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In this piece on the new TT (worth a read in its own right) one of my favorite new journalists explains the differences between three kinds of cars. So next time someone says one car is ‘better’ than another, ask them to clarify which kind of car they gravitate towards…

The Driver’s Car – It’s hard to explain unless you’ve driven one, but there are cars in this world that are just as fun to drive at 15 mph through a school zone as they are to blast down back roads. They are cars like the first-generation Mazda Miata, the original VW GTI, and the BMW E30 M3. They are cars that read the road surface to your fingertips with all the subtlety of a megaphone, that demand all of your attention all of the time. They don’t necessarily need to be that capable (and by modern standards, those that I’ve mentioned aren’t); they just need to be communicative and involving.

The Atari Car – Cars to which I refer as “Atari Cars” are a modern phenomenon. They are cars that feel like a video game. Atari Cars are immensely capable – they can often out-perform supercars without even breaking a sweat. And that lack of sweat defines them – they shrug off insane speeds and laugh at corners. Nothing unsettles their suspension. They’re so good that the driver has no idea how fast he’s actually driving. These are cars like Audi’s very own RS4, a Mercedes E63 AMG, Bentley Continental GT, and, to a lesser extent, cars like the Subaru WRX STi.

The Sports Car – A sports car (in the World According to Me) is that rare car that combines the communication of a Driver’s Car with the capability of an Atari Car. The quintessential sports car that comes to mind is the Porsche 911. It, like other sports cars (the Ferrari F430 and Lotus Elise come to mind), is among the world’s most capable machines, and yet remains so communicative and interactive that its owners take the long way to the grocery store.

Toyota rushed the 5.7-liter engine into production in time for the Tundra’s February launch. The 5.7-liter initially was scheduled to arrive this summer. But Toyota dealers and product planners told the manufacturing arm that the Tundra needed the big V-8 at launch because the 4.7-liter V-8 would not make a strong enough statement. The 5.7-liter represents more than 70 percent of the engine mix. Toyota’s top executives repeatedly have stated their concern that Toyota is growing too quickly to keep quality at past high levels. – Automotive News

Reuters reports that Nissan has warned owners that its intelligent key can be rendered useless if placed in the same pocket as a cell phone. (For those of you who don’t know, this is Nissan’s version of the new generation of car keys that allow you to get into and start the car so long as the key is on your person). When your hotel room key forgets who you are, help is an elevator ride away – this might mean you’re forced to spend the night in a hotel.

No word on whether other brands’ similar keys are vulnerable but you might want to get into the habit of dedicating pockets.

Click here for more…

New York Mayor Bloomberg recently announced a plan to convert the city’s entire fleet of 13,000 taxis to hybrid vehicles by 2012. This change will greatly assist in the mayor’s plan to reduce carbon emissions by 30% by 2030. As of mid-2007, hybrids comprise only 375 of the 13,000 vehicles used as taxis in New York. And of those 375 hybrids, the majority is the Ford Escape Hybrid. The Escape Hybrid was the first hybrid to be used in taxi fleets across the country. The bulk of Escape Hybrids are serving in New York, and they have been holding up remarkably well, given the extremely harsh conditions faced day in and day out. Ford reports that the first batch of vehicles have accumulated around 175,000 miles (since late 2005!) and have had no major mechanical problems. City EPA estimated mileage for the Escape Hybrid is 34 mpg, compared with 14 mpg for the Crown Victoria. We expect the Escape to be chosen as the most popular model in the fleet. Whichever model prevails, the savings in fuel costs alone will be significant… – Automobile

Mini is fitting every car in its range with stop-start technology that switches off the engine when the vehicle is stationary, and an alternator that charges the battery during braking. Cars fitted with manual gearboxes will also be fitted with a display that tells the driver the best gear to use for optimum economy.The additions will come at no extra cost and have no impact on top speed or acceleration figures. They improve fuel consumption by 6.9% on the Cooper, 10.3% on the Cooper S. – What Car?

It’s not quite common knowledge yet but some people are starting to understand that tires – because they are made of rubber – have a certain operating range within which the rubber adheres to the road surface. Go above that and the rubber becomes greasy and is prone to tearing, go below it and it reaches its ‘glass point’ and gets hard and slippery.

For this reason your average ‘all-season’ tire gets slippery on a dry cold day below about 40 degrees and your average performance tire gets slippery below about 55 degrees until you warm them up. It of course varies from tire to tire but something on the TireRack website got me thinking – apparently once you expose tires to extreme cold permanent damage can occur!

Like the motorsports tires this Extreme Performance street tire has evolved from, the ADVAN Neova AD07 radial’s construction and compounds have been tuned to maximize the tire’s traction and performance within a specific range of ambient temperatures. Therefore, unlike less highly-tuned tires, Yokohama’s care instructions specify that due to its compound characteristics, ADVAN Neova tires must be used and stored at temperatures above -10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) to maintain its performance and avoid tire damage.

To date over 12,000 people have placed orders for the much delayed and discussed MCC Smart, now expected in early ‘08.

If you’re curious to see what the car feels like there’s an event you’ll want to look into, the “street smart” road show.

Please feel free to share your experiences with the rest of the class…

I’ve been watching the Audi A5 closely, largely because it is a harbinger than Audi knows where its fundamental flaws lie: for example a revised drivetrain sets the engine further back, and as regular readers will know thats something that’s always kept Audi from matching the eagerness to change direction its competitors offer.

But as with the new TT early impressions suggest the car is almost there as a driver’s car but lacking that edge that makes a drive an experience. This impression from 4car is worth a read… it suggests that the A5, like many Audis before it – will sell because of its image more than its actual drive feel.

But don’t think this isn’t intentional – this excerpt explains why:

Why the dull dynamics? And why waste all that effort in developing the new platform? Audi’s chief chassis engineer agrees with our assessment and would like things to be different, but Audi’s marketing department insisted that the A5 must feel familiar to existing Audi owners. Which suggests that a) those owners would be unable to appreciate an improvement, which is an odd stance to take, and b) that Audi isn’t interested in attracting buyers from BMW. The marketeers have shot themselves in the foot, then.

It seems that each time I visit LA I end up chasing down a test mule, usually at night or with my camera phone’s battery low.

Not this time.

Click here and here for videos of the E90 M3 in motion.

(Unfortunately I couldn’t capture the cry of the engine over that of the chase car’s and the wind noise once rolling but trust me: it sounds glorious).

UPDATE: Click here for an audio clip of the next M3’s siren song…

UPDATE 2:More coverage from Automobile...

Just a moment ago I posted on why the Volvo C30 refreshing to drive. If you haven’t driven a car from a few years back you might have forgotten how connected we once felt to the road because of where the hip point – that is the driver’s seat height – was located.

Everything from old Hondas to Mercedes Benzes once skimmed along the surface – now we sit higher, closer to where the SUV drivers around us perch precariously. Don’t believe me? Try a Saturn S series then an Ion, a Mazda Protege then a 3. It’s been decided that higher seats sell cars. All else being equal (not that it ever is) the older cars were harder to get into but gave the driver a better sense of what the car was about to do.

As 4Car points out, the MINI has managed to buck this trend.

As before, you sit low and feel very much in command. This is the complete opposite of the MPV driving experience.

I’d argue it accounts for a lot of the car’s appeal. Despite its boxiness, the Cooper’s not the most space efficient thing on the road, but with its low driving position it is a better place to start if you’re looking for something that’s good to drive; when did that become so secondary?