Reviews

2013 Audi A5 And The Face That Will NOT Be Ignored

Sam Miller-Christiansen
Stereotyping is one of LA’s favorite past times. This constant need for categorization can make-or-break people, places, and things. German luxury cars are of course included in this: BMW has performance (people who wear bright colored polos with obscure Tour-de-France logos on them and backwards baseball hats), Mercedes has luxury (old people), and Audi has design (people who name their first-born Neutra and claim to want to move to France because everything is ‘just so effortlessly chic there’). [...]

2012 Volkswagen Beetle Turbo: More Trick, Less Chick

Jeff Stork 2
I wasn’t thinking of my long lost GTIs when VW called to offer me a chance to drive the new Beetle Turbo. Frankly, I wasn’t much of a fan of the “New Beetle”, finding it longer on promise than on substance and just too “chicky” for me. The bud vase was too gay even for me, and the whole thing just seemed too cutesy. I don’t care if the ’73 Super Beetle had one giant gauge: I hated the damn thing. Besides, the interior was a sea of unhappy plastics. [...]

2013 Infiniti JX35 AWD: Ultimately Adoptable

Casey Williams 1
My partner and I are trying to adopt a baby. It was a big decision, fraught with more decisions. One of the biggest will be, “What to drive?” We need a family-friendly ride that won’t diminish our style cards. Occasionally, we may want to take grandparents, aunts, or cousins to the park with us. And, if our tykes park their trikes in the driveway, our car must be ready for that too. I think the Infiniti JX35 can handle it [...]

2012 Buick Regal GS: Paint It Black

Jeff Stork
I joined Buick during the glory days of the turbo 3.8-litre (the Grand National was announced the year I started). Every male under 30 and quite a few of the women at Home Office bought one — myself included — and proceeded to spend a Michigan winter going diagonally, coping with the awesome power and serious lack of traction that black beauty provided. We loved it dearly, but it was hardly a balanced automobile. The motoring press loved it as much as we did. Tony Assenza from Car and Driver Magazine road-tested the legendary GNX in April of 1987 and wrote of it, “In a world of sleek shapes and refined manners, the GNX is an ax-wielding barbarian laying waste to everything in its path.” [...]

2012 Nissan Juke SV: Defying Boredom

Casey Williams 1
What the hell is a Juke? It’s jacked up like a crossover, but it doesn’t look much like a crossover. My neighbor tried to get his 50-something self into the rear seat and nearly required three young men to yank him back out. You could forgive the rear seat if it was a sport coupe, which it definitely is not. It is, however, a whole box of funky coolness. Throw in a quarter, kick the big pedal, and go for a spin. [...]

2012 Infiniti FX35 AWD Special Edition: Tell Jaguar Not to Bother

Jeff Stork 2
Jaguar has been making news of late, developing a mid-sized luxury SUV, and I admit I have been amused by the notion. From my Jaguar days, I know that an astronomically high percentage of Jaguar customers also own a Land Rover, so that would seem to take up the slack. But further reading reveals that Jaguar has a different flavor in mind — a crossover utility with both a very sporty character and a very richly detailed interior. [...]