Driving auto news

First Drive: 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 [w/video]

We would love to be able to look you square in the eye and say, "All you need to know about the 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 can be summed up in one figure: 662." After all, that's the obscene amount of horsepower ripping at the rear tires courtesy of the supercharged 5.8-liter V8 under the hood. Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple. For the first time in its life, the GT500 has found itself lined up against a legitimate competitor in the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. The muscle car/supercar crossbreed from General Motors is stitched to conquer not only the quarter mile, but nation's road courses as well.

In order to answer that threat, the engineers at Ford have laid a hand on nearly every mechanical and electrical system on board the GT500. While that means the blown V8 churns out a diabolical 112 more horsepower than the previous model, it also means the top-tier Mustang now comes with tricks like user-selectable Bilstein dampers, adjustable electronic power steering, larger brakes and an array of optional cooling systems. In fact, if this car came wrapped in a slightly different shade of sheetmetal, we'd be talking about an all-new model instead of a refresh.

Continue reading 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 [w/video]

First Drive: 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG [w/video]

Saint-Tropez is a charming town in southeastern France nestled along the Mediterranean Sea. Internationally recognized as a summer playground for the wealthy and famous, it is also famed for its "clothing optional" beaches where more than just noses and shoulders get burned in hot weather. While still a couple months shy of warm weather and the influx of tourists, Mercedes-Benz chose to get an early start on the topless party by flying us to the Côte d'Azur for some seat time in its newest high-performance droptop, the 2013 SL63 AMG Roadster.

Our first taste of the new SL-Class was behind the wheel of the standard SL550 in Spain less than two months ago. The two-seater impressed us with its stout chassis, strong engine and lavish appointments - but it failed to stir our emotions. The base SL long ago steered away from being a driver's car, and its latest incarnation proved no different. It was, in effect, just a very capable and posh GT.

But the SL63 AMG, boasting upwards of 557 horsepower thanks to a burly twin-turbocharged V8, still seems promising. Its luxury appointments are nearly identical, yet it wears AMG attire and its entire powertrain has been upgraded to appease warm-blooded automotive enthusiasts. Do fresh duds and a new muscular system make a more compelling athlete? We roughed in the French Riviera to find out.

Continue reading 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG [w/video]

First Drive: 2013 Ferrari California [w/video]

Every time I travel to Maranello for a test drive, the three hours or so prior to turning the red key are driven in a U.S. Interstate-style straight line along Italy's A1 autostrada in my 99-horsepower 2001 Opel Astra station wagon with five-speed manual. It's just about the perfect antithetical setup for the unleashing of the hounds that awaits just over the hills south of Ferrari HQ.

This trip over was for the midlife upgrade of the Ferrari California for our 2013 model year, a car that promises to weigh less, deliver more horsepower and torque, and go quicker.

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First Drive: 2013 BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe

As the years go by, it's become the Germans who are most closely watching what each other are doing over the backyard fence. So much so, at times, that it can almost seem like they're freely swapping all their trade secrets unapologetically in full view.

Take this nicely executed new luxo-niche player, the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe. It's no scoop, of course, that it was created specifically to not miss out on what both Mercedes-Benz and Audi are discovering for themselves with the CLS and A7. And yes, that "nicely executed" modifier just used to describe the Gran Coupe could indeed ring with more enthusiasm.

The 640i Gran Coupe we sailed around in all over Sicily under a crisp sun is a generally good-looking machine. BMW designers have taken the existing Big Bimmer language and successfully created a new dialect for the company, if you will. But these "four-door coupe" creations are curiosities for which many develop a love (or, occasionally, a distaste) for over the long run. Only the first-generation CLS in 2003-04 absolutely socked it to us at first glance, and since then, everything else in the genre has felt derivative. Well, they essentially are blatant derivatives, right?

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First Drive: 2013 Audi S6

It's been fascinating to sample Audi's new EA824 V8 in all of its various incarnations. Our first crack at the new TFSI powerplant was in Audi's own 513-horsepower S8, and we then went on to try it out in the new Bentley Continental GT and GTC V8 models. Most recently, we dipped into the 4.0-liter biturbo in the new S7 before getting behind the wheel of the closely related S6 seen here.

Versus the previous S6 with its muy macho Lamborghini-derived 5.2-liter V10, everything is quicker, more efficient and lighter in weight. The new fourth-generation S6 Quattro with S-tronic seven-speed dual clutch comes in at a European curb weight of 4,178 pounds - about 30 pounds lighter than the previous V10-stuffed car with its automated six-speed. Yes, power is slightly lower now at 414 horses, but peak torque of 406 pound-feet is slightly higher and happens over a vastly wider range of 1,400 to 5,200 rpm. Audi's 0-62 miles per hour sprint time is now listed at 4.6 seconds, a figure that compares favorably with the outgoing car's official 5.2-second time.

For my test drive, Audi thoughtfully provided a couple of S6 four-door setups for me to sample: those with Dynamic Steering and the torque vectoring sport Quattro rear differential, and those without. You know which trim I went for already. So equipped, these S6 sedans were all painted Misano Red... an exterior color that Americans cannot get this time around. So, just visualize me thundering around Bavaria in a car painted shades of white, black, silver, gray, or blue, since those are the paint chips you'll find on the order sheet at your local dealer.

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First Drive: 2013 Dodge Dart [w/video]

Chrysler has managed an impressive turnaround since the dark days of 2009. After carpet-bombing the market with a spate of new or refreshed models, the automaker saw its retail sales jump a whopping 43 percent in 2011, helping it report a modest $183 million profit in the process. Chrysler even managed to pay out profit-sharing checks for the first time since 2005. According to Richard Cox, director of the Dodge brand, that trend hasn't slacked up in 2012. Year-to-date sales are up in the neighborhood of 40 percent.

But those gains were made largely by fluffing the pillows on old platforms. New engines, new interiors and reworked sheetmetal aside, we've yet to see what "the new Chrysler" can pull off with a completely fresh model. At least, that was the case.

Behold the 2013 Dodge Dart: the first serious small-car effort from the automaker since the Neon rolled off into the sunset in 2005. As the first completely new machine from Chrysler since the automaker's bankruptcy and subsequent takeover by Fiat, there's plenty riding on the new compact.

While technically based on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, American engineers have drawn and quartered the chassis while also reworking the suspension to suit domestic tastes. With eye-catching styling, an à la carte option system and a range of fuel-efficient and powerful engines, the 2013 Dart isn't just a step forward for Dodge, it might just be a step forward for the compact class.

Continue reading 2013 Dodge Dart [w/video]

First Drive: 2013 Audi S7 [w/video]

Continue reading 2013 Audi S7 [w/video]

First Drive: 2013 Acura ILX

Acura has a long and storied history of being an innovator since its creation in 1986. As the first luxury brand from Japan, the marque brought with it the first variable valve timing technology, the first drive-by-wire electronic throttle, the first in-dash navigation system and the first instance of torque-vectoring all-wheel drive.

Laudable accomplishments, all of them, and Acura reaped rewards for the technological advancements it brought to the automotive realm. Venerable nameplates like Legend and Integra launched Acura into first place in the premium luxury car segment in 1987, the brand's first full year of sales.

And then things started to go downhill. The Legend was replaced by the poorly received RL and the discontinuation of the Integra in 2001 and the RSX a few years later in 2006 left Acura without a proper entry-level model. Acura sales peaked in 2005 and have floundered ever since.

Is Acura's new ILX the machine it needs to inject some much-needed life into its lineup?

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First Drive: 2013 Ford Escape [w/video]

In the music industry, a band's third album is typically make-or-break. You start with the debut album, introducing the general public to the band's polished works, then comes the sophomore record, which proves whether or not the band can keep its fan base happy and gain more traction in the music scene. But the third album must show if that band's sound and style has a good enough mix of individual flare and mainstream appeal to keep them successful in the long-run.

If you think about it, the same can be said about the automotive landscape, and for the purpose of this review, the Ford Escape. The first-generation Escape, launched in 2000 as a 2001 model, entered during a time when small SUVs and "cute-utes" were booming. The redesigned 2008 Escape built upon the first model's success, and now, as the curtain is about to close on that ruggedly handsome, boxy Escape, this new third-generation model has some mighty big shoes to fill.

Over the past year, the Escape has been an absolute sales superstar. In 2011, Ford moved over 254,000 of the compact crossovers - a 33-percent gain over 2010's numbers. To get an idea of just how impressive that is, know that in the same timeframe, Honda moved just over 218,000 CR-Vs, while Toyota sold 137,000 RAV4s and Chevrolet hustled around 193,000 Equinox models. Building upon that success, Ford announced that with 60,000 units sold in the first quarter of 2012, the Escape posted its best Q1 numbers in its 11-year history. Talk about going out with a bang.

But rather than sticking to the original formula of a small, trucky crossover, Ford has completely redesigned the Escape for 2013. Perhaps the biggest point of contention surrounding the new model is its styling - the two-box, upright design has been ditched in favor of the automaker's Kinetic language, employing a more, shall we say, Focused appearance.

So here it is, the ever-important third album. Does Ford's all-new Escape have enough mainstream appeal to take on the best and brightest of the CUV set while still being able to appeal to loyalists? We headed to the roads around San Francisco to find out.

Continue reading 2013 Ford Escape [w/video]

First Drive: 2013 Mercedes SL550 [w/video]

Generally speaking, I'm a pretty measured sort of guy. But when it comes to convertibles, I'm a bit of a lunatic. I've been known to motor with the top down in all conditions - including light rain and snow - much to the bewilderment of other drivers (and quite often the chagrin of my passengers). For the most part, it doesn't matter if I'm driving in a bare-bones roadster or a lux-lined GT. Thankfully for my hapless guests, however, advances in technology have done much to assuage discomfort in poor weather. These days, there are far fewer tradeoffs associated with top-down motoring: improved aerodynamics, wind blockers, enhanced ventilation, sun-reflecting leather and, of course, seat heating and cooling - all features that have done much to make me better company. What's more, modern underlying structures are stiffer and there's little in the way of the noise, vibration and harshness penalties that there used to be.

In terms of innovation, nobody has done more to advance the everyday livability of the convertible than Mercedes-Benz. They kept the faith back in the early 80s when nearly everyone had gotten out of the convertible business. They brought back the folding hardtop. They came up with the pyrotechnic roll hoop to augment rollover safety. They created Airscarf. Aircap, too. Hell, with this 2013 SL550, they've even invented a new windshield wiper fluid delivery system to prevent errant schvitzing when driving with the top down (more on that in a minute).

On its face, a typically sober German engineering approach would seem to be at odds with the very idea of a top-down bauble, but Mercedes has taken a very logical approach to building something so frivolous. Amazingly, this philosophy works in the SL's favor... most of the time.

Continue reading 2013 Mercedes SL550 [w/video]