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I didn’t expect to be very impressed with the LL Bean edition Subaru Outback wagon. I figured that the 3.0-liter flat-6 engine would be a little underpowered, the car would be too heavy, and that the whole package would be overpriced and underwhelming.
Boy was I ever wrong.
Continue reading "Subaru Outback 3.0 LL Bean Edition Reviewed" »
For the first time, we're making the now infamous crash from Subiefest 2006 available online. A few notes about this. First, it can be disturbing to watch for sensitive viewers. Second, though the driver, Alec Osenbach, sustained relatively minor injuries, we use the term "minor" within the context of this crash--he was battered up pretty thoroughly. The car was owned by Kendrick Gray and was a very nice show car that was out to prove it was more than just good looks. It was a cover feature in the February 2007 issue of Subiesport Magazine.
We've watched this sequence in slow motion, on the source HD video, and we are in awe every time. The chances of Alec even surviving had to be astronomical considering this is a non-caged car, it performed 7.5 rotations after the initial impact (that knocked Alec out), and his head and arm are even hanging out of the driver's side window at one point--re-entering the vehicle just before the next impact.
We've encouraged Alec to seek a calling in the church.
So remember, kids, you really don't want to ever try this at home. Oh, and if you're interested in seeing more from this event, you can still buy the DVD from our official store, www.carzines.com. Or buy/rent the digital download edition from the DSTV video store.
It’s been over 30 years since Volvo offered us a true sports car, but the P1800 coupe and P1800ES hatchback cars are legendary. Not only did these cars have a loyal following on the road, but they were active and competitive in SCCA Club Racing well into the 1990s. The line started in 1961, and the last P1800ES rolled off the line in 1973 - but now Volvo has picked up that old torch and produced a new car that will put the venerable Swedish automaker back in the sports car market.
The 2008 Volvo C30 is a hot hatch built to compete with the MINI Cooper S, VW GTI, Mazda3, Audi A3, and the new Subaru WRX. The C30 offers a 227-horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque from a turbocharged 5-cylinder engine, mated to a feather-light 6-speed manual transmission (or 5-speed automatic, if you want to ruin the experience).
What's this? A new Forester? Everyone's favorite utility rig is getting a major yuletide update to compete against the every-challenging improvements from Honda, Toyota and Mitsubishi in the small ute market. The actual sheetmetal will be on display at the 2008 NAIAS show in January. In the meanwhile, take a look at Subiesport Magazine's website for pix and the facts.
I'll be out of the office until after Christmas. You can look forward to a continuation of my Rally GB/Prodrive series picking up just after the new year.
I still have yet to post my behind-the-scenes tour of the Prodrive factory, driving cars at the Prodrive test track and even more bits from Rally GB, including more interviews, and dark and damp footage from the wettest stage of the event.
Until then, continue to enjoy all our other featured videos.
On an unusually cold September day in the desert, time attack racer JC Meynet drove his Harman Motive Subaru STI to a double victory at the 2007 Tuner Shootout at Spring Mountain Race Park in Pahrump, Nevada. We put together this short video (6 min) of Meynet throughout the race. Want to see how his now infamous fuel protest went down? We were there!
This is the same event chronicled in the Subiesport Magazine feature in the December issue ("A Team of One") where I drove my 2007 Legacy GT street car in Modified Class.
Ah, yet another great episode of Top Gear. This time fuddy-duddy James May takes on some BMX-ers racing from "Buda to Pest" in a Fiat 500. Not as good as his previous Parkour vs. Peugeot race, but still a fine way to kill six minutes. Click the jump to see the video from YouTube.
Petter Solberg has a high-speed spin on the first stage at the WRC Wales Rally GB. Oh, if we could only have in-car cameras on the WRC cars! (oh, wait, thanks to YouTube, we don't need one! Click the jump and fast forward to 0:55) For our part, we can at least see the car come in for service and get a team update from the Subaru World Rally Team PR manager, Stephen Webb.
In this clip, Petter's car gets some suspension changes and Chris Atkinson's car gets a new steering rack.
We're taking a break from Rally GB today to present one of our favorite profiles from the Driving Sports TV show: Paul Nelson and his EVO 8. More to come!
While healing up from an injury, Ultimate Fighter Paul Nelson was looking for a new hobby. That led him to his 2005 Mitsubishi EVO 8. What started as a part-time project is now a full-blown 700hp obsession. Watch the video to see Paul ripping it up at Portland International Raceway and on the streets of Portland.
English Racing built the 2-liter featuring 8.5:1 compression, PT 67mm turbo, 1600cc injectors, AEM engine management, Brian Crower engine bits and a lot more.
Next, Paul is looking to upgrade to a GT42R turbo with a new intercooler and exhaust setup good for 900 wheel hp. That should get him in the high 8s and will make Paul a very happy man.
This was the first WRC Rally GB for two time US rally champion Travis Pastrana. His goal is to be competing (in a Subaru) at the highest level of WRC competition within a few years. For this event, Pastrana competed in the Production Class (PWRC) in a car built and supported by Vermont Sports Car. The same crew supported his US championship run over the past couple years. His Subaru Rally Team USA teammate Ken Block took part in other PWRC events earlier this year, but Block wasn't competing this time around.
So far, on his quest for WRC greatness, Pastrana's greatest challenge has been for him and his co-driver, Christian Edstrom, to "get up to speed" on the WRC notes. Notes are the course "shorthand" used by teams to manage high speeds in weather conditions like we had in Wales this year -- almost zero visibility. We have another video that we'll post later, where Christian describes how notes work.
In the meanwhile, let's check in with a visibly frustrated Travis at his first Service (or start at the beginning), after he spent a good part of the his earlier stages fixing flat tires on course. (Yes, in rally, teams have to fix their own cars on course.) Careful, kids, Travis drops an F-Bomb as he describes his "Austin Powers"-like driving skills, but continues to hope for the best.
Regular readers will have noted that this has been a good season for SUVs. I liked the Ford Expedition for being a real truck. I liked the Volvo XC70 for its car-like driving habits and its capability, and I liked the Nissan XTerra for its rugged capability in the worst weather we’ve had in Oregon in the last10 years. Now I have to say that the Land Rover LR2 is my favorite SUV ever - the LR2 combines the best aspects of driveability and capability and it does it all at a great price - it’s a Land Rover for people who thought they couldn’t afford a Land Rover.
And this is all from a guy who generally doesn’t like SUVs that much. I’m a sports car enthusiast and I like my MINI Cooper S and my Miata. So what’s the deal here?
Just finished the primary design changes to the new site. Do you dig the blogified format? How about navigation, easy enough? Do you prefer the main player on the home page or the full-screen player at drivingsports.tv? Let us know what you think by posting in the comments of this thread.
Before the event, several cars took part in a Shakedown stage just outside of Swansea in Wales. Since this Stage is optional, and not for any points, cars were driving at 7/10ths. Still, with the one sunny day to view cars on the stage, it was a very exciting afternoon. As you'll see in a later clip, by Friday night the rain was coming down -- with a vengeance.
Stage 1 from WRC Wales Rally GB has just been added to the main player. We're going to keep the videos in sequence (mostly) so you can watch them straight through on the playlist. That means that the Cardiff opening will remain the the first one you see, followed by Stage 1 and anything else we put up in the next few days.
This stage was a particularly long hike through muddy, slippery terrain. As you can see the fog was also quite dense making it near impossible to identify which car was which as they whizzed by at triple-digit speeds.
This isn't every single car, as I had trouble finding a good vantage point for the jump -- without offending the many intoxicated folk that were crowding the sidelines. It appeared as several large groups had camped out their positions hours, if not days, before the event. Unheard of in US Rally, but quite the regular custom in World Rally competition.
Over the next week-or-so, we'll be rolling out short clips from our recent adventure to Prodrive and WRC Wales Rally GB. The first clip, "Opening in Cardiff," is now up in the main page player. Or, to see it larger, you can click here to launch our full page player.
The start took place in downtown Cardiff. Thousands upon thousands turned out on the chilly but clear Welsh evening. Even though every team crossed the start, most of the crowd was gone after the top 10 cars had passed. It went on for several hours.
Our own group waited to see the only American competing, Travis Pastrana of the Subaru Rally Team USA, cross the start. We then all headed to a nearby restaurant for wine and seafood.
The newest Nissan XTerra SUV is called the OR-V6. The OR stands for Off-Road, not Oregon, but it might as well stand for the perfect SUV if you live up in the mountains this winter. With the worst storms in a decade causing flooding all over the western half of the state, I was happy to have the very capable Nissan for the week! In the worst of it, I used the XTerra to ford a river - running across the freeway in the middle of Metro Portland. Who says these SUVs never get taken off road? Sometimes the off-road experience comes right to your front door!
For years, Mitsubishi’s Lancer has lived in the shadow of the Subaru Impreza. Mitsubishi has never sold cars in the volume that Subaru has achieved, especially in the performance market where the aptly named Lancer Evolution competes with Subaru’s popular Impreza WRX and STI models.
Yet the Evo is just as good, if not better, than the Impreza. This is the car that beat the Lamborghini Murcielago in a head to head track competition on the iconic British TV show “Top Gear,” and which has won one constructor’s and four driver’s World Rally championships. From the Driving Sports perspective, the Evo has always been more edgy – more of a street-going racecar – than the WRX or even the STI.
So the conjecture and anticipation has been high for the launch of the Evolution X – based on the fourth major redesign of the Lancer platform.
Continue reading "2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X Reviewed" »
While I'm certain this is far from shocking news to any Formula 1 fan, magically the weekend after Renault escapes punishment they have enough money in the bank for Flavio to get his golden child back. Alonso will be returning for the 2008 season to the team that got him his two World Drivers Championships (read the full story at Formula1.com).
To be honest the only thing that I found mildly shocking about the news was that he will be partnered up with new comer Nelson Piquet Jr, son of the three time world champion Nelson Piquet. While I'm sure that Junior is going to do well, and he certainly has done well in the GP2 series, I'm sad to see Heikki Kovalainen potentially be without a seat this year.
Check this out, the first trailer for the new live-action Speed Racer movie:
The International Automobile Federation (FIA) has found Renault guilty in rules violations concerning having McLaren data in their possession. Granted it's obvious it didn't help them at all this season given their amazing job at going from World Champions to fighting Red Bull's junior team for positions, but it is another example of wacky rulings from this year’s Formula 1 season.
Unlike earlier in the year when it was determined McLaren was guilty of having Ferrari technical documents and fined an unheard of $100M (that's right, Million), Renault is getting off with appears to be a slap of the hand. While McLaren seems to still be under the gun, and their 2008 car will have to undergo detailed inspections before passing certification for the new season, Renault seem to be free and clear unless new evidence surfaces.
Maybe now we'll get to see if Alonso's wonderful personality that endeared him to Ron Dennis this last season will be accepted with a warm, loving embrace by Flavio back at Renault next year.
After tackling space travel, the X Foundation now has its sights set on improving gas mileage here on Earth. Due to be announced in January is a new competition to create 100MPG cars. Personlly, I think that bar is awfully low since even the Prius is supposedly going to get that type of MPG in a couple years. Still, any improvement is good, right? In addition to being thrifty, of the expected entrants are even downright fast.
CNet News.com has the scoop (and pics) here.
Reviews of the new 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI have started to hit the Interweb.
Driving Sports TV
Motive Online Magazine
Edmunds Inside Line
Popular Mechanics
The December issue of Subiesport Magazine also features a complete review, along with telemetry data from the lap at Laguna Seca.
Every October, the Northwest Automotive Press Association gathers for a two-day event called “Mudfest,” in which about 25 journalists put about 25 of the industry’s best SUVs through a fairly rigorous set of tests. We drive the rigs in both on-road and off-road tests, autocross, and we compare the window stickers and statistics. The result is a set of winners in various price categories, and an overall winner - the best SUV for the Pacific Northwest.
This year, that honor went to the Volvo XC70 crossover. While not a traditional SUV, the XC70 had it where it counted. And maybe the fact that the XC70 is more of a beefed-up station wagon than a truck-based SUV is what the journalists really liked. I know I voted for the XC70 as my favorite, and I’ll tell you why.
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