2012 Nissan Maxima 3.5 SV

I kind of forgot Nissan even still makes the Maxima; all of the attention lately has been paid to the Altima. This 2012 Nissan Maxima's $40,000 sticker makes me laugh but for a price, say, in the lower $30,000s, this car would be a temptation. That is if it didn't have the droning CVT, which I hate. It reminds me of my snowmobiling days.








Nissan touts this car as the four-door sports sedan, but I don't know if I'd go that far. Aren't they supposed to be rear-drive for the most part? The front-drive Maxima felt good on the road though nothing I would consider really sporty. I thought the Maxima had a nice relaxed ride/handling balance and a wieldy fluid chassis. Nissan's own Infiniti G lineup is far sportier and, in my opinion, a better sports value.

Porsche celebrates 2 million Facebook fans

Porsche hit 2 million friends on Facebook this week, and to celebrate, the company dedicated a car to all of them.

The new Porsche Cayman S got a coat of white paint before each friend's profile picture was digitally added to the surface. They're all tinted in red, giving the car a candy-coated look, and the front-plate area reads "100% Porsche, 100% you."

2014 Chevrolet Corvette spied with C7 body

Corvette's future is crystallizing as the temperature drops. The C7 was captured by spy shooters in cold-weather testing in the Great White North, and the profile indicates a wedge-like silhouette, curvy, slightly flared fenders and a potentially longer wheelbase.

2014 Chevrolet Corvette spied

2014 Chevrolet Corvette spied

Production of the next-generation 2014 Chevrolet Corvette will begin next year. These shots advance previous knowledge of the C7, which now appears to have been photographed in an actual body shell. Older pictures indicated the longer wheelbase but were C6-bodied.

2014 Chevrolet Corvette spied

2013 Nissan GT-R Price

Nissan coaxed another 15 hp from the twin-turbo V6 in the 2013 GT-R sports car, and added nearly $7,000 to the sticker price.

2013 Nissan GT-R


2013 Nissan GT-R

The 2013 Nissan GT-R Premium, which is reaching dealerships now, carries a sticker price of $97,820, including the $1,000 in shipping charges. That's a $6,870 bump over the 2012 model.

2013 Nissan GT-R

2013 Nissan GT-R

If you step up to the 2013 GT-R Black Edition, that sticker price is $107,320, an increase of $11,220 over the 2012 model. But that gets you a new dry-carbon-fiber rear spoiler.

Shelby GT500 durability car to be auctioned off at Barrett-Jackson

Carroll Shelby will have his name all over the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction in Arizona this weekend. In addition to the anniversary edition Shelby Cobra being displayed for the first time, a 2013 Ford Shelby GT500 durability car will be auctioned.






The sale will raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Ford's president of the Americas, Mark Fields, will be on the auction stage to get things rolling. All of it will be televised live on the Speed Channel.

2012 BMW X5 M

Not really sure who this 2012 BMW X5 M brute of a ute is targeted at, but I usually end up with a smile on my face after driving it. Maybe it's because something this big and this heavy probably shouldn't go this fast this quickly. Nor stop as well as this will. I recently had the chance to hustle one of these around Laguna Seca, and I was quite surprised at just how well the thing handled on a racetrack.

The X5 M is a perfect example of how BMW has been able to infuse its core DNA into a product that you would normally associate with performance cars. One could argue whether this is an answer to a question that few have asked, and at this price, few will want to pay for. But BMW did it, and did it rather well. Punch the M button on the wheel, stab the throttle and hang on. You don't have to wait long for the grin.

Chevrolet Volt fire probe is closed

U.S. safety regulators said Friday that they've closed an eight-week investigation into the Chevrolet Volt, concluding that the plug-in hybrid's battery doesn't pose a significant fire risk following a crash.


In a statement, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it "does not believe that Chevy Volts or other electric vehicles pose a greater risk of fire than gasoline-powered vehicles."

Few Chevy dealers turn down more Volts

Some Chevrolet dealers are turning down Volts that General Motors wants to ship to them, a potential stumbling block as GM looks to accelerate sales of the plug-in hybrid.



For example, consider the New York City market. Last month, GM allocated 104 Volts to 14 dealerships in the area, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Dealers took just 31 of them, the lowest take rate for any Chevy model in that market last month. That group of dealers ordered more than 90 percent of the other vehicles they were eligible to take, the source said.

GM weighs moving next GMC Sierra

General Motors will do more to differentiate the GMC Sierra from the Chevrolet Silverado when redesigned versions of the pickups go on sale in the first half of 2013.

Sierra models may get a longer list of standard equipment and a higher sticker price than comparable Silverados, Mark Reuss, GM president of North America, said in an interview at the Detroit auto show.

2012 Kia Sorento SX

This 2012 Kia Sorento SX is strong. It looks good inside (but it could use a little color in there) and out, there's good pep from the responsive V6 along with decent mpg figures. And it's a pleasant driver. A passenger jumped in last night, looked around and said, "This is a Kia? Wow!"



All signs points to Kia being on a rapid ascent.

The Sorento rides well on the freeway, planted and secure with good steering weight. The ride is just a wee bit stiff around town but nothing off-putting. And I was happy with the six-cylinder's 276 hp. However, I would like to drive a four-cylinder version back-to-back to see how it stacks up.