“Location, location, location.” This overused real estate mantra is shorthand for the idea that two identical houses in Bel Air, CA and Birmingham, AL have vastly different values. Well, the mantra applies to automobiles as well. As I’ve just learned, two identical BMW X3 M40i’s can be either pleasures or curses depending on their locations.… Continue reading Review: 2020 BMW X3 M40i
This November, I had a frustrating track day in my 2011 BMW M3 at Sonoma Raceway. While it was a beautiful day with a dry track, a quick run-group, and a purring M3, the best lap I could manage was over 2 seconds slower than my personal record at Sonoma Raceway. I left the track… Continue reading Performance Driver 3 at the Sears Point Racing Experience
Well, that was quick! In a blink of an eye—seven months to be exact—our Tesla Model 3 has accumulated 10,000 miles. We love the fleet, frugal and tech-forward Model 3 as much as ever, but we have discovered a few things about the car, and ourselves, that we’d like to share. To our surprise, we… Continue reading Long Term: 2018 Tesla Model 3 after 10k Miles
Yes, it’s happened. The most sports-car-minded, petrol-brained enthusiast (me!) has bought his first electric vehicle. So what’s the new EV in my long-term fleet? Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the 2018 Tesla Model 3 Mid Range! Why did you buy a Tesla Model 3? I wasn’t planning to purchase a new car, but my lust… Continue reading Long Term: 2018 Tesla Model 3 Mid Range
As an owner of a second-generation CTS-V, I am intensely curious about the current generation CTS-V. How much better is the massively powerful LT4 engine? Is the new car still steeped in driving feel and involvement? Does the new chassis hide the big car’s weight and make it dance like a sports car? Everything I’ve… Continue reading Review: 2018 Cadillac CTS-V is a Z06 for the Workweek
The 2018 Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster starts up with a blat that is sure to wake the neighbors. Its rowdy start-up puts a smile on my face and sets the tone for the fun to come. Here is a car that is equal parts muscle, theater and fun. (I was supposed to be driving a… Continue reading Review: 2018 Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster
Dressed in Ferrari-evoking red paint and riding on grey phone-dial wheels, my rental 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio is exactly how I’d order it. The color combination is perfect, as is the fitment of adaptive cruise control and the standard power seats. (Carbon-backed race buckets are an option.) This is a four-door, after all, so… Continue reading Review: 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
“The R is for Race,” I’m told. I’m sitting deep in a 2019 Mercedes AMG GT R, painted in striking Green Hell Magno matte green, and staring out over one of the longest hoods I’ve ever seen. Mercedes-AMG developed the GT line to go toe-to-toe with the Porsche 911, and the $163k GT R is… Continue reading Test Drive: 2019 Mercedes-AMG GT R
Today I am on the hunt for Mercedes-AMG built 4.0L twin-turbo V8s. And I’ve found one in the Aston Martin Vantage stuffed as far behind the front axle as the firewall will allow. I’m at an Aston Martin customer event in Carmel. The Aston Martin marketing team is talking my ear off about the company’s… Continue reading Test Drive: 2019 Aston Martin Vantage
This is the class of car I shop and buy. Compact sports sedans are big enough to haul around my family and friends, yet sufficiently compact to fling down a mountain road and whip around a racetrack. I’ve owned the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, Ford Focus RS, BMW M3 and Cadillac CTS-V. But, of the… Continue reading Test Drive: 2019 Mercedes-AMG C63 S
Mike's Steering Column 