By Kevin Miller

In 2003, Volvo delighted members of their enthusiast community when they launched the 2004 S60R sedan and V70R wagon. Equipped with a high-output powertrain and all-wheel drive, the R vehicles had blue-faced instruments, more aggressive styling details, and sporting aspirations. The R brand never expanded beyond the initial two products and was quietly discontinued in 2007 as Volvo chose to focus on safety rather than performance, but the aggressive styling cues from those cars lives on visually in the R-Design trim packages, which are available on most new Volvo vehicles. The XC60 luxury CUV is the latest Volvo to get the R-Design treatment.

A vivid Passion Red XC60 T6 AWD R-Design recently spent a week in the Autosavant garage. While the base XC60 has a curvy, sensuous shape, the R-Design package adds 20” wheels, side sill extensions and a rear diffuser in silver which enhance the XC60’s sporting pretensions. My logbook notes that the XC60 has “lovely, shapely bodyside curves that accentuate the sexy/sporty look of the XC60.” That being said, I wish that the tail lamps extended down to the rear bumper. Too, the sill extensions collect water in bad weather, threatening to get pant legs dirty just like in Volvo’s XC70. The XC60 immediately followed an equally-bright red Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 CUV in my test vehicle schedule, so I had a good opportunity to see what works in this segment and what doesn’t. Continue Reading

By Kevin Miller

After months of hype including the Fiesta Movement, product placement on American Idol, and the auto show previews, the Ford Fiesta is finally here. Being a fan of small European cars that are efficient because of smart engineering choices, I’ve been eager to get behind the wheel of the Fiesta. Having recently spent two weeks driving two-ton, 300 HP luxury cars I finally got my chance, and climbing into the Fiesta SES hatchback was like a breath of fresh air. Far from bare-bones, the SES trim level of Ford’s smallest entry in the US car market has upscale features like keyless entry and pushbutton starting, and Ford’s SYNC system, the mainstream market’s best implementation of telephone and media integration.

As soon as I got the Fiesta, I installed my two kids’ car seats, loaded up our luggage, and headed from Seattle toward Washington State’s San Juan Islands. I had a ferry to catch, and two anxious kids in the back seat. Not having a lot of time to acquaint myself with the Fiesta’s features, I found myself driving between 70 and 90 MPH without significant effort. At those speeds, the Fiesta was settled on the road, not particularly noisy, and essentially right at home. We arrived at the ferry terminal about 90 minutes later, to learn that the sailing we had hoped to take was already full, and the next boat was four-and-a-half hours later. After a quick stop for groceries, we pulled in to the lot and waited… and waited longer as the sailing experienced a 75 minute delay. My daughters and I made the best of the delay, using the Fiesta as our base for snacks, naps, and activities.

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By Kevin Miller

Earlier this year, BMW made a major change in their marketing – from the Ultimate Driving Machine to Joy. Though it wasn’t evident at the time, now that I’ve driven the new 535i it is clear why the change had to be made.  It’s because the 5 Series simply is not an Ultimate Driving Machine.

The sixth-generation of BMW’s 5 series is all-new for 2011. Historically, the design hallmarks of the German manufacturer’s mid-range sedan have included featured a tall greenhouse and great visibility, both of which are downplayed in the sixth-generation car. The new car has been developed based on BMW’s large 7 Series sedan, which is one of the reasons the 5 series car is not the Ultimate Driving Machine.  The car is simply too heavy. BMW did a similar downsizing when they created the 1 Series from their mainstream 3 series, with the resulting 1 Series weighing too much. Unfortunately, history has repeated itself with the new 5 Series. Continue Reading

By Kevin Miller

For a reason I cannot comprehend, Volvo is marketing their new S60 sedan as “The Naughty Volvo”. In an attempt to build enthusiasm for the car among loyal Volvo customers ahead of the on-sale date, Volvo has literally taken their show on the road, with the Naughty Volvo Tour.

Being held at Volvo retailers across the nation, the Naughty Volvo Tour (hereafter, NVT) is a road show featuring two S60 sedans, plus a bunch of interactive displays which are set up in a showroom with catered hors d’oeuvres and soft drinks. I was recently able to attend the NVT at a Seattle-area retailer, which gave me a chance to check out the new S60 without the throngs of people who were surrounding it at recent international auto shows.

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By Kevin Miller

A group named Roxy Music recorded a song named Avalon. It’s a vaguely jazzy tune that is inoffensive and while it doesn’t really bother me, it doesn’t do much for me as it meanders along. Toyota makes a car, also named Avalon, that does the exact same thing.

Toyota provided me a Zephyr Blue Metallic example of their refreshed-for-2011 Avalon Limited sedan for a weeklong review. The timing of my week with the Avalon coincided with a family vacation around Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula. A good old-fashioned family road trip would be the perfect venue for testing Toyota’s advertising claims of the Avalon sedan being “Jet Smooth” and “Whisper Quiet”. Continue Reading

By Kevin Miller

It’s no secret that Hyundai is set to launch its Equus luxury sedan in the US. Officially introduced at the New York Auto show in April of this year, the Equus will occupy a market segment above the Korean automaker’s Genesis sedan. While neither a price nor an on-sale date for the Equus has been announced, it is widely believed that pricing for car, targeted at the Lexus LS460 and Mercedes-Benz S550, will start close to $50,000, and rise to around $60,000 fully equipped. Hyundai Motor America’s President and CEO John Krafcik penned a piece last month published by Edmunds Inside Line stating the the retail launch of the Equus is still several months away- which indicates that it will be on sale in late 2010.

So far, the only place in the US to get a good look at an Equus has been either at an auto show, or on the internet.  You can imagine my surprise, then, when I encountered an Equus sedan yesterday evening on California’s rural Cabrillo coast highway (CA-1). I was re-tracing the route of my California Great Drive, and I passed through a construction zone with single lane traffic controlled by an automated signal near Pescadero; waiting for the signal to change on the other side was a Hyundai Equus. At first glance I took it to be a (still relatively rare) Genesis sedan, but as I glanced at the car’s side profile I could tell it was not a Genesis.  Just like any car guy would do, I had to get a better look. With no traffic oncoming or behind me on the rural highway, I quickly made a U-turn and found myself behind the car badgeed EQUUS VS460, wearing a California distributor license plate.

See our Huyndai Equus gallery after the jump… Continue Reading

By Kevin Miller

I consider myself a car guy to the core. That said, my knowledge of cars built much before the late 1970s is not very good. Most cars produced later than that I can easily identify by sight or sound, but the first eighty-or-so years of automotive history happened before I was born, and much like world history, I haven’t taken the time to learn about most early vehicles.

That being said, a visit to the LeMay Museum at Maryhill in Tacoma, Washington is a thrill, allowing me to experience unfamiliar cars from different eras in automotive design. The museum showcases vehicles collected by Harold LeMay, a Tacoma-area businessman whose primary businesses were towing  and waste collection. Together with his wife, Nancy, the LeMays amassed the largest privately owned collection of automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, other vehicles and related memorabilia in the world. At its peak, the LeMay Collection held more than 3,000 vehicles and thousands of artifacts, and was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as such.

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By Kevin Miller

While automotive media here in the US has been busy showing off embargo-broken photos of the bland and bloated next Volkswagen Jetta, here’s something a little different from Wolfsburg: The CrossPolo.

Likely named to recall a cross dresser crossover, the CrossPolo is essentially Volkswagen’s smallest five-door hatch, the Polo (introduced in 2009),  wearing the equivalent of a stylish pair of hiking boots and a jaunty cap. Introduced together with the Polo GTI, the CrossPolo rounds out the Polo family model lineup. Typical of European-market vehicles, the Polo is available with six different powertrains (three diesel and three gasoline-powered) ranging from 70 to 105 HP, two of which are available with Volkswagen’s 7-speed DSG.

Featuring unique 17-inch alloy wheels beneath black plastic wheelarch extensions, anodized silver roof rails and unique front and rear bumpers, the CrossPolo has the all-terrain design cues today’s crossover shoppers are looking for. Inside, the tiny crossover features a two-tone upholstery scheme complementing the car’s exterior (with CrossPolo embroidered on the front seat backrests), leather-wrapped steering wheel and handbrake (with stitching complementing the two-tone upholstery), and standard features like heatable, power-adjustable mirrors, power windows, and tire pressure monitoring.

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By Kevin Miller

As a dedicated gearhead and Saab fanatic, I’ve gotten plenty of entertainment from my membership in the Northwest Saab Owners Club. Kip, a fellow club member, found himself in the Detroit area late last month, and had a little time before his return flight so decided to drive by the new Saab Cars North America (SCNA) headquarters in Royal Oak, Michigan. He emailed me to describe his visit; the text in italics below quotes directly from his email.

Kip states that …while most of the surrounding facilities are older, the building that Saab is leasing is newer, very modern and probably smaller than what you would expect. A new white 9-3 [convertible] was displayed just outside the entry. I suspect that [the convertible] is taken in when the offices are closed.

He described the atmosphere inside the offices as quiet, with a minimal staff just 70 days after the formation of the new company.

[There was no] receptionist and I was taking a few pictures when Mike Colleran, President and COO of Saab Cars North America came out. We talked and he said he had a few minutes between appointments and offered a tour of the facilities.

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By Kevin Miller

I’m an “online” kind of person. While I’ll admit to subscribing to one mainstream print auto magazine and receiving the printed bi-monthly magazines of the Volvo Club North America and Saab Club North America, that’s the extent of my print reading. Now in my mid-30s, I’ve never subscribed to a daily newspaper, preferring to get my news online. I even write for this online media site. Consequently, that’s the way I typically see advertisement- online.

I was on the road all week last week, staying at a hotel oriented to business travelers. Every day the hotel staff dutifully left the Wall Street Journal outside of my door, and every day I picked it up, carried it around in my briefcase all day, and then put it in the recycling bin the next morning when I picked up the next day’s paper. Continue Reading