2011 Ford Explorer reviewed by txGarage
In the time leading up to us reviewing the 2011 Ford Explorer, I was already quite excited about it. All Ford products we’ve driven in the last few years have been getting better and better and there is no getting away from the fact that this is one nice looking SUV. Continue reading
2011 Mitsubishi Outlander GT reviewed by txGarage
A car manufacture tries to instill in his brand a certain look and feel to help distinguish that brand from many others in the market. The idea is to have a consumer instantly recognize that vehicle as being a part of the brand, even if they couldn’t see the badging on the car. This is a good thing to strive for as a company, but it also helps progress the design and style of cars over the world. Where these ides sometimes go awry is when a manufacture is so dedicated to it’s design that it crosses car design with SUV design, or truck design with car. Two big examples are the Porsche Cayenne and the first design of the Ford Fusion. In Porsche’s case, the Cayenne is made to look like a huge 911, and it’s never really worked. In Ford’s case, they tried implementing their trucks “three bar” grille design into a car. Although the Fusion isn’t a terribly ugly car, I would say that keeping a distinguished design like the one found in the new Focus is a better way to go. Continue reading
2011 Toyota FJ Cruiser reviewed by txGarage
Living in Texas, even in a big city, everyone inevitably has the need for something that will do a little off-roading now and then. Whether it’s a trip to the beach, hauling friends to a camping site, or driving down a friends “driveway”, you’ll need something a little more than your ordinary sedan. This is one big reason SUVs and trucks are so popular in Texas; because they work.
On first site, this army green FJ Cruiser looks like a military vehicle. It’s tall with a short wheelbase, everything you’d be looking for in a true off-roader. So after a week of driving it around town and a few trails, what do me make of the FJ Cruiser? Continue reading
2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart by txGarage
The Mitsubishi Lancer has been around for a while now, and even though it didn’t start out being sold in the American market, it has always been the platform for Mitsubishi’s halo car; the Evolution. When I was in high school, I had a friend who owned a Mitsubishi Mirage, yeah remember those, that had a body kit to look like the Japanese only Evo. My first experience seeing a true Evo was also in high school. I knew this one was the real deal mostly because it was right-hand drive. Needless to say, even though we didn’t get the Evo in America, it was still a very popular car. So popular that Mitsubishi finally decided to bring the Lancer and the Evo to the United States in 2003. This was the eighth generation of the Evo, so you see that Mitsubishi took it’s time. Continue reading
The 2010 Toyota 4Runner
The fifth generation Toyota 4Runner was unveiled, for the first time, back at the 2009 State Fair of Texas. What better state to do it? We where there to bring you the details of this unveiling, along with some other great new cars at the State Fair. Now, we have had the chance to drive the new 4Runner and let you know how it stacks up. Continue reading
2010 Suzuki SportBack
Back in 2007, Suzuki was ready to make some changes in the American market. They were tired of being known for having Daewoo rebadged cars that were low-budget and low-income driven. At the same time, a little car being sold in Japan and across Europe had been winning praises and prizes. Suzuki was ready to develop a new car to compete in the World Rally Championship and to compete in the U.S. market. They developed the SX4 (Sports Crossover 4-Wheel Drive) beginning from the ground up using their gained knowledge from the Swift and other cars developed in Japan. This was truly a move in the right direction for Suzuki. The SX4 became the most affordable AWD vehicle sold in America, and is a great little car. Many people who bought these cars began to modify them along the lines of Suzuki’s WRC car, including us. In 2008, we helped build and design a Suzuki SX4 for a local dealer as a show car. We worked with a company named Road Race Motorsports (www.roadracemotorsports.com) for a lot of aftermarket parts for our SX4. Road Race is one of the only companies that make aftermarket parts for Suzuki and they have built many show cars and concept cars for Suzuki. This SX4 underwent many changes including a body kit, wheels, suspension, turbo, exhaust, and more! All in all, with the money we put into the car we ended up with a $30,000 machine. The SX4 was a good platform to start from as the chassis is set up for rally racing and the AWD system was top notch, but after spending the money we would much rather have had a Subaru STI or Mitsubishi Evo for the performance we saw. Don’t get me wrong, the car was fun, but not as great as these cars, yet owners loved the car we built and were ready to invest into making their Suzuki like ours. So many owners, in fact, that Suzuki decided to step up and build a more sporty SX4 themselves. Continue reading
2010 Toyota Venza
Sometimes you just don’t have a good day. Something happens in the morning that puts you behind schedule, or someone makes a comment that bugs you all day. Sometimes your bad day can turn into a bad week and sometimes your bad week can turn into a bad month. You never really know what the future brings. All you do know is that you want all these bad things to just stop so your life can start over again. This is how Toyota must be feeling. Toyota is just not having a good year so far. As far as I can tell here, they have had to issue at least 4 recalls in the past few months and have had to terminate selling certain vehicles all together. When they are in the news, it’s most certainly bad news and now when you think of the brand you no longer think superior quality. We are keeping all of this out of consideration while testing our new Toyota vehicles in the garage this month. To us, Toyota is still synonymous with “beige excellence” and this 2010 Toyota Venza is no different. Continue reading
2010 Lincoln MKS EcoBoost AWD
When shopping for a luxury sedan, there are many options to choose from and depending on exactly what you want to get out of the car in terms of driving experience, there are many options to weigh. If you want a slushy, detached ride that will whisk you away in comfort, you can find that. If you want a sharp handling ride with power that could keep up with the better sports cars out there, you can find that too. If you’re looking for a car that will bathe you in luxury and technology, there are many options for that as well. Continue reading
2010 Buick Enclave
When I was young, I bought some of those x-ray glasses out of the back of a magazine. Although my parents tried to warn me, I insisted that they would work, plus they looked really cool. After weeks of waiting, checking the mail every day when I got home from school, the package finally showed up. I rushed to my room and ripped open the box throwing all the packing all over my room. As I pulled the glasses out and put them on my face, I felt an immediate sense of dissatisfaction. I ran around the house looking at everything I could thinking they have to work, yet they wouldn’t look through a thing. Not only did they not work as advertised, they were also cheaply made and broke within the first few days of having them. It has been a long time since I’ve felt this kind of dissatisfaction, that is until this week. Continue reading
2010 Chevy Equinox
Here in Dallas, Texas, as well with many other places around the US, we hit a record with snow fall this past week. It was easily the most snow I have ever seen in my life with about a foot of snow that fell within a twenty-four hour period. I’ve driven in ice and little snow before and it gets harry and scary around Texas when it happens, mainly because no one knows what to do or how to drive in it. The snow gave us the opportunity to really wring this thing out and put it to the test. Luckily we had the AWD 3.0 Liter 2010 Equinox LTZ. Continue reading