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The Best-Handling Car in America for Less Than $100K – Feature – Car and Driver
November 8, 2011 | Author ratoxuha
As it relates to cars, the term “handling” is as loosely defined as “talent” is in the music biz. We’d probably all agree that, in both cases, some players have more than others, but the justifications as to why often tend toward the abstract.
Throughout these 10 pages, however, we will endeavor to give shape to this nebulous concept. We’ll carefully scrutinize and dissect the intricacies of what usually is listed simply as a 10-point category called “handling” in our comparison-test scoring, one that often doesn’t get a whole lot of explanation. This time, nothing else matters.
May 2011 – Table of Contents – Auto Reviews – Car and Driver
October 7, 2011 | Author ratoxuha
COMPARISON TESTS Startup Sedans: Five perfectly respectable rides for up-and-comers establish a new standard for compact sedans.
Tanked Up: Unraveling the hybrid-versus-diesel quandary with help from two expensive Touaregs.
Family Planning: Minivans throw fashion to the wind. But nothing can match their kid-hauling utility.
Chasing Tail: We take three new sports coupes over the Tail of the Dragon’s legendary switchbacks.
Considerations for New Car Insurance
August 31, 2011 | Author ratoxuha
If you have an experience of insuring an old and used car, you might have an idea on how auto insurances work. Insuring a new car is quite different from that of insuring a used car because the need for each car differs. There are certain requirements that auto insurance companies have for their consumers.
People who will purchase insurance for a new car will likely be given higher auto insurance rates than those with a used car. Also, some car owners purchase their cars through loans. Thus, lenders will require you a higher standard for insurance to protect the amount they lend you. New car owners should abide to these requirements so that their auto loans will be approved.
Lenders often require you to have an insurance which will cover the amount similar to what you have loaned. Gap or full coverage insurances are the two common forms of insurances that your lenders require. The amount that you will pay for your insurance is sometimes included to the total auto loan that you will make.
A full coverage insurance offer bigger protection and coverage for your new car once it is accidentally damaged or stolen. Gap insurances are an insurance plan where the amount of your car and the remaining amount of your loan will be likely covered.
Insurances are very important and should always be considered by new car owners. Auto-related accidents can lead to expenses beyond a thousand dollars. Auto insurances will give you the protection that you need for your new car. You can save more of your money.
Looking for the best auto insurance for your new car is quite difficult. But there are several techniques that you can employ in looking for your new car insurances. The best thing you can do is to look around. One common error that consumers often do is to settle to what they immediately see. Insurances can be found anywhere. Some auto insurance companies also offer free consultations based on your new car’s model and needs. They also give free assessment which you can use to compare different auto insurance rates.
Another option which insurance experts suggest is to be honest and always tell the truth in purchasing your insurance. Insurance companies will soon detect if your submitted record is valid or not. Reasonable and affordable auto insurance rates can be yours when they found insurances that are proportional to your needs and driving records.
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2003 Nissan Z – First Drive Review – Auto Reviews – Car and Driver
July 7, 2011 | Author ratoxuha
Nissan has the worst luck with timing. The company introduced its last 300ZX and 300ZX Turbo models for 1990, shortly before the sports-car market — and the economy — began to crash-dive. Now, just back from its honeymoon with Renault, Nissan has previewed a brave new Z-car that will likely be available in both coupe and convertible forms. Although it’s not scheduled to show up until midway through 2002, all the current economic indicators suggest we’re about to slip into another downturn.
It doesn’t necessarily follow that the new Z-car will tank, but you have to feel for these guys — particularly after seeing what a cool little car it is. The company’s American design office in La Jolla, California, which is now called Nissan Design America, gets credit for the car. The Z concept shown here suggests the new car will return to the compact dimensions and volumes of the earliest Z-cars, while carrying design cues from both the early 240Z and recent 300ZX series. Its very stubby length-to-track relationship gives this new Z a stance as squat as a snowboard boot and makes it resemble the Audi TT. The headlights and the hood are reminiscent of Toyota’s Celica because of the accent lines and the peeled-back lenses, but the car’s general look is very much its own — particularly the rear deck, which follows the steep roofline and then drops in two distinct stages. The chief designer of Nissan’s Red Studio at NDA, Diane Allen, says the deck shape is aerodynamically sound and requires neither a static nor articulating spoiler.
Despite a deliberate attempt to evoke the previous 300ZX’s C-pillar, the designers have provided a totally contemporary flavor to the overall appearance. According to Nissan’s design director, Shiro Nakamura, the new Z was specifically intended not to be a retro design. "It’s a new interpretation of the Z-car," he said, "and we believe it will exceed customers’ expectations." Nakamura also cites something called "Z DNA," which he says is the combination of passion, performance, and practicality that has always driven the Nissan Z-car designs of the past. With the new car, he hopes those virtues can be combined with the practical side of everyday ownership — durability, comfort, utility, and low maintenance. With a price target believed to be less than $30,000, the new Z looks poised to test that assumption. Designed from the outset to be a convertible as well as a true hatchback coupe, we hear tell that the new Z may be launched simultaneously in both forms.
When it arrives, the new Z will be powered by a more highly tuned version of the so-called VQ35DE 3.5-liter V-6 engine now found in the Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti QX4 SUVs. Expected to produce 260 or so horsepower when hooked to a manual transmission — the Z (which is unlikely to wear an alphanumeric label such as 350Z or 350ZX) will undoubtedly offer a broad spread of torque throughout its range. After all, the Pathfinder already boasts 250 hp at 6000 rpm (240 with an automatic transmission), and there’s clearly more to be had without compromising the current engine’s excellent torque spread. Right now the boffins at Nissan are saying the new Z will be good for a 0-to-60 time of less than six seconds, and that looks entirely feasible if the show car’s meaty tires — 275/35 rear, 255/35 front — and 20-inch wheels (or something comparable to them) make it into production. The power will reach the 35-series rear tires via a six-speed manual or five-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission, which will probably have some kind of manumatic override system. In the show car, the shifter is located in a ramp-shaped center console that evokes the previous-generation 300ZX’s cockpit.
In this particular show vehicle, the interior design is highly stylized, and we expect that the production vehicles will follow the general themes explored here. Although the motorcycle-style speedometer and tach are suitably contemporary, the three gauge pods in the center console reiterate the look of the original 240Z design. Despite its clean minimalism, the dash allows for the inclusion of a navigation-system display panel. Once seated in the new Z, a driver quickly appreciates that this is not a two-plus-two design. The roofline dives abruptly from a point just behind the driver’s head, and the interior is as snug as that of an old air-cooled Porsche 911. According to Allen, the design team deliberately rejected the idea of long doors to avoid any suggestion that there was access to rear seats. "The cabin is purposely selfish," she says. So, instead of rear seats, this Z sports a silver-colored luggage compartment with prominent longitudinal ribs. Also prominent is an aluminum strut-tower brace, complete with Z logo, that bridges the wheel housings and is clearly visible through the rear window. "It’s like looking at jewelry through a display case," says Allen. In this Detroit-debut show car, the seats are aggressively bolstered units in a saddle color that contrasts sharply with the high-tech silver and black interior panels. As in Ferrari’s 360, the center console is a cast aluminum piece, and the door vents are similarly metallic.
It is unlikely that there will ever be a turbocharged version of Nissan’s new Z, or a four-wheel-steer model as there was in the previous generation. And there is no word yet whether high-tech gadgetry such as stability control or a variable suspension will ever be brought on board. Our guess is that Nissan will keep it simple this time. If it does, the car will be sticking with the original Z concept. Hey, there wasn’t much wrong with that.
Article source: http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/car/01q1/2003_nissan_z-first_drive_review