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This is not a driver’s car. The abiding dynamic characteristic is torque steer… it’s not sporty. Its damping is similar to base Audis; it makes for a comfortable ride, but the car doesn’t like quick bumps, and it wallows and complains when pushed. “A significant annoyance,” said Sherman, “is the throttle damper. Lift abruptly off the gas, and the throttle stays open for a second or three. You want to slow down, but the car doesn’t.” Many other testers echoed his complaints… To start the Passat, the driver must insert the key—a handsome little black-and-chrome wedge—into a slot in the dash and then push on it just so. It might sound easy, but it was often like trying to shove a pill down a dog’s throat… To own the last Passat was to announce that you were a little smarter, a little edgier, and a little more interesting than the guys in the Camrys and the Accords. This new Passat—a very good and, in our case, a very reliable family sedan—has lost some of that hard-to-define intrinsic value…The old Passat felt like ‘new luxury.’ It was special, beautifully trimmed, and overly loaded. This one would be lauded if it were a Ford family sedan, but it’s a sad drop from the Passat’s glory days. – Automobile

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

The clutch is snappy quick, the brakes are abrupt, the steering is darty, the ride is nasty… The quickness of the controls is fun right up to when is not. Out in the twisties the mood turns edgy, particularly when the road lurches up and down. The too-sudden brakes pitch the tail up, the steering bites ravenously into turns, the suspension abruptly unloads a corner, and the path gets uh-oh... Let’s just say the Mini is great fun if you think it is.

NOTE: Journalists so rarely take into account how the test car’s equipment changes their ‘rank’ and here there is no mention of whether the test car had the firmer suspension or not (it’s no longer standard on the S).

while Porsche’s SUV is amazing, it still isn’t particularly entertaining. Yes, it’s fast as stink, and, yes, it does things no 4800-pound vehicle should be able to do. (Wheel control and chassis composure on undulating pavement will blow your mind.) But once the novelty wears off, boredom sets in. The Cayenne is so good, so capably idiotproof, that the driver is all but left out in the cold. Absurdly potent? Yes. Hard-core enthusiast’s dream? Not so much. – Automobile

I’ve ranted before on my concerns with the new MINI based on what I’d seen in pictures and what I’d read regarding the engineering used.

Now that I’ve seen it in the flesh I’m even more concerned…

I must admit that it looks less awkward in person than in photos. But simply walking around and sitting in the car I noticed some serious flaws, especially when compared to the last version. All stem from BMW’s directive to make the next Cooper more profitable than the last one.

The last Cooper felt more like an old 911 than the current 911 – the feel of the switchgear, the door latches, even the fuel filler cap were tactile delights that hinted that the components were meant for looooong service lives.

Walking around the new Cooper you immediately notice a huge gap between the hood and the front wheel arch. Oops.

Unlatching that hood from the inside you appreciate the fact that the latch is relocated to the correct side but the feel of the pull convinces you you’ve broken something. Gritty is too kind a word. Lifting that hood you notice that the panel’s not just lighter, it’s downright frail in feel – if you don’t lift from the middle you can see the panel distort under its own weight. Imagine picking up a Dell laptop by the corner vis a vis an Apple Powerbook – such is the magnitude of the disparity. (A 91 Civic felt more robust!)

The fuel filler looks serious but when you touch it its lightweight plastic roots are too evident. People trading their old MINI for new will miss the way their old car was built at every fill-up.

The trunk latch, like the new X5’s, lacks the old models precise electric latch and soft touch button. Again the sound and feel is shamed by far cheaper cars. The Suzuki SX4 - a car that’s built far better than it need be – comes to mind.

Sitting inside the visibility isn’t what it was – the dash slightly higher and deeper. The speedometer’s larger size you’ll get used to but the way the climate controls move through their range of motion and the overstyled nature of the controls you won’t. Splitting the radio into two areas didn’t make sense in the 7 series and it doesn’t here either. Gimmicks like the downlighting that changes hues (but only matches the dash lighting on one setting) and toggle switches mounted overhead, aircraft style probably seemed like a good idea around the water cooler but should have been left in the trash can right next to it.

I’d have started the engine and taken it for a drive but didn’t want my disappointment with the above to cloud my judgement of the purportedly more refined – some might say aloof – feel.

More to come…

The internet is abuzz with speculation regarding the upcoming Skyline, but I’m wondering if they’ll be able to capture what made the car an icon all these years: the chassis’ unerring poise that can only come from a long evolutionary process. Will a V6 engined, FM platform based Skyline do the name justice or is this just more platform/badge engineering from cost-conscious Nissan?

After a series of half baked products with shoddy build quality, refinement, and dynamics, I hope they get this one right. They’ll certainly sell every one they make regardless.

Yesterday the nice old lady at the Maytag store grumbled under her breath “They just keep making refrigerators bigger and bigger. They have to to compete because that’s what people look at even if its not usuable space or the thing’s too big to go in their current kitchen. It’s like with cars – my garage hasn’t gotten any wider over the past 30 years but my car sure has!”

(Yes, she really did).

We’ve had the same complaint with cars for some time now – each generation has to be bigger than the last – it makes for an easier sales pitch.

The problem: cars that were perfectly sized for their intended purpose have gotten too big (e.g. BMW 3 and 5 series) and cars that were small and economical are now larger and less economical than they could be given technological advancements (e.g. Honda Civic).

The compact class has recently divided into two, with the Civic and Jetta moving upward to compete with their own big brothers, while the Cobalt and Focus remain more affordable and compact, with less emphasis on technology (The rest of the world gets the 2nd gen. Focus that the Volvo S40 and the Mazda 3 are based upon but Americans don’t. Ford’s rationale: the average small car buyer is more led by price than safety and refinement).

What that does is create a hole in the market, and with today’s structural engineering its now possible to combine small and safe like never before.

The MINI showed the world that buyers who can afford larger cars prefer small if they can get premium features like Xenons, naviation, stability control, leather, and more.

Perhaps its getting a new car for the same price as a used (albeit safer and more refined) one, or maybe it’s the soaring gas prices but it says a lot that Chevrolet is offering the Daewoo engineered and manufactured Aveo. It says even more that car magazine staffers don’t dismiss it).

No matter how ou slice it, it seems obvious Americans are more open to small cars that marketers were originally willing to admit. (They were wrong about hatches and cars like the WRX and EVO too). And here’s the thing: this time when gas prices go down I’m willing to bet we’ll stick with smaller cars.

Seen on MPH’s site:

The electric-assist (as opposed to conventional hydraulic assist) steering feels strangely artificial in operation. It doesn’t feel heavy exactly, as you’d expect a car with big, sticky tires like the 18-inchers on the 430 to, just sort of like it doesn’t really want you to turn it. The electrically activated brakes are touchy, making it hard to stop smoothly. But it’s an impressive handler even if it feels a bit like the car is driving itself—at least it’s a good driver. The GS300, which is powered by an excellent and all-new direct-injection 245-hp V-6, is, oddly, the better driver’s car of the pair. Its steering also uses electric assist, so it should feel as odd as that of the V-8 car’s, but it doesn’t. It feels light and accurate and requires fewer midcorner corrections. The suspension is nonelectrically controlled, and while the V-6 car rolls a little more, it feels more natural—sort of like a car. Lexus also adds an optional all-wheel-drive system to the GS300, turning it into the cleverly named GS300 with AWD. We know what your uncle told you, but he’s lying. You don’t need allwheel drive. The AWD version is also the least fun to drive of the otherwise rear-drive GS lot.

‘It’s like the design brief was, “Can you just get everything a bit wrong?”’ – evo’s Ten Worst Cars