Car of the Day

Today I had the good fortune to test drive an enthusiast’s GTO.  The nice thing about the enthusiast and a test drive with one is that they want you to really “test out” the car. 

The owner even had secluded test drive route where a person could really wring out a GTO without worrying about traffic or law enforcement. 

Now this wasn’t my first experience with driving a GTO.  It actually was my 4th.  I drove the 2004 LS1 GTO and the 2005 LS2 GTO at a couple of the GM “Auto-Shows-in-Motion”.  And in 2006 I drove the last edition of the GTO.  Today I drove another 2006 GTO. 

The GTO was a 6-speed manual, Impulse Blue Metallic with black leather interior, it is one of 529 in that color combination and transmission.

The GTO is one of those cars that looks better in real life than in pictures.  There is a strength and power that is conveyed in person that isn’t shown in two dimensions.  Once you step inside the car you are met with one of highest quality interiors in an American car.  The driver and passenger are supported by a couple of leather buckets that give away the car’s sporting intentions.  Even the backseat area is surprisingly roomy with two similar bucket style seats molded into the rear bench. 

But the reason a I’m looking at a GTO isn’t because of its styling, it isn’t its interior or mildly roomy backseat, it is for the 400 horses under the hood, it is for the drive, and boy what a drive! The LS2 really pins you back into your seat during hard accelleration.  The rear tires are simply a gas pedal stomp away from breaking loose and allowing the driver to enjoy some tail-sliding fun.  The GTO has an electronic nanny in the form of traction control to keep you safe, but like all good sports cars you shut off the traction control with the push of a button.

Now the GTO isn’t a canyon carver, it isn’t a super luxury automobile, it is a powerful sports car from Pontiac that has plenty of “Go” to match its “Show”.   The GTO is a great mix comfort, speed, price and performance. 

And I think I just might buy one.

Here is a great calculator to help you answer the question of “Should you trade in your gas guzzler?”

http://politicalcalculations.blogspot.com/2006/04/should-you-trade-in-your-gas-guzzler.html

This calculator has been out for a little over a year but is worth revisiting as gas is creeping over $4.

The team at Political Calculations have put together a simple formula that will show you whether or not that shiny new hybrid will actually save you any money. 

People spend a lot of time thinking about how much money they spend on gas, with all the news about rising gas prices and every time that a person fills up they feel the pain at the pump.  They think a new economical car will save them money.  Well, it might save them money in gas, but not overall when you figure the total cost of the new car. 

This calculator helps the people make a better informed decision.

So the 2006 GTO has resurfaced as my “Car of the Day”. (COTD)  The 2006 GTO received the same 6.0 liter engine from the Corvette. 

With a stock 400hp and 400lb-ft of torque it is has some pretty stout performance out of the box. 

However, under the twin scoops of the hood, sits a very tunable motor.  The LS2 engine has a lot options to get even more horsepower out of it.  The GTO is a great platform to handle more power.

One of the easiest and most cost effective ways to really “boost” the horsepower is a supercharger.  There are plenty of supercharger systems designed specifically for the GTO.  They are relatively low cost, around $5,000 and can add as much as 200hp to the GTO.  All a supercharger really does is simply push more air into the engine. More air = more power, it is that easy.

This can be very appealing to speed freaks out there and would allow a person to keep a relative stock feeling to car without modding the engine to the edge of reliability.  A supercharger with a low psi on this engine would have little to no effect on reliability. 

In fact, a lot of manufacturers are supercharger their cars from the factory or including a supercharger dealer option.  Companies like Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Chevy, Saturn, Toyota, Ford and Lotus just to name a few are all have or are currently offering supercharging options.

One of the problems with boosting the horsepower on cars is the reliability problems.  This isn’t a problem with the GTO and one of the kits made specifically for the Pontiac.  It is being done a lot out there, so watch out for any GTOs that seem to have a little extra whine.  They could be sporting a 600hp boosted engine. 

Reliable, powerful, and a good deal, what more could you want?  This makes a GTO an even more appealing option.  At 400hp the GTO is fast, at 600hp it would be a real sleeper capable of running with nearly anything. 

If a GTO lands in my garage it wouldn’t stay stock for long and is a big reason the GTO is the COTD.  I’d be looking for a power boost.

A few years ago GM tested the American market by bringing over one of their Australian models.  GM slapped a Pontiac logo on it and called it the GTO.

The GTO was panned by most consumers and the automotive press.  If you were reading the reviews when the 2005 GTO with the 400hp LS2 hit the market, the reviews weren’t all bad.  The GTO had solid performance numbers. Numbers like 0-60 in 4.8 seconds and a 13.0 second quarter mile.  These numbers were a few ticks quicker than the 2004 LS1 powered 350hp GTO and seemed to satisfy the need for speed that people thought that the GTO should fulfill. 

However, the GTO was still losing comparisons to slower, cheaper, less refined cars like a simple Mustang GT.  And the GTO lost for 2 main reasons, reason 1 was the styling and reason 2 was the price.  As far as styling goes, if a car has enough hp then it looks good to me.  (That’s probably why I like STIs and Evos.)

Around the same time another car was hitting the market and receiving resounding praise for its “bang for the buck” ratio.  The Dodge SRT-4 was the fastest car under $20k and many of its flaws were over-looked because it was such a good deal.  The GTO never got that recognition, even though it was just as good a deal and a much better car than the SRT-4

If you remember back to 2005, that is when the “employee pricing” craze hit the auto industry and there were deals to be had everywhere.  It wasn’t uncommon to read reports of a $34,000 GTO being purchased for $28,000.  And that price put it pretty close to a fully loaded Mustang GT. 

Alas, these factors were never really considered by the general population and GTO died an early death with the last model year being 2006.  There was a group of people that knew what was happening and they are the modern GTO owners.  They realized that GM had sent them a high-powered gift from down-under. 

Here in 2008, in the used car market there are plenty examples of the 6.0liter GTOs for sale right now around the $20k mark.  If you want cheap horsepower in a modern car it doesn’t get any better than this.

Sure gas prices are creeping up and maybe a V8 muscle car isn’t on your short list of options, but the GTO with a manual transmission is actually rated for 29mpg on the highway and 17mpg in the city, not too shabby for 400hp. 

If you’re looking for some fun this weekend find a 2005 or 2006 GTO and take a test drive.  You will be impressed by the build quality and the performance of the goat from the land down under.

What happens when you’re interested in a Subaru STI or a Mitsubishi Evolution but you want a little more than just a hot-rodded up econobox?  There are few options a person could track down; a Volvo S60R or a BMW 335xi or even the 2007 STI Limited.  Each of those cars gives you a 300hp turbo-charged engine with AWD. 

I find myself drawn to limited edition turbo-charged sedans with AWD.  They are the modern sleeper cars.  Unique, powerful, classy, luxurious and rare all describe today’s COTD.

The Saab Turbo X is limited to just 2000 cars for the entire globe.  I’m so very interested in the rare performance sedan and with only 600 of these making it the United States it is guaranteed to be rare. 

One of the problems with an ultra-rare care is that they are hard to get and there aren’t any deals to be found on them.  The $42k sticker price is what you pay.  And with a car this rare you can’t rely on the used car market. 

If I was to buy a car today.  The Turbo X would be on the top of my list.  Are there faster cars?  Sure.  Are there cars that are a better mix of performance, luxury, price, style and exclusivity?  Not that I can think of. 

I need a Turbo X!

The Car of the Day today is a Saab.  A very special Saab.  The Saab Turbo X is a rare car.  Saab will build 2000 of the Turbo X’s and only 600 of those will make it to the US.  The Turbo X only comes in black and is a 280hp AWD sports sedan.

I enjoy reading auto reviews and there are several professional write ups on the Saab Turbo X.  The only thing better than a good professional write-up on a car is a well written write-up by a passionate owner.  And I’ve found such a review for the Saab Turbo X.  If you want to learn more about the Saab Turbo X ask Google or you can read the Driving the Saab Turbo X blog.

This car doesn’t have quite the performance of the Evo, but is a fun, sport, rare, and classy option.

For the 2005/2006 model year Nissan created a special Altima.  I remember the first time I saw the Nissan Altima SE-R.  It was the best looking Altima I had ever seen and with an SE-R badge on it I knew it had to be something special. 

I am a sucker for special cars, however when I saw the sticker for the Altima SE-R I was disappointed in the nearly $30,000 price tag.  This put the best Altima within a couple grand of its corporate cousin the Infiniti G35. 

The Altima SE-R has been simply called a Nissan with a trim package and that can only be said by someone who has never driven the SE-R.

Nissan did a great job of tempting me with this vehicle.  It was my legitimate car of the day for several months, after an impressive spin behind the wheel.  When I took the driver’s seat of the SE-R I was really skeptical  of how well a 260hp FWD Altima would handle.  I had the good fortune going on the test drive with a cool saleperson who allowed me really wind out the Nissan. 

The Altima SE-R is basically a front-wheel drive 350Z with 4 doors.  The SE-R has a lot of the interior cues from the 350Z.  It has an upgraded exhaust and suspension bits and some of the coolest wheels to show up on a sedan.   Through all that in with a close ratio 6-speed transmission and you have yourself a very special car that is a great sleeper sedan.

Now the SE-R isn’t the perfect car it does have a couple of flaws. 

·    The first was its original MSRP which put it within $2000 of the G35.  However, in 2008, depreciation was little rougher on the Altima and that is good news for you.  The current going rate for a 2005/06 SE-R vs a similar G35 may be as much as $6,000. 

·    The second is it is a front wheel drive. This car steers and drives with the same two wheels. So no matter how good it is you can always say “for a FWD car” at the end of it.

·    Third is it is still just an Altima.  There a lot of Altimas out there, very few SE-Rs, but a ton of Altimas.

·    Fourth was the super lame ad campaign that claimed that the Altima SE-R was the “Official Car of Funkytown.”  Somewhere there is a SE-R project manager that is rolling over in his figurative grave because some ad guru made the highest performance 4 door from Nissan the official car of funkytown.

A friend is looking at buying a new sporty  sedan and the SE-R has made it on to his short list and it has brought it to top of mind for me.   So the Car of the Day is a gently used 2005/2006 Altima SE-R for less than $18k.

Michael Martineck has a great article over at The Truth About Cars.  The Cambridge Strategy Center published a study that help defines people like me and their obsession with cars.  When I read this article I felt like they had me and my feelings toward cars totally pegged.  Apparently I am categorized as an “expressive”.

Expressives perceive their vehicles as [yet another] expression of their personalities. They are what they drive.

Expressives want a car that shows they are smart, rich, hip, practical and/or environmentally conscious.  Conversely, in a different form of expression, they might not give two puffs what you think.

Expressives like to drive. All driving is a form of competition, whether it’s racing the wannabe in the Honda Civic or owning the world’s most fuel efficient vehicle. The believe an automobile should do one thing and one thing well. Expressives want the best rock climber or dragster or delivery van.

I think that is why I tend to want a new car every day and cars like the Evo appeal to me.  It is an amazing performer and is purpose built to do be a high performance vehicle and the Evo does it very well.

You can read more at http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/the-truth-about-you/.

The Truth About Cars (TTAC) is a non-biased  automotive website that has published one of my articles.

This article is in response to a Car and Driver article where they compared a 911 turbo, GT-R and a M3 and gave the M3 the gold medal. 

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/scoop-letter-from-car-and-driver-to-nissan-leaked-to-ttac/

What happens when a Nissan GT-R, Audi R8, Lotus Elise SC, Porsche 911, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X MR and Subaru WRX STI meet up for a track and mountain road challenge?

Well my current COTD (the Evo) didn’t win that challenge, but it did perform admirable well against performance cars that cost more than twice as much.  The Evo did so well that the author commented that if the Evo had just 75hp more it may seriously upset the pecking order of these cars.  As it stands now it finished in front of the Porsche 911, Lotus Elise SC, and the STI.  I happen to know where I can get an easy 75hp for the Evo to make that a reality. (read more at Do you Vishnu)

And you can read the full article by Josh Jacquot at Inside Line.

The Car of the Day is simply about what car do I really want to buy today. 

The car I want to buy today is once again the Mitsubishi Evolution.  I’ve appreciated the Evolution since it came to America.  There is something about a simple car that has converted into a super-car beater that appeals to me.  I love the technology in an Evo.  It is a purpose-built speed machine.  Evos share a direct link to their rally car origins. 

The Mitsubishi Evolution is a car for enthusiasts who prefer performance over style.  The car doesn’t apologize for what it is and what is not.  I love the turbo-charged engine that is a simple ECU from hitting nearly 400hp.  I love the AWD with the active yaw control.  I love the huge front-mount intercooler.  The price tag might seem steep if all you see is a Mitsubishi Lancer, but if you can look past the econo-car roots and appreciate the little Evo for what it is in the automotive food chain.  It is one of the best all-around performing 4-door sedans on the market. There are cars that may be quicker to 60mph and quicker to finish the quarter mile and quicker around a road course, but not by much.  And if they are they probably cost 50% to 100% more than the car that started life as an Evo.  And if it a car is faster, it wouldn’t take very much to get tune to Evo make it an even faster vehicle, so the list of cars quicker than it shrinks even smaller. 

It seems everywhere you look there is an article comparing the new 2008 BMW M3 Sedan to the handful of other 4-doors capable of legitimately running with the ultimate Ultimate Driving Machine.

I’ve located 5 reviews comparing the best luxury sports sedans in the world to each other. The requirement for this review of reviews is that one of the cars being tested is the 4-door M3.

I will attempt to determine who has the best review of the best sports sedans in the world. Who has the best review? Can I just read the best review and save all the repetitive reading? Is the M3 really better than sex? (well, not if you do it right)

Inside Line Review

At the end of March Edmunds Inside Line published the first comparison of the M3 sedan vs. the Mercedes-Benz C63. Inside Line does a great job of regularly scooping the automotive rags with their reviews. While most car magazines are putting together next month’s articles Inside Line has already posted the earliest review. Inside Line presents a very technical review of the M3 and the C63. They took the BMW and M-B to the 1.5 mile track of Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch and gave each car a proper wringing out. The BMW lapped the track 1.8 seconds faster than the Benz. The final synopsis had the BMW occupying first place. Inside Line may have had the first comparison, but it places 5th in this review of reviews.

Car and Driver Review

Car and Driver published their review in May and chose to simply compare the M3 to the Lexus IS-F. The writers at C&D cited a former test in which the M3 coupe trumped the C63 and the Audi RS4. Laguna’s 2.2 mile track was the testing ground for their edition of car vs. car. However after a frustrating search, the actual track times aren’t recorded in the actual article. (perhaps if you download and decipher the test data sheets you can glean that information) This review was well written with a bit more personality than I noticed in the Inside Line comparison. Car and Driver does a good job of organizing their comparison test. It is a simple 3 page layout with page one introducing the vehicles and laying the stage and page 2 dedicated to the Lexus and the 3rd page for the M3. The article also had the BMW M3 as the winner of their comparison and is the 4th best comparison featuring a BMW M3 sedan.

Motor Trend Review

Motor Trend also had their version of a M3 comparison test for their May issue following a theme from the motion picture “There Will be Blood”. Motor Trend decided to do a little more work than Inside Line and Car & Driver by adding a third car to their test. This was a M3 vs. C63 vs. IS-F battle royale. Or simply a combination of the previous two reviews. Motor Trend has a frustrating style of organizing their reviews by category and not by car. I prefer a comparison organized by car so I can quickly go back and read about a specific car without having to wade through and entire review to glean the information that I need. It was an entertaining enough review and, surprise, had the BMW in the top spot followed by the C63 and then the IS-F. Motor Trend takes the bronze and lands in third place with their review.

The Truth About Cars Review

The Truth About Cars posted their comparison involving the BMW M3 in the middle of May. They chose the Audi RS4 as the contender to the BMW M3. The TTAC review was well written with wit, opinion, humor and some information. It lacked the hard test numbers of the other comparisons. You had to learn 0-60 times in other places and frankly there are plenty other places to get those simple stats. The opinions and impressions of the cars from the TTAC comparison is really what I am trying to get an understanding from in a comparison. The TTAC article ends with the author preferring the Audi over the BMW. For those of you scoring at home that is first loss for the BMW and a second place finish for the TTAC review.

Road & Track Review

Road & Track came to the “car vs. car” party the latest. However, there is good reason for their tardy arrival. The Road & Track comparison is the uber-test of the uber-sedans. The Audi RS4, the BMW M3, the Lexus IS-F, and the Mercedes C63 AMG made up the field for their test. If you can only read one comparison, this is the one to read and it even has a surprise outcome. The gold medal goes to Road & Track for the best M3 sedan comparison test.

Ford’s top of the line Mustang is the GT500 it is the 500hp supercharged 5.4 liter V8.  However, this comes with the nearly a 500lb weight penalty.  Sure, its the fastest factory Mustang, but there is another Mustang that has pretty close performance numbers, especially when you add the Ford Factory Racing Supercharger to it. 

You can’t buy the Bullitt supercharged from the factory, but you can get a Ford supercharger added.  And that will add all the performance of the GT500 and then some, without the penalty of the 500lbs that the GT500 gets because of its iron-block engine. 

The Bullitt is real muscle car and sleeper at the same time.  The Mustang also has a strong after market to support the quest for more power.  And there are all the Ford Factory Racing parts that you can add to your Mustang. 

Today’s COTD is a supercharged Mustang Bullitt.  The Bullitt is special and the supercharger takes it to next level of performance.  The level of my former COTD a Mitsubishi Evo with a Vishnu tune.

If you like cars then you probably find yourself in dealerships looking to buy said cars from time to time. 

One of my favorite “inside” articles about car dealerships was written by the guys at Edmunds.

Do yourself a favor and read the “Confessions of a Car Salesman”.  It is the story of an automotive journalist who works undercover for 2 different car dealerships and shares the secrets of the car salesmen and the dealerships.

It is a lengthy 9 part essay but very informative and entertaining.

Chandler Phillips does a great job of capturing the inside world of the car dealships. Thanks to him and Edmunds.com.

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/42962/article.html

I’m currently assisting a COTD reader identify the best car for his current situation. 

A car is a major purchase and I appreciate when people take their time to research what is the best car for them and their current situation.

Here are his parameters:

“I want to buy a 4-door sedan.  I don’t want to spend more than 40K, although I would spend 45K if I really like the car.  My top three priorities are:

• Safety
• Fun to drive (handling and power)
• Gadgets (Nav etc. – I like nice toys).

I also want a car that has a sense of style.  I don’t want to drive around in a refrigerator.”

So I responded with these thoughts:

“Now realize any of my suggestions will almost always come with a performance bias. 

The best option from Japan is the a gently used 2007 Infiniti M45.  The M45 has all the technology Infiniti can muster, including one of my favorite options – air cooled seats.  It has all of the request features that make that gadget guys happy. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/infiniti-m45/

From Japan I would also give an honorable mention to the Lexus G430 if the Infiniti is a little too on the sporty side of the scale for you.

A high powered option from America is a new or extremely low mileage (less than 5k) Chrysler 300 SRT-8.  The SRT-8 is powered by a 425hp 6.1 liter hemi.  It is a brute. There are several other SRT-8 siblings including the Dodge Charger and Jeep Grand Cherokee all with the same 6.1 liter hemi and SRT treatments.  http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/chrysler-300c-srt-8/

An American honorable mention goes to the brand new Pontiac G8.  If you don’t know about the G8 check it out.  It would be a relative deal for you budget, but it is a very impressive offering from GM. http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/FullTests/articleId=124876

From the UK I would look at Jaguar’s supercharged V8 powered S-type R that is good for 400hp. http://www.forbesautos.com/reviews/2006/jaguar/s_type/r/test-drive.html

The only problem with the S-type is that is being replace in 2009 with the already released XF.  The XF is an attractive car already getting good press.  However, the S-type R is truly a special car and should be timeless choice.

There are the great cars from Germany the AMG E-Class, the Audi S6 and the BMW M5, but we would need to go further back in time to hit our price point. “

The rising price of gas and the desire for a slightly smaller car is causing our reader to think more along the lines of the BMW 3 Series, which is never a bad choice. 

A creative option the 3 Series is the ultra-exclusive Saab Turbo X of which only 600 will see American shores. 

I will keep you updated as to the Car Hunt Progress.