By Roger Boylan

The hybrid Lexus GS450h is the answer to a question that was probably never asked, unless that question was “What would you get if you cross a muscle car with a Toyota Prius?” Answer: the Lexus GS450h, world’s quickest hybrid car (at least until the Porsche 918 Spyder hits dealers), and one of the most expensive (excluding Lexus’ own LS600h L and any hybrid sports cars from Stuttgart): $57K is the starting sticker, and the version I tested went out the door at an even $60K.  Honestly, if I had that kind of dough, would I worry about saving a couple of bucks at the gas pump? Probably not. But that’s only part of the story, because after a week of driving this beauty I can confidently say that if I did have $60K to spend on a car, I might actually spend it on one of these for its all-round incomparable Lexusness.

Let me elaborate, starting with the muscle car angle. The first time I stepped on the accelerator, I expected a strong and steady forward surge, as with the GS’s bigger sibling the LS450, but what I got instead was a whiplash-inducing and almost totally silent rush of power. Before I knew it I was going 85, and the GS was just beginning to get up on its legs, eagerly looking forward to 90 and 100 and beyond. (We didn’t quite make it there, what with those black-and-white cars that lurk behind overpasses on Texas highways during the summer driving season.) For the record, the 0 to 60 trip took about 5 seconds, by my trusty old Swiss chronometer. Lexus claims 5.2. However you slice it, that’s quick. I disengaged the traction control for testing purposes, but it came on again above 30 mph, and didn’t seem to interfere at all with the rapid forward movement. The car stops fast, too, and its regenerative brake system (what will they think of next?) stokes up the battery every time you hit the pedal.

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By Roger Boylan

When it came out in late 1999 as a 2000 model, the Chrysler PT Cruiser PT was, love it or hate it, sui generis. It kicked off the retro revolution. Two years after the furor of the New Beetle, American car design was back where it belonged, out in front of the pack, and Chrysler was once again taking chances…and dividing public opinion. I can remember no other vehicle—not the Mini, not the New Beetle, not the Chevy HHR–that aroused such passions, pro and con, at its inception.  A few years later, of course, feelings had cooled, and after a couple of minimal cyclical touch-ups and a spate of spinoff submodels such as the Dream Cruiser, the GT Turbo, and the misbegotten convertible, Chrysler wound down its investment in the Cruiser.

By 2007, after a half-hearted attempt to refresh the aging design, the company, by then heading rapidly down the tubes itself, had essentially condemned the PT to death. It limped on for another three years. Then the former “it” car, the hottest of hot sellers, the  paradigm of cutting-edge design, was no more. The last one rolled off the line on July 9.  The plant that produced it in Toluca, Mexico, is being retooled for Fiat 500 production.

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By Roger Boylan

The 2010 Toyota Venza is a sleek and stylish SUV crossover with a pseudo-Italian name (a marriage of “venture” + “Monza”), designed to compete head-to-head with a sleek and stylish SUV crossover bearing a genuine Italian name, the Nissan Murano, which has no apparent connection to the eponymous Venetian glassblowing district but which comes closest to wearing the same three-cornered hat of sportiness, utility, and style. The others in this segment, such as the Ford Edge, Chevrolet Equinox, Mazda CX-7, and the new Honda Accord Crosstour, are, if you ask me (and even if you don’t), a step or two behind on the fashion runway, although all are pretty solid contenders. But in the street or the piazza, the Venza’s design stands out, with its bright chrome grille, tapering headlamp clusters, and low front valence containing a wide air dam and embedded fog lamps.

From the side, the Venza’s low rocker panels and tight doorsills evoke a more than passing resemblance to the first-generation Matrix, but on a larger scale that manages to look up-to-date, sleek, and swift. The huge wheels (in the V6 version, 20-inchers shod with 245/50 tires) sit at the corners of the body, contributing to the overall muscular, yet graceful, stance. Swoosh-shaped tail lamps add a sporty touch. It’s an eye-catching design, and it comes courtesy of Toyota’s CALTY Design Research Center in Newport Beach, California. Its Asian DNA is evident, though, in the grinning–almost leering–grille, as if Kabuki demons had a part in its creation.

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By Roger Boylan

When Lexus was born in 1989, having evolved from a top-secret Toyota flagship sedan project into a distinctive luxury marque, the jaded veterans of the luxury-car world scoffed. No upstart Japanese enterprise could ever equal the Benzes, Jags and BMWs of this world, sneered those arrogant dynasts. Look at Sterling, Honda’s ill-fated joint attempt to base an upscale brand on dowdy Rovers: quality was poor, sales tanked. Well, Lexus was different right from the start. As anyone at all familiar with automotive history knows, the scoffing soon stopped. By the mid-1990s, Lexus was picking up awards for quality and reliability that were increasingly being denied to Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, Jaguar, et al. The new Japanese brand came to surpass other luxury brands in terms of quality, durability, and reliability, a remarkable accomplishment for such a new arrival. The concept of the Japanese luxury marque had arrived, big time, in triplicate, with Nissan’s Infiniti and Honda’s Acura. This effort owed much to the original LS, the LS400, a V8-powered luxury model, the first car to call itself a Lexus.

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By Roger Boylan

The arrival of my latest test vehicle, a 2010 Toyota Highlander SE 4X2, could hardly have been better timed. My daughter was graduating from high school and out-of-state relatives, two of whom had never been to Texas, were arriving for the festivities. As soon as everyone was assembled, I invited them to board the Highlander and on a rainy Friday afternoon we set off. For the next three days, we alternated between academic celebrations and touring South-Central Texas, taking in such diverse cultural attractions as old German settlements, barbecue joints, ancient Comanche encampments, barren mesas, taco bars, and student hangouts. The Highlander was the perfect companion.

The 2010 Highlander family consists of the Base, Sport, SE, and Limited, all except the Base 4-cylinder available with AWD. A Hybrid with AWD is also available; one such was recently tested by Autosavant. Prices range from around $25K for the Base 4-cylinder to slightly north of $45K for a full-boat Hybrid. My test vehicle, an SE 4X2, came in at $32K MSRP. The Base version with 4-cylinder 187-hp engine and 186 pound-feet of torque garners EPA fuel economy estimates of 20 mpg city/27 mpg highway and 22 mpg combined: that sounds OK, but the deservedly more popular mill is the 3.5-liter V6 with 270 hp and 248 lb-ft of torque, harnessed to a seamless five-speed automatic (with manual-shift capacity).

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By Roger Boylan 

In November 2009, Autosavant published a short piece of mine entitled “Dmitri Nabokov, Car Guy” about the cars in the life of Dmitri, son of the great writer Vladimir Nabokov, and himself a man of letters, noted car buff, and former racing driver. For the article I used mostly generic photographs, obtained online, of the models of cars referred to in accounts by him and various interviewers. Then, shortly thereafter, I entered into correspondence with Mr. Nabokov on this and other subjects, and he sent me what amounts to a family album of the cars of his life: a gesture typical of the generosity that has characterized his part in my dealings with him. 

I have included his photographs in this short addendum to the previous piece. They and their captions are Dmitri Nabokov’s; the bracketed insertions, mine. 

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By Roger Boylan

In my recent review of the 2010 Toyota 4Runner, a fine vehicle but (I thought, regretfully) a boring one, I made reference to the deep and irrevocable blandness of most Asian cars. However, at the time I’d never driven a Toyota FJ Cruiser. Whatever the FJ Cruiser is, it isn’t bland. In fact, it proves that Japan can make cars with as much personality and oomph as any other nation’s: Britain’s, for instance, or Italy’s, to name but two. And cars made in Japan, or by Japanese firms, tend to be a lot more reliable, not only than British or Italian ones, but than pretty much any others. So, if you can combine reliability and personality, what’s not to like? Throw in a distinguished heritage and you have a winning combination.

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By Roger Boylan

03.09.2010

The 2010 Toyota 4Runner SR5 is a very pleasant vehicle, comfortable and capacious. It rides smoothly and quietly, brakes well, and has oodles of storage space. Its fuel economy is reasonable (I averaged 19 mpg on regular), and so is its price, for what you get (across trim lines, from $29K to a tick under $40K). Most models are powered by a 4.0-liter, DOHC, 24-valve V6, with 270 hp and 278 lb-ft of torque (at 4400 rpm). There’s a 4-cylinder engine available for the lesser 2WD trim levels, but surely it’s not to be taken seriously, except as a dealership decoy. With a mere 157 hp, it’s a bad joke. This truck weighs at least 4300 lbs. and needs a V6, if not a V8 (It used to be available with a V8, but no longer.) This V6 is a pleasant enough powerplant, once it wakes up. It can manage the 0-60 sprint in around 8 seconds, but seems to take longer. Sometimes when you need it to make hard decisions and get going it hesitates and stumbles, annoyingly, as if hunting in confusion for the right gear. Said gear can be hand-selected, because the 5-speed auto tranny comes with a sequential-shift option, if you want to play tough guy and pretend you’re driving a stick. (I seldom bother.)

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By Roger Boylan

02.10.2010

There could be no greater contrast between cars than that between my previous test vehicle, the massive Ford F-150 Raptor, and my current one, the diminutive Scion xD. Indeed, so accustomed had I become to the mighty Raptor that I muttered in disgust when I first sat down in the little Scion: This small? This cheap? Are you kidding? Give me back my truck! But the mood passed, and I soon found myself looking forward to driving the xD, for quite specific reasons that could never apply to the Raptor: maneuverability, zippiness, and frugality.

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By Roger Boylan

02.03.2010

Editor’s note:  Yesterday, we published a review of the same truck written by Alex Kalogiannis, a freelance automotive journalist who contributes to Autosavant periodically.  You can find more of Alex’s work at his own site, AutoKinesis.  Meanwhile, Autosavant was able to secure its own Raptor for review, which Roger tackles below.

The Ford Raptor is the best truck in its class, and it got that way by being the only truck in its class. It was designed, in FoMoCo’s words, to be “versatile enough to take on the most challenging desert adventures, as well as the everyday commute.”  Mission accomplished, I’d say. The Raptor, which sells for a starting price of $38,000, barely $3000 more than the F-150 FX4 (my loaded test truck had a sticker of $46K), can cross desert terrain at speeds of up to 100 mph, with no on-road penalty in terms of ride comfort and maneuverability; no other 4X4 comes close. I know all this from watching test videos. Not having a desert handy, I didn’t drive my test truck quite that fast off-road, but I did manage 45 mph up a pretty rough mountain trail, the deceptively named Serenity Drive, off the spectacular Devil’s Backbone pass, about 25 mi. SW of Austin. Some of the hill’s steeper gradients approach a 60-deg. angle, with plenty of rockfalls to negotiate. I’ve driven all my test 4X4s there, mostly Jeeps, all perfectly competent, of course, but able only to creep upward at low speeds. Not the amazing Raptor. With 4-wheel-high engaged in “Off-Road Mode,” it leaped ahead, cushioning the hollows and smoothing out the bumps.

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