This month’s Forbidden Fruit is somewhat odd, considering that the last few have been fast, high performance vehicles that cost twice as much as a sensible person would pay for them. This month’s quirky little sucker will follow suit with a sub-2.0L engine, high ground clearance, low prices, and a Toyota badge – all things that you would expect for an enthusiast vehicle right? So why the odd choice then? Read on to find out more!
Ask your friends and family what they think of when Yosemite is mentioned, and you’ll probably get a few different answers. Camping, hiking, trees, crowds, nature, Half Dome…all typical answers. But ask a driving enthusiast like me, and they’ll tell you the roads in and around the park are enough to warrant a trip out there. Sure, there is going to be tourist traffic to slow you down, but did you really travel four hours from the Bay Area to rush through the park? Take a breather, slow down, and enjoy the ride – as I discovered, the scenery is definitely worth it. But do yourself a favor and make sure that the roads are have opened for the season – Tioga Pass and Sonora Pass, in particular.
For as long as FWD cars have been popular, enthusiasts have constantly bashed them for being an inherently inferior platform with lousy handling characteristics. Personally, I’ve never understood the rivalry – FWD and RWD both have their place, and technology can make any chassis handle well. If you don’t believe me, just look at the rear-engine, rear wheel drive Porsche 911. It has been downplayed by many as just a high-tech Beetle, but decades of sales and racing successes have proven otherwise. Is it the front-engine, front wheel drive platform’s turn to shed its backwards image? Yes, and that’s exactly what the Renault Megane RS 265 Trophy has done.
The money I saved from not buying a new truck would become real handy as I started bringing the truck up to my standards. My first actions were to address driveability issues. New tires helped keep the truck on the road. ”Necessities” like a new high-flow air filter set up and a tonneau cover fixed some usability issues (the stock filter had a history of letting dirt enter the engine in dusty environments). An older style camshaft position sensor was a rumored quick fix for idle quality issues, as was a high pressure oil crossover between the two cylinder heads. A pseudo fuel return system helped prevent air from getting to the fuel injectors, which quieted the engine down quite a bit. I considered these modifications to be money well spent, considering that they prevent the $5000 engine and the $2000 injectors from becoming useless.
The automakers have done a great job making much ado about nothing. Nearly everybody has heard of the term “horsepower,” and yet, shockingly few people know what it actually means or what it measures. This article attempts to rectify that by putting into perspective how horsepower means almost nothing to the average driver.
This month’s Road of the Month brings us back to the coast, driving along a world-renowned stretch of highway affectionately nicknamed “PCH.” The abbreviation, of course, is short for Pacific Coast Highway, a road which spans almost all of the California coast. Although the various sections of road are associated by name, some sections of the PCH are better than others. Sections north of San Francisco tend to be socked in by fog and rain, while the highway becomes just another busy street in the SoCal region. That’s what makes the the drive from Monterey to Morro Bay so special – it is a refreshing vista in a high-tech, fast-paced state.
This month’s Road of the Month is some distance north of Los Angeles and east of Bakersfield, up in the Tehachapi mountain range. The route is spectacular, covering all types of terrain – mountains, deserts, forests, rivers, oil fields, urban sprawl, and pure nothingness. There are also lots of activities that can be intertwined with the drive, ranging from fishing to sushi, track days to apple orchards. Sound like fun? Then keep reading!
Kia wants you to forget its bland past portfolio and cross shop its new Optima with perenial best-sellers like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. On paper, the new 2012 Optima stays true to the Korean brand’s mantra of big bang for the buck. The stunning exterior looks is guaranteed to make passerbys do a double take. But are good looks, high value, and a ten year powertrain warranty enough to get past the stigma of owning a Kia? Click past the jump for a road trip road test.
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Peak oil and global warming have made this millennium a sensitive one for car enthusiasts. Even huge racing organizations like F1 and ACO must walk a fine line, promoting speed and competition while maintaining a green image. That’s why I’ve been an avid supporter of diesels: they can produce massive acceleration while keeping emissions and fuel consumption very low. BMW supports this concept by producing the BMW M550d xDrive. The M faithful say a diesel car has no right to receive the vaunted badge, but I totally disagree.
I admit it: I was probably the first person on Earth to be excited about spending 1500 highway miles in a rented compact car. The fact that a lifelong import driver could get excited about GM’s Cruze bode well for the little car. Read on to find out whether it delivered or disappointed.
