When BMW originally introduced its M Sport line of cars and SUVs, it felt like an exercise in trickle-down badge-o-nomics. The M Sport treatment tarted up BMW’s standard models with M-inspired fascias, seats and steering wheels. More recently, BMW developed the M Sport lineup to bridge the comfort-focused base model BMWs and the hard-edged—and expensive!—M… Continue reading Review: 2020 BMW M340i
“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
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
Renting from Turo is one of my favorite pastimes because Turo gives me access to the cars and SUVs that I’ve been dreaming about but otherwise couldn’t find at the mainstream rental agencies like Hertz and Enterprise. Through Turo, I’ve experienced some of my favorite cars, including the Porsche 911 (997) Carrera S, Porsche 911… Continue reading Insurance for Turo Rentals
I find myself behind the wheel of Diego’s 2019 Audi SQ5. Ahead of me are 30 miles of twisting coastal roads, starting with the scenic—and potholed—Pierce Point Road and ending with California’s famed Hwy 1. It is a route fit for a sports car, albeit one with a compliant suspension, yet here I am in… Continue reading Review: 2019 Audi SQ5
They call it a bucket-list trip and say every car enthusiast should drive the Nürburgring once in their life. They are wrong. Every car enthusiast should go to the Nürburgring as frequently as they possibly can. I’ve made the trip for the first time, and I’ll share what worked wonderfully and what I’d change the… Continue reading Nürburgring Nordschleife Trip
I fell in love with the BMW M2 when I drove the little beasty at BMW’s Performance Center West. The twisting training track at the Performance Center West became a playground where I freely chucked and slid the M2 through the corners. I discovered that BMW’s littlest M car is a joyous creature, one that… Continue reading Review: 2019 BMW M2 Competition
The Civic Type R is my second rental car for my Nürburgring vacation. Like yesterday’s Renault Clio RS 200, I picked the Civic because it is FWD, so it should be stable and safe even in the wet. (It rains a lot at the Nürburgring.) As the Type R has 50% more power than the… Continue reading Review: RSR 2018 Honda Civic Type R
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