Filed under: In the Autoblog Garage, Sports/GTs, Porsche
Click above for high-res gallery of the Porsche Carrera S
As we approach the 45th birthday of the Porsche 911 and the dawn of yet another generation, we’ve finally managed to snag one in the Autoblog Garage for a full review. The 911 is the most direct descendant of the very earliest sports cars to wear that legendary German automotive name. It still uses the same basic layout as the first Porsche, the 356 (except for prototype No.1, which was mid-engined) with a horizontally opposed engine hanging out behind the rear axle. Of course, the 911 has two more cylinders now, and these days the engines are cooled by liquid rather then air, but the basic premise remains.
Even though the 911 has gone through five generations, with another refresh for 2009 arriving momentarily, it remains instantly recognizable as what it is. Even with what some may consider an archaic drivetrain layout, the 2008 Porsche Carrera S remains one of the finest sports cars in the world. Follow the jump to find out how it performed in our garage.
Photos Copyright (C)2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
Continue reading In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Porsche Carrera S
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Filed under: In the Autoblog Garage, SUVs, Mazda
Click above for high-res gallery of the 2008 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring
If you keep up with the print mags, it would be easy to think that every journalist, PR flack and blogger loves Mazda’s CX-9. Automobile Magazine made a spot for it on their All-Stars list, Motor Trend named it Sport Utility of the Year, Car & Driver thinks its one of the 5 Best Trucks of 2008, SEAMO crowned it their Family Car of the Year and USA TODAY even went as far as calling it “about perfect.” We put 380 miles on the 7-seater in our best attempt to debunk the CX-9’s mythical aura of SUV perfection and found most of the legend true.
All photos Copyright (C)2008 Chris Tutor / Weblogs, Inc.
Continue reading In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring
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Filed under: In the Autoblog Garage, Sedans/Saloons, Tech, Videos, Mercedes-Benz, AMG
Click above for high-res gallery of the AMG S63
There was a time when what we might call super-sedans were largely the province of a dedicated cadre of aftermarket tuners. Companies like Brabus, Alpina and, of course, AMG would generally start with mid-sized German sedans and transform them into something truly special. AMG in particular came to the forefront in 1987 after two decades of building special Mercs when they unleashed the Hammer. They had been building cars for two decades already, but the Hammer took things to a new level by installing a 5.6L V8 from the 560SEC coupe modified with twin-cam four valve heads into the mid-size 300E sedan. With that car, AMG set off an arms race that continues to this day. The tuners are still out there but AMG was eventually brought in from the cold when it was bought by Mercedes-Benz. Today AMG produces high performance versions of almost all Mercedes models and standing near the pinnacle of the lineup is the S63 sedan. Find out what the AMG S63 is like to live with after the jump.
Photos Copyright (C)2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
Continue reading In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG [w/VIDEO]
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