de autos cars

The wait between thinly disguised show car and production Camaro was so long that a lot of people were predicting the real thing would be a dud...that the public would be bored silly before the first one was sold.

Boy, were they wrong.

No, it's not going to be 1967 all over again, when 220,000 Camaros rolled out of showrooms and into driveways across America...100,000 is probably more like it. But in this day and age, that's an impressive number for a limited-use vehicle (have you tried the back seat?) with two more or less equally attractive direct competitors.

Part of the appeal here has to be the magic Chevy has wrought with the base V6. At 305 horsepower, it's five horsepower more than the '09 Mustang V8, and only ten less than the 2010 Mustang V8. The fact that it can get 29 miles per gallon on the highway no doubt sweetens the deal for newly-green buyers.

And then there's the look. It takes a lot of critical thinking to get past the "Wow!" stage when you walk up to the new Camaro, especially in the right color (ours was the yellow you see above). Once that critical thinking is mustered, though, the only downer is the car seems a bit big...especially if you've been exposed to the first-gen (1967-69) car this one emulates. But the truth is, there's no way to build a car with the capabilities of this one, and the equipment the government mandates and buyers demand and have it be as light and lithe as the ones from 40 years ago.


And the cluster of gauges down on the floor console? Well, we've learned way too much about ergonomics and keeping our eyes on the road the past four decades to think that's anything but a gimmick with no real value for the driver.

Ah...driving.

For the purposes of television, I took the RS out to the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving near Phoenix and spent half an hour or so on the autocross track. The RS handles sweetly...especially given its size and weight. The SS, with a heavier 425-horsepower V8 over its nose, probably won't move as nimbly.

Base price starts in the 22s...our tester bottom-lined at $30,160. These days, for this kind of performance, that's a bargain. It goes a long way toward explaining how Camaro is overcoming a late start, stiff competition, a bad economy and a burgeoning "sports cars=bad" mentality with a car that draws its inspiration from before its target buyers were born.

UPDATE: Did another week in another RS recently...this one with a six-speed manual...makes a big difference in performance (which is already stellar)...and kept the  price below $30K ($29,175). EPA estimates 17 city/29 highway.

If only Chevy can fix the interior darkness and visibility issues (beyond suggesting we buy the 2011 Camaro Convertible, that is)

Months after our turn in the Camaro RS, comes the long-anticipated week in the Camaro SS.

What's the difference, ask the less than die-hard Camaro fans?

2 cylinders, 120 horsepower and 11 grand.


The SS is this year's bad boy Camaro...a 6.2 liter V8 making 425 horsepower. Not long ago, this was Corvette territory.

Sure, it's fast. Yes, it makes a marvelous noise when you put your foot in it.


Yeah, I would have loved this car in high school. No, there's not much I'd change about it....except maybe the slightly claustrophobic interior.



But would I buy one?

Hmmm.

Even assuming an epic middle-age crisis, I really don't know. The V6 RS, packing 305 horsepower, a price that begins in the $22,000 range and an EPA highway estimate of 29 miles per gallon strikes me as close to having it all.

425 horsepower is better on paper, but where and how do you use those extra horses and not endanger your future as a licensed driver? And the tradeoffs for that power of uncertain usefulness include a sticker that starts at $33,430 and an EPA highway estimate that drops to 24.

In absolute terms, it's a screaming deal....the tester bottom-lined at $35,850...which for this level of performance is amazing...and 24 highway for sheer muscle is a compelling number.

But factor in the uncertain times in which we live and banking the extra 10 grand from the purchase price and the weekly savings in gasoline, not to mention insurance, just seems like the smarter pick if you're shopping Camaros.

When I started TireKicking professionally back in the late 90s, my favorite Mercedes was the CLK 350. Well-built, smooth and slick...nice lines, and, with the 350's lighter six instead of the 430's heavy V8 over the front wheels, beautifully balanced.

Over time, the CLK lost its allure...as did the entire Mercedes line when it went chasing volume at the expense of quality.

Well, the good news is that there's mounting evidence that Benz is back...and intent on building the best-engineered automobiles to a standard rather than a price.

The CLK convertible lives on, but the coupe is now part of the E-Class.

I mean, just look at the pictures above. It's gorgeous.


And once inside, you're not let down...the car reinforces the "good choice" vibe every inch of the way.

Cheap? No. Just barely reasonable, really...at $48,050...and lightly optioned at $54,245. But it's how good the car is that carries it off.

For your money, you get looks, style, quality, performance (0-60 in 6.2 seconds) and reasonable (17 city/26 highway) fuel economy. And, thanks to M-B no longer chasing market share above all else, you'll be driving something different...you won't see three just like yours driving home every night.

Even in a recession, there's a place for high quality and true luxury. $50,000 Chevy Tahoes are out...but there'll always be a place for a car like this.

Watch the pretty blonde lady take a test drive in her mind in this slick Mercedes-Benz official video:

The mailman got out of his truck, put our mail in the box by the sidewalk, turned, stared, did a double take and went back to his truck. He came out seconds later with his cellphone, snapping shot after shot.

The power crew came to replace the transformer buried in the next-door neighbor's backyard. They got out of the truck, on the way to the front door to tell me how long the power would be off. They never got there. I found all three of them, five minutes after I heard the truck doors close, in the driveway. Their question had changed from how soon they could cut the power without inconveniencing me too badly to:

Could I start it up, back it out of the driveway and do a burnout down the block?

The six year old girl, dressed in pink, leaving my daughter's ballet school, holding her daddy's hand as they walked to their minivan, stopped cold and said: "Whoa, Daddy! AWESOME car!".

God only knows what adolescent boys must be saying and thinking (though my son, who's 14, the age I was when the first Challenger hit the market, tells me it's "a reasonable alternative to the Viper").

Bright red (Dodge calls it "TorRed"), with 20" aluminum chrome wheels and a profile worthy of inclusion on Mt. Rushmore...and yes, it's got a Hemi.

5.7 liters, 376 horsepower and 410 pounds per foot of torque, to be precise. And though it comes with an automatic, this one had the optional TrackPak 6-speed manual.

Yes, it's way bigger than the original 1970 Challenger. That's what happens when you use the Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger platform. But it looks great, it's scary fast, it's got way more trunk room than the old one, and once you get inside, just reprogram your spatial orientation to "Road Runner" instead of "Challenger" and you'll be fine.

It's also something of a bargain for what you get: $29,320 base price...our tester bottom-lined at $35,965.

Love the shape but need still more of a bargain? The SE starts at $21,995, and comes with a 250-horsepower V6 and 18-inch wheels...which would have been a dream come true not too long ago. In fact, Dodge expects most Challengers sold will be SEs.

Here's a nice video about the development and production of what was then the not-yet-released Challenger SRT-8, the hottest of the Challengers:



UPDATE: More than a year after the above was written, Chrysler sent us a second Challenger...again an R/T with the Hemi, the 6-speed manual, the Track Pack...and again, an '09 (though the '10s should be out there now).

This one had a bump in the base price...now $30,220 and with more options on the sticker, the bottom line rings in at $38,170.

Oh, and this one was silver.

Not covered the first time we covered this...five-star crash ratings all around, four for rollover. EPA estimates 16 city/25 highway.

6th generation of Civic EJ6 Coupe with B18C Integra Type R swap and Invidia exhaust. Crazy sound and acceleration.

Honda Accord Coupe, just too hot.

After 10 years, Volkswagen is still calling it the New Beetle. Apparently, it will go out that way, because next year, there will be a new New Beetle...probably a 2011 model.

So should you wait? My knee-jerk reaction would normally be to say yes...but after a refresher in the existing Beetle, I'm not so sure.

18 months or more ago, I'd have written the Beetle off as tired and way overdue to be put out to pasture. But I drove one recently with the new realities firmly in my brain and you know what?

It's got a lot going for it.

I mean, just look at the basics: $18,540 base price...20 mpg city, 29 highway. Yes, the Jetta and Golf (a previous generation of which the Beetle is based on) are a few hundred dollars cheaper and get an extra mile per gallon or so, but the incredible feeling of space inside the Beetle (thanks to that arching roofline) is hard to beat.


If you're looking for unassuming, economical transportation without feeling cramped and invisible, the Beetle may be exactly the right call.

Here's a question I've never asked:

"If Darth Vader were a college student and drove a Scion, what would it look like?"



See above.

Okay, that's probably a bit harsh...but I was more than a bit bugged by the Scion tC.

Not the car itself, which I have always liked a lot...but by the way it was optioned.

The tC, for the uninitiated, is a smart, tight, fun little coupe...with a base price of just $17,000, an EPA estimate of 20 city/27 highway, more handling capability than most vehicles with a Toyota pedigree, and an impressive list of standard features (17 inch alloy wheels, moonroof, 160-watt Pioneer audio system with subwoofer)for the price.

Hard to beat.

But the tester came with $4000 of options that made absolutely no difference. $1083 for ground effects. $430 for a rear pedestal spoiler. $65 for a different shift knob. A metal one. In Phoenix. In summer (okay, that's worse for me than for a lot of folks). $1999 for 18" black wheels and Toyo tires. And $389 to upgrade the Pioneer audio system...though it doesn't specify what the upgrade was, exactly and it sounded about as good as the stock one (at least according to memory).

So $17,000 becomes $21,000...the performance of the car isn't improved (arguably, the 18 inch wheels hurt the ride) and the all-black menacing look....well, c'mon...it's a Scion. It's just not that menacing.

Still love the tC. Great car. Just buy it as-is, bone stock and you've got something. But jacking up the price by more than 20 percent for this stuff? Pass.

I began my automotive journalism career 12 years ago this fall by testing a small Ford coupe that impressed me more than I expected. So it's kind of appropriate that this, the 150th TireKicker post (first anniversary is August 24), is also about a small Ford coupe that impressed me more than I expected.

The Ford Focus has been a bit of a disappointment simply because there's a better one being sold in Europe. But there are two bits of good news: We'll be getting the Euro Focus (or something very close to it) in a year or two...and the American version is being constantly improved and refined in the meantime.

The SES I drove had a 2 liter DOHC four, a 5-speed manual that's one of the best I've had from Ford and 17 inch wheels.



Inside, air, SYNC, and auxilary audio jacks are all standard.

Options on the tester included leather heated bucket seats, a moonroof and an upgrade to the audiophile sound system...as well as anti-lock brakes (which really, really should be standard).

Base price: $17.570. As tested: $20.615.

EPA estimates: 24 city/35 highway.

Now in that range, there's a lot of competition (it takes 26 city to make the TireKicker Top Ten Fuel Savers...and a lot of compacts are priced in that $17,000-$20,000 range), but the Focus is now good enough that it's able to run in that crowded pack.

Okay, throw the old script away. You know, the one where Mustang invents the pony car, but after a couple of hot new kids named Challenger and Camaro come to town, rapidly loses its edge.

That was so 40 years ago. Literally.

One thing is immediately clear after an afternoon...much less a week...in the 2010 Mustang GT:

Ford is serious.

The new 'Stang ought to be just a mid-cycle refresher...but it goes a big step further...it's slightly smaller, a bit lighter, handles and rides a ton better than last year's...and the interior is now a much nicer place to do business. We're talking a jump of two or three grades of materials and workmanship. And it's lighter and airier than the Challenger and Camaro, both of which tend to sit you low and cloak you in darkness.

The GT comes with those big fog lamps in the grille, leather trim sports seats, a power 6-way driver's seat, air, ambient lighting, the Shaker 500 audio system, SYNC, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel standard.

Oh, yeah...and a 325 horsepower 4.6 liter V8, which logic says ought to be mincemeat for the V8 Challenger and Camaro, but ends up being very competitive...partly due to the weight and size savings I mentioned earlier.

All that for a base price of $30,995. Sure, a six-speed manual would be better than a five, but the five shifts smoother and easier than ever before.

The one I had for a week (up until this very morning, in fact) had the premier trim with color accent (see photo above) for $395, a Security Package (another $395), a Comfort Package with heated seats ($595), and the 3.73 rear axle ($495). With destination and delivery ($850), the total tab was $33,725...a couple grand less than the Challenger.

Gas mileage? 16 city/24 highway, according to the EPA. Again, a six-speed would be nice.

A lot of the goodness in the new Mustang GT comes from last year's Bullitt package, right down to the throaty exhaust note and the chrome cue-ball shifter. Here's hoping they're not done with that franchise and that there will be a new Bullitt to raise the bar further still.

I took it to the local cruise night this past weekend...the Ford guys were all over it...and the GM and Mopar guys expressed admiration too. They talked about the styling, the interior upgrades, the engine note.

But the thing everyone dug most?



Yep...gotta love the sequential turn signals. Tells the guys in lesser cars where to follow.

Write this down...if pony cars survive at all, Mustang's here to stay.