Growing up in Texas, it seemed every family I knew had a Suburban. School pickup lines were filled with these multi-bench 4x4 monsters long before the current SUV craze. The Explorer and Expedition soon followed, and early in my driving I experienced most every major GM of Ford barge. There were other options, of course, but this was Texas, no one drove a Toyota. Today, Toyota has one of the most divergent product lines of the major carmakers. Thanks to collaborations with

Anticipation is a dangerous thing. It can set expectations so high that reality can only disappoint. It can also create such longing that real issues are drowned in a wave of pent up excitement. I approached the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio with more anticipation than I’ve had for most cars. I braced myself for disappointment. When scheduling our time with the hottest Giulia we learned a few distressing things. First, the Los Angeles press fleet had three cars at their di

Our recent Focus RS film has garnered some great comments and showcased the on-going discussion of tuned cars versus factory set-ups. While we believe the only baseline for car testing is the way the car was sold to the public, we totally support and encourage owners to revise a car to their personal taste. Tuning is a massive business, and in this age of turbo-charged everything, “more” is as close as your OBD II port. However, this discussion also reveals bias about what

Venture into any car related discussion on line and you’ll quickly uncover assumptions and bias among the enthusiasts present. We all have our definitions or rules for what makes a “real” car enthusiast. After nearly a decade of doing the show, Paul and I have seen most every variation, and even had our own blind-spots revealed. What I find most interesting are the assumptions many have about the background and legitimacy of car journalists. Somewhere along the way keyboar

In our quest to show off interesting cars and driving experiences we sometimes wind up in cars far older than the 25 year “classic” designation. In the past six months alone I’ve driven a fifty year old Datsun, a thirty year old BMW, and the infamous “Pink Jag”. We enjoy sharing the history of these cars and broadening our own knowledge alongside the audience, but we aren’t a classic car show. And there is the problem. Any time we post a review of a truly old car it stirs t

For nearly 25 years Mazda ruled the light-weight, rear wheel drive car category with the MX-5 Miata having the market all to itself. For 2016 Mazda has launched an all-new MX-5 that goes back to its roots. It’s smaller and lighter than the outgoing model and with a starting price of just $24,915 it is still an amazing value. But the MX-5 is no longer alone in the segment with the $26,100 Scion FR-S and $26,490 Subaru BRZ twins nipping at its heels. So when we were given th

The start of this comparison felt like we’d gotten away with something. Paul and I each flew into Los Angeles and went to different airport parking garages. He drove out with a $50,000 M235i, and I drove out with a $50,000 Audi S3. Neither of us paid a dime to have these cars, and we promptly used the provided tank of gas to drive two hours out of town to a moonscape area outside Palm Desert. This was one of those moments when the privilege of getting press cars was impos

The Volkswagen GTI was the original Hot Hatch, and still stands as a benchmark today. It comes up on our Podcast almost every single episode, and any time we drive one we’re stuck by how well sorted it is and capable of being one car for every kind of need and driver. But if you prefer a more hair-on-fire experience, then the GTI begins to lose ground to other cars more dedicated to fun and performance. Over the years Volkswagen has offered various other GTI variations, but

We’ve reviewed both these cars before and enjoy them for their attitude and history, but never gravitated toward them for a fun road. In truth, both platforms are a poor structure for making a world-beating car. The Dodge Challenger Hellcat (Muscle Kings Pt1) may be a two-door coupe, but at 4,500lbs it is as big and heavy as many seven seat SUVs. The Camaro isn’t a lightweight either, but its problems stem from poor visibility, tight headroom, and a car that always had mor

The bailout of General Motors and Chrysler stained both company’s reputations but also began a renaissance in American car performance. One look at the line up of either company reveals improved interiors, better styling, and more performance rear-wheel-drive monsters than we could have ever imagined a mere five years ago. To prove this point, look no further than the Challenger SRT Hellcat and the Camaro Z28. These are the kings of their respective line-ups and they offer