Lord Byron — The Good Ship Toyota

I don’t care about Toyota.  I haven’t for years. I’ve observed their place in the market and even expressed some degree of interest in a very small handful of their offerings over the last decade, but I’ve never really thought much of them one way or another. That may become a somewhat difficult assertion to defend after the next thousand words or so, but take my word for it.

See, many car enthusiasts care a great deal about Toyota. They’re the ones who take every opportunity to tell you how awful their cars are, how dreadfully overrated they are, and how lifeless and soulless and dishwasher-like they are. They tell you how cheap and how poorly-engineered they are. You want a Prius? This guy tells you to get a used Jetta TDI. Your mom wants a nice, reliable Camry? Tell her to get a Volvo! You like the old MR2s? Wise up and get a 944. You want a MkIV Supra turbo? Supercharge an old F-Body for 1/3 of the price.

It’s the same thing, you know, just without all that Japanese suck.

Continue reading Lord Byron — The Good Ship Toyota

2010 NAIAS Preview: 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe

Cadillac has been winning the hearts of the S:S:L staff here lately with the fantastic CTS, CTS-V and SRX models they’ve brought to market over the last couple of years.  Cadillac is expanding their already great product portfolio for 2010 with the 2011 CTS Coupe which was shown at the LA Auto Show, and this new CTS-V Coupe variant which will debut next week at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show. 

While we have seen the CTS-V sedan (and Jack Baruth) in action on the race track, the CTS-V Coupe takes that same pavement shredding performance and packages it in a sexier body.  The rear track has been widened by an inch over the sedan, but most everything else is a carryover from the sedan model.  Power of course comes from the 556-horsepower supercharged LSA V8, mated to either a six-speed manual or an automatic transmission. 

Pricing has not been announced yet, but Cadillac promises the CTS-V Coupe will be showing up at dealers in the early Summer.  Look for continued coverage of the 2010 Detroit Auto Show here next week as our crack team hits the grounds of Cobo Hall on Monday January 11th. 

-->