Test Drives

1996½ Mazda MX-5 Miata M-Edition Test Drive

Posted on 18. May, 2013 by .

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Small European convertibles so central to the glory days of sporty drives in search of open-air excitement left a lot of people nostalgic for a happy time that many believed to be gone forever. But they’d forgotten Mazda, which had the brilliant idea of reviving the concept with its Miata in 1989. Since then the [...]

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1996 Suzuki Esteem Test Drive

Posted on 17. May, 2013 by .

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Before 1996 Suzuki models had courted a clientele looking for cars that met the “nice, good, cheap” formula as closely as they could. With the exception of its fun little 4X4′s, this Japanese make was content with meeting the limited expectations of people looking for a basic means of transportation. With the Esteem, Suzuki took [...]

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1996 Volkswagen Passat TDI Test Drive

Posted on 14. May, 2013 by .

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        If you didn’t worry much about performance, you could have safely chosen the turbo diesel four cylinder engine available on both the sedan and the wagon. For 95 the meager 75 horses were a serious handicap to passing other vehicles, but the fact the VW adopted internal injection for the1.9 liter [...]

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1996 Mercedes Benz E-Class Test Drive

Posted on 13. May, 2013 by .

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Selecting the Motor Trend Import Car of the Year is seldom easy, and this year’s competition proved to be a particularly spirited undertaking. When the debate finally ended, however, we agreed that the winner of our Golden Caliper award could be only one car: With its exceptional combination of contemporary styling, world-class engineering, first-rate handling, [...]

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1996 Dodge Caravan Test Drive

Posted on 13. May, 2013 by .

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It turns out that making history is easy. At least it is in this case. Motor Trend’s Car of the Year award has been in existence since 1949, and during that nearly half-century, we’ve scrutinized every new domestic car to hit the marketplace. We’ve driven thousands of cars over the years, but never before have [...]

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1993 Peter Farrell Mazda RX-7 R1 & Stillen Nissan 300ZX Test Drives

Posted on 12. May, 2013 by .

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      In the late ’80s and early ’90s, Mazda was dumping cash into cars like BP dumped oil into the Gulf of Mexico, so the FD RX-7 was a twin-turbo near-supercar. For one tuning company, its performance still wasn’t enough. Peter Farrell Supercars was set up by the badass New Zelander racecar driver [...]

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1996 Toyota 4Runner Test Drive

Posted on 10. May, 2013 by .

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      A couple decades ago, most off road vehicles looked as if they were assembled in a pre-war factory and their presentation was rudimentary at best. At the opposite end of the spectrum, the quality of assembly of the 4Runner, its reliability, design and mechanical underpinnings were enough to make consumers flock to [...]

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1996 Mercedes Benz E320 Test Drive

Posted on 09. May, 2013 by .

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      A standard of excellence renewed and rejuvenated. Mercedes Benz decided to look for a younger clientele and more importantly, to rid itself of a reputation for manufacturing dead-serious automobiles. It wanted to prove that its bold less of a stuffed shirt, and the best expression of its new orientation were the redesigned [...]

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1995 Pontiac Sunfire Convertible Test Drive

Posted on 08. May, 2013 by .

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      All-new replacement for aged Sunbird comes in SE coupe or sedan, and GT coupe trim levels. An SE convertible debuted midyear. Dual airbags, ABS, tilt steering and tachometer are standard. Base engine is a 2.2-liter four-cylinder good for 120 horsepower. GT models get a 150-horsepower Quad 4 engine, which is optional on [...]

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1993 Lincoln Mark VIII Test Drive

Posted on 03. May, 2013 by .

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When it arrived in 1993, the Mark VIII surprised more than one automobile specialist and, all the more so, the public. Its stretched lines, explosive engine and sporty handling threw new challenges to its competitors over which it gained a substantial advance. The Mark VIII differed singularly from its preceding model, as much by its [...]

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