Porsche.... What the Derp?

California's Roads... so this is what it has come to.

Turn of the Decade Spotlight: Audi

Audi rocked the automotive world when it pulled out it's big gun, the Audi R8. It's sleek, powerful, and deadly-serious. It's the type of car that Batman would have parked in his favorite spot in his underground lair. Even looks a little like a Batmobile too, slightly reminiscent of a stealth fighter jet.

Its showcase color is the classic Audi glossy black, with massive carbon fiber panels that screams "I'm a fast, rich f***er and there's nothing you can do about it," at you. If you pop the hood (in this case, the trunk), you are greeted either with a 4.2 V8 making 420 hp, or a meaty 5.2 V10 belting out 525 hp. That's enough power to get you from 0-60 in 4.74 or 3.8 seconds respectively. And mated to those beastly engines is Audi's famed Quattro drive system, sending 420/525 hp to the front and rear wheels. Buyer has option of a 6 speed manual, or a 6 speed R tronic automatic transmission.

So what can all this power do, especially stacked against super car competitors? Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson took it upon himself to find out.

And again, with a ZR1:

So it boils down to this: a slow car in a straight line, but a bolt of lightning on the track. A car that is pleasing to the eye yet lacking something. A car that has the capability to be luxurious, but all of it locked out to options. Personally, it's refreshing to have something not a Lamborghini or a Ferrari stuck to a teenage gear-head's wall. It is elegant and refined, with the power, speed, and handling to stick it to any other car it likes without needing a 8.0L W16 quad-charged engine to do it. But the side panels? Those need some major cosmetic help.

Car of the Decade Nominations

4thGear Authors will be nominating cars for the "Car of the Decade" title and a Automotive Company for the "Company of the Decade" title. We will be accounting everything from sheer performance, to the symbolic value the nominations have to the 2000's decade. After our nominations we will post up a poll to see which car/company you think deserves the title. May the best Car/Company win.

J.Ma On: Honda CR-Z

As we know, the Honda CRX was a great classic. It was marked as a economic sports hatchback back in the 85's. In the 1989 Honda CRX model, fueleconomy.gov rates the Honda CRX as 41/50, which is very fuel economic. Even the Prius only gets a 48/45. The amazing aspect is that the Honda CRZ was not in any way designed to be a hybrid of some sort. I guess now we know why we're being screwed over by our modern heavy gas drinking cars.

Now another example, the 2010 Honda Insight is designed to be a hybrid. But it only achieves a not-as-pro 41/43. Despite its aluminium unibody, it still is not as good a Prius, and possibly the CRX.

So what does the CRX and the Insight give you? Well, say hello to the new 2010 CR-Z.


Being brutally honest, it's MPG is not even close to the CRX or the Insight. it only has a 31/37 (6-speed manual model), which doesn't even touch the 4's digit yet (even the CVT model). However, Honda claims that this car is a sporty hybrid. So have they done that? Possibly.

Lets take a look at the image of the CR-Z above. It's not exactly horrible, now is it? It does have this futuristic sense to it. The CR-Z's two door look gives it a sporty feeling, and that low, sleek body does seem to give the CR-Z a sharp look. Well, how about the interior?






That dashboard does look extremely futuristic with all those bright blue LED lights, but otherwise, nothing too special.

The Honda CR-Z comes with a set of delightful modes. There are three modes to choose from: Normal, Sport, and Economic. All these three (blue) buttons are located to the left of the wheel.


What's the point of this? Well, lets take an example. You're stuck in traffic and you have Normal mode on. Well, just press the Economic button, and the engine's responsiveness and fuel intake is turned to optimal economy, since you wont be moving much anyways. Now saw the traffic starts to clear up, and you want to reach some triple digits. Well, just press the Sports button, and the CR-Z will be flying... with its 122 horses.

Despite the Honda CR-Z as a "slow" sports car, there is a possibility that Honda will create a Type R version of this car with a beefed up 200 mph. So for now, if you consider hitting 100 mph on the streets fast, then this is the hybrid car for you. If not, wait for the Type R version (or Si). Bottom line is though, this car is just brilliant. It's a geeky hybrid. It passes as a decent hatchback. And what a wise choice for Honda as well. Since the drop of the S2000, the Civic Si is possibly the only sports car that Honda produces at this time. However, with the CR-Z, they just might be able to climb back into the sports car industry.


Now, lets hope Toyota can do the same.

**Images courtesy of motortrend.com and carbodydesign.com

I finally got a poll up! So every time you see this arrow, there is a new poll!

2013 Nissan GT-R R36 Sneak Peek

It has been confirmed by Nissan's President that Nissan will be rolling out a completely revised GT-R; dubbed R-36. Rumors say even with some financial trouble, the R-36 project is still on track.

GM's Come-Back Car: The Malibu

Ahhh yes, another failed attempt to make a comfortable mid-sized sedan from Government Motors... but not so fast... could it be?

At first glance the car is very modern looking, it radiates comfort and style. Hmmm... where have we heard of that before? Maybe Japanese cars?

The Chevy Malibu first appeared in 1964, with its first generation Malibu. It continued to what you see today, the 7th generation. I'm actually quite astonished when I first saw this car; I had to give it a walk around to actually take it in, this is an American made car! GM finally built something that is pleasing and something highly comparable to its foreign competition. Because for a long time, american cars have been the ugliest and dysfunctional cars in the world. I would go onto Youtube and read comments like "Be American, Buy American." now the MAJOR issue in that idea is that why should I buy a poorly designed car when I spend a little more and get a import car that gets better gas mileage and better looks.

I'm happy to say that the long wait is over, it costed GM bankruptcy to turn things around. The Chevy Malibu comes in 4 trims- LS, 1LT, 2LT, and the LTZ. The base set-up is a 2.4L in-line 4 cylinder engine that produces 169 horsepower. With a pretty efficient 22/30 (city/highway) MPG, this car proves its worth. This car also supports a 3.5L V6 that produces 217 horsepower.

Although the Malibu weighs about 3,500 pounds, the in-line four-cylinder version reaches 60mph in less than 10 seconds. The 3.5L V6 version reaches 60 mph in just 6.6 seconds.

Take a look at the graph (click):


So far the car is doing very well, even against the stacked competition coming from Ford and Japanese imports. People liked the car so much that Kelley Blue Book awarded the 2008 Malibu the 2008 Best Redesigned Vehicle Award. Edmund's Car review repeatedly praised the cars new and fresh interior, that feels and looks luxurious. GM also boasts its 100k miles/ 5 year warranty trying to attract customers in making the "switch".