BMW's entry into the small sport utility market is the new X1, a vehicle recognizable instantly as a BMW, which should come as a relief to BMW fans around the world. It's all BMW, too, but smaller and more affordable than the company's established X3 and X5 SUV's.
The X1 isn't meant for serious off-roading, but its competition isn't either, really. It should be fine in normal mud and snow, however, its rear-biased all wheel drive coming in handy when the roads get lousy. Available in Canada only as a turbocharged two liter four cylinder version, its engine is rated at 241 horses @ 5,500 rpm with torque of 258 @ 1,250 revs. That may not seem like a lot, but it was plenty for the sample X1 BMW provided to get around handily in our winter driving test. more...
Three Blu-rays that have debuted over the past couple of weeks deserve mention, but for three very different reasons. One looks back, one looks ahead, and the third looks up for heavenly guidance.
The trio are Wings, Star Trek: the Next Generation, and Courageous, very different discs with different reasons to be compelling. more...
You might think Mazda using a word like "SKYACTIV" to describe its products might mean it has come up with a practical flying car. You'd be wrong, of course – not that Mazdas can't fly along the road in their own right. They do, after all, offer "Zoom-Zoom."
But for 2012, Mazda is adding SKYACTIV technology to its line, the first example to come across our driveway being the wonderful 3, the small four door sedan I've come to know and love over the years. SKYACTIV promises to add more eco-friendliness to the "Zoom-Zoom" equation, through reduced emissions and better gas mileage. more...
Bose's SoundLink wireless mobile speaker is a nice, portable way to get your favorite tunes from your smart phone or tablet to your ears. It offers very good sound in a package small enough to pack in your carryon luggage so you can take it on the road with you.
I've taken it around the house while doing my chores, I've spent about 10 days in hotel rooms with it, and I've perched it on our kitchen island to play tunes while we played cards at the table. I love the thing. It's easy to use, sounds good – great, in fact, considering its size. more...
Scion's sportiest model receives a somewhat sportier upgrade for 2012. It's called the Scion tC "High Voltage" RS 7.0, as in "release series" 7.0, which makes it sound like a software upgrade but which is actually some tweaking to the hardware on the little coupe.
It isn't the kind of upgrade that's going to turn this unassuming little two door into a little screamer, but it certainly does make it stand out from the garden variety tC. Tweaks include TRD (Toyota Racing Design) badges, including the TRD logo on the dash-mounted start/stop push button and on the aero bits adorning the RS 7.0's flanks. more...
Apple's iPad created a market seemingly out of nowhere, and now everyone and his dog is trying to get a piece of the market it spawned.
It's interesting to see. Heck, I've wanted a tablet since I saw them being used by Frank Poole and Dave Bowman in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: a Space Odyssey. So it's about time. And is isn't that Apple's juggernaut fell from the sky unannounced. Various tablet computers have actually been around for years, but Apple's "expanded iPod/iPhone" eschewed complete computer functionality to tailor its concentration on things – web browsing, email, e-book reader and the like – that exploit the portability and connectivity rather than raw computing power.
And the rest is history. more...
Nissan's upscale division has taken the wraps off a hybrid version of its top of the line M series sedan, and it's a car that actually boasts more power than its "regular" V6 version.
The proves once again that it's no longer necessary to compromise driving enjoyment by opting for hybrid power. Sure, it adds a premium to the price and the gas you save may never make up for it, but if nothing else it offers drivers a way to get a modicum of more motivation without having t go all the way up to the V8-powered M56. more...
It's cute as a bug's ear and a lot of fun to drive – even though its base version isn't that powerful. Yet somehow, BMW has managed to make its Mini Clubman not only engaging, but also reasonably practical.
That's quite a balancing act!
The Mini Clubman is a little longer than the garden variety Mini Cooper, with a clamshell-type rear door that opens to both sides, rather than the conventional upward-opening panel you see more often on hatchbacks and wagons. It also features a rear-hinged "suicide door" on the passenger side to help facilitate entry and exit to the surprisingly roomy and comfortable rear seat. more...
The years seem to get shorter the older I get, which means it's already time to take a year end look at the most interesting cars I drove in 2011. These aren't necessarily the best, the fastest or most luxurious, but cars I found most noteworthy for a variety of reasons.
This was definitely the year of the Korean carmaker, as Hyundai and Kia between them not only figure extensively on my personal list, but the companies also copped five out of the 11 category winners in the Canadian Car of the Year Awards in late October. Congratulations to them, too; they earned it by building compelling, well-equipped vehicles that offer good value for the dollar. more...
What a great time it is to be a tech nut! Every day, it seems, some new and exciting gadget or technology comes along that promises to make our lives easier, more fun, more fulfilled, more whatever. And while a lot of them don't live up to that ideal, there's still plenty of neat stuff out there.
It's traditional at this time of year to look back at some of the most interesting things that have come along over the past 12 months. This "Most Intriguing" list doesn't necessarily mean these are the best products I looked at in 2011, just the ones that turned my crank the most, for better or worse. I spent most of the year playing with Blu-rays and/or games, audio systems costing from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars, iPad/Android apps, and a bunch of other stuff. more...
VW's entry into the "Cute Ute" segment is a little more cute for 2012, while still being a good ute.
It isn't an all-new version, but you can definitely notice the evolution. It starts with handsome new front and rear ends that have more than a little Touareg in them – not a bad thing, since VW's bigger SUV is a handsome beast – and continues inside to an even nicer interior than before. Not that the previous interior was a bust; Volkswagen makes some of the best interiors on the market and, fortunately, they haven't messed with success here.
The Volkswagen folk apparently like to think of the Tiguan as "the GTI of compact sport utility vehicles." That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but that doesn't mean the Tiguan is a slug, either. In fact, other it having than gobs of turbo lag, its GTI-shared two liter TSI turbocharged four-cylinder engine is a delight. more...
If you have a classic rock fan on your Christmas list, you may want to surf by Eagle Rock Entertainment's site for some excellent concert films on Blu-ray.
This is nothing new for Eagle Rock, which has been unleashing a steady stream of concerts for years – and some of their Blu-ray releases are so good you can use them as reference discs when you want to show off your system. And over the past couple of months, the company has added several new classic rock acts to its roster, most of which continue this tradition of excellence. more...
Hyundai appears to be on a definite roll. Not only has the company released a series of terrific vehicles over the past couple of years, it also walked away with three "Best of" vehicle awards at the 2012 Canadian Car of the Year competition held at the end of October.
One of those winning vehicles is Hyundai's new Accent, a terrific little car that was voted Best New Small Car (under $21,000), beating out such worthy competitors as the Fiat 500, Kia Rio 5 and Nissan Versa Sedan. I agree completely with the choice. more...
Smart phones and tablets are getting so darn smart they're wriggling their way into areas not traditionally thought of as "phone-friendly," in the process spawning a whole new industry of accessories and gadgets designed to help make life with the tools even more pleasant.
Case in point, Griffin Technology's Beacon – a hardware/software solution that can turn your iOS or Android smart phone (or tablet) into a universal remote control, and Veyl Products' ePillow, which snuggles your tablet nicely. more...
Ford's newly designed Focus takes a previously dumpy-looking but otherwise good car and brings it more in line with the competitive models the company hopes buyers won't choose.
And judging by the number of new Foci I've seen on my local roads already, in the short time it's been available, the new model appears to be doing the job. Why not? It's a good car, modern, equipped very well and – as a bonus – it's even fun to drive. more...
What a wonderful summer popcorn movie Super 8 is! Too bad it's now November and the howling winds and snows of winter are arriving. On the other hand, since Super 8 opens during winter, maybe that'll make a nice bridge…
Anyway, J.J. Abrams' Super 8, the first film he's directed since his fantastic Star Trek resuscitation a couple of years ago, comes across as an obvious – but welcome, if you like the genre – tribute to the teen adventure/sci fi films of a couple of decades past, the time (coincidentally, I'm sure) in which this movie is set. It takes a little bit of E.T., a lot of Explorers, a smidgen of The Goonies, a lot of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and blends it with a healthy dose of Cloverfield (without the shaky first person camera work) to create a movie that, while derivative, is a fantastic adventure that works beautifully on its own. And it's also a great example of why Blu-ray is so much better than DVD. more...
Has Porsche blinked? The maker of high quality sporting machines is introducing Hybrid versions of two of its vehicles, and is apparently taking orders for its 918 Spyder Hybrid supercar as well.
It's a horrid thought to contemplate. At the risk of being struck by lightning, however, because I have traditionally not been a fan of most Hybrids, I have to say I really enjoyed driving the Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid. It feels like a Porsche, and that makes the vehicle pretty compelling regardless of its Al Gore-friendly credentials. more...
Livio Radio, who make the excellent smart phone/tablet apps that let you stream innumerable radio stations to your devices, is back with a new way to drag old cars kicking and screaming into the new millennium. And it'll only set you back $120! How's that for a cheap retrofit?
It's called the Livio Bluetooth Internet Radio Car Kit, and the company says it works with any car that has an FM radio and a 12 volt charging outlet – which in old cars such as my 1991 Infiniti Q45 would be called a "cigarette lighter," horror of horrors! more...
If anyone still dismisses Korean carmakers Hyundai and KIA as not worthy of note, the results of the recently-concluded Canadian Car of the Year (CCOTY) TestFest may help change a few minds.
The reason? The two companies drove off with five out of 11 category titles, a tour de force that shows these companies have not only arrived, they can compete with the best from anywhere in the world in their particular market niches.
The Canadian Car of the Year TestFest is an annual event where the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada members gather to wring out the latest and greatest – as in new or substantially changed from the previous model year – from the major carmakers. more...
The T-Amp is back, and that could be good news to those who want good sound in a tiny package.
You may not remember the "T-Amp," a purportedly digital amplifier that made its way onto the market place for a short while a few years back. According to digitaltrends.com, T-Amps allowed for "incredibly clean, efficient output at low wattage ratings" and the technology wriggled its way into the car audio world, computers and bookshelf-type audio systems. Then it virtually disappeared. more...
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