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Posts Tagged “

First Drive

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first drive

2008 Fiat 500

A tour of Germany wouldn't be complete without test-driving some of Europe's forbidden fruits, now would it? In our case we just couldn't pass on the opportunity to sample Fiat's new retro mobile, the reborn Cinquecento. The Bamberg Fiat dealer was more than willing to let us grab the keys for a trip around the block given that we'd provide a little free publicity. So if you're ever in Germany and hankering for a Fiat, maybe think of Matthias Steinfurth at AutoHaus Wittig GmbH & Co. Let it never be said that we don't whore ourselves out to get behind a fancy steering wheel — we're just not cheap.


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Feature

12:00 PM on Mon Dec 31 2007
By bwojdyla
3,877 views, 24 comments

Latest by ZWECK: Just looking at the shifter makes me think it would be a fun drive. more »

first drive

2008 Chevy HHR SS First Drive Preview: World's 2nd Fastest Breadvan, Priced At $22,995

I woke up this morning in Arizona and spent the day happily hooning the go fast Nurburgring-tuned version of Chevrolet's HHR on freeways, twisty mountain two-laners and the Bondurant Road Course. How does the car drive? How's the Launch Mode? How do 260 horses and 260 ft-lb of torque feel through the front wheels? How much does it cost? Why did Bob Lutz call me a "pinhead?" We'll answer a few questions — and show you the Chevy press release — after the jump.

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12:01 AM on Fri Dec 14 2007
By Jonny Lieberman
9,145 views, 78 comments

Latest by mytdawg: I saw one of these things driving down the street this summer and went "huh?" (the SS version). Never thought to take a picture. The motor rocks as far as I'm concerned. I've got 20K on my more »

first drive

Honda FCX Clarity

The most remarkable thing about driving Honda's FCX Clarity prototype isn't how it emits nothing but water, its torquey, 13,500 rpm electric motor, the hydrogen equivalent of 68 miles per gallon or the perverse pleasure that goes with driving a multimillion-dollar automobile. It's the air-conditioned seats. Notice I said driving, because other than the whirring buzz of the motor, the Clarity goes, brakes and turns just like any other car. I had to keep reminding myself I was indeed behind the wheel of a hydrogen fuel-cell powered feat of engineering. Frankly, the Clarity feels like a slightly larger Accord. Again, Honda's latest FCX uses no gasoline whatsoever and behaves just like — no, make that exactly like — a regular car. And those AC seats? They have built-in fans to blow thermoelectrically cooled air, so no ozone-killing chlorofluorocarbons are needed to chill your fat butt. Pretty neat.

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Feature

1:00 PM on Mon Nov 19 2007
By Jonny Lieberman
10,487 views, 56 comments

Latest by bb4buzz: I wonder how many hydrogen filling stations could have been built across the country with the $1 trillion Bush spent on Iraq? What would our relationship with the Middle East look like then? (not to mention rest of world) more »

first drive

Preview: Jalopnik Drives the Honda FCX Clarity

You're looking at Honda's new hydrogen fuel cell powered FCX Clarity parked in front of the Malibu Presbyterian Church that was destroyed in the recent fires. As the Clarity emits water and achieves the gasoline consumption equivalent of 68 mpg, we thought it only fitting to shoot it parked in front of one of Global Warming's victims. The Clarity, of course, is supposed to help with all that — although we're still not real clear on the clarity of the environmental benefits of hydrogen created using currently readily available sources. But Honda claims they're working on that — and hey, it'll reduce your home's overall power bills. Oh yeah, almost forgot. Honda tossed us the keys to their multi-million dollar pre-production baby (LA Times Pulitzer Prize-winning auto critic Dan Neil claims it's worth "like $10,000,000 or more") and let us cruise from Santa Monica through the toasted canyons of Malibu. Full review coming this Monday.


10:45 PM on Fri Nov 16 2007
24,443 views, 46 comments

Latest by danio3834: @cgarison: And it will point finger at GM as the big bag corporation that killed it. Despite half a dozen other car companies who had them as well. more »

first drive

Ford Mustang Bullitt Timeline Drive

The 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt edition doesn't have quad camshafts or forty-eight valves in the cylinder heads. There is no turbocharger under the hood. The Mustang doesn't pack an eight speed twin-clutch super sequential transmission. The Mustang needs not even one of these things to be exactly what it is - a purely American machine that's a blast to drive.
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Feature

3:15 PM on Fri Nov 9 2007
By Mike Bumbeck
2,818 views, 19 comments

Latest by kalamath: Vipers and Vette's have been known to spit half shafts. Hell, even the new M5 with a manual tranny grenades the rear end, and it's made with FINE GERMAN PRECISION *GASP* @parramore46: Exactly; more than anything, I'm sure that the stick axle more »

first drive

2008 Ford F-Series Super Duty

It's difficult to imagine any of you Jalops needing to haul 20,000 pounds. We also doubt many of you are in the market for a truck whose price tag easily hits $40,000 to take off-roading. But what if you came across a half-dozen utes sitting in the middle of California's Rubicon Trail, each adorned with a sign reading "Take me"? Sure, that's totally plausible. So, when Ford invited us to put its 2008 Super Duty through some of the more rigorous tasks a vehicle will ever face, we struggled to come up with a reason to turn them down. After all, this thing has wheels (sometimes even six of them!) and we like things with wheels, do we not? More »

Feature

12:30 PM on Thu Nov 8 2007
By tingwall
4,633 views, 58 comments

Latest by gfreeman11: Name a manufacturer and somebody will have a negative comment. None of them are perfect! I love my F250 Super-Duty 2008! Yeah, I park it at the Malls. Mainly on Sunday after a long week of towing my Skid Steer more »