Originally developed as a light weight military vehicle during WWII which soldiers loved due to its incredible off road prowess. Perhaps no other vehicle being sold today still embodies the spirit of the original model more than Jeep’s Wrangler Rubicon. While the Unlimited model we tested earlier this year has all the creature comforts a family needs, the 2 door Rubi is likely the most capable off road truck that Jeep has ever sold. It boasts most of the fun features of the longer truck, but with usable space for two, though the back seat has limited usefulness. Just ask Crash, who not elegantly climbed into the rear bench seat while we were filming. I just wish we had caught his entrance on camera!
We tested the Wrangler Rubicon at the International Motor Press Association’s 2008 Test Days. Mother Nature smiled on the off road day by soaking the course with rain the day before we hit the trails to ensure some muddy goodness for the cameras.
After all these years, I’ve finally gotten around to sampling the BMW M3, in both convertible and coupe style. At this year’s IMPA test days, we took the M3 Convertible out on the street for a bit of fun with the guys from Fast Lane Daily. Next up, we hit the track with the more traditional coupe, equipped with lightning quick paddle shifters.
As my cheese laden commentary conveys, these cars are so exciting they cause seasoned enthusiasts to blabber incoherently. Honestly, the M3 twins peg the fun meter on full.
Last year, The Garage visited the annual International Motor Press Association Test Days held in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains. We took a bunch of photos and wrote almost as many track and off road reviews. This year, we decided to take a slightly different approach. Video. Why let the NNN folks have all the fun!?
And so, yours truly and Scott Simmons took to the hills armed with full HD capability and got to work. Ok, so it may not look like work, but we did actually have some loose plans in place. We have off road tests, on road test, track tests and even had some autocross and drift action.
Of course, putting all this together takes more than a bit of production talent and that’s where Scott’s specialty lies. He doesn’t give himself enough credit though, as he’s a much better camera guy than he lets on. This first segment is a hard hitting, action packed piece that will give you a taste of what we have coming down the pipes.
Enough of my babbling now, grab a cold beverage, crank up the speakers and check out The Garage Blog’s first IMPA test days video.
Many years ago, long before The Garage, even before this thing they call the internet, the Grant family was looking for a new car. We wanted something cheap and cheerful that had the space for a young couple to go camping and all the other things young couples do with their car. Mind out of the gutter folks, we were looking for a grocery getter that could also do double time as a track day warrior. We wanted something that was affordable, but didn’t feel cheap. A steed that was quick, but still got great gas mileage. If that wasn’t enough, it had to look cool.
It’s a shame that the 2008 Chevy Cobalt SS wasn’t available way back then, because The General’s littlest SS pretty much fits all of the above requirements.
As I toodled around town in the Rally Yellow SS, more than a few friends and industry types made mention of the Cobalt’s Cavalier roots. These comments were often punctuated by a bit of a scoff. I’m here to tell you folks that GM’s team hit the nail on the head with this car and that there isn’t one iota of Cavalier shake, rattle and roll in this coupe. Continue reading →
I suppose getting up to speed is a relative saying. We definitely drove a whole bunch faster on Day 2 of the IMPA Test Days than we did on Day 1. How fast? Well, that’s the relative part. We spent quality time in a bunch of very different vehicles, with much different outcomes.
I suppose I should be the one to out myself before anyone else gets the chance. I’m the guy that managed to spin the Viper SRT10. In fact, I was the only one to spin the car! Was I pushing that much harder than anyone else, or am I just a tool? Who knows, but I’ll tell more details in another post. Continue reading →
The 2008 edition of the International Motor Press Association’s Test Days has come to a close and we couldn’t be happier with the event. Last year, we made a point of bringing our readers as many vehicle tests as possible, so we took a slightly different approach this year. Rather than testing everything under the sun and reporting on them, we spent more quality time with selected vehicles to provide our readers with some killer content. In fact, we brought along video stud Scott Simmons who shot miles of HD footage so we can bring you our own style of video reviews.
Day 1 was split between climbing the hill at the Split Rock Resort and taking advantage of the twisty roads around the resort. Mother Nature dropped a healthy dose of rain the previous day, which ensured lots of muddy fun for the off roading session, meaning we got a few trucks really dirty. The Pocono Mountains have some truly spectacular scenery, although it can be tough to notice when one is carving up the pavement in a BMW M3 convertible!
Today was supposed to be off road day, but it turned into something completely different. I had a road car awakening. You could even say that I broke my BMW cherry. I discovered M.
To say that I didn’t understand before would be wrong, but I truly fell madly, deeply in love with the experience that is built into M Cars and that was by driving the convertible M3. Not to mention a hoonage filmed photo session with the boys from NYC and an AMG SL.
There are tons of photos and more importantly, some great video to go along with our time with the M3. Unfortunately, the hotel wireless won’t allow me to upload any pics for now.
As for the off road stuuf, we only drove 3 trucks today. We’ll have full video reviews of the 2 door Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, Nissan Xterra and the HUMMER H3T. That’s right, the H3T started rolling off the production line on Friday and we got one dirty today! Not to worry, the videos and photos will be worth the wait.
We’ll get some photos up when we can, but for now there is a cocktail party calling my name!
It’s time once again for The Garage to head to the Pocono Hills Mountains in our quest to bring our readers some idea how their prospective purchases will perform on lapping days and out on the trail. Yeah right! Really, we’re out to get our ya ya’s on! First we’ll slog through a bit of mud following today’s rain in Pennsylvania and then we’ll make like Andretti wannabes while we try to keep the testers on the black stuff!
Thanks to the folks at GM Canada, I’m cruzin in a bright yellow 2008 Chevy Cobalt SS. This little coupe is almost perfect for a trip like this. Comfortable, super supportive seats, XM Satellite radio, an aux input for the ipod, great gas mileage….oh yeah, it also has 260 ponies on tap for when you need a little extra passing power!
All these little things add up to one killer road trip machine except a couple of minor things prevent me from attempting my best Alex Roy imitation. First off, the screaming yellow paint pretty much guarantees that every trooper in New York state has heard I’m coming down I-81. Secondly, the giant rear wing severely hampers a driver’s ability to scan the rearward horizon for cruisers lurking in the background. That and I have more hair than Roy. While the Cobalt’s trunk suffers from a positively tiny opening, the actual cargo space is massive for such a small car. Again, perfect for a road trip! I’m sure I’ll think of a few more things as the trip goes on.
Anyway, speed was not of the essence this evening, especially seeing as solo navigation in the dark is a real bitch and I had no inclination to get too friendly with any of upstate New York’s deer population.
Over the next couple of days, we’ll have stories, photos, video and maybe even an interview or two. For now, check out a few road trip pics after the break. Continue reading →
It’s a funny thing that one notices when lapping in a little convertible. 100 miles per hour in the MINI Cooper S Convertible feels much faster than 135 does in the Shelby GT500.
My pit lane notes from the IMPA test days at Pocono Raceway are pretty simple when it comes to the lidless MINI.
From my pit lane notes: Snap. Crackle. Pop. Whoosh.
One of the problems with writing part time is that it can be hard to stay on top of all the latest and greatest news from every manufacturer. There really is just too much information on a daily basis. As a result, sometimes I get thrown a curve ball and it takes me by surprise. Suffice it to say, the 2008 Dodge Caliber SRT-4 was the surprise of the day at the IMPA Test Days at Pocono Raceway. I hadn’t heard so much as a peep about its’ existence.
As the day progressed, I had noticed this Caliber on the grid, looking mean with it’s lower stance than normal. it wears some subtle add on aero bits and a not so subtle hood scoop. It wasn’t until I heard the thing launch that I realized that this was no gussied up grocery getter. The SRT-4 is quite loud and sounds mean. Continue reading →
