Blues Brothers. Panned by critics, loved by millions. So who is right? What makes the critics opinion more valid than the consumer? Veteran Canadian auto writer, new to auto blogging, Jil McIntosh warns consumers that it is good to be critical of the critics. In other words, trust your butt over theirs.

So what gives? Why is this warrior of the press fleets telling readers to take our writings with a grain of salt? Because unlike many of our counterparts in the industry, Jil is very accessible to the public and still remembers that consumers actually buy cars based on so called journalists recommendations. I’ll take this one step further and say that many of todays motoring writers are journalism school grads who have little or no expertise in the automotive world. In other words, they don’t have a clue in hell what they are talking about, nor do they have any business advising people on the 2nd most expensive item they will purchase in their lifetime. The problem is even worse in my domain, the online world, where anyone can claim to be an expert.

Fighting words those!
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Saab has always attracted a slightly eclectic and literate fan base, so naturally we at OutDrive have felt the draw. The official stamp of brand quirkiness, the late Kurt Vonnegut, was the owner and manager of “Saab Cape Cod”. Saab has come a long way from the oil-gas mix, two-stroke, two-door sedans Vonnegut blames for robbing him of a Nobel Prize for Literature in, “Have I Got a Car For You”. Luckily for us, we’re not in a temporally twisted parallel universe where Vonnegut sold the equivalent of a 2008 9-3 Sport Sedan 2.0T, otherwise his excellent non-Nobel literature may never have been penned. Continue reading →

So the Ford Edge looks great and has interior appointments that are so good that many onlookers felt it’s more representative of Japan than Detroit, but how does it perform on the road? Well, more exciting than a Highlander, less truck like than the Pilot, slower than an FX-35 and about the same as a Murano.
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More and more consumers are realizing that they want to drive something with a bit more pizazz than a minivan these days. While we might all want to drive a sports car, for most of us reality dictates that we need something with a bit more utility. These opposing needs are what has fueled the growing CUV market. Smaller than a full size SUV, less seating than a minivan, this niche offers good looking, sporty vehicles that can haul some gear. The newest player is the attractive 2007 Ford Edge which combines a sporty look and feel with a healthy dose of utility. In fact, the Edge offers more utility than the FX-35 that we spent time with earlier this year.
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Over the years, it has become apparent that car industry types and automotive journalists have something in common. A certain negativity towards car manufacturers that translates into a level of bitchiness when talking about cars. Why this concerns me is that I’m not only a car industry guy, but I like to think that I’m part of a new wave of writers.
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Over the past few years, I’ve been lucky enough to spend some time in some world class sports cars. I’ve been really lucky in that I’ve spent a lot of time driving the Nissan 350Z, a car so good for it’s price range that cars worth twice as much are often compared to it.

So what does this have to do with my first drive in the 2006 Eclipse GT? Well, unfortunately I’ve become pretty jaded and my expectations have been set pretty high. This isn’t a good thing for any sports car that doesn’t keep up with the class. So does the Eclipse GT measure up? Well, yes & no.
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Drift king Taro Koki and his team have just launched GT Channel, which is sort of like an automotive version of Youtube. Visitors can watch and upload their videos to share. Maybe even better is the fact that they are planning to share a bit of the wealth from their advertising with anyone who posts their videos on their site.

Most of the vids posted so far are drifitng related, along with some road test content. Expect this content to grow drastically over the next few months. This will be fun to watch.

Vist GT Channel and Taro’s personal blog.

A few weeks ago, Ed over at The Car Blog wrote a piece on Why Wagons Rock, detailing why the practicality of wagons has won him over. Well, here in The Garage, we couldn’t agree more. In fact I’m a little surprised that it’s taken so long for so many folks to come to the realization that wagons (or some SUVs by extension) are indeed cool. As one who spent years working for Volvo, with all their boxy, turbo monster wagons I figured this out way back in the early Eighties. There is no reason why a wagon can’t be practical and a blast to drive at the same time.

Enter the Mazda 6 Sport Wagon. Over the past couple of months we’ve racked up about 9,000 km on a pair of these haulers. The first was equipped with the 3.0 l V6 and a 5 speed manual transmission, while the second utilized the same engine coupled to the optional 6 speed automatic. The automatic is tuned for the sporting driver and has a manual shift option. Personally, I’ve never been excited by manumatics so this feature didn’t get much use but it did seem to work smoothly. Just not my thing.

This engine is rated for 212 hp and 197 ft/lb of torque which was more than enough to turn the front tires to smoke off the line when the driver’s inner hooligan is released and sometimes when you’ve got your jacket and tie on too. Everyone who drove the car while in our stable commented that the front tires will squeel when leaving a light, even under moderate throttle. Odd, considering the big sticky boots the Sport Wagon wears.

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Ok, so this isn’t an all out road test as such, more like a joy ride. One of the guys in the shop brought his ‘79 Mini in for some final prep before it goes up for sale. He’s a young lad & was dying to have my opinion on the car. God only knows why, what the hell do I know about Minis other than the cool factor being very high.

Over the years I’ve read far too many car books and articles. A good number of them have been about restoration & modification of old English cars. That, coupled with industry experience gave me some idea what to look for. A quick road test was in order.

Like many later Mini’s, this one has undergone some cosmetic surgery in an attempt to look like a Cooper. This Mini has received a few coats of white, along with the prerequisite black roof. It’s also had some more “modern” mods, as the hood & wings (English for fenders) have been bolted together to create a forward tilting hood. This mod involves a somewhat dodgy front engine mount, which becomes very evident the first time one releases the clutch. Crouching down to slide in behind the wheel is easier than expected for a fat guy like me. The last time I drove a Mini was about 20 years and 80 pounds ago, so the seating position creates a slightly different impression!

The interior is typically Mini and also typical of an old car owned by a young guy. There is no shift knob and the turn signal switch is dangling at a precarious angle. In fact, attempting to activate the signals causes the entire switch assembly to spin out of the way on the exposed steering column. Great, it’s been a long time since I signalled by hand while driving anything other than my bicycle. The engine fires up on a single, quick turn of the key. The idle is a bit high, as the carbs have proven to be a bit of a challenge for a tech who was born after this Mini was built. If I can find the SU’s that are lurking somewhere in my garage, perhaps I can help him out. Depress the clutch, select first gear, blip the throttle and slowly release the clutch. A sharp snapping noise from the makeshift engine mount causes me to feather the clutch to soften the grip. Apparently the racing clutch in the car is a little harsh for the rest of the drivetrain. Once things get rolling, all the old Mini feelings come back to life. The steering is crisp and lightning quick. The antique suspension has a bit of bounce over the harsh downtown streets, but the short suspension travel helps diminish that bounce. As the car isn’t fully sorted (not to mention the engine mount issue) it developed a bit of a misfire on hard acceleration, so I wasn’t able to really let it run. Despite a loose shifter, the gearbox is tight and reasonably crisp and the clutch feels great as long as one is careful not to leave the line too hard, causing that big bang. The other limitation at this point is a serious lack of brakes. The pedal goes right to the firewall at this point. This will be fixed before anyone else drives the car, as an old car with dodgy brakes is no place for the average, unsuspecting driver. For a crusty old guy who’s used to old cars, it wasn’t much of a deal.

Obviously this wee car has it’s share of issues, but at it’s core the car is solid. A few hours of sorting and this will be a killer toy. Even with it’s problems, 20 minutes in it left a smile on my face for the rest of the day. There is a reason that the Mini has been so popular for the last 50 years. That reason is that the car is fun to drive and fun to look at. I’ve driven many cars over the years, but few if any have generated as many smiles from pedestrians as this little white bomb did today. As the week goes on, I’ll have more to report and I’ll hopefully post more pics. This time I’ll stay out of the shot, so you don’t have to see my ugly mug.