Driving Sports

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.

Honda Tops Consumer Reports Best List

Overall, the best cars sold in the U.S. are still made by Honda, according to the Automaker Report Cards published in Consumer Reports' Annual Auto Issue on sale March 4. Honda also led the pack last year, the first time the country's largest expert, independent, non-profit consumer product testing organization issued such information.

      

With an overall score of 78 out of 100 points, Honda was followed closely by Toyota (75) and Subaru (72). BMW, Mazda, Nissan, and Volkswagen tied at 71, after rounding. Only Honda and Subaru have earned the distinction of having all of the models tested make Consumer Reports' Recommended list. Honda is also the only automaker whose entire model lineup is currently recommended. Full details and rankings are available in the article "Who makes the best cars?" in the magazine and for online subscribers at www.ConsumerReports.org.

Honda earned the top score because it builds cars that are well-rounded, have excellent reliability and perform very well. But not all of Honda's models lead their class. The new CR-V SUV can't quite match the top-ranked Toyota RAV4. The Accord was edged out by the Nissan Altima, and the Honda Odyssey minivan scored slightly lower than the Toyota Sienna.

IRL Buyout of Champ Car Stalled - Egos Back in Play

Rumors and talks have been going on for years concerning a possible reunification of American open wheel racing. With the massive egos of Tony George and Kevin Kalkhoven in the mix, it's tough to predict what's going to happen.

Kalkhoven is reportedly pissed off that news of the latest offer from George (made directly to Champ Car's teams, by some accounts) was leaked to the media last week. Also, there's a conflict between the IRL's Japanese Motegi date and Champ Car's Long Beach Grand Prix. Long Beach is the second-largest open wheel racing event in the United States after the Indy 500. It's by far the largest open wheel street-course racing in the United States.