of some folks who could afford most any car but they just wanted a smaller car like a Mazda Miata or a Mini Cooper.

But now, the world has turned. Small cars have become essential, eco-friendly and significant social statements. Some folks have given up their cars altogether and many now want smaller cars to reduce their footprint and use of resources in this world.

GM, was caught with their pants down in this paradigm shift so they have rallied to build smaller cars. One of the first cars they’re delivering is the Chevy Cruze. It is an attractive looking automobile starting at $16,720, urged on by 138 hp. It is a strong statement that announces that Chevy is here to play and compete in the very important and timely small car market.

Video Review by Autotoob:

—-

Pros:

• Little turbo engine is surprisingly gutsy with some nice torque
• Smooth, balanced, and quiet ride
• Roomy, upscale interior
• Stylish, eye-catching exterior
• Potentially excellent fuel efficiency
• many, many available configurations
• the home team has come to play

Cons:

• Acceleration isn’t terribly quick
• Real world mileage might not be so great
• Houndstooth cloth pattern in base model LT is hard on the eyes

The small car bandwagon must be really picking up steam. Even General Motors, who has long neglected small cars, seems to have noticed that this is one of the hottest segments of the market. Rather than simply issue an updated version of its decent but uncompetitive Cobalt small sedan, we will soon be getting the Chevrolet Cruze, a car that GM claims will actually compete with the likes of Civic, Corolla, and Focus.

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The 2012 Fiat 500 is a car that manages to deliver driving passion and excitement with 101 horsepower.  That is a new paradigm and that is an exciting development today. In this polarized nation of exciting V8s and gutless hybrid cars, the Fiat 500 stirs the pot and says: “Hey, I can be fun to drive, help the environment and not put you in debt all in one package.”

The good news is we agree. This is the most fun per horsepower we’ve had in the history of Carreview.com. Allez!

The better news is more Fiats are coming and the The angry 500 known as the Fiat Abarth is coming too.  We can’t wait!

REVIEWS
	2012 Fiat 500C Convertible Review Rating: By David Colman “There isn’t another $25,000 car on the market today that will garner as much attention as this convrtible Fiat 500C. Paint it Giallo (yellow) like our test car, and the petit bumblebee’s cynosure quotient jumps off the map.”
	2012 Fiat 500 Lounge Review – Italian movie star on four wheelsRating: By David Colman “The 500 is so small and nimble that a pair of them could square dance in your living room.”
	2012 Fiat 500 Sport First Impressions Review Rating: By Danny Chang”I was super glad to see the manual gear shift when I got in the tester 500. It’s so rare these days to see a car outfitted with a good old-fashioned 5-speed and clutch.”
Specs:
The 2012 Fiat 500 is a 2-door, 4-passenger family coupe, available in 3 trims, ranging from the Pop to the Lounge. The Fiat 500 is the new small car that marks the return of the Fiat brand to the U.S. market. On sale in early 2011 as a 2012 model, the Fiat 500 combines Italian styling with functionality, efficient design and innovative technology for a vehicle that is unique to the American market.
MSRP:	Standard Engine:
$15,500 – $19,500	1.4-liter, I4, 101-horsepower engine that achieves 30 city and 38 highway mpg. A 5-speed manual transmission with overdrive is standard on the Pop. A 6-speed automatic transmission with overdrive is standard on the Lounge
Average Consumer Rating:
Expert Rating:

Getting into the driver’s seat of the 2012 GMC Acadia Denali for the first time to drive it home through a Manhattan rush hour was, on the onset, nerve wracking, but the solidness of the ride soon assuaged any fears. It’s not so much the streets of Manhattan that are terrible – although there are some bone-jarring potholes on the West Side Highway that the Acadia glided over – but more so the notorious yellow cabs that break, turn, and insist on getting in your lane despite the fact you are already in it that inspire anxiety. The manouverability of what I first perceived to be a land-boat crossover vehicle was impressive – smooth and easygoing, responsive, no stiffness in the rack-and-pinion steering, no lurching around due to size. Changing lanes in tight traffic wasn’t the challenge I thought it would be with an almost-17 foot long vehicle. With a 40.4 foot turning circle, I had no problems with U-turns on wider roads, or managing a three-point turn on smaller two-lane roads.

Taking it out to the country for a day at upstate polo grounds and horse stables improved my impressions of the Acadia. A new feature of the 2012 Acadia, standard on all trim levels, is hill-hold assist braking technology. What this means is that the brakes are applied for 1.5 seconds after the driver’s foot leaves the brake on a downhill incline of 5% or more. Speed and momentum on the downhill were noticeably reduced driving on the highway; on the other end of the spectrum, the 3.6 liter V-6 variable valve timing (VVT), 288 horsepower engine producing 270 lb.-ft. of torque didn’t lack for power driving uphill or accelerating to pass other vehicles.

GM’s StabiliTrack system comes standard in the Acadia, and is responsible for enhancing the driver’s control of the vehicle in adverse conditions – one such condition being snow. As luck would have it, Mother Nature threw in a rare October snowstorm – perfect for testing the StabiliTrack. Driving on the snow, swerving to avoid fallen trees, and maintaining control of the vehicle when driving into and out of snow ruts was reassuringly easy – a safe, confident drive in extreme weather. Maintaining Traction while staying at an average speed of 30 mph had me actually passing vehicles crawling in the inclement weather. Sitting high in a crossover already increases the view of the road and surroundings, and the SLT and Denali trim levels of the Acadia include an outside mirror with blind-zone spotting, adding to visibility in such a challenging blizzard situation. On-Star also comes standard, as well as roof-mounted curtain side airbags for added rollover safety and pelvic-thorax seat-mounted side air bags as safety features.

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Raise your hand if you’ve owned an ugly car. Scream out loud if you actually loved your ugly car.

Let’s face it—for every great car we produce on this planet, they’re bound to be a couple of real duds. Unfortunately, failure is just a fact of life. These vehicles probably looked really good on the drawing board, but in reality they were design disasters that are best forgotten.

1.) 1975 AMC Pacer: One of the lowest points in the history of car making, the AMC Pacer was a disaster of great proportions on many levels—from the 95hp inline 6-cylinder engine all the way to the terrible fuel economy—18mpg. So, not only did it not turn heads (except in shock), this vehicle rode like a covered wagon with one bad wheel. The design reminds me of something you’d see in a 1950’s “B” sci-fi film. Consequently, the Pacer has become the poster child of 1970’s bad automotive design. If there are any of these cars left out there, they should be destroyed, for the good of the race and the culture. When other civilizations look back on us 1,000 years from now, the Pacer will undoubtedly be cited as the beginning of the end.

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