Kia vehicles have always been known for being an appliance - something practical and smart with a good warranty and price tag. But they’ve never had much personality, which makes them all but invisible to enthusiasts and youngsters. Kia intends to change that with the all-new Soul - a direct competitor to the Scion line-up that appeals to young buyers with its hip and cool image, while not straying far from typical Kia value and sensibleness.

Can they pull it off? Can a brand new model from the King of boring compete with the likes of Scion, who’s been building the “young and hip” brand image for years? We test a 2010 Kia Soul Sport to find out… Continue Reading…

Oh great, just what we need, another SUV. Even if it’s small, and a BMW, I’m not sure if America needed more option on its SUV menu. Anyway, it’s official per the folks at BMW, the X1 small SUV will be in America by 2011.

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The race season is now into full swing as we have already completed the first 3 rounds of the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup. There is currently a four week break between my last race in Utah and our next event in Ohio on the Father’s Day weekend.

One question I get asked a lot is “What does a race car driver do when they are not at the track”? In my last blog I talked at length about the realities and trials that each young driver must face in regards to the business side of auto racing. So much of a driver’s time is taken up with that. But there IS more to racing than just driving and business.

Take for example the fitness side of things. At first glance, one would think that being a driver means you simply have to sit in a seat and steer a wheel. Admittedly I used to be under that impression as well until I got into the sport. But I quickly realized after my first season of racing karts that if I were to move up to the fast 125cc machines, it was going to be a necessity for me to begin physically training. Continue Reading…

BMW is finally doing something they should have done a long time ago: Add all wheel drive (what BMW calls xDrive) to their top of the line 7 series. Their 3 and 5 series has it, why not the 7? What, rich people don’t need more traction? They don’t drive in snow or something … one way or the other, BMW has seen fit to give its top of the line AWD, and the technical details are, as always, interesting, and very German.

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To coincide with their expansion to new models, Lexus just announced that they will be offering a 20% discount on all equipment from their F-Sport accessories line, up to $2,000 ($10,000 worth of merch) for the month of July.

The F-Sport program, in case you haven’t heard of it, is designed to allow buyers of the Lexus IS (and now the IS C and GS) to add dealer-installed sport accessories to their cars. This program has been open to IS customers since early 2008, but just recently expanded into the IS C (convertible) and GS line. For the IS, the available upgrades include better brakes, clutch, engine cover, exhaust, performance air intake, quick shifter, shock set, lowering springs set, chassis brace, sway bar set, 18- and 19-inch forged wheels, floor mats and shift knob. In other words, a poor-man’s Lexus IS-F. Continue Reading…

The Need for Speed gaming franchise has been around for a long time. Starting with “The Need for Speed” in 1994 for the 3DO, Sony Playstation, and Sega Saturn gaming consoles, they’ve released 15 installments since then. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 for PS2 was my favorite; still one of the best racing games ever made. After that game, Need for Speed: Underground changed the overall direction to a more “Fast & Furious”-type game with lots of tuner import cars, all races at night for an illegal street-race feel, and a focus on that lifestyle.

But now, the NFS team has truly outdone themselves with an all-new simulation racer - Need for Speed: Shift.

This racer, based on the screenshots and preview video I’ve seen, looks photo-realistic as if you’re really there. During development, the NFS team focused on realism and mapped every one of the 70 available cars down to the last detail, including the interiors for a real-life driving experience. 15 real-world locations including Willow Springs and Laguna Seca have been mapped to the closest detail… Continue Reading…