2008

2008 Lexus GS 350

Gary Grant ⋅ New car reviews ⋅ , , , , ⋅ 2 comments

canadian lexus copy

The Lexus GS 350 is a performance luxury sedan that is aimed at the consumer who wants a few lavish touches in their daily driver. Someone who’s kids might be getting a little bigger and who might have some upscale passengers on occasion too. Perhaps that owner still wants a sporting vehicle but doesn’t want the neighbors to know what his car is capable of.

So why is it then that the GS 350 elicits such an enthusiastic response from the youth on the street? This sleek, classy looking machine drew an uncommon amount of attention from the hip hop crowd during our week with the car. Getting gas yesterday afternoon even the young gas station attendant informed me how sick my car was.

It has been close to two decades since Lexus appeared on the market and they have done an incredible job of marketing to one crowd, while keeping the interest of future owners. The brand marketers really ought to be proud of themselves.
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  1. younona: this magnificent car is the best. The Lexus GS seems like a bargain and is appropriately priced at around $45,000…

  2. Nasser: Is this car for sale? How much price ? And where its location?

2008 Chevy Cobalt SS

Gary Grant ⋅ New car reviews ⋅ , , , , ⋅ No comments

cobalt in the clouds

Many years ago, long before The Garage, even before this thing they call the internet, the Grant family was looking for a new car. We wanted something cheap and cheerful that had the space for a young couple to go camping and all the other things young couples do with their car. Mind out of the gutter folks, we were looking for a grocery getter that could also do double time as a track day warrior. We wanted something that was affordable, but didn’t feel cheap. A steed that was quick, but still got great gas mileage. If that wasn’t enough, it had to look cool.

It’s a shame that the 2008 Chevy Cobalt SS wasn’t available way back then, because The General’s littlest SS pretty much fits all of the above requirements.

As I toodled around town in the Rally Yellow SS, more than a few friends and industry types made mention of the Cobalt’s Cavalier roots. These comments were often punctuated by a bit of a scoff. I’m here to tell you folks that GM’s team hit the nail on the head with this car and that there isn’t one iota of Cavalier shake, rattle and roll in this coupe.
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2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt

Gary Grant ⋅ New car reviews ⋅ , , , , ⋅ No comments

dennys

Some time ago, Jil McIntosh wrote a piece about auto writers who forget that they are (or should be) writing for real people, not just zillionaires. You know the guys, they are the ones who write that a 2 seater that sells for a hundred grand is a value priced sports car. While I can’t remember when or where Jil’s article appeared, it came to mind this weekend as we traveled in the 2008 Ford Mustang Bullitt.

Nicknamed Frank, our tester came equipped with touch screen navigation and keyless alarm. The current pricing packages bring Frank to a whopping $34,079 cdn. So let’s add this up here: 2 doors, 315 horsepower, 325 ft/lbs torque, leather interior, navi, a cool shifter, aluminum dash, upgraded suspension and brakes, cold air intake and an absolutely incredible exhaust note. All of that adds up to an incredible value in my eyes.
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2008 Chevrolet HHR SS

Gary Grant ⋅ New car reviews ⋅ , , , , , ⋅ No comments

hhr ss lf

As we headed towards Mosport for the vintage festival last week, it seemed fitting that we were cruising in Chevy’s retro styled HHR. Fortunately, this was no plain Jane grocery getter either. We were headed for some twisties where the turbocharged 2008 HHR SS could get it’s boogie on. With pie wagon styling, substantial chrome wheels and pumping out 260 ponies this machine was just perfect for a dragging the cooler and cameras up for a day at the track, not to mention a few dance steps along the way.

Over the past years, we haven’t owned a car with overly sporting intentions. Reason? Kids. A herd of them. There hasn’t been too many vehicles conceived over the years that are capable of hauling a family of 5 and a bunch of their junk that can do double duty as a weekend warrior. The two jobs have distinctly different needs. Lately though, several automakers have managed to combine the needs of a parental taxi with the wants of an autocrosser.
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2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser

Gary Grant ⋅ New car reviews ⋅ , , , ⋅ No comments

fj front

Have you ever had a first impression of something only to find your perception changes after getting to know it? Sure you have and I just had that very experience with the 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser. I suppose a bit of an explanation is in order here. Last fall, when I visited the IMPA Test Days, I had 3 vehicles I was psyched to check out on the off road test track. The H3, the Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon and the FJ Cruiser. The Rubicon is a full on off road beast and the Hummer folks had brought an H3 with all terrain tires and fancy paint straight off the SEMA show floor. The FJ Cruiser that that Toyota sent was wearing plain old all season tires. Talk about bringing a knife to a gun fight. Needless to say, the impression left by the FJ that day was severely hampered by tire choice. Fast forward 8 months and I’d just spent a week in a Rubicon and had the opportunity to get it dirty for the camera. When I picked up the beige FJ from Toyota Canada, it was wearing some all season boots. So much for our planned photo shoot in the mud! I was disappointed.

What happened during our week with the FJ Cruiser was very interesting. Every single time I got behind the wheel, I found something else that I liked. The truck grew on me in a way that no other vehicle ever has.
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2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X

Gary Grant ⋅ New car reviews ⋅ , , , ⋅ No comments

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I’ve finally had a chance to slide my fat behind into the driver’s seat of Mitsubishi’s much awaited Evo X. Unfortunately, time only allowed a very short blast through mid day Toronto traffic, but it was enough to make a bit of a comparison with the Subaru STi following a similar short trip in that monster machine.

Our ride today was a 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR, with the 5 speed manual. The car is a pre production model that is destined for the mandatory crushing that PT units receive after they’ve been flogged repeatedly by anyone who has the opportunity. This particular car has seen media road tests, track days and heavy road use. The clutch is releasing fairly high in the travel due to many, many drivers launching it hard. Still, the drivetrain hooks up and leaves no question as to the potential of the beast.
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2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon

Gary Grant ⋅ New car reviews ⋅ , , , ⋅ No comments

rubicon lf trail

Our first experience with the Wrangler Unlimited was on a hot, dry and dusty day in the Pocono Mountains, which meant we didn’t get an opportunity to get the truck dirty. We did manage to make it flex and got more than a few shots of it with the suspension at full droop. I figured that spring time in Ontario would be the perfect time to see how it handles the goo. Little did I know that only 20 minutes away from home, winter still has a grasp on the old concession roads.

Southern Ontario is criss crossed by old concession roads that farmers used to get around as far back as the late 1800′s. Many of these roads are still in the public domain as unmaintained roads that are really only accessible to farm equipment and properly equipped 4×4′s. The Rubicon is more than well equipped, but as we were a single truck, it could be easy to get stuck and have nobody around to pull the beast out. As we headed north on the road that leads to the back end of Mosport, it quickly became apparent that the road was in no condition to be used by a lone vehicle. Deep (like axle deep) goo on one side, and deep soft snow on the other led to a fully snow covered road. We performed a 10 point turn and gently picked our way back out. The Rubi never missed a beat.
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2008 Saturn Vue Green Line

Gary Grant ⋅ New car reviews ⋅ , , , , ⋅ No comments

vue front with bus

When Saturn came on the scene, back in 1990 everything they were different from just about everything else on the road. They wore plastic body panels that didn’t dent and they looked quite unlike anything consumers had seen before. The 2008 Saturn Vue is different too. Gone are the plastic panels, but it looks unlike any Hybrid consumers have seen before. Shapely and stylish, the all new 2008 Saturn Vue makes the concept of green just a little bit sexier. In fact, following the annual AJAC test fest, the 2008 Vue was crowned best new SUV/CUV from $35,000 to $60,000.

Don’t let those numbers fool you, as the Vue is a much better value than those numbers might suggest. The base model begins at $26,990 while a fully loaded Red Line rings in at $38,605. Our very well equipped tester retailed for $32,345 which seems like a pretty good deal for a hybrid cuv with real world room for a family of 5.
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2008 Volvo C30i

Gary Grant ⋅ New car reviews ⋅ , , , ⋅ No comments

c30 front

Buy Volvos. They’re boxy, but they’re good. We know they’re not sexy. This is not a time to be sexy anyway with so many new diseases around. Be safe instead of sexy. Volvo: boxy but good.
 From the 1990 Dudley Moore flick Crazy People.

Boxy, but good. This is what many, many people have thought of Volvo for many years. What non Volvo enthusiasts may not realize though is that Volvo has a rich history of building sexy, fun to drive 2 doors. 122. P1800. 142. 242. Ok, so from that group only the P1800 could be considered sexy, but they all share something in common. They are all incredibly fun to drive!

The Volvo C30 was designed by Canadian, Simon Lamarre with the P1800 in the forefront of his thoughts, but the fun factor embodied by all those other hot 2 doors were also heavy influences. Here in The Garage, we too have been influenced by those cars of old. One friend of The Garage owns one of the nicest P1800′s in existence. Another races a 122s with a genuine Trans Am history, while yet another owns a 142 that was the original poster child for Targa Newfoundland. We, like many other Volvo enthusiasts have lamented Volvo’s lack of a 2 door since the 242 left Canadian shores in 1984. Enter Lamarre and the C30, a fun to drive hatch that embodies the spirit of Volvo 2 doors from days gone by.
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2008 Toyota Highlander SR5

Gary Grant ⋅ New car reviews ⋅ , , , ⋅ No comments

right side

2008 has brought the most snow southern Ontario has seen in years. As a result, I’ve been pretty happy to be sampling a pretty wide variety of AWD and 4WD vehicles this winter. Every one of those vehicles has done a decent job getting off the line in the white stuff, but none of them were able to beat the laws of physics when it came to stopping. As I mentioned before, Toyota realizes that all season tires are really 3 season tires and have equipped their media fleet with true winter tires. What a treat!

On my second day with the Highlander we received about 6 inches of heavy snow, causing mayhem in the city. To avoid all the idiots, I took my usual route home through the north country on nearly abandoned rural roads. The winter boot shod Highlander took everything old man winter could throw at it in stride, including when coming to a stop. The Highlander with Toyo Observe snow tires may just be the ultimate winter machine.
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