The BMW X3 revealed to me that my automotive passion extends to light off-roading, and ever since, I’ve been looking curiously at a sector of the automotive marketplace that I’ve long ignored. I’ve been pacing around Mazda CX-5s, swiveling my head at passing Mercedes GLCs, lusting after Porsche Macans, and I’ve been more generally aware… Continue reading Review: 2017 Audi Q5
My recent experience with the 2016 BMW X3 has piqued my interest in vehicle cargo capacity. The X3 had a spacious and easy to load truck which easily swallowed my family’s weekend luggage. Just how much of that gear would have fit into my M3 or Focus RS’s hold? Determined to find out, I filled… Continue reading Long Term Update: 2011 BMW M3 and 2016 Ford Focus RS
The utility of the M3 sedan has been questioned by the one person who has the ability to force a change in our family garage. “Buy an SUV!” is the refrain frequently whispered, recently with more emphasis, by my wife. After recent back-to-back trips to the far corners of SoCal and SoSoCal, I’m ready to… Continue reading Review: 2016 BMW X3 xDrive28i
Some of my happiest days have been those at driving events where amateurs like me burn fuel and rubber on the racetrack as we imagine screaming down the Mulsanne Straight at Le Mans. Hang out at enough of these events, and you’ll soon realize that the Porsche 911 GT3 is the top dog of track… Continue reading Review: 2015 Porsche 911 GT3
The current generation Mercedes AMG C63 S is a car for which I have very high expectations. It’s been heralded by Jonny Lieberman of Motor Trend as the best vehicle in the super-sedan set. It mixes the modern formula for power—turbocharging!—with the classic V8 formula. It’s learned to dance through the corners while still being… Continue reading Test Drive: 2017 Mercedes AMG C63 S
I've never been a muscle car guy, preferring sports cars and exotics—cars that turn—to Mustangs and Camaros that seemed myopically focused on quarter-mile runs. It may have been the childhood trips to Sears Point (now Sonoma Raceway) to watch race cars hustle around the twelve historic turns that convinced me that a fast car turned… Continue reading Review: 2016 Chevrolet Camaro SS
There has been much internet talk regarding whether or not Ford sufficiently differentiated the Focus RS from its little brother, the Focus ST, to justify the $11,345 MSRP price premium. Today I had a few fresh hours in the Focus ST, so I’ll try to compare and contrast these hot-hatch siblings and then consider the… Continue reading Review: 2016 Ford Focus ST
Have you ever tried to take a meaningful test drive in the heart of a major city? It’s not easy to accomplish, what with block-by-block stop signs, cyclists sharing the road, pedestrians at every crosswalk, and the general pervasive congestion that comes with dense, urban living. Still, plan carefully, and it is possible to get… Continue reading Test Drive: 2011 BMW 1M
I’m driving BMW’s latest. “The latest what?” you wonder. The latest marketing-driven snafu is what most hardcore Bimmerphiles would say. You see, the BMW X1 (chassis code F48) is BMW’s first front-wheel-drive platform ever. This breaks the rule that BMWs are RWD driver’s cars at the core and threatens to condemn the X1 as the… Continue reading Review: 2016 BMW X1 xDrive28i
I now have two German cars in my garage. My sleek gray 2011 BMW M3 sedan has been joined by a raucously blue 2016 Ford Focus RS hatchback. If you are scratching your head and thinking that Ford is an American nameplate, you are, of course, right. But the Focus RS is manufactured in Germany… Continue reading Long Term: 2016 Ford Focus RS
Mike's Steering Column 