2013 Volvo S60 T5 review

The 2013 Volvo S60 T5 AWD is powered by a 2.5-liter turbocharged I5 producing 250 hp.

I thoroughly enjoyed our long-term Volvo S60 R-Design sedan last year, but I always thought that car was rather overpriced for its size and capabilities, coming in around $45,000. This T5 version, on the other hand, strikes me as a relative value in sports sedans with a sticker right at $38k.

2013 Volkswagen Beetle 2.5L 70's Edition Convertible review

The 2013 Volkswagen Beetle 2.5L 70's Edition Convertible is loud and a little slow. 

The Beetle is one of those cars that I would never buy, but I'm glad Volkswagen is making it. Sort of like the Nissan Cube. It's not for me.

Styling aside, it's pretty noisy with the convertible top letting in a lot of road and wind noise, which was made more painful by the fact that I had to listen to my phone through the phone speakers because there's no USB port. I suppose that's how they did it in the '70s. So where the heck is my eight-track!?

2012 Tesla Model S Drive review

The Model S in its industrial womb.

To the mass media, the Tesla Model S is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated models, if not the most anticipated model to hit the road this year. Since Elon Musk's EV concern showed a mock-up Model S prototype back in 2009, the Model S has been called everything from the salvation of the auto industry to abject vaporware.

2013 Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG review

The CL63 AMG comes with a twin-turbo 5.5-liter V8 mated to a seven-speed multi-clutch sequential manual

Boy, does this 2013 Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG ever make you feel filthy rich.

In weather like we had on my drive -- sheets of rain, standing water, little visibility -- my focus was basically not sliding into a curb or another car and pranging a $180,000 worth of gorgeous Benz. Mission accomplished.

2014 Mercedes-Benz S550 drive review

We found the new S-class to be fast, reasonably frugal, comfortable and quiet.

The new Mercedes-Benz S-class is quite possibly the most advanced road car ever. The big four-door sedan is coming to North American showrooms in September. It is a rolling technology fortress, the goal being to place it at the top of the luxury car ranks, ahead of traditional rivals such as the Audi A8, BMW 7-series, Jaguar XJ and Lexus LS, not to mention newer pretenders like the Porsche Panamera.

2012 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS Review

Suzuki Kizashi Sport

It cracks me up that this is called the Sport model. It's anything but. The combination of the four-cylinder and the continuously variable transmission just doesn't cut it. Add in all-wheel drive sapping even more power and, well, you get the picture. The fact that the four-cylinder is a bit crude and loud only adds to my distaste for the 2012 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS. The shift paddles on the steering wheel seem like some sort of cruel joke. 

2014 Buick LaCrosse drive review

The only difference between this and China's? Their Buick badge is colored in.

"This is probably the nicest car you've ever driven," promised Jeff Yanssens, Buick's chief engineer, during the introduction of the car he worked on: the 2014 Buick LaCrosse. "I feel comfortable saying that." 

Whoa, Yanssens -- we here at Autoweek have driven some pretty terrific cars in our illustrious history, just sayin'. But Yanssens is basing this on the LaCrosse's utter serenity and comfort -- and judging by that merit, the LaCrosse becomes a car with priorities that are set in stone.

2013 Chevrolet Spark 2LT review

The Chevy Spark starts at $12,170. This one costs slightly more than that.

Underneath the bright colors, youthful pretension and eager-mouse styling of the 2013 Chevrolet Spark is a decent compact car that is as far ahead of the Aveo it replaced as the Samsung Galaxy S4 is to your uncle's Motorola StarTAC. 

2013 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive review

The 2013 Smart Fortwo Electric Drive could be a good option for some city-dwellers.

The electric-vehicle market continues to shift. There's an increased interest from automakers to build EVs, despite consumers' barely matched interest to buy them. To say Americans have been cautious in adopting this latest vehicle technology is an understatement. Threats of fires and high entry costs have made electric cars unappetizing during a time when many in middle America cannot afford a $40,000 car, regardless of how good the gas mileage is.

2013 Ram 1500 drive review

The 2013 Ram 1500 parked at a wind farm.

The 2013 Ram 1500 still looks like a traditional full-size pickup truck, but the redesigned model has undergone a major makeover—with an eye toward fuel economy.

To achieve the desired fuel-economy improvements, Chrysler engineers combined a redesigned 3.6-liter engine with an eight-speed automatic transmission, introduced start/stop technology that shuts down the engine at stops, improved aerodynamics, reduced the weight of the truck by nearly 130 pounds, added electric power steering and optimized the engine's fuel delivery.