Western Automotive Journalists Gather For "Media Days" At Laguna Seca

The Western Automotive Journalists organization gathered this week in beautiful Monterey, Calif. to test drive the 2008 sports and luxury car field from virtually every automaker doing business in North America. Journalists from up and down the west coast arrived to test the full fleet of 2008 cars on the winding mountain roads of Carmel Valley and at speed on the track at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Yes, that's the new Nissan GT-R parked next to the NISMO Edition 350Z in the photo to the right. Yes, they're as good as you think they are.

Events such as this serve a number of purposes, including a rare chance for side-by-side tests of comparable cars from different automakers, and also to allow a relaxed atmosphere to talk shop with the manufacturer representatives. But I wouldn't lie to you and tell you it was anything like working - this event is big-time fun.

Among the cars available to drive on the track at Laguna Seca were the new 600HP Dodge Viper and the all-new 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8. Driving impressions on the Challenger are embargoed until April 30 (meaning that Dodge wants to give all the media a chance at the car, then we can all say what we thought on the same day), so check back on Wednesday for the full report.

But I can tell you today that the Viper rocks - and Dodge thoughtfully provided a professional racing instructor to ride shotgun with us around the race track. The Viper is a pure, true sports car - with no traction control or other assistance to keep you from screwing up, so a bit of coaching is useful for anyone who doesn't manhandle one of these beasts around a race track every day. The 2008 Viper is still what Dodge wanted from the get-go - an ultimate, snarling, power rocket with plenty of grip in the corners and enough torque to paste your eyeballs against the back of your skull.

Porsche also brought coaches to offer advice as we piloted the 911 Cabriolet and the turbocharged Cayenne SUV around the track. The line for the 911 was too long for my short patience, so I hopped into the Cayenne and can safely tell you it's the most amazing SUV-sports car I've ever driven. The Cayenne takes a special touch on a race track, but it's got the power to move out and Porsche has poured everything they know into its handling characteristics, and it paid off.

Suzuki's Pocket Rocket

Suzuki brought a special car to the event - the turbocharged, all-wheel-drive, SX4 custom-prepared by Road Race Engineering in southern California. This little pocket rocket hit all the right notes with the Driving Sports staff. It's the logical successor to the vaunted Mazda 323 GTX of the late 1980s. It's got a smallish (2.0-liter) DOHC engine with a small quick-spooling turbo, mated to a quick AWD manual transmission and delivered to a light, short-wheelbase chassis. The effect is heady - the little car loves to turn, yet is sure-footed and can always find some pavement to grab, even on a single-lane, crumbling and bumpy strip of asphalt headed up into the Carmel hills. Suzuki is trying to decide whether to manufacture and sell this car, so our request and advice to you is to contact Suzuki through their dealers or directly and ask them - beg if necessary - to build this car and sell it to you. You won't be disappointed.

Nissan Flexes its Muscle

Nissan was at the event with the GT-R supercar and the NISMO edition 350Z. The NISMO car uses the same 300 Horsepower engine and 6-speed manual transmission as the basic Z, but upgrades virtually everything else. I have to say, this was the car that I most enjoyed on track at Laguna. Plenty of power for the uphill sections, and handling like a race car. NISMO gifted their Z with a stiff, racing-style suspension that was a kidney-shaker on the rough roads, but was just what you wanted on the race track. The car sticks like glue, goes like stink, and looks hotter than L.A. asphalt on the 4th of July. It doesn't matter what it costs - if you like Nissan, the NISMO 350Z is your car.

Driving Sports publisher, Ryan Douthit, posted his thoughts on the NISMO 350Z to the DSTV YouTube Channel.

Nissan wasn't nearly naive enough to let us drive the GT-R on the race track.  Sad for us - smart for them.

Audi, BMW, and Mitsubishi Show Their Best

Mitsubishi was present and accounted for with both the two-pedal Evo X MR and manual transmission Evo X GSR. Both cars  were popular and  the event offered a great opportunity to test them side-by-side with  comparable excellent offerings from Audi and BMW.   Audi brought the delicious RS4 and the amazing R8, but like the 911, there was a never-ending line of press scribblers for the R8 so we arranged some private time with Audi's supercar in July - stay tuned. The RS4, however, is everything you want an Audi to be - rock solid, fast, and confortable.

BMW brought out the popular new 1-series and the latest iteration of the M3. I drove the M3 on track with BMW's professional coach and turned in what I think was my hottest lap of the day. I've been sharply critical of many BMWs in the past, but the M3 is truly a special machine - BMW does sport sedans best, and the M3 is everything it should be.

Hyundai Wins Big with Sonata

The big surprise of the event was the Hyundai Sonata V6. I took a ride through the country with some of Hyundai's people and I was impressed with the quiet ride, smooth power, and generally luxurious, dignified, and sporty Sonata. The car looks great, rides great, and has every feature you could want, including GPS navigation and a great stereo, and every feature that defines a nice mid-size luxury sedan. I was blown away when they told me that the price point on the V6 Sonata will be about $25,000 - I expected it to be at least 10-large more than that. The same car with a 4-banger will be priced about $20,000, but for so little extra cash, I'm recommending the V6. If you're shopping for a family car with all the trimmings or a business sedan to impress your clients, it's time to consider Hyundai.

And there's the real reason why an event like WAJ Media Days is important - nowhere else do auto writers have the opportunity to get into so many cars in a period of a couple days, with access to experts from the automakers and the chance to put each car through its paces on track and on the street. The amount of information we take in at this event equals a month of typical work. And the end result is that we can do a better job of letting you know what's out there and what's coming down the road.