The Rental Review

Thanks to my careers requirement for travel I have the pleasure of renting cars on a regular basis. Once a dumping grounds for such dogs as Pontiac Sunfires, Chevrolet Cavaliers, Ford Escorts, etc... I have realized a stark paradigm shift in the last few years.
Car companies are using the rental market to build brand awareness and allow the general public to experience their products. In the past year I have driven a Nissan Cube and Chevrolet Equinox before or during their actual release and have seen Buicks new LaCrosse and Cadillac's new SRX sitting in the lot when they are new to showrooms.
I will now be taking advantage of this phenomenon to pretend I am my own car magazine and review the cars that I will be driving on the rental market. Hopefully someone enjoys these insights as much as I will enjoy writing them.

Crystal Ball

Man, it is a scary time for a car lover right now. I sometimes think in horror of what it must have been like to live with the bastardication of the automobile during the smog control error of the 70's.

Right now is just as uncertain. High fuel costs, hefty CAFE regulations, the potential for carbon rationing, all are really ominous harbingers of the death of the automobile as we know it. Hope, however, does reign in some areas.

The Tesla sports car, while an overpriced science experiment, at least gives a small glimpse of powerful alternative powered transportation.

The Chevrolet Volt, while being done purely for fuel economy, is the best hope. The fact that it is a serial hybrid and not a parallel hybrid leaves alot of room for possibility. The electric motors could be switched out, batteries could be boosted, alternative regenerative motors could be developed. It could be the first truly modular car platform.

The potential for switching in and out new technology as it becomes available offers a truly exciting world where the aftermarket can be allowed to dream.

Imagine being the first hot rodder to come up with something completely orginal that has not been done before. How about a high output capacitor to boost accelleration temporarily. Some electrical engineering geek will become the next Hennessy or Saleen. It is only a matter of time.
So as the old saying goes, it is always darkets before the dawn. The dawn could be spectacular.

My First!

Every car enthusiast has one. His first. The one that awakened him to the excitement that only a hot car can bring. Mine was a Maroon 1984 Mustang SVO. Previously I suffered through a Toyota Tercel and 1981 Mustang with an anemic (that is a kind description) inline 6 with 94 horsepower. Those were some sick horses also. The only excitement that Mustang generated was it's tendency to stall while turning left at stop lights. Regardless, I had poured over car magazines looking for something different and I found it. The Mustang SVO was everything I was looking for. It was rare, fast (for the day) and good looking. More importantly it only cost me $4000. I quickly headed up to an out of the way place to see the object of my desire. The owner agreed to let me test drive the car and I anxiously awaited my turn at the wheel. The car only had 60K miles on it and the exterior was in good shape. The Biplane rear wing was really cool and gave the car a distinctive look. Best of all it was a manual transmission. The only problem is that I had only driven a manual about 2 times before that. I had driven a rather breathless 4 cylinder Stang and had to give it some gas and slip the clutch to keep from stalling. Thinking I could keep the same technique with the SVO I quickly buckled myself in with the owner in the passenger seat. I slowly pulled it down the driveway. The owner lived on a rural highway with a 55 MPH speed limit so I was nervious about pulling out too slow. So I tried the only method I knew how and gave it some gas while slipping the clutch. Holy mother of god was that a mistake! I smoked the tires and proceeded to do a complete donut before coming to rest in the middle of the rural highway. The suddenly more pale owner of the car quickly told me to get out and drove it back up the driveway. As brief a test drive as it was I was smitten like I never have been before. I quickly thanked the owner (who probably thought he would never see me again) and proceeded straight to the bank the next morning. Somehow I got approved for the loan and some very generous people at the insurance company granted me a policy for my new Stang for the outstanding price of $1800/year. Almost half the price that I payed for the car. I arrived and picked up my beauty and instantly fell head over heels in love with my new car. I quickly grew intoxicated with the immense power generated right after a brief period of lag. Triple digit speeds became somewhat commonplace with my newfound power (if you are a member of the law enforcement community I am making this up) and I would smile widely as I would explore the limits of it's handling. Expectedly I had a few accidents here and there, mainly due to the SVO's inherent ability to oversteer when taking a bend too fast or when the boost would kick in on a slippery surface. Through my boneheaded mistakes I did learn a ton of lessons about car control and recovering from skids. Through all of this I became a better driver and an even more avowed gearhead. I somehow even became cool once I had my car and that paid dividends with self confidence that I never had. That time period started my love affair with the automobile that has not ended until this day. I actually still had the car until last year. It was sitting outside my parents house in desperate need of repair. My parents were going to make me sell it to get it out of their driveway. So I started a search to find a good home for it and turned down multiple people because I didn't think them suitable. It wasn't just a car. It was the memories of my youth and one of the best relationships I ever had, the one with my car. When I finally had to say goodbye it was a sobering moment. It was like I was saying goodbye to my youth, and in a way I was.

Test Driving

Forced to confront my need for more hauling capacity I have made a painful decision to start test driving crossovers. A crossover allows me to maintain the illusion that I don't need a minivan while still allowing a small modicum of performance. I have already started the test drives and the feedback is below:

2009 Nissan Murano: The first thing I noticed when stepping inside the Murano was how nice the interior was. Excellent materials, gadgets galore, and great room signify the interior of the Murano. Borrowing components from the Infinite EX35 sure helps the Murano come off as highly upscale. As for the driving I did not get to do any kind of flogging, but body motions seemed to be well controlled and it had liberal amounts of power. The only downside is that the exterior seems to have somewhat of a feminine feel to it. Room in back was less than other entries, but was adequate for most tasks. No third row seat was present so either you stuff the kids in the cargo hold or resign yourself to hauling 5 in comfort.

2008 Mazda CX9: The CX-9 has a very nice combination of utility, sportiness, and style. I liked the interior which has a nice blend of wood trim, high quality plastics, and leather surfaces. The outside features a stylish profile that masks the large size of this CUV. On the road I noticed that it drove like a much smaller vehicle. I liked the handling and power from the Ford 3.7 liter. The cargo hold has plenty of room. I just have to figure out if this thing could fit in my garage. One gripe is the fact that you can't get a dvd player in back and a sunroof at the same time. Dealer offered seatback option but it was highly expensive.

2008 Toyota Highlander: My first impression of the Toyota Highlander is that car salesmen suck. I asked for help and as soon as I indicated that I was test driving multiple vehicles the salesperson ditched me. Heaven help them that you actually try to size up the competition before buying. Can't you take his word for it that Toyota makes the best of everything in every segment? Just when I was frustrated I found another salesperson that was friendly and offered his time to help me out. That being said the Highlander is a nice piece. It is roomy, had a nice interior (not class leading, but nice) and drove well. I liked the center stowable seet for the back middle row. It is a nice little feature.

Verdict for right now: I would have to say that the CX-9 punches my buttons the best so far. I love its combination of sportiness and style. I am worried about resale value and reliability so that leaves an opening for the Toyota. The Nissan was very nice but relegating any extra kids to the cargo hold is a little illegal. In the old days you could throw your kids anywhere you want. Heck you could probably let them sit on the front bumper. Alas, that is not in the cards so I will probably have to choose against the Murano. If I decide to not have any more kids though and my ego can take the slightly more feminine exterior I will be all over it.

Nissan GT-R

Please, please, please, I want one.... Really really bad.... That is how I used to talk to my parents when I just had to have something. Now I am having that conversation with my wife. Nevermind that I will never touch one for list price or that the insurance would probably be more than my house payment. I just can't get over how incredibly right that Nissan got the GT-R. It looks cool, has cool gadgets (love that Polyphony display), has unbeatable performance and is as exclusive as any Ferrari right now. All for 70G! 0-60 in 3.3 and handling that would make any supercar proud. Maybe if I go to Vegas with the life savings.... There I go again. I won't be living the dream, but somebody will be. If that somebody is reading this, how about a ride?

Swinging the sales G8's open (Pontiac G8)

Wow, I have been working on getting every little bit of news I can about the Pontiac G8. Based on the feedback given the Holden Commodore this sounds like something that even Pontiac could not screw up. 362 HP rear wheel drive coupe with BMW look alike styling for around ~30k. Are you friggin kidding me. Four door practicality with a Corvette engine. That is one recipe for selling some major cars. Even if it couldn't handle outside a straight line (it apparently can based on early reviews) it would be a great success. Alas, one disheartening thing I did hear is that they are not offering a manual option initially. Memo to Pontiac, I want my 6 speed and I want it now.... Regardless, as good as the other cars on my list sound if they get this right I might have to run to a Pontiac dealer. Something that I never thought I would hear myself say. Usually the plasticky crap that Pontiac considers styling makes me not even want to consider GM's supposed excitement brand. I am really beginning to believe that GM can turn this around and as an import driver for the last 10 years that is exactly what they need.

Pontiac G8

Just looked at the new Automobile magazine and found the article on the Pontiac G8. This thing looks like a bargain. I am very anxious to see how the reviews on this come out. GM has really been putting out some nice products lately with the Lambda class CUV's , Saturn Aura, Cadillac CTS and Saturn Astra. Looks like they are finally waking up and realizing that discounts, and patriotic advertising are not going to sell cars, nice products will. They are also investing a ton of money in R&D on efficient engines that will keep them well ahead of the potential new CAFE standards. Can't wait for that G8!