Category Archives: FirstDrive

First Drive: 2012 Audi A1 Sportback [w/video]

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Filed under: Budget , Europe , Hatchback , Audi , First Drives , Luxury Do We Really Want Audi To Think This Small In America? Perhaps… It is perhaps with all the speed of a mighty iceberg, but increasingly, more and more North American buyers appear willing to think smaller when pondering their next auto purchase. The other shoe, which still has largely yet to drop, is for automakers to convince consumers of the merits of a luxury subcompact, paying a price premium for a longer list of creature comforts, options and badge appeal

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First Drive: 2012 Audi A1 Sportback [w/video]

First Drive: 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

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Filed under: Coupe , Performance , Chevrolet , First Drives Elevating The Muscle Car Rivalry To A Whole New Level Ford versus Chevy . It’s one of the greatest rivalries in the world, joining the likes of Coke versus Pepsi and Michigan versus Ohio State. While the Mustang and Camaro can’t be credited as the first two vehicles to start the Blue Oval and Golden Bowtie wars, it’s fair to say the two muscle cars kicked the battle into high gear in the 1960s. Wherever there are rivals, you can be sure there will also be healthy levels of both respect and distaste for one another

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First Drive: 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

First Drive: 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG [w/video]

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Filed under: Performance , SUV , Mercedes-Benz , First Drives How The World’s Most Powerful Sport Utility Vehicle Fails At Being Absurd Twenty years ago, sport utility vehicles were trucks. They had big, heavy frames, solid axles and low-range four-wheel drive. At best, they would accelerate to 60 miles per hour in under nine seconds and top out just over 100 mph. “Handling” simply meant that they could keep all four wheels firmly planted while circling an onramp

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First Drive: 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG [w/video]

First Drive: 2013 Volkswagen CC

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Filed under: Sedan , Volkswagen , First Drives , Luxury Sleek Four-Door Coupe Noses Upmarket When European deliveries of the then new Volkswagen Passat CC started back in late 2007, even in its home market, the know-it-alls received it with skepticism. There didn’t seem to be any burning need for a sexed-up four-door based on a Passat chassis. Was there an audience large enough for a Mercedes-Benz CLS -inspired sedan for the coupe-loving common family? Apparently the smug automotive intelligentsia was wrong about the CC

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First Drive: 2013 Volkswagen CC

First Drive: 2013 Audi S4

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Filed under: Sedan , Performance , Audi , First Drives , Luxury A Standalone Sleeper Sport Sedan That Still Keeps Us Awake At Night The always-bustling Audi stand at next month’s Detroit Auto Show figures to be cluttered with a full range of eighth-generation A4 models, all of which arrive in the States sometime between June and July. The line’s real marquee model is, of course, the RS4 , but that Rennsport ingredient will not be seen on the stand in Cobo just yet. (So let’s change that to almost full range, and some sources are saying that there will not even be an RS4 this go-round.) The sauciest A4 present will be this model, the new S4, considered by many – this reviewer included – to be the real gem of the range, especially in comparison to the seriously costly RS4.

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First Drive: 2013 Audi S4

First Drive: 2013 Audi A4

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Filed under: Sedan , Performance , Audi , First Drives , Luxury No Mid-Life Crisis Here We have no intention of inviting vehement vehicular debates, but they always seem to pop up when discussing this segment of the market. That’s a good thing, because getting no reaction at all would be terrible when talking about cars that are so vital to driving enthusiasts. Our topic of the day is this refreshed eighth-generation Audi A4 , and while few changes are readily apparent, any packet of modifications to these bread-and-butter premium cars is worth investigating. It’s been one heck of a year for the entry-level German executive class.

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First Drive: 2013 Audi A4