From the Passenger's Perspective: 2010 Mercedes-Benz C300 Sport 4Matic

Yesterday, my mom and I test drove 4 cars; three of which were to be compared to each other, the Volvo S60, the BMW 328xi, and this, the Mercedes-Benz C300.  This was ultimately the winner, we thought it was extremely comfortable, incredibly good looking, and quite good fun.  All three of these cars were driven at Geneva Foreign & Sports in Geneva, New York.  You can see their website here.
This C300 is a Sport 4Matic model, and has a Black exterior and a Black interior.  This car looks truly sinister from the outside.  A 3.0L DOHC V6 drives all wheels via a perfectly geared automatic transmission.  This power really shows.  When you put your foot down, that V6 makes a wonderful roar.  All this noise isn't for nothing, either.  This car just takes off.  It handles well too.  It feels light and nimble, it will respond to the driver's every command.
This car is not all performance.  It is a relaxing experience to be inside.  I would describe this as a car you can fall asleep in, but you wouldn't want to.  It smooths out the roughest of roads.  It can also be very quiet and serene.
But if you don't feel like relaxing, you can listen to some tunes using either the excellent sound system or the iPod dock in the glove box.  The radio computer is very clever, and is controlled by a small knob on the driver's side of the center armrests, where there is a cool little center console.  Another perk to the inside  are the electric seats, they allow you to adjust your seat to however you like it, from bolt upright to flat lay down.
This was the best car we drove (apart from the 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera), and you can see why.  It gives you a great combination of comfort and performance, along with the good looks to assert the fact.  If i had money to spend on any of the three cars we tested yesterday, this would be it.  Summing this car up is simple. Three words: It's very German.

From the Passenger's Perspective: 2005 Volvo S60

This was the first car my mother and i drove yesterday at Geneva Foreign & Sports in Geneva, New York.  You can see their website here.
This S60 has an Ice White exterior and a Beige interior.  These two colors look very nice together, and make the nice styling stand out.  The exterior looks very good, though restrained.  The interior is my favorite though.  The styling is very edgy and modern, despite being eight years old.
Power comes from a 2.5L DOHC turbocharged I5 engine, sent to all-wheels via a great automatic transmission.  On the transmission, my mom noted that the gear stick requires precise movement to get it into the gear you want.  The engine provides a surprising amount of power, albeit with some turbo lag.  It feels a bit unstable if you put your foot down, though it is a Volvo so its not going anywhere.  It is reported to be a responsive and surprisingly well-handling car, though it is solid.  The brakes are nice and responsive, and the transmission is geared just right.  Despite these performance perks, it is very,  very comfortable. The seats are nice and soft, yet supportive and the suspension flattens out the worst of railroad tracks.
The interior, as said before, is very nicely styled.  The dashboard features everything you need, and the climate control works very well.  I did notice that the control cluster was very flat and uninteresting, but the rest of the interior makes up for it.  This car has a lot of space up front and in back.  This is definitely a car for long trips.  It is also incredibly quiet.  You can have a conversation with the driver, whispering as quiet as you can.
There are also tons of storage compartments around the inside, along with a nice retractable cup holder cover.  The wood trim compliments the Beige interior.
This is a great car.  It has a fantabulous combination of performance and incredible comfort, though leaning toward the comfort side of things.   It also gets good gas mileage and, being a Volvo, is unsurpassed in safety.  This could be either a family car or a car for one person, it really does both. If your looking for a car that will soothe your brow after a hard day's work, look no further.

From the Passenger's Perspecive: 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera

Of the four cars I've been in today, this was the most exiting.  This is mainly due to the fact that it was the only Porsche.  I'd never been in a Porsche before, so this was going to be something very different.  It is also the only car I've ever been in where the engine isn't in the front.  It's way in the back.  This 911 is is black with a black interior.  It has a 3.6L six-cylinder engine, which makes the best sound of any car I've ever set foot inside.  Not that its very easy to get inside in the first place.
I need not say how good-looking this car is, so we'll skip to the interior.
Upon entry, you notice that, despite being a sports car, there are a lot of features inside.  You get a nice radio, and a nice climate control system.  Then you look behind you, and, lo and behold, backseats!  They aren't very big mind you, but bearable.
As the driver starts the car up, you are reminded what you are in with a satisfying purr coming from somewhere way behind you.  Then, as the driver punches it out onto the road, you get a massive roar from the mighty engine.  This alone kept me and my mom entertained for the entire test drive.  It has very light and nimble handling, much better than anything else my mom had since driven.  If only it was warm enough up here in Upstate New York to to put the top down.  The only complaint i have is that the seats aren't very comfortable, and after a little while, my lower back started hurting a little bit.  The gearbox is also very nice, though a bit tough to get in gear.
For a Porsche, the ride is quite surprising.  It is by no means a Rolls-Royce, but it doesn't break your back.  We even went over a few railroad tracks without our spines splitting in two.
I really don't know how to end this article, except by saying that i wish this article could be called From the Driver's Perspective: 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera.

Look for two more reviews tommorrow,
2005 Volvo S60
2010 Mercedes-Benz C300

Car News for April 14th, 2013

Honda Civic Tourer Spied-
www.carbuzz.com
The wagon version of the Honda Civic has been spied in production form, and its looking rather nice.  Though it won't be coming to the US.  Like most good cars.  The front end isn't as radical as it was in concept form, it is now looking like that of the Civic hatchback.  The taillight design and the low roof are, however, features that appear untouched from the concept.  The concept was powered by a 1.6L turbo-diesel engine producing 118 horsepower and 221 ft-lb of torque.  This engine should carry over into production, along with others.  The production version should be revealed at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September.

Jerry Jacumin Nationals at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, South Carolina

Yesterday morning was the beginning of my race weekend in South Carolina at the track where the popular Speed TV show "R U Faster Than a Redneck" is filmed.  But I'm here to see if i am faster than a redneck, I'm here to race.  This track is a great blend of high speed turns and tight almost-hairpins.  I am here for the third round of the WKA (World Karting Association)'s Road Race Series. I attended the first round at the Daytona Road Course, home of the 24 Hours of Daytona.  I came into this race as points leader in my class by one point.  Friday was an all practice day, and i was going to need it because I've never been to this course before.  Luckily, all of my practice runs went smoothly, and i was able to increase my lap times considerably, while braking later and later in each corner.  So presumably, i was going into the final practice of the day fairly confident.  But it was not to be.  ON the third lap, in turn 8, which is a high speed corner.  I was taking my normal line in when somebody thought they could sneak through as i was diving to the apex.  This wasn't entirely safe, and we ended up making contact, sending me into the wet red dirt of the southern states.  This was no easy chore to remove, with about 10 pounds of it on the floor pan.
Though the dirt got everywhere, up to and including my shirt, we managed to get the kart ready for my first race, which was earlier today.  The races are usually about 30 minutes in length, and each of the races include many classes.  My race was the largest of the seven, with about 30 karts on track.  Most of my first race at the Carolina Motorsports Park was uneventful, though i started to lose grip quite significantly after the midway point.  My kart is no easy thing to control, its very much like a car with boat loads of power but no real handling, making for a very tail happy ride.  It is fun though.  And hey, i won! (i wasn't going to tell you i was the only person in my class, but i did)
Tomorrow is my second race, and though nobody is currently registered for the event tomorrow, i still look forward to it.  And it isn't like there isn't any traffic to deal with.  Just like in the World Endurance Series, there are cars faster than me and cars slower than i am.  That's all for now, there will be an article on tomorrows race either tomorrow or Monday.

Simeone Foundation Museum

I write this now driving through northern Virginia on the outskirts of the Appalachian Mountains. (I have a mobile hot spot if your wondering).  Yesterday we set off from our home in New York to a race at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, South Carolina.  I race karts in WKA's (World Karting Association) Road Race series.  I won my event at Daytona International Speedway in December, though I missed the race in February at Roebling Road in Georgia.  This time we decided to take some stops along the way, and one such stop was at the Simeone Foundation Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  This is a museum dedicated to the history of automobile racing.  At the entrance to the building is a sign that says "The first motor race was conceived when the second car was built".  That may not have been the exact quote, but you get the idea.
Inside the museum is a large collection of cars ranging from early Mercer's to modern Aston Martin road cars.  Every year, they have an event called The Best of Britain.  This year, in honor of Aston Martin's 100th anniversary, they had a large exhibit of Astons, from as early as the 1930's to a 2014 Vanquish.  They even had a DB5 finished in the classic James Bond silver.  As you move through the buildings, you begin to see that the museum is focused on early cars.  There must have been at least five early Alfa Romeos.  Then you begin to circle round and see even more Astons, and even a Porsche 917.  They also have a winners circle exhibit and a Le Mans area, featuring a Ford GT40 that participated in Fords first win at Le Mans.
In the back of the building is also a history of NASCAR exhibit, with featuring a Plymouth Superbird, as well as a sports car area.  As if there weren't enough of them.
This museum is a great place an i recommend it to all.  They also have motorcycles from time to time, for those who like that sort of thing.
That's all for now, however i will be visiting the Penske and Waltrip NASCAR/Indycar garages today and tomorrow.  I will have pictures from the Simeone and the garages posted as soon as i get back.

International Motor Racing Research Center

The Chrysler PT Cruiser.  I like it.  This particular one had a manual gearbox and a very cool looking interior.  It's also comfortable.  Wait, I'm in the PT Cruiser with Bill Green, the leading historian at the International  Motor Racing Research Center in Watkins Glen, New York.  And we were driving the famous Old Course, where road racing in America officially started.  I was getting the grand tour.  As we drove around the course, i absorbed the mounds of information coming from him, and Kevin Hughey, the Archival Associate at the Center.  Bill wasn't just getting this knowledge from books, though.  No, this knowledge was from experience.  He was there when the Alfa Romeo won the first race at Watkins Glen in 1948.  He was there when there was a temporary hay bail chicane on The Railroad Straight, which was taken down after an MG flipped in practice.  I now know about Milliken's corner and why it's called that.  These two were a constant stream of information, and it was probably one of the coolest things I've ever done.
But my story doesn't stop there, you see.  Because I am also a volunteer at the Center, and I was charged with the task of sorting through hundreds of photos.  This was by no means tedious, as I saw the history of 80s motor racing in front of my eyes.  But don't think the center only covers the 80s, because, oh no, they go from the 1895 Benz motor car to today's Ferrari's.  For instance, I saw pictures of Jeff Gordon's Midget car days.  Every single picture I went through came from the collection of pictures given to IMRRC after National Speed Sport News went to the Internet and stopped making papers.  Everything from Midgets to Formula 1 to NASCAR was covered in these pictures.  It was incredible.  Just being there, amongst all things cars, from the Supermodified car in the center of the room to the Jaguar F1 car model on a bookcase.  This place is the car lovers dream.  They also do events, such as this weekend's Supermodified discussion with a panel of experts led by former TV presenter Dick Berggren.  I wish I could go to that, but I have a school Science Bowl event to go to.
So, if you like cars, or need a car identified or anything like that go to these guys and girls.  They know all there is to know, and I hope to have the same knowledge that they do someday.

Car News for February 24th, 2013

Fiat 500L Gets Two New Engines-
Information Source: CarBuzz mobile app
Image Source: www.designboom.com
While U.S. customers will have to wait for the arrival of the Fiat 500L, European buyers now have two new engines to choose from.  They can have a 0.9L (?!) TwinAir turbo from the 500 and a MultiJet II turbo-diesel four-cylinder.  The 0.9L engine makes 105HP and 107 ft-lb of torque.  With a six-speed manual, that engine will propel the 500L from 0-60 in 12.3 seconds and on to 112 mph.  The 1.6L diesel also makes 105HP, however it has 236 ft-lb of torque, nearly twice that of the 0.9L petrol.  If you mate the diesel to a six-speed manual, the car goes from 0-60 in 11.3 seconds and on to 112mph.  It does get 52.2MPG compared to the petrol's 49.  These new engines will be available next month.




Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Preview-
Information Source: CarBuzz mobile app
Image Source: www.carbuzz.com
Porsche has released photos of the upcoming 911 GT3 RSR that will debut at the WEC race at Silverstone on April 14th.  It has completed more testing at Sebring last week.  This new model will race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans as did it's predecessor.  Porsche has not released any specifications or details.  It does have new bumpers, side skirts, and a new aero kit.  Porsche's motorsport chief Helmut Kristen said "We are very pleases with how testing has gone so far.  Our goal is to be well prepared for the challenges of the very strong GTE class in the WEC and at Le Mans.  Until the season kicks off at Silverstone, we will conduct some final tests on the other race tracks so that our new 911 RSR is well and truly ready."