Fighting The Suburbs

Check out my podcast with Cars.com

After 10 years of penning car reviews, the editors at Cars.com have finally decided to broadcast their unvarnished thoughts through the magic of podcasting. That means I join our other editors Joe Wiesenfelder, Kelsey Mays and Mike Hanley in an informal roundtable on cars we’ve recently tested. It's pretty unvarnished compared to what else is out there.

This week, we take on a number of compact cars, like the 2009 Honda Civic and outgoing Mazda3, as well as all-new midsize sedans the Mazda6 and Acura TL, all in under 20 minutes.

You can download the podcast via iTunes or listen on your browser, here.

FTS Podcast: Mercedes-Benz ML 550

Daddy Driven: 2009 Audi A4 Avant

There is perhaps no more urban/hip/daddy mobile than the new Audi A4 Avant which I recently tested. You can check out the video above for my full assessment including a quick look at how a baby seat works in the back.

But I wanted to fill everyone in on more of the ins and outs of my time with it.

• First, the thing is low so getting in with my 9-month old in my arms is a bit tricky.
• Two, it’s pretty cramped even compare to our Subaru Outback. My wife said it was the perfect car for a woman because it was so tiny inside. I can’t really say that in a formal review but Courtney is a pretty straight forward person. Of course, what woman wouldn’t want one?
• Third, the panoramic roof being standard is pretty darn cool. As is the 6-disc cd and SD slot standard.

Ping me with questions below. 

Dave's Latest Video: Driving the 2009 Audi A5

Here's the last video I shot that's live. I liked the A5 as a good looking sport coupe, but it didn't thrill me as a driving machine. Still, it was just gorgeous in person. Around town, it could have been a smoother ride since it didn't have a sport-suspension. I also noticed a considerable lag when first hitting the accelerator which got annoying in heavy city driving.

50 Cent at the New York Auto Show

Here's a shot I took of 50 Cent talking about the new Pontiacs at the press days of the New York Auto Show two weeks back. I'll have some more updates this week. Haven't been eating out as much because of the young one but there's some music and tv writing to bring you.

BMW 135i Review

My buddy Gabe at MotoringFile and now BimmerFile got to go do some early testing of what will surely be a highly prised city car, the BMW 1 Series.
Check out his review here.

And no, I haven't even driven one yet!

Follow a Chicago Auto Journo

Hey guys. Sorry we've been off the radar for so long. We were out of town for the holiday weekend and then some. But I wanted to point you to an experiment I'm doing. Some folks love Twitter and I'm trying to see if there is any interest in it for car nuts. You can follow my driving habits in the side bar to the right or on my Twitter page here.

Let me know what you think.

City Car Review: 2008 Ford Escape

We tested the Escape back in 2003 when shopping for a new car. It was awful. Loud and rough riding. The 2008 is worlds better. Check out my full post on KickingTires. We get to buy new in June and can't wait to get rid of our Jeep.
 

Here are my quick grades:

• Parallel Parking: The Escape is small and we tested it in the West Loop with ease. Grade: A-
• Winter Driving: The Escape can be equipped with AWD and I’d recommend it if you have the cash. A regular 2WD Escape will still be fine in Chicago in winter, I just like having AWD. Grade: A-
• Features: The interior is upgraded but still not as nice as an import like the CR-V. I also don’t like how the rear seats fold flat with two steps and removing the headrests. Grade: C+
• Mileage: 22/28 city/hwy mpg for FWD in the four-cylinder, 18/24 mpg for the V-6. AWD V-6 is 17/22. Not great but these are 2008 EPA numbers about 2 mpg less than those used in 2007. Grade: B+
• Price: $19,245 is the starting price but the one we tested was $30,000! That’s a bit too high. But you can get the hybrid for less than that and we’re actually considering the hybrid. Grade: B-

City Car Reviews: Acura MDX and Infiniti G35x

I’m trying to keep these short, but check out the full report on the 2007 Acura MDX and Infiniti G35x on KickingTires. I enjoyed both but think too many medium sized SUVs are giving up a lot of room for (now) standard 3rd row seats like the MDX. The G35x is terrific for the money and all-wheel drive and if we didn't have a dog I'd seriously consider buying one.

Dave’s Take on the Chicago Auto Show

If we have any regular, non-Google delivered, readers out there they probably know I work for Cars.com and run their blog called KickingTires. I just spent the past two days at McCormick Place taking in all the vehicles in my capacity there and you can check out full coverage on that blog here.

Two of my co-workers and I also ran down the show’s winners and losers here.

Don’t forget, while there were only about 20 new cars debuting in Chicago, the show also gets all the cool concepts that were unveiled at the Detroit show last month like the Chevy Volt electric concept.

Because of all the Detroit vehicles here in Chicago, the show is definitely worth going to, but because of the few worthy vehicles totally new to Chicago the show overall wasn’t as good as past years.

New cars you MUST see: Pontiac G8, Saturn Astra, Scion xB.