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CAR REVIEW:
Decades ago, Volkswagen gave its Rabbit and Golf a boost and made it
into the GTI. There wasn’t that much more juice on tap, but with a
firmer suspension and a few visual extras the spunky little three-door
hatchback created a ton of enthusiasm for pocket rockets. The GTI is the
ancestor of today’s Volkswagen R32.
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2008 VW R32
New Car Review:
Audi is renowned for building small A4, medium A6, and large A8 sedans.
Replace the letter A with an S and you get the sporty, more powerful
model. So, the S5 is the powerful version of the A5, and is a brand new
coupe in the Audi family.
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2008
Audi S5
CAR Review:
If you look up the word
iconoclast you will undoubtedly see a picture of a Saab. Even though
they are part of the General Motors family, there is almost nothing
traditional about a Saab.
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2008 Saab 9-3 2.0T
Car Review:
Nissan's Sentra SE-R has more tasteful
styling than some of its boy-racer competitors. It has a more grown-up
driving feel, with a smooth highway ride and refined suspension.
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2008 Nissan Sentra SE-R
Car Review:
If you noticed a line of teenage boys in front of my house last month,
here’s why. The Dodge Charger SRT8 with its mighty 6.1-liter,
425-horsepower HEMI V8 was parked in my driveway for a week.
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2007 Dodge Charger SRT8
San Francisco: The
Audi RS 4 looks pretty much like the more mundane Audi A4, but the
resemblance is only skin deep. The RS 4 is closer to a purebred race car
than it is to a family grocery-getter.
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2007
Audi RS 4
San Francisco: From
humble origins, Subaru has worked its way up to being a rather upscale
and technically sophisticated line of automobiles. As the compact
Impreza takes on new life as the WRX rally-inspired rocket and the B9
Tribeca pushes the brand into the luxury SUV crossover realm, the Legacy
midsize sedan and wagon have grown up too.
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2007 Subaru Legacy
San Francisco: Over
at Lincoln things need to settle down. Lincoln keeps building fine
vehicles that no one seems to care about. 2006 was the last year for the
Lincoln LS, a really nice car that few bought. Right
now Lincoln has five models; could you name more than one without
looking?
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2007 Lincoln MKZ
San Francisco: Subaru
has learned how to make a lot from what they have. Their intercooled,
turbocharged WRX turns the Impreza compact sedan into a powerhouse in
the world rally scene and in your neighborhood.
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2007
Subaru Impreza
San Francisco: Let's
suppose, just for giggles, that you want to rob a bank.
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2007
Audi A6
San Francisco: When
I first drove the Infiniti M sedan late last year, I got the brutal M45
with a big, brawny V8 under the hood. That car was a monster. It felt
almost like an American muscle car, with a heavy, deliberate driving
feel and a relatively soft suspension that made it seem like you were
riding on bowls of Cream of Wheat. It was a great car, but it was more
of a Grand Tourer than a true sports sedan.
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below for Full Article
2007 Infiniti M35
San Francisco: Imagine
you're an engineer at Volkswagen. You've been working on one of the
world's greatest luxury cars, the VW Phaeton. You've contributed to the
awesome, four-wheel-drive Touareg SUV. You've also helped create the
most expensive, most powerful and fastest production car in the world,
the Bugatti Veyron. And then one day your boss walks in and says, "I
need your help with the new VW Golf, our little compact car. Remember
the Golf?"
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below for Full Article
2007 VW GTI
San Francisco: You
may not have been thinking about Mitsubishi lately. Sure, the new
Eclipse is great looking and fast, but you need more room. That Lancer
Evolution is a little too, well, exuberant for you. Mitsubishi makes
SUVs, but doesn’t everybody? Well, before you wander into some Toyota or
Honda dealership, think about this. The new 2007 Mitsubishi Galant
Ralliart is a great reason to remember Mitsubishi.
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2007 Mitsubishi Galant Ralliart
San Francisco: Like
a classic muscle car or chopped street rod, the Chrysler 300 has a mean,
all-American look like no other car on the road. Available with a
340-horsepower Hemi V/8 engine, this big sedan can burn some serious
rubber.
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2006 Chrysler 300C
San Francisco: Audi's
A4 has been a worthy competitor in the compact to midsize upscale sedan
market for a decade. With clean, elegant proportions inside and out,
fine materials, excellent assembly, and rewarding vehicle dynamics, the
car has been a big success for Audi.
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for Full Article
2006
Audi A4
San Francisco: With
the new M45, Infiniti makes another move forward in its search for the
perfect luxury contender in each segment. With the legendary Q45 sedan
at the top and the G35 holding down the affordable sedan and coupe role
at the bottom, the M45 slots in between nicely. It blends the power of
the Q’s 4.5-liter V8 with less mass and a style all its own.
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below for Full Article
2006 Infiniti M45
San Francisco:
Audi's
previous A6 was a real looker, but the all-new 2006 model is even
better. A huge grille gives it a style like no other car on the road,
and the overall look is both sophisticated and athletic - exactly like
the car itself.
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for Full Article
2006
Audi A6
San Francisco:
Acura’s near luxury TL got a thorough redesign last year when the third
generation car debuted, so 2005 marks a year of little change. The
features that make this high-tech vehicle so desirable have also made
the new TL the brands biggest seller since its debut.
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for Full Article
2005
Acura TL
San Francisco:
The all-new Chevrolet Cobalt is part of Chevy’s strategy to become a
major player in the compact car segment in the US. The old compact model
was the Cavalier and that car has been around forever. The 2005 Cobalt
is a quantum leap ahead of the model it replaces and brings with it a
higher level of refinement, quality and performance.
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2005
Chevy Cobalt
San Francisco: There are several cars on
the market now that deliver exciting performance and are still
affordable for the young buyers who want them. One of these is the
Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart, named for Mitsubishi’s performance wing.
(See
www.ralliart.com )
Click below for Full Article
2005
Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart
San Francisco: Since
2002, the Nissan Altima has offered buyers something different in the
midsize field. The original Altima was more of an oversized compact when
it debuted in the early 1990’s, but the new model goes toe-to-toe with
the extremely popular Japanese-name brands (you know who they are).
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below for Full Article
2005 Nissan Altima
San Francisco: The
brand that brought you the Firebird, Bonneville, and Trans Am now offers
a brand new sedan with a European sounding two-digit name that tells you
nothing. The G6 replaces the venerable Pontiac Grand Am, which was
Pontiac’s bread and butter four door sedan and coupe for decades.
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for Full Article
2005
Pontiac G6
San Francisco: If you want world class performance and handling, but a Porsche 911 or Jaguar
XK isn't in your budget, you should take a look at the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.
Click below for Full Article
2004 Mitsubishi Evolution
San Francisco: Mitsubishi seems to be the hard luck car company. Despite a raft of exciting
- the Evo, dependable - the Galant, SUVs - the Montero, and an aggressive Zero, Zero, Zero
marketing campaign, their sales seem to be stuck in a no-growth mode.
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2004 Mitsubishi Galant
San Francisco: With the S60 R sedan and V70 R wagon, the Swedish manufacturer Volvo has
entered new territory, and has mounted its first real challenge to the well-known German
performance four-doors.
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2004 Volvo S60 R
San Francisco: The all-new Grand Prix is instantly recognized as a Pontiac by its
characteristic split grille and cat's-eye shaped headlights. Another recent styling cue,
the radical body-side cladding is gone, fortunately.
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2004 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
San Francisco: It was only a few years
ago when Nissan teetered on the brink of bankruptcy, nearly committing corporate suicide
with a lineup of stale, flavorless sedans and generally unimpressive trucks. It was a sad
sight, indeed. Nissan knew it needed a miracle to stay alive as a company, and that's what
it appears to be getting today.
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2004 Nissan Maxima
San Francisco: When you’ve got a good thing going, do the thing good. That surely must
be Acura’s motto with its new TSX. The TSX comes only one way - packed with goodies -
and looks great doing it, too.
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2004
Acura TSX
San Francisco: As Cadillac commemorates its centennial, the CTS sedan represents a fresh
start for America’s oldest luxury brand. Finally, after watching baby boomers abandon
the company for European and Japanese choices, Cadillac has given people under 70 years
old something to savor.
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2004 Cadillac CTS
San Francisco: At the grocery store you don’t have to buy giant packages to experience
the full taste of your favorite foods. That’s why there are pint-size cartons of ice
cream, little bottles of soda pop and tiny cans of soup. Volvo follows this philosophy by
cramming its big-car attributes in a small, attractively priced package called the Volvo
S40.
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2003 Volvo S40
2003 Jaguar S-Type
SAN FRANCISCO: The Jaguar S-TYPE sport sedan retains the same exterior yet boasts
approximately 70 percent new content. Jaguar has added more luxury, more safety and more
performance. The 2003 S-Type has an all-new interior, new suspension, two new
transmissions, a 6-speed automatic and a 5-speed manual, and a revised 3.0-liter V6 engine
with 240 horsepower.
Click below for Full
Article
2003 Jaguar S-Type
San Francisco: As Infiniti ramps up for
the luxury performance marketplace it has created a performance oriented luxury car with
an emphasis on rear-wheel-drive with a front engine. In this new category comes an
attractive new vehicle, the 2003 G35 Sport Sedan.
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2003 Infiniti G35
SAN FRANCISCO: Volkswagen has come a long ways since
the original Beetle. The top-of-the-line 2003 Volkswagen Passat W8 with a starting price
of over $38,000 puts it into pretty pricey company. And what do get for your money? For
starters, this is the first German car in its market segment to offer an 8-cylinder
engine.
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2003 VW Passat W8
SAN FRANCISCO: Introducing
the 2003 Audi A4 & A6 series with CVT, the Multitronic continuously variable
transmission. The bottom line is great value in a car that combines the latest technology
in an upscale German-built sports sedan.
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2003 Audi A4
2003 Saab 9-5
SAN FRANCISCO: Ever
since Saab was absorbed into the General Motors Corp it has tried to walk a fine line
between being a somewhat quirky car that "makes a Saab owner always a Saab
owner" and a mainstream car that can attract new buyers. Saab has done a good job in
accomplishing this with its premium series, the 9-5. And yes, the ignition switch is still
between the seats. The Saab 9-5 series comes in three versions – Linear, Arc and
Aero. Rather than being merely ascending trim levels, each is a distinct model aimed at
the preferences of different types of buyers and drivers.
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2003
Saab 9-5
2002 Volvo S60
SAN FRANCISCO: In
2001, Volvo introduced its all-new S60 mid-range series. The 2.4T AWD version – AWD
for "All-Wheel-Drive" was added for 2002. The S60 series has the new Volvo
"look" with a coupe-like roofline replacing Volvo’s famous boxy styling.
Volvos have always had that "last forever" feeling and the S60 is no exception.
Click below for Full Article
2002
Volvo S60
2002 Nissan Altima 3.5
SE
SAN FRANCISCO: For the past few years, Nissan Motors has been trying to break out of a
veritable rut of slow sales and somewhat lackluster cars by designing and building more
interesting and powerful vehicles. Let me introduce you to the new 2002 Nissan Altima.
Click below for Full Article
2002
Nissan Altima 3.5 SE
2002 Subaru Impreza WRX
SAN FRANCISCO:
I’ve always like Subarus. Heck, I’m one of the few writers who liked the Impreza
2.5 RS just the way it was. Sure, it could have used a little more power, but what car
couldn’t? But it was a very impressive and fun car to drive just the way it was. And
now Subaru has finally responded to all the comments. The 2002 Subaru Impreza WRX is a
true performance car by any measure.
Click below for Full Article
2002
Subaru Impreza WRX
2001 Dodge Neon R/T
SAN FRANCISCO: There
is another player in the growing youth vehicle market, and it's not a Honda or a
Volkswagen. This one is built in Belvidere, Illinois, America's heartland. Challenging the
Honda Civic, Volkswagen Jetta, Ford Focus, and a few others, is the new Dodge Neon R/T.
Click below for Full Article
2001
Dodge Neon R/T
2001 Buick Regal Olympic
Edition
SAN FRANCISCO:
The Olympic Games are over, but you can still buy Buick's 2001 Olympic Edition Regal.
Created to commemorate the GM division's support of the U.S. Olympic athletes, the $1,915
Olympic package can be added to any 2001 Buick Regal model.
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2001
Buick Regal Olymipc Edition
SAN FRANCISCO: I
am an enthusiastic Audi fan. I like the attitude, I like the people behind the name, and I
love the cars. The temper tantrum I threw when I realized I got the A6 for the week,
rather than an S4, was unnecessary and short-lived. My last experience driving the A6 was
back in the days when the only engine choice was the 200-horsepower V6. It simply lacked
enough zip to suit me. This time around I was delighted. The 2.7 T version, with the new
250-hp bi-turbo V6 engine has definitely taken care of the power shortage.
Click below for Full Article
2001
Audi A6 2.7 T Bi-Turbo Sport Sedan
SAN FRANCISCO: Starting with the original Beetle, Volkswagens have been known for their ability
"to go in the snow." Now VW is offering the ultimate snow-going VW, or for that
matter, any slippery road condition - the Passat with 4MOTION. 4MOTION is an
all-wheel-drive option on Passat sedans and wagons equipped with V6 engines and five-speed
automatic transmissions with Triptronic®. This includes the GLS V6 and up-scale GLX V6.
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2001
Volkswagen Passat 4Motion
2001 Oldsmobile Aurora
SAN FRANCISCO: They climbed into the back seat and off we drove towards Julius’ Castle.
"What is this? A Lexus?" Now I’ll admit that I thought the Aurora was a
pretty nice car, but here was someone who wasn’t versed in car stuff and he thought
it could be a Lexus. Pretty high praise if you ask me. You should have seen the look on
his face when I told him it was an Oldsmobile Aurora. Then he asked how much. "About
35 Grand " He owns his own business and is doing quite well these days. The Olds
Aurora is now on the short list for his next new car buy.
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2001
Oldsmobile Aurora
2000 Buick Regal GS
SAN FRANCISCO: This week, we drive the mid-size 2000 Buick Regal GS. Before we get into the
driving impressions, let's take a look at why this model is situated in a "tough
sell" zone from the word go, and how Buick's performance related marketing has helped
solidify its popularity through the years.
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2000
Buick Regal GS
2000 Pontiac Bonneville
SSEi
SAN FRANCISCO: General
Motors, makers of several brands of cars, carefully designs its models to appeal to
different consumer groups. For example, Buick targets traditional older buyers, Chevrolet
is the value brand and Cadillac sells luxury cars. Pontiac gets to be the sporty division.
Click below for Full Article
2000
Pontiac Bonneville SSEi
2000 Infiniti I30t
Touring
SAN FRANCISCO: My wife looks at cars the way grocery shoppers compare brands of canned olives.
She doesn't see much difference between them. But, she know what she likes, and she likes
Infinitis. She enjoys the smooth, quiet ride, the firm but comfortable seating, the fine
stereo system & the subtle good looks.
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2000
Infiniti I30t Touring
2000 Chrysler 300M
SAN FRANCISCO: Chrysler offered its legendary "Letter Series" 300 luxury muscle cars
for the more affluent motorists and for winning stock car racers. The series started with
the C-300 in 1955 and ended with the 300L in 1965. Chrysler, now DaimlerChrysler,
resurrected the series with the 300M in 1999. Unlike the earlier 300s which came as
hardtop coupes, and in many years convertibles as well, the 300M comes only as a four-door
sports sedan.In the past few years Chrysler stylists have created many great looking cars
and trucks & the 300M is definitely one of their best.
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2000
Chrysler 300M
2000 Nissan Maxima SE
SAN FRANCISCO: I
don’t know about you but I wasn’t overjoyed when I heard that Renault had bought
a big chunk of Nissan. A French and Japanese mixture doesn’t have me drooling in
anticipation. But then again, Nissan needs something to jolt them out of the doldrums
they’ve been in. Somehow, somewhere, the company that brought us the fantastic Zs and
the original 510 has lost that certain something they used to have. Maybe a little Gallic
infusion will help.
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2000
Nissan Maxima SE
Volkswagen's '99 Passat
Sports Sedan
San Francisco:
When you think German luxury sports sedan, you usually think BMW, Mercedes-Benz or Audi --
and a big buck sticker price. Volkswagen offers a more affordable choice, the Passat. For
starters, the Passat shares its chassis and powertrain with the highly acclaimed Audi A4,
but costs about $5000 less. The Passat is a bit larger than the Audi both inside and
outside.
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'99
Volkswagen Passat Sport Sedans
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