Gear Patrol | Spirit of Adventure, Passion for Gear

Love it or hate it, the new 2012 BMW 335i (internally, F30) makes a bold statement. A continuation of BMWs design language found in the current 5 and 7 series, especially in the completely reworked front fascia with its exposed kidney grilles and elongated headlamps, the 335i makes no bones about what it’s here to [...]

Be my Valentino

After more than 40 years as a test driver for Lamborghini, Valentino Balboni retired. In place of a gold watch the Italian supercar maker crafted a limited edition model (only 250) in his honor: the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni — yes, it’s a mouth full. That very car birthed two beautiful descendants. Our [...]

Bespoke Barroom Brawler

Let’s start with the near absurdity of a four-door Porsche, on the heels of the ridiculously successful Cayenne, which no Porsche enthusiast thought should be built. The Panamera was never meant to compete with the BMW 7-Series, the Mercedes S-Class or the Audi A8, though comparos almost always include the four in a heated battle [...]

White Lightning

The Audi TT started out as an exercise in modern Bauhaus Auto Union design and it’s been hugely successful in both 2+2 and roadster versions. Though neither car has been deemed especially quick, that all changes with the TT RS, a balls-to-the-wall 2+2 that makes other sports cars sweat like an elk in Ted Nugent’s [...]

Price of perfection? Starts around $96,000.

Let’s get this out of the way. The 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S crushes miles. It crushes miles on grand tours, it crushes them on B-roads, it even crushes them on boring commutes. From the moment you turn the key — Porsche thankfully forgoes the start button frippery — to the raucous score of the [...]

First things first. The snow covered roads of Jackson Hole, Wyoming are not the ideal venue for a test drive. Even less so for a car packing over 400 horsepower and fat rubber. But hey, we’re always up for a challenge. And so here we are, with our driving cohort, behind the wheel of a [...]

Bruise Control

No longer the poor man’s Rolls, the 2012 Chrysler 300 S (yes, the one in all those “imported from Detroit” ads) is no longer the big bruiser of yore. Though absolutely sinister in black, Chrysler has sent the 300 to finishing school — giving it a German eight-speed automatic and a seductive new interior with [...]

Highest Common Denominator

Taking a step back — a good one — VW returns to its roots of making stellar vehicles at earthly prices, and the result is the 2012 Volkswagen Passat, now made right here in America. Remarkably better than its predecessor yet refreshingly light on the wallet (prices start under $20 grand) the 2012 Passat is [...]

Green With Envy

When it comes to cars, we spend most of our time fixated on rides that churn through a gallon of gas faster than a fat kid eats twinkies. Yet for all of our love for “driver’s cars”, we still acknowledge that practicality should be a major consideration when it comes to selecting a primary ride. [...]

Canon, Cantons and Continentals

Sunday, 12:24pm | A hundred miles. It doesn’t sound like that much. Maybe a long round-trip commute or a weekend ride up to the grandparents. But take that same distance, move it 3,800 miles, and my, how things can change. If you’ve ever looked into great driving roads than you’ve undoubtedly heard that Europe is [...]

Call it a comeback

In America, the hatchback has long fought an uphill battle — garnering the scorn and disdain of image conscious buyers who prefer the look of a sedan or coupe. The thing is, regardless of mass public opinion, we think hatchbacks are great, especially on smaller vehicles where the proportions, engineering and design seem to jive [...]

1,000 miles never felt so easy

Recently, we hopped into the 9th generation E-class for an extended test on the unfamiliar (to us) roads of Miami. Over the span of a week, we logged nearly a thousand miles hurtling our Mercedes-Benz E350 Sport everywhere from South Beach to Little Havana, from the University of Miami to Dania Beach and we’re still [...]

Super Natural

We have a big soft spot for pick-up trucks. Not just because they represent so much of what America is and how we get work done, but the fact that when it comes to two-axle haulers, no one does a full-size pickup like the U S of A. Even as fuel prices have rocketed and [...]

Filed Under: Ravishing

Cars and caffeine, an ideal pairing

Recently we found ourselves presented with a couple of problems. First. We were handed the keys to a deep blue pearl 2012 Nissan GT-R and 2012 diamond black edition Cadillac CTS-V at roughly the same time. Okay, maybe it doesn’t sound like so much of a problem but bear with us. In reality neither cars [...]