BY LARRY WEBSTER, PHOTOGRAPHY BY AARON KILEY
Inner Beauty: The new-for-2008 Vette doesn’t look much different, but more power, better steering, and an available inteior upgrade address the car’s few shortcomings.
From a list of 22 new and notable features on the 2008 Corvette, item 12 caught our eye: improved steering feel. (more…)
BY RAY HUTTON
The emperor’s new clothes.
This isn’t the first time Volvo has produced an all-new car that looks just like its predecessor. Clearly, the Swedish purveyor of sensible sedans and wagons is afraid of alienating its clientele. (more…)
BY STEVE SILER, PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID DEWHURST AND THE MANUFACTURER
Toyota sharpens its dull knife.
The all-new 2008 Toyota Highlander is boring.
Seriously, we haven’t been this bored driving an all-new car since, well, the original Highlander was introduced for the 2001 model year. Yes, with its new version, Toyota has addressed customer complaints regarding the previous model’s lack of style, space, and horsepower. But somehow, in spite of those improvements, the 08 Highlander exhibits no more charisma than Al Gore hosting a paint-mixing seminar. (more…)
BY STEVE SILER
Sweet Swedish style. Zero to 60 in the sixes. So why don’t we love it?
The Volvo C30 wears the freshest design to come from Sweden in years. And that says a lot, given that Sweden is known for cool design. Okay, that and stunning six-foot-tall women (which, we suppose, could also be examples of cool design). (more…)
BY STEVE SILER
Striking a new balance between big and small.
For each of its three generations since 1987, Dodge’s Dakota has always been the plus-size model among compact and mid-size trucks. Never terribly nimble but certainly more drivable than the full-sizers of its time”not to mention equipped with the only available V-8 in either of the smaller classes”the Dakota represented a relatively appealing mix of near-big-truck towing and hauling capability and not-so-big-truck urban friendliness. Still, the Dakota was always positioned as a mid-size truck. (more…)
BY DAVE VANDERWERP
For its fourth go-round, the icon gets a can-do-no-wrong chassis and a beastly V-8.
Maybe you’ve been following the trickle of information flowing out of Munich ever since BMW showed the concept of the fourth-gen M3 at the Geneva auto show in March. (more…)
BY RAY HUTTON
Well, the swallows come back to Capistrano,and so do the rumors of Alfa’s return to the U.S.
Alfa Romeo has a fine heritage but a difficult recent history, particularly in the U.S. In the early 90s, the Italian marque limped away, just as too many of its 164 sedans had done. (more…)
Torrid sounds too tame.
If you’re a 911 cultist concerned that the iconic Porsche may be marginalized as the company seeks to broaden its market with SUVs and” gasp!”sedans, fear not: Stuttgart’s rear-engined rocket is far from finished. (more…)
BY RAY HUTTON
In the realm of the incomprehensible.
Readers of our November 2005 cover story on the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 were treated to the visceral experience of driving the world’s fastest production car to an astounding 253 mph, with our mostly fearless editor-in-chief at the wheel, goose bumps and all. (more…)
BY NICK KURCZEWSKI
Chinese cars are now on sale in Europe, so we go for broke and try one at top speed on a German autobahn.
Yes, Chinese cars are coming to the U.S. The catch is that no one, not even the Chinese car manufacturers themselves, can provide a clear answer as to when and how. But we wanted to see how a Chinese car fares on real roads”and we wanted to know right now. (more…)
