Click for Larger Image

Price: $52,425
Major equipment: : Premium Plus Package — bi-xenon headlamps, LED running lamps, auto-dim side mirrors, 18-inch wheels ($1,500)

In the fleet: 6/23/2009 - 6/29/2009

Approximate mileage driven: 750, including 30ish laps of Nelson Ledges Road Course

J. BARUTH: Johan de Nysschen, Audi’s dashing head honcho here in the United States, has repeatedly stated his desire to move Audi into pole prestige position among German luxury brands. Consider this supercharged A6 a toe dipped into the water. At more than fifty-two grand, this midsizer is priced head-ups with the BMW 535xi and just three grand short of a V-8 Mercedes E550. That’s pretty rarefied air, but in the “Premium Plus” trim sampled here, the A6 is decidedly short of equipment. There’s no navigation system, no backup screen, no keyless entry, and no flappy paddles on the steering wheel. Those of who are fans of mid-Eighties Buicks — and who isn’t? — will recognize this as “Custom” trim, rather than “Limited”.

This sedan’s a little light on the goodies, but it does have one feature to pique our collective interest: Audi’s new supercharged six-cylinder, debuting here ahead of its arrival in the upcoming S4 and revamped S5 models. For A6 duty, the engine is tuned to deliver a round 300 horsepower, just about what the previous-generation A6 4.2 turned out and well above the power level of the previous 2.7T twin-turbo V-6. Did we mention it was supercharged? Yes we did. So why is is a “3.0T”? Who knows? Audi is positioning it as a performance model, however, so we took it to the fastest road course on the East Coast to find out just how it performs.

Continue reading Speed Read: 2009 Audi A6 3.0T Quattro

Last night I attended the premiere of the new film “Raptor - Born in Baja” which is a joint production between Ford Motor Company and Brentwood Communications. The premiere was held at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood and it came complete with a few celebrities and a red carpet that covered a makeshift dirt entrance. The movie was certainly intriguing; telling the story of the Raptor team and their quest to build and race the truck in the Baja 1000. However the truck itself was the most interesting part of the night.

  Continue reading Ford SVT Raptor - Born in Baja Premiere

Photographs by Jack Baruth

It would be poetic to say that the return of the Great American Sedan was announced as the speedometer of the 2010 Taurus SHO swept past the one-hundred-and-twenty-mile-per-hour mark with the insouciant prowess of a young Mark McGwire taking practice swings in the batter’s box. And it would be more than delightful to describe the way this big sedan trail-braked into an off-camber hairpin, smoking in sideways and providing my dry-heaving fellow member of The Press As A Whole the most panoramic view possible of the Great Smoky Mountains above the spectacular dashboard and sculpted bonnet while the steering spoke to me with crystalline clarity and the transmission snapped off two flawless downshifts. Or I could describe how, on a hill so steep walking it would be a challenge, the twin-turbo SHO squeaked its front tires for a nearly imperceptible moment before swapping drive to the back wheels and rocketing us up the slope with the force of a small-block Chevy.

The truth of the matter, however, is that I knew everything I needed to know about the 2010 Taurus when I was handed a floppy-looking interior door skin.

Continue reading 2010 Ford Taurus and Taurus SHO — The return of the great American sedan.

It seems that just about every time I turn the TV on these days, I’m flooded with images of violence and terroristic activity going on all around the world.  With attacks becoming more and more common, people from all walks of life are trying to stay as protected as possible.  In some cases, this means turning an everyday vehicle into a rolling tank capable of withstanding gunfire, mines and in some instances, rocket attacks. 

One company that specializes in these insane transformations is the Texas Armoring Corporation in San Antonio, TX.  TAC has been building armored vehicles for its customers for the better part of 30 years, and has worked on everything from old-school Cadillacs to the Bentley Flying Spur that was in the shop during our visit.   Simply tell the experts at TAC what you want to be able to protect yourself from, and they’ll develop a completely custom armor solution built around whatever vehicle you bring to them. 

Check out our videos after the jump to see how TAC can take your car and turn it into something from the likes of a James Bond film.

Continue reading A Visit to the Texas Armoring Corporation

Every once in a great while, one comes across a writer with a truly unique voice. Cherise LaPine Grueninger is one of those writers. Unfortunately, she and I spent the first few years of our acquaintance sparring over various issues related to auto enthusiasm in general and the VW hobby in particular. I’m pleased to state that we have now resolved these issues, almost entirely through a rather craven capitulation on my part, and that as a result Cherise will now be contributing to S:S:L on a recurring basis. Please make her welcome in this, her first column, as she details her love affair with a second-generation VW Golf — jb

Story by Cherise LaPine Grueninger

I come from VWvortex, where “speed” and “sport” fall by the wayside in pursuit of “life,” and maintaining the illusion of such.

As a contributor to said site, I was dazzled by the privileges granted to the motoring media. Press cars are fabulous and I’ve driven my share, through generosity, negotiation and subterfuge. A long-termer is even better—it’s always there when it’s needed, insurance is covered by the manufacturer, and just when it’s worn out its welcome, it’s spirited away and something new comes along as a replacement. It’s no wonder that some autojournos allow the reflected glory of a freebie-laden lifestyle to plump their vanity more than a little bit.

I’m vain as well, though not beyond my means—I’ve been a slave to second-generation Jettas and Golfs for ten years, always interested in the relationship that develops between a car and its owner, a relationship that’s impossible when cars are whisked in and out so frequently they’re nearly indistinguishable. So for the past few years, I wrote most of VWvortex’s features, a wholly unglamorous role that afforded me the luxury and pleasure of exploring these dynamics in depth. And thus, I consider myself proficient at the “life” component of our shared affliction of car love—that is, owning a particular car. The type of ownership that requires maintenance and insurance. True ownership is an emotional investment as much as a financial one; a fleeting sense of pride is its sought-after payoff.
Continue reading Promises To Keep: Adventures In Mk2 Ownership

So, you watched Travis Pastrana in his Subaru at the X Games and now you’re convinced that you can get your Mom’s Outback at least six feet off the ground if you were just given a dirt jump and the chance.  Well, it’s time to put down your PS3 game controller, turn off MotorStorm, and borrow a helmet.  Rallycross is the closest thing you’re probably going to get to the X games without any money or talent. 

Rallycross is similar to the more popular autocross, based on the fact that there is one car out on the course at a time racing against the clock.  The course is delineated by cones in a large empty area.  The important difference is that Rallycross is a race on dirt.  Yes, you and your car will get dirty.  The other main difference between the two sports is your autocross time is based on your single fastest lap around the track (like qualifying), whereas Rallycross is set up like a stage rally.  Each lap is a separate stage, and each stage counts toward your total and final time. 

As a total newb, I made the mistake of blowing a muddy corner at a Rallycross and sliding off the racecourse.  I had to go into reverse (once I finally found it, Goddamn Volkswagen!) to get back on the track.  I lost a crap load of time farting with the tranny, but since I was a seasoned autocrosser, I really didn’t care.  “I’ll get ‘em on the next lap,” I said -wrong!  That was when I learned the all important lesson about Rallycross, every lap/stage counts.  Just like in the bigs, like in the WRC.

Continue reading Racer Boy: Rallycrossing, “Let’s get dirty, Baby!”

In a recent column, I detailed my experience driving the Switzer P800 Nissan GT-R. This outrageously powerful vehicle was as fast as any reasonable person could possibly want… but there was something missing. What was it? Perhaps it was the frisson of complete and utter terror. If that little chill is what you seek, Switzer is now ready to provide it in their “P800″ conversion for the Porsche GT2.

Continue reading If 800 Horsepower Was Fun Before, Imagine It In A Car That Wants To Kill You!

Price: $22,165
Major equipment: 2.5-liter Duratec four-cylinder, six-speed manual transmission, sunroof, SYNC, autodim rear-view mirror.

In the fleet: 5/15/2009 - 5/22/2009

Approximate mileage driven: 450

J. BARUTH: Remember all the things we used to love about “foreign” sedans back in the dino-sized Big Three days of the Eighties? They were good-looking, reasonably-sized, fuel-efficient vehicles that offered manual transmissions, interesting equipment, decent handling, and bulletproof durability.

So now here we are in 2009, and the average “Camcord” is a bloated, cost-conscious, automatic-transmission sled. Meanwhile, Ford has a car that reminds us more than any current mainstream Japanese sedan of what those great Accords and Stanzas used to be like. It’s not overtly sporty, the convincing-looking wheel covers aside, but it’s an acceptably rapid, very spacious, rather pleasant conveyance. To make things more interesting, you can now choose the option of a six-speed manual transmission to help the 175-horsepower Duratec kick the Fusion down the road.

Continue reading Speed Read: 2010 Ford Fusion SE 6-speed

Carl Modesette: The thought hit me somewhere along the lazy, post-rush-hour, 12-mile drive home from picking up the 2009 Challenger SRT-8: “This may be the last fun car Dodge, as we know it, ever makes.”  It’s not exactly the kind of thought that cheers you up, but, as Barney Stinson so wisely admonishes on How I Met Your Mother: “When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead.”  And how to be awesome instead in a 425 horsepower car?  Drop 3 gears and flatten the accelerator, of course.

Continue reading Speed Read: Challenger is Challenging

Everyone knows what the term midlife crisis means and the type of car that often accompanies it. I am not at this stage in my life (yet), but I have happened upon a term/concept which I find quite amusing - the quarterlife crisis. Many folks under forty are finding themselves in an area of life when you no longer need just a point A-point B commuter car, it can be something more exciting. However, the true quarterlife crisis person cannot afford fancy German marquees or luxury American cars with three-letter names. This calls for something with plenty of push under the hood mixed with hints of econobox-styling inside to keep the price lower. Say hello to the 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution GSR and welcome to the jungle, this car is fun and games.

Continue reading Road Tested: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution GSR