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Welcome to Nutty Reviews! (And Musings ... personal articles from a Car Nut)
This section features detailed and enlightening
reviews of the best cars produced from this day, and also some
classics we may have forgotten about. My goal is to make you
feel as though you are in the cockpit, hitting the rev limiter and
smelling the leather (or air fresheners in those classics)--but
beware, after reading my reviews you may just go out and buy some of
these gems.
REVIEWS:
Dodge Ram Thunder Road
The first
thing I noticed when stepping (or should I say climbing) into the
new Thunder Road from Dodge was the view. This thing sits way
up, but I suppose most trucks have this quality, don't they?
Conceptually, the Thunder Road is Dodge's answer to the F150 Harley
Davidson edition, with a taste of the Lightening. I did not
know what to expect when I cranked the pushrod engine to life, but I
can tell you I did not expect such a nice rumble! If this is
any indication of what Dodge's new 5.7 liter Hemi has in store for
me, I had better buckle up right now. Now, before I get ahead
of myself here, let me briefly go into some details on the exterior
that set this aside from your run-of-the-mill Ram pickup.
First, how about the stock gargantuan 20" chrome wheel and tire
combo (umm, wonder if that contributes to the aforementioned
height)? There are some tastefully done side skirts and ground
effects, and a nice color coded cover for the rear bed. The
Thunder Road comes in a four door version only, and overall has a
very imposing disposition.
Okay, back to the inside and that rumble. My
friend Don was nice enough to let me drive this monster, which he
had just purchased two days and 115 miles ago. The interior
still had that intoxicating new car smell - in this cockpit a mixture
of plush leather, new carpet, and other factors which contribute to
that irreplaceable scent! Speaking of leather, the seats it
was covering were very accommodating, especially for a six and a
half footer like myself. One thing that was a bit
disconcerting was the rear seats, which I wish were bucket like the
front (one view into the Harley F150 and you will see what I'm
talking about).
It was a clear, dry June afternoon, yet something
about this test drive felt restrictive. As Don and I began our
journey, I reminded myself of the usual break-in periods for high
horsepower V-8's - about 500 miles. Well, at 340 hp the Hemi
definitely falls into the high hp category, so a glance down to the
odometer sadly revealed the obvious - I must not drive it like I just
stole it! We first took a leisurely cruise to get a bite to
eat, and once my stomach was full, it was time to fully experience
what this Hemi had to offer. After some half throttle punches,
I noticed the tachometer had no redline indicator. At the same
time, Don commented that tachometers on automatics were
worthless. Well, as I grabbed the column mounted gear selector
and threw it into D1 at the next light, it became quite apparent why
one would want a tach, after a few quick, nasty blips to D2 and
D! I worked the gears somewhat aggressively, shifting at about
5000 rpm, but soon realized this beast was designed to be left in
D. At the next light, I decided to give her a full throttle
run, and what happened next surprised even this car nut! This
Hemi likes to rev! (and it's owner likes to giggle, as a young
teen would do when running his pop's Buick). The 5900 rpm
shift point came MUCH quicker than anticipated. This is a good
sign--well done Dodge. I'll have some hard numbers as soon as
I can convince Don to take her to the track!
Mini Review: Mazda RX-8
The burning question was, could this 4 door "sports car" (Ha)
fit a 6'5" 210 lb youngster, and what was the feel of this new
machine from Mazda? Should we be worried? Well, with 250
hp and a quarter-mile time in the mid 14's, we can rest easy.
Amazingly, after many adjust- ments, I fit just fine into the
cockpit--but, instantly this RX-8 was converted into a
3-seater. The shifter was in current theme with the
350Z--short, and the tach was center mounted, proudly showing the
9000 rpm redline. Now the real test--the back seat! The
suicide doors were well done and access to the rear was not as bad
as expected. I put the passenger seat half way forward, and
crawled to the back. Oh my gosh, my head did not hit! It
was actually pretty cool back there! I'll have to go
back soon and pretend to be a buyer--I just have to hit 9000
rpm once before I die...
2002 BMW M3 Convertible
The
anticipation was building--I was only hours away from driving the
one of the famed M3's. And, just not any M3, but the newest
iteration from BMW, which is regarded as the cream of the crop, with
both performance and technological enhancements. This goes
without saying, of course, as the BMW's have been successful in
their racing endeavors, and have tapped into this for their current
M3. The M3's intake setup, along with it's ability to extract
333 hp and attain an 8000 rpm redline from the H6 are perfect
examples, just to name a very few.
A few months
back at the gym, I peered my eyes into the interior of an
unsuspecting fellow weightlifter who was exiting his '01 M3.
"Wow", I told him, "that interior is beautiful and just invites you
to settle in and thrash that H6 to it's 8000 rpm redline!"
That experience combined with numerous readings and reviews of the
M3 had my blood flowing--admittedly, my expectations were
high. So, this next sentence may come as a surprise, but the
interior was a disappointment. Sure, most of the ergonomic
concerns were addressed, and the quality of materials were spot on,
but the seating situation left a lot to be desired. The seat
bottom was hard, and the thigh supports were intrusive. So I
thought, after looking at the side of the seat and seeing numerous
power adjustments, this can be easily fixed. After fiddling
for what seemed like much longer than it should take, I gave up and
decided to lose myself in the high notes of the
exhaust.
Out of habit, I tend to somewhat
aggressively push the shift lever in manuals hard to the left,
before pushing it to first. This may be a habit from my days
of tight short shifters, and it has never been a problem before,
until now. On no less than 3 occasions, I almost put the car
into reverse, as this gear is conveniently positioned up and over to
the left, right next to first. Okay, no big deal--time
familiarizing myself with the nuances of any new car will alleviate
certain fallacies, this one included. But, the loose, spongy
shifter is there to stay. Not very precise in my book, but of
course this book has some chapters with race inspired short-shifters
in it.
Once firmly in first, I amusingly watched the lights
on the tach countdown the warm-up procedure - I must say, this is the
coolest feature. As engine temperatures reach their optimal
levels, the yellow lights on the tach disappear one by one,
gradually letting you know when you can approach that magical 8000
mark. So, I patiently waited, hesitant to exceed the yellow
watch-guards. Then, alas, there was only one yellow hash mark
remaining. I'll take it - 7500 here I come! I nailed the
throttle, did a quick shift into 2nd (I think the tires chirped),
then backed off as a 45 degree bank was approaching.
Umm...that didn't feel like a 13 second car. I was then
advised by my co-pilot that the convertibles were slower - high
13's. Okay, but I still could not get over that exhaust
note--did I mention that? Take a tin can, put a few marbles in
it, and shake, vigorously. Let's call it an exotic VTEC
sound...Not very appealing, I know. But, my rumbling V-8 blood
raises the bar for these sports-car wannabe's. So, when one
does not produce, the judgment could be deemed as harsh. As a
suggestion, please don't enter the market claiming to be a sports
car, if said car has a tinny exhaust note, rubbery shifter,
sedan-like seats, and an engine that has no zip below 5000
rpm. At the end of the ride, my co-pilot mentioned that was
the best shifting he had experienced as a passenger. As I
drove home from the testing facility (car dealer), I reflected on
what Rob had said, and thought, "with 100 horsepower less than my
default, sure the shifting was smooth and easy..."
MUSINGS:
Car Junkie
Cars...oh how they shape
our lives. They are a time line of growing up, each evolving
as your personality changes. True, for many people they are a
means to get from A to B, but I have a feeling that you would not be
reading this site if you did not fall into that other
category - one I like to call a car junkie. Perhaps your needle
is that gas pedal, or maybe those tires you constantly shine.
What ever your fix, denial is your enemy...liberate!, and come
clean.
You should no longer be ashamed that most of the
pictures in your personal photo album are of your car(s), maybe even
in chronological order from youth to mid-20's carelessness
to parenthood to the 40's "crisis" to (insert
stage here)... And sure, some of the family pictures do have your
favorite vehicle in the backdrop, but that is common, isn't
it? I'm finished now. My job is done, and I hope you
feel a little less guilty - not as hopeless knowing you have
company. Now is a good time to take a break, open the garage
door, and do what us junkie's do...stare, admire, and dream...
Thank you all.
Doug Barton
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