The Drive: Audi A4 Cabriolet

Audi A4 Cabriolet

As a kid, I loved Alexandra Day’s children’s books about a faithful, loveable canine named Carl. They’re sweet stories.

For some reason, thinking of the Audi A4 1.8T Cabriolet made me think of this title. The Audi is one heavy German dog of a car.

I mean, it’s a real dog.

Let’s start with the specs.

The A4 1.8T comes equipped with a little engine that hopes it can – a 1.8 Liter, 170bhp, straight four cylinder powerplant that powers something Audi’s marketing department calls “Front Trak”. To the rest of the world, it’s front wheel drive.

Dumcoff! You might call me. Why not drive the 3.0 Liter, 200 bhp, V6? That might be an intelligent choice on face value, but let’s examine the facts further.

The 170bhp 1.8T weighs a portly 3,680 lbs. The 3.0T comes with Audi’s Quattro system that adds an extra axle plus some parts which stacks up to a corpulent 4,023 lbs on what is a shortened A4 sedan.

A little division: 3680 / 170 = 21.6 lbs / hp
4023 / 200 = 20.1 lbs / hp

Add an $8,000 difference between the two’s MSRPs and you really have to wonder what in the world the folks at the Audi-VW group were thinking.

Fine, you might proclaim, not every car’s a sportscar.

I couldn’t agree more. There are wonderful cruisers out there that are able boulevardiers that should be left alone by the wolf pack known as the road-raging Automotive Press (Ford’s Thunderbird is a notable victim).

However, the Audi A4 Cabriolet is one taut looking car. It has smooth, aerodynamic lines, short overhangs, and tall 17 inch wheels that squish low profile performance tyres. Surely, this car should scoot.

Nope. It doesn’t. Audi’s own website pins both the 1.8T’s and 3.0T’s 0-60 times at an identically generous 8.4 seconds. Think 9+ in reality.

One cannot deny that the Audi drop-top is cute. Approach the vehicle from the side, rear three quarters, or rear and you’ll find a slick European cabriolet design that is as handsome as it is spirited.

Approach the front and the cabriolet is the last hold out of the Audi line to use the new “snout”. Love it or hate it, that snout is divisive – which seems strange considering the middle path of Conservatism that Audi designers usually trek.

Pull the pull handle of the driver’s door and it swings openly lightly. The interior looks quite sterile. This particular A4 is a particularly bland beige on beige with no wood trim – which meant more beige plastic. Still, the lines are nice and the interior appointments are first class Audi. It just comes off as first class 1980s or early 1990s Audi.

The automatic Tiptronic shifter stands out – it controls Audi’s terribly special Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). CVT is supposed to be a replacement to the geared gear-boxes of ordinary automatic transmissions. The effect is supposed to be more efficient and seemless.To be frank the device doesn’t even register. I’ll get to why – later.

Start her up and those signature Audi-red instrument displays come to life. Press the button to unfold the top and it electrically drops away beneath a flat, tonneau cover in less than half a minute. It’s all very easy and quite painless. Drive forward and the suspension is definitely set to sport. Every bump is felt – though – mercifully, the brushed metal A-frame pillars are strong enough to curtail any hint of cowl shake.

There’s a selling point right there.

Turn the wheel in any direction and floor it. The traction control bites in to curtail wheel slippage and then after that, it’s all enthusiasm.Enthusiasm, that is, until you approach any speed above 40 mph or a moderate incline.

The handling maybe enthusiastic and low speeds, but the car starts to complain when you push it. Those low-profile tyres howl, the small but fat Audi fights the corners with body roll, all the while the little turbo wheezes away in asthmatic gasps for air. That’s the other thing; the turbo is a constant presence. That might be a sporty thing – were it the spirited sound of a Lotus Esprit’s intercooler spooling. But no, this turbo sounds distinctly like a Nissan Box Truck. Grating and intrusive. This car gets winded up the first hill.

The regular A4 sedan is a car that has accelerative verve and loves to chase BMWs in the turns. That couldn’t be further from the case with the heavy drop-top variant.

Drive onto the highway and cruise at a gentle 70mph. All is finally well. The Turbo isn’t gasping for the engine and special transmission have found their respective strides.

The seats are comfortable and supportive. There’s not a lot of legroom. But headroom certainly isn’t an issue now. One nice feature; the windshield is raked to give good visibility with the top up and is far enough removed from the front occupants to give a true open air sensation when the top is down.

The rear seats are for emergency use only. The A4, like many European convertibles, pretends to be a 2 + 2 when the case is uncomfortably otherwise.

Return the A4 Cabriolet home and ponder. It’s not a bad car. It’s just not a great car. BMW's 3-Series convertible costs just as much and wipes the floor with the Audi in every category save the understated conservative segment – which is only favorable to some.

But all in all, the A4 Cabriolet is simply a good dog.
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Mercedes CLC

Not Another Hatch > Mercedes CLC

Where's the trunk?

Americans seldom take kindly to hatchbacks. And who could blame us? What, when we have the open roads, the wherewithal, and - until recent times - the least expensive gasoline in the civilized world to spread out?

No fat jokes, please.

Moreover we expect - nay - demand that anything with a luxury moniker have either a trunk (a.k.a. "boot") or the closing hatch of an SUV or wagon.

There are certain chic exceptions. The MINI surely ranks not only as new cult classic, but Cinquecento-sized car that boasts Hummer-sized caché. And on the detour that is the Fiat 500, I'm sure if Fiat, SpA could get it's collective act together and sell Stateside, there'd be plenty of American car buyers that would embrace Italy's hot little number.

That said, for some unfathomable reason Mercedes-Benz feels that it can sell a hatchback C-Class to us gullible Yanks. It's sales logic that on its face is almost as dumbfounding as the Northeast media's smug lean toward Hillary Clinton.

This time they're calling it the CLC. As if that's somehow supposed to entice buyers here that a $30K hatchback - or in truth a full two-door that looks like some drunk October-fest goer came back to the factory after hours and took a saw to the trunk.

I guess it makes a certain economic sense. According to CAR, 320,000 of those infernal predecessor "sports coupés" have found new homes worldwide since 2001.

And true to trends unfolding at auto shows this world round, there seems to be a design movement that seeks to phase out the trunk for space considerations; the protruding boot's exit is nigh.

Still, I pause to rejoice that I live in a land that -for the moment- doesn't have to settle for a less-is-somehow-more definition of luxury. Mercedes-Benz can keep the CLC on their side of the Pond. We'll take the C-Class in sedan form, thank you.
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Another Benz Refit

Another Benz Refit > The SL

Looking new and doubtless improved.

Pictures of yet another Benz refit have splashed over the homepages of blogs and car sites across this great world-wide-web of ours. This time, it's the SL roadster and part of me wishes that the Tri Star just left well enough alone.

And another part of me says that those SLK-esque hood flairs are supafly.

As is the emboldened grille now with just one cross member and a more prominent Star to take center stage on the consummate boulevardier's prow.

There's a big mouthed, quad headlamped, R107 retro-chic swagger there that I really dig.

That which doesn't mix well with the new company of flutes, vents, and wider apertures are those signal indicators that are tacked on top of the headlamps.

BURSTING BUBBLES

What we're seeing friends, is the last gasp of the bubble-headlamped design theory that has at last reached the end point of its stylistic cul-de-sac. Fear not R230 lovers, the bubble headlamps will stand out as curious footnotes in Benz history. Right alongside the old W110 Fintails of the
sixties.

The 2009 SL does break molds. And those blocky headrests with built in heaters break a few style codes, too.

We should however not hesitate to see this as the most dramatic refit of a model in Mercedes-Benz history. On the merits of this remake, the current generation SL (already six years) could soldier on for another four at least.

Understanding that, there's no wonder why this Benz that's come of age has found widespread appreciation across a blogland populated chiefly by those who haven't yet.

More Pictures >>> Autoblog

Mercedes CLS

Mercedes CLS > Face Lifts Don't Cure Ugly

CLS. Face lifted.

Taking a note from Joan Rivers, Mercedes-Benz has - after four prosperous years - elected to update its CLS-Class with a face (and tail) lift. And as is also the case for the renowned comedienne, we have yet to see the benefits that such augmentation has brought.

Somethings really are better left for time to sort naturally. It's not that the CLS looks bad now or before, per se. Coming to think of it, Joan Rivers doesn't look bad either - but let's stop that train of thought there.

It's that the sedan - no sorry - "coop-ay," is a seriously contrived P.O.S. (and that acronym doesn't stand for "point of sale")

Time and again, I fail to see the "romance" in those comic book curves. The CLS looks like something the Joker would drive if only it were sold in acid green and dark purple.

Plus, there's that mousy front airdam (which the face lift didn't help) and those amorphous yet somehow pointed headlights. Combined they give the Merc the look that an angry sewer rat might give a wayward cat.

And on the topic of Mercs, what urks me further about the CLS is that Stuttgart's arts & ideas people seemed to have drawn all their emotive inspiration from the late 1990s Mercury Sable; probably the second lamest car for a decade when FoMoCo design knew no depths.

The rear three quarter profile similarities are scarily similar. So rather than celebrate along with the rest of press for the new CLS' recent return from Palm Springs' seclusion, I'd prefer to extol the Camry-esque virtues of the platform-sharing E-Class instead.

Something tells me that Joan would, too.

Tap the Link > The Motor Report

Hemmings Find of The Day >

Mercedes-Benz 560SL

Admiring an R107 Mercedes-Benz 560SL is a very different sensation that driving one.

Like some of the most iconic Rolls-Royces, Bentleys, Ferraris, and Maseratis of yore, the two seater Benz powered by the flagship 5.5 liter V-8 of the late 80s fell someways short of the legend it espoused.

Automotive icons are seldom so long lived as the R107 which as a chassis started in the late 1960s and drove straight up to the start of 1990s. For the North American and Asian markets, the 560SL was supposed to be the grand finale that would epitomize the notion of owning a modern classic.

Yet as classic as the Benz was (and remains), it always had the feel of makeshift automobile.

How could I possibly mean that?

Don't get me wrong. As a Benz enthusiast, in my book, the R107 line (including the 560SL) ranks among the greatest cars ever made. But the panels looked like they never quite fit right, to mention nothing of the gaps that could swallow sparrows mid-flight.

What's more the car shook terribly without its top and with its roof it let in the rain through still more gaps which could be found where the window panes met the fixed glass of the removable hardtop.

Two speakers provided Mercedes' cheap excuse for a full audio system on their flagship roadster and heated seats were never made available. And on the subject of seats, the SL's were manually adjustable (minimally) and always seemed disproportionately big for the cabin.

Add some more injury, the signature helm sized steering wheel found its position fixed in the driver's lap, the trunk was good for a lady's purse, and did I mention that the interior was cramped and that the seats didn't adjust?

All of these character flaws could have been forgiven and forgotten were the 560SL's engine the same V8 found in the 560SEL flagship. But for whatever reason, the sound and performance that the 560SL gave was akin to that of the earlier 500 powerplant which featured a smaller 5.0 Liter, V8.

Straw picking? Hair splitting?

Anyone who has driven a 500 (SL, SEL, SEC) knows that as old fashioned, aluminum big-bloc V8s go, it pulled heroically, if with little drama as witnessed by a low-revving tachometer and mild engine roar.

The 560 engine as witnessed in the SEL sedan not only cut the 0-60 time from mid 8's to high 6's, it would scream like a banshee as it hit the red line.

So, one would figure that the SL - seemingly half the size of the S-Class sedan, less insulated and at least four hundred pounds lighter - would thrill the driver even more by harnessing the 560 powerplant and launching from 0-60 in perhaps six seconds flat with the roar of Wagnerian V8 chorus?

Nein!

The older 500's performance times remain along with the low drama. Sigh.

All that carping aside, the 560SL sure is pretty. About the prettiest boulevardier one could ever hope to buy for a mere $14,900 and to say nothing of getting such a low price for so high an icon.

source > Exotic Motors

BMW M3 Cabriolet

The BMW M3 is one of the world’s best sports coupes, powered by a sumptuous 4-litre V8 engine which chucks out 420bhp. Accelerating from 0-62mph (100kph) in 4.9 seconds, the Bavarian beast rockets to an electronically-limited 155mph.

But BMW wanted to give its customers more choice. So in October last year it revealed the M3 saloon.

Then last week, while the UK was having one of the wettest Januarys on record and experiencing bitter temperatures and gale-force winds, the manufacturers released official details of the BMW M3 convertible.

Click here for more pictures of the new BMW M3 convertible

Using the same rip-roaring V8 seen in the other two models, the topless M3 will do the 62mph dash in 5.1 seconds thanks to its brilliantly complicated semi-automatic gearbox.

These figures are slightly slower than the convertible’s coupe and saloon siblings due to the extra weight of the retractable roof which takes 22 seconds to open or close.

The BMW M3 convertible goes on sale in April with prices starting from £54,655. Watch the German brute in action now.

R35 Nissan GT-R

We’ve seen the new “Japanese Supercar”, the R35 GT-R, on the track, at the ‘Ring, hamming it up on a slalom course and even getting a bit of a buff on the assembly line, but we haven’t seen one on snow-tyres drifting on a winding mountain road and lets face it, we’ve all been wondering when someone would bring that video out. The wait is over, click through to see the GT-R skillfully flicked through the bends on a snow covered road…somewhere cold.

MOTORING FEATURES

Major Morgan – the most British Brit sportscar

The Morgan 4/4 is the definitive British sportscar and holds the record for the longest continuous production of any car.

Stuart Milne says far from being an relic from a bygone age, it's one of the most character-packed cars on the road.

Volkswagen Passat CC Coupe

Volkswagen Passat CC Coupe

Wading into waters infested by the Mercedes CLS, the Porsche Panamera and the upcoming BMW CS, the ‘people’s manufacturer’ has introduced this – the Passat CC Coupe.

A four-door coupe, the new VW Passat CC Coupe is longer and wider than the standard Passat, but is 50mm lower, giving it a sleek, rakish appearance. There’s also a panoramic skylight.

Engines available on launch include the range-topping 3.6-litre FSI producing 296bhp, launching the sexy VW from 0-62mph in 5.6 seconds and on to an electronically limited 155mph top speed.

Cadillac CTS-V

Cadillac CTS-V

The big Caddy is aiming high – the all-new CTS-V has the BMW M5 and Mercedes E63 AMG squarely in its sights, and with a 6.2-litre supercharged V8 pumping out 550bhp, the Yank tank is taking the fight to the Germans.

The new Cadillac CTS-V features massive 15-inch ceramic brakes to haul its bulk to a standstill, while 19-inch alloy wheels and suspension components controlled by magnets ensure the ride should be able to keep up with its European rivals.

BMW X6

BMW X6

Sporting the most powerful engine ever fitted to a BMW X model, the new coupe-SUV X6 will feature a twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre V8 petrol engine developing 400bhp and 450lb/ft of pulling power – meaning the near two-tonne X6 can sprint from 0-62mph in just 5.3 seconds.

Inside, the X6 gets four sculpted seats and a reported luggage space of 25 cubic feet which the manufacturer claims can “store four full-size golf bags in the luggage compartment – even with four people riding in the vehicle.”

Chevrolet Corvette ZR1

The biggest motor show in the US gets a bona-fide bruiser – the new Chevy Corvette ZR1.

The all-American 1500kg heavyweight is powered by a monster 6.2-litre supercharged V8 kicking out 620bhp – enough power to give it claimed cornering forces of 1G.

And the fastest ever Corvette can reach a top speed in excess of 200mph.

Stop by CorvetteGuys.com and check out their large inventory of ZR1 Wheels.

Audi TTS

Audi TTS

Audi has injected the standard TT with steroids to produce this – the range-topping TTS.

Sporting an uprated version of the familiar turbocharged 2-litre petrol engine, also used in the Volkswagen Golf, the new Audi TTS produces 272bhp and 260lbs/ft of pulling power – enough to propel the hot coupe from 0-62mph in just 5.4 seconds.

And Audi has fitted the TTS with four-wheel-drive and special magnetic dampers as standard to ensure the hot TTS can transfer the massive power to the road.

Outside, keen fans will notice the standard 18-inch aluminium wheels and newly styled LED bi-xenon headlights marking the new Audi TTS from its lesser siblings.

Mazda RX-8

Mazda RX-8

Mazda has facelifted its revolutionary RX-8 coupe for 2008, with restyled front and rear bumpers, high quality finish front headlamps, twin circular LED rear lamps, and bigger exhaust pipes.

Mazda has also fitted five-spoke 19-inch wheels, while underneath, the RX-8 gets a new bracing bar for better stability and a lower gear ratio to increase acceleration off the line.

Mitsubishi RA

Mitsubishi RA

This four-wheel-drive ‘Evo-coupe’ features the trademark Mitsubishi electronic driver aids such as Super-All Wheel Control (S-AWC) which is comprised of Active Centre Differential, Active Yaw Control, Sport ABS and Active Stability Control.

But Mitsubishi has opted for a greener engine to power the sexy-new coupe with a 2.2-litre turbo diesel producing 200bhp, meaning the concept RA combines sporting dynamics and low emissions.

Mazda Furai

Mazda Furai

Mazda is pushing the rotary-revolution even further with this – the storming 450bhp Mazda Furai concept.

Using a three-rotor RENESIS rotary engine, the stunning Furai – translated as ‘sound of the wind’ – is built to run on 100 per cent ethanol.

However, a Mazda spokesperson ruled out the possibility of future production of the Furai, stating the car was strictly intended as a design study for future Mazdas.

Lexus LF-A Roadster

Lexus LF-A Roadster

The stunning LF-A Roadster is Lexus’ answer to a fully-blown topless supercar, with a 5-litre V10 engine said to be “capable of more than 500 horsepower and test-track speeds greater than 200 mph.”

But more important is the design of the LF-A Roadster, which features lightweight aluminium and carbon-fibre construction, and stands just 48-inches tall.

Hummer HX

Hummer HX

General Motors rolled out a baby monster on its home turf. The Detroit-based carmaker, which owns the Hummer brand, unveiled this – the Hummer HX.

Three young designers were tasked with conceiving the design of the all-new Hummer, and the HX features a pair of removable roof panels and sloping rear window.

The Hummer HX is fitted with GM’s biofuel engine, which is powered by a corn-based fuel.

Land Rover LRX

Land Rover LRX

One of the stars of the 2008 Detroit Motor Show, the Land Rover LRX follows the likes of the BMW X6 with its four-wheel-drive ability and coupe-like looks.

The Land Rover LRX displayed at Detroit features a 2.0-litre diesel hybrid powertrain with only 120g/kg of CO2 emissions, and a traditional mechanical four-wheel-drive.

Detroit Motor Show 2008

Audi R8 V12 TDi

The undeniable star of the 2008 Detroit Motor Show, the stunning Audi R8 TDi concept features a 6-litre twin-turbocharged V12 diesel engine producing a prodigious 500bhp – 86bhp more than the standard V8 petrol version.

But more important is the torque – the concept Audi R8 V12 TDi has a whopping 737lb/ft of pulling power – more than double the torque of the petrol R8 – slashing the 0-62mph time from 4.6 seconds to 4.2 seconds and a top speed over 186mph

Mazda goes sports extreme

The line between standard and modified blurs at Mazda with its new 3MPS Extreme.



It may just be a concept, for now, but the Mazda3 MPS hints at the potential of the turbocharged four-cylinder hot hatch.

Following its RX-8 turbo and Mazda2 rally cars of recent years, Mazda unveiled the third in its line of ‘extreme’ cars, a tuned, tweaked and turned out Mazda3 MPS.

Based on the top-selling Sports Pack luxury specification, the Mazda3 MPS Extreme has received engine, suspension and exhaust upgrades that improve the performance of the world’s quickest hot-hatch by about twenty per cent.

Modified by Mazda Australia Motorsport Manager, Allan Horsley, this extreme makeover involves an ECU retune that takes power from the standard 190kW up to 210kW at 5300rpm, along with a flood of 425Nm at 4400rpm, about the same as the new Evolution X.

“And there’s even more potential in the engine,” says Horsley.

Other mods include a free-flowing two-inch exhaust system and a sports muffler that free up the turbo and offer a slightly sportier note.

The car’s suspension system has been redesigned by one of Australia’s best suspension tuners, Murray Coote, lowered 25mm for improved handling and a sportier look, and to also help put that increased power down. Zero to 100km/h is expected somewhere around 6.1 seconds.

The lowered body drapes over one-inch larger 19-inch matt finish BBS motorsport alloys with MPS logos, red rim striping and wrapped in 225/35 Dunlop tyres.

Cosmetically, its aggressive look is created by a True Red body colour with matt black stripes, mimicking the white stripes seen on Mazda’s Targa racing cars, and a black roof and rear spoiler. Front MPS stickers on the front accent lines emphasise the bulging bonnet.

Inside the Mazda3 MPS Extreme’s Sports Pack brings black leather trim is accentuated by exclusive red leather trimming. The red theme continues with red highlights in the dash, gear-shift knob and steering wheel and doors trimmings.

“Creating an extreme version of our signature hot-hatch really is a case of making a great car even greater,” says Horsley, the brains behind Mazda Australia’s RX-7 SP and MX-5 SP variants.

“As proof of the standard car’s abilities it finished a stunning tenth outright at this year’s Targa Tasmania rally and first in the event’s Showroom category, needless to say the Mazda3 MPS Extreme lifts the performance bar on an already outstanding vehicle.”

Also making its Australian premiere was the next example of Mazda’s second generation Zoom-Zoom product, the all-new Mazda6 which will go on sale in April 2008 at a price around $30,000.

Mazda’s first seven-seat crossover CX-9 also made its first Sydney motor show appearance with a 3.7-litre V6. It will be on sale by year’s end around $50,000.
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