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There is no doubt on of the cleverest and best executed transmissions of all time is VW/Audi’s DSG system. But should you order one if possible?

On the surface – yes. VW has never made a great manual, and while the one in the newest A3/Golf/Jetta is an improvement it’s still quite a way off from the best.

What DSG does do better than even the most expert driver is execute shifts swiftly and smoothly while letting you keep your hand on the wheel. But as this test in evo magazine points out, most of the time you end up using the DSG’s auto mode, and even when you’re using the DSG it lacks the involvement of a manual box.

Owners of clutchless manuals and manumatics will tell you that in many cases a manual may be slower or more work but it’s almost always more involving – that’s especially important in a car that isn’t designed to just lope along like an anodyne appliance…

Can be found in this interview Slate.com’s shopping guru did with me a few years back.

(Note that the tires I suggested then have since been surpassed… aside from that the ‘best’ tire varies based on the car, driver, conditions, etc.)

BMW is suing Nissan for using the letter M – as in M45. We found it more than coincidental that this overtly sporting sport sedan would use a name associated with BMWs that have been ‘turned up to eleven’ but BMW didn’t speak up until a Canadian ad used “the M is coming.”

I can’t help but wonder if BMW would feel this threatened if the current 5 was as far ahead of the competition as the last 5 was…

source: Automotive News

Isn’t it annoying when you overshoot the dollar mark while filling up?

Well now it pays to do so – click here, especially if you already have a Bank of America account…

(I have no affiliation with B of A other than being a customer).

MotoringFile – or rather Autoexpress – caught the next generation Cooper lapping in the wet.

Note the longer overhangs and the lack of that distinctive whine from the supercharger (the new model will be turbocharged instead, something we’re not happy to hear because of the way the exhaust turbine cuts up the engine note)...

Anyone who has spent time with all the Nav systems on the market will probably tell you Honda/Acura makes one of the most impressive. The system on the RL is even more so: it has the ability to take into account real-time traffic data, rerouting you around traffic before you get stuck in the secondary jam of people scrambling for an alternate route.

If you live in LA there’s an alternative to buying an RL: Traffic Gauge.

I haven’t used it and have no affiliation its maker, but given the cost it’s hard not to be impressed with the concept, especially if their claim that users save over 7 hours a month holds true…

I’m skeptical of a survey which couples not only non-trained drivers, but makes no differentiation between expectations and results. If you notice, the new Goodyear Assurance TripleTred (passenger all-season) rates very highly compared to the Dunlop (high performance winter)...is that because the Goodyear buyers had different expectations than the Dunlop buyers? If you expect the tire to be crap and it isn’t, do you rate it a 10 because you are so pleasantly surprised? Or because you don’t know any better? I just don’t (completely) trust the scientific basis of their surveys. source: Autopia post

The A-SPEC’s performance enhancers involve more aggressive suspension tuning, as designed by Makoto Tamamura, the famed chassis engineer behind Acura’s NSX sports car…. the stock TL torque-steers upon corner exit and understeers severely when pushed hard into a corner. In A-SPEC form, both torque steer and understeer are dramatically reduced—we even experienced an occasional hint of oversteer on aggressive corner turn-in. Braking performance from the factory-installed Brembo four-piston disc brakes improves, too, thanks to reduced nosedive during hard stops and the stickier rubber. source: Motor Trend

(The package improves slalom times by nearly 4 miles per hour and increases lateral grip by .06g. We continue to suggest those in the market for a TL or TSX insist the A-spec suspension be installed before delivery).

While the Mustang and the Challenger are very nice cars, I [Bob Lutz] honestly think [the Camaro concept] goes beyond that. I like both of those cars, (but) they don’t really break any new ground aesthetically. They are very close to the original car. Maybe that is a good thing, but we elected not to do that. We elected to do a thoroughly new car with totally new surfaces that doesn’t just make the same statement of the old car again, but in fact makes a new statement while capturing all of the spirit and essence of the original cars. source: Automotive News

I picked up my first car magazine in June of 1984 and I haven’t put them down since… In that time I’ve learned which writers to trust at which magazines – the magazines themselves can be fairly inconsistent. Except one that is; my favorite, evo.

The late, great Russel Bulgin described ‘evoness’ best, but in this month’s issue the magazine’s Peter Tomalin gives a more succinct account :

the essence of evo [is] the thrill of driving – the connection the driver makes with the car and the car with the road. But it’s not simply to do with on-the-limit handling. It’s about whether the car gets you excited as you approach it, the way the engine delivers its power and the sound it makes doing it; the subtlest nuances of response to steering and brakes; it’s about interior ergonomics and ambience; it’s even about the way other people react to you on the road. All of these things can make or break a great drive. And all are just as relevant to a [cheap] hatch as they are to a[n expensive] thoroughbred road-racer.