First Drives

There’s a fire in Ford’s belly. Under Alan Mullaly’s direction, the giant from Dearborn is offering a whole bunch of new models. And, in what is perhaps a sign of the times, they’re showing renewed interest in sub-compact vehicles, a segment that’s increasingly showing promise. Traditionally, American manufacturers have not …

Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina – By creating some new niche models, BMW has really built up some momentum to say the least. First, there was the M version of the X5 and X6, and now the Bavarian manufacturer is launching a new variation of the 5 Series called the Gran Turismo, …

Road Atlanta, Georgia – It wasn’t all that long ago that the directors of BMW’s high-performance vehicle division scoffed at the notion of developing M versions of their SUVs. But it appears that even they can have a change of heart, since the X5 M and X6 M will be …

The E-Class is the undisputed star at Mercedes this year. After a test drive of the new generation sedan a few weeks ago a test drive of the coupe by my colleague Denis Duquet more recently, I had the pleasure of finishing off the trifecta by taking the first ride …

The author of In Praise of Folly, Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (Erasmus of Rotterdam to his friends), perhaps said it best when he wrote, “Fortune favours the fool, the audacious and those who are not afraid to say: ‘The die has been cast.’ Wisdom, on the contrary, makes men timid.” This …

You must admit that Ford’s been making progress for several years now. We’re finally seeing the tangible results of the recovery plan in the quality of the new vehicles, and the 2010 Taurus is no exception. Those who still believe that Ford products aren’t competitive compared to others should go …

Although Mercedes-Benz is very often on the cutting edge, there’s at least one area where the Stuttgart-based company has lagged behind somewhat: hybrid engines. To respond to the increasing market demands and, of course, to keep up appearances, Mercedes has just unveiled the S400 HYBRID. Although diesel engines (God knows …

The compact car segment remains one of the most competitive and includes interesting vehicles like the Mazda3 and the Honda Civic. The Korean manufacturer Kia was attempting to rival the heavyweights with the Spectra, a nice, but aging model that was nowhere near the level of its rivals. For 2009, …

Times are tough for two thirds of American car manufacturers. The other third, Ford, seems to be coping much better. Over the last few years, product quality at the “Blue Oval” has significantly improved, though it has yet to be perfected. Ford’s reliability has also made some big strides, as …

Hohenstein-Ödenwaldstetten, Germany – Over the years, the Porsche 911 has evolved to the point that today it comes in a wide range of models, including the one that expresses the spirit and philosophy of this mythic car more than the rest: the GT3. The engineers in Porsche’s racing department, who …