There are much better ways to drive around without getting noticed and driving around in cars that cost well over what any of us make isn’t one of them.
Our cars - a Mercedes-Benz S600 AMG, BMW 760Li, Jaguar XJ and the Audi A8 - are dressed in their best colors with the waxed paint job glimmering in the evening sunlight. Driving through the heavily used highways around the Cleveland area is prime gawking time for motorists. At first, the stares and pointing fingers can make you feel a bit uncomfortable, but can you blame them? It isn’t everyday that you see a luxury barge roll through a relatively poor city, especially now that LeBron James is gone.
These four sedans might be large in stature, but one nudge or poke in the wrong place and its goodnight in one impressive display. So, with more onlookers than a Thanksgiving Day parade, we are obliged to find the best luxury sedan among the four.
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In the world of automotive journalism, it can be difficult to really love a car. We sit behind computers, making assumptions on new products that we have yet to drive. It’s easy to love a car or hate a car from a chair, but will we feel the same way when we actually get a go? This was our dilemma with the Mazda 2. We have been praising this little car for its quirky looks ever since it debuted in 2007. We were as excited as a child with a new toy for the chance to get to take one out on the road for the first time.
The Mazda will be hitting showrooms soon, but it wasn’t that long ago when the future of this machine was still up in the air. We hoped and prayed that we would finally get a good small car. So, does the little Mazda fulfill our every desire?
At first glance the Mazda seems to have kept its slender figure. Where as most cars gain weight when they make the trip to the U.S – as do most humans – the Mazda2 has kept its figure. Sure, there are larger reinforcements to help the car pass U.S safety standards, but, all in all, this is the same machine we saw during its debut.
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There are cars out there that come out and you know, right off the bat, they are going to be the golden child. Then there are cars that are produced and people shrug their shoulders and say, "That’s average." Those "average" cars have to work hard and strive to become the automotive men that everyone vehicle hopes to be. The 2010 Mazda6 fits into the average category. The 6 started out as a nothing, a lowborn family sedan that came from the same platform as the rest of the sedans created by Ford’s legion of minions. After years of hard work things have begun to look up. How things have changed for the 6.
No longer a nobody, the midsize Mazda has grown up and moved away. Ford has cut its stake in Mazda to 13% and my, what it has done. This is no reflection on Ford, they make fantastic cars, but now that Mazda is free to create and produce what they please, the 6 has become a man.
The base model Mazda6 is nicely equipped with loads of power stuff and standard stability control; pretty much the usual things you’ll find on most midsize sedans. The price is even highly competitive at $19,220. Who wants base though, it’s like settling for second best. We chose the i Grand Touring, a seemingly luxury sedan with so many different options on it that it would take a while to describe them all. Hope you have time to spare. Our Mazda6 came with proximity-sensing keyless entry and push-button start; 17-inch alloy wheels; rain-sensing windshield wipers; auto-dimming heated outside mirrors with "puddle" lights; automatic Xenon headlights and LED taillights; leather upholstery; and a blind-spot monitoring system. Add the optional moon roof/navigation/Bose audio package and tax and title and you’re looking at one pricey ride.
It’s Mazda’s version of a Lexus, without the dull looks.
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Like a ditzy party animal or an all-out slacker, Honda was late for work. The Japanese automaker went into the office and decided to wage war against the Toyota Prius, only to discover that Toyota has moved on from the model they were aiming for.
The weapon that Honda has chosen in the green wars is the new 2010 Honda Insight, a sloped-nosed four-door hybrid that looks about the same as the Prius, just cheaper. Honda’s aim with this new car was to take away Toyota’s customers by offering 41 miles per gallon without the premium price tag.
We had a chance to drive the new Insight for a weekend and our test car was around $20,000, well below the Honda Civic Hybrid and the last generation Prius.
Seems too good be true? Honda is offering the same sort of thing that you get in the Toyota, but at a price that is far more affordable for the masses. Amazing.
Sadly, it’s not as good as you might think. Toyota has moved on from the Prius that Honda’s fighting and created an all-new version that’s massively better. The new model is capable of 50 miles per gallon, a number that will let Toyota keep it’s standing as the most fuel-efficient car in the United States. At least for now.
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It was created at a time when Chrysler was pretty much as broke as a third world country. Their cars were horrendous boxes on wheels and they could only manage a few miles before breaking down. Needless to say, 1989 was not a good year for the Detroit automaker.
Nonetheless, a crack team of 85 engineers was put to work on one of the most iconic sports cars in our country’s short history. It might not have the same legacy as the Corvette or the Mustang, but the Dodge Viper had something completely different. Insanity.
The Viper was never that good, but that’s why we love it. It didn’t have any fancy toys, or even windows in the early stages, but it was brutally fast and crude in every way. Nothing was quite as fun to drive around a track as the Dodge Viper.
Sadly, its time is at an end. Chrysler may still be making terrible cars, but the rest of the world has moved on. This month will be the last production month for the Viper. We, at TopSpeed, have produced a brief look at the lovable Dodge.
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