Test Drives

Since its reincarnation as a company free from bankruptcy and enormous debt, General Motors has unveiled interesting new vehicles after interesting new vehicles. The hope is that people will forget their negative preconceived notions of the former world number one’s products since it’s now offering vehicles that are truly able …

Porsche owners can be terribly annoying people. Incredibly proud of their preferred automaker’s engineering prowess, they’ll spend hours trying to convince you that the decades spent fine-tuning and tweaking the 911’s rear engine layout have turned the worst powertrain layout possible into a thing of beauty. And then they’ll lambaste …

When Toyota builds a car, they generally do it right. As in, by the book; every button in its place, every part appropriately robust. Be it the lowly Corolla or the extremely luxurious LS600hL, Toyota’s built their reputation on ensuring that every facet of every vehicle is sufficiently well designed …

On a recent trip to California, I had the chance to drive a Porsche Panamera 4S from Los Angeles to Carmel, near San Francisco. (Interesting side note: Carmel once had Clint Eastwood as its mayor.) We could have taken Highway 5 through the desert, but we opted instead for the …

Pune, India – There are moments in your career when you know that you’re experiencing something rare and invaluable. November 26, the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, will remain etched in my memory as my first encounter with the Tata Nano. And if I’m not mistaken, I’m …

I’ve always questioned manufacturer’s bizarre desire to saddle perfectly good cars with uninspiring nomenclature. Perhaps best exemplified by Lincoln’s decision to turn the whimsical Zephyr into the bland (and forgettable) MKZ, it’s a phenomenon that seems most common among luxury brands. BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Lexus, Acura, even Lincoln now use …

It came as no surprise in the industry when the GLK arrived at Mercedes. The competition already had a strong presence in this market and that was all the Mercedes brass needed to put their latest creation in the ring. Small luxury compact sport vehicles are finding more and more …

Mazda has never been afraid to innovate. Take the rotary engine, for example, or even the MX-5, a one-of-a-kind roadster. Other manufacturers usually try to copy rivals’ successes, but the MX-5 roadster remains exclusively Mazda’s since the departure of the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky. To mark the 20 year …

It has been said that every man is an island. Nowhere is that more true than at the gym. As any gymgoer can tell you, there are few situations more awkward than that of being forced to exchange grunted syllables between panting breaths with a complete stranger. That said, go …

Wagons aren’t exactly popular, and luxury versions are even less so. In spite of the extremely practical nature of these cars, they were largely ignored in the past in favour of the more macho but a little less practical SUVs that were very much in vogue a few years ago.