Brother Alex has a murdered-out Corvette Z06. It’s black, it’s loud, and it’s a bad mother. It’s also just reset my benchmark for fast. When Alex’s Chevrolet Corvette Z06 rolled off the assembly line in 2008, it was the fastest car sold by Chevy. Designed as a track-ready sports car, it came with a 7.0L… Continue reading Test Drive: 2008 Chevrolet Corvette Z06
I am in rural Sonoma County, a land of forests, farms, and hills. For the last few weeks, I’ve been exploring the area in my Ford Focus RS, and I’ve found the RS to be much better suited to country living than city duty. The roads up here are beat to smithereens, but they follow… Continue reading Review: 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata
I am sitting in a brand new 2017 Porsche Panamera Turbo that has unfortunately been optioned in retiree spec. Brown exterior paint is accompanied by tan leather and a wood-trimmed dash. The color and material choices are out-of-sync with my preferences, but the refreshed design pleases me. The updated exterior is much sleeker than before,… Continue reading Test Drive: 2017 Porsche Panamera Turbo
I do it to myself all the time, and I think I’ve done it again. I’ve convinced myself the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio is the perfect car for me purely on the basis of written and video reviews. You’d think I learn, but it’s a hard habit to break. It’s not too hard to trace… Continue reading Test Drive: 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
I’d been planning this moment for months, scheming about my way into the driver’s seat of the McLaren 570GT. Thankfully my machinations just came to fruition. I am getting called off the waitlist for the McLaren test-drive experience at Monterey. McLaren is showing off its newly debuted 570S Spider, the roofless version of its Sports… Continue reading Test Drive: 2017 McLaren 570S Spider
When does a car become a classic car? I ask because I’ve driven the 2005 Porsche 911 Carrera S less than a mile, and it already feels like a piece from a different era. Today’s cars are large, overpowered machines that cocoon their drivers deep inside, distancing them from external stimuli. The 911 stands in… Continue reading Review: 2005 Porsche 911 Carrera S
There a handful of vehicles that are heralded as prime enthusiast metal yet linger forever on dealer lots. Unfortunately for GM, the Chevy SS is one of those models. How many manufacturers are making V8-powered RWD sedans? Not that many. How many manufacturers are selling that same car with a manual transmission and magnetic ride… Continue reading Test Drive: 2017 Chevrolet SS
Test drives of the Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang were unobtainium in the year following its launch, as the Ford dealers treated the car as if it was made of gold. (To be fair, many dealers did turn the car into gold.) But now, a wave of used GT350 Mustangs is starting to appear on used… Continue reading Test Drive: 2016 Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang
The Ford Performance School at Utah Motorsports Campus (formerly Miller Motorsports Park) offers a wide array of courses meant to introduce Ford owners to their high-performance cars and everyone to high-performance track driving. As an optional add-on to my free day at the Focus RS Adrenaline Academy, I splurged ($1,495) on the one-day racing school… Continue reading Review: 2015 Ford Mustang GT at the Ford Performance School
The original purchaser of every Ford Performance vehicle—Focus RS, Focus ST, Fiesta ST, Mustang GT350, F 150 Raptor–receives complimentary tuition to the Ford Performance Racing School at Utah Motorsports Campus. Ford has tailored classes that honor the high-performance capability of each model and teach owners how to reach those limits safely. As the first-owner of… Continue reading Ford Performance Focus RS Adrenaline Academy
Mike's Steering Column 