Jalopnik

The new Chevrolet Malibu Turbo is interesting mostly because of the "turbo" part of the name. But not for the reasons you'd think. When most of us think of "turbo" we still think of it in terms of fast and sporty, since that's what we grew up with. If a car was turbocharged in the 80s, then it was a sports car that had the word "TURBO" badged or decal'd on it in at least 60 places. Plus, there was that turbo button on our old 486 PCs, and we know how fast that was. But what's interesting about the Malibu is that, really, the turbo here isn't about speed— it's about letting a 2-liter 4 cylinder engine take a job usually given to a 3.6 L V6. And, with that in mind, it makes sense. But, as anyone who has had to decide between fireworks and an insurance payment, sense isn't particularly exciting. Advertisement (Full Disclosure: Chevy wanted me to drive some of their cars with such a fierce, unrelenting intensity that they flew me up to San Francisco, fed me some great food, and … [Read more...] about 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Turbo: The Jalopnik Review

The compact segment is fiercely contended, with strong competitors coming from every major carmaker. With increasing quality deriving from each geographical location, expectations are rising, and customers are no longer willing to settle for a crappy econobox. Rather, they expect midsize sedan-like luxuries, with improved fuel efficiency to boot. An engaging driving experience is no longer an unanswered wish, it's now an expected demand. Simply put, the compact buyer expects to receive more, but not pay more. Advertisement They are, by all accounts, a bunch of greedy buggers. (Full Disclosure: Nissan wanted me to drive the new Sentra so badly they flew me out to San Francisco and put me up in a delightful hotel by the ocean. At dinner a lovely gentleman kept calling me Alan. I left it too long to correct him, so in the end I went along with it. So, from this day forth, please refer to me as Alan.) The 2013 Nissan Sentra is Nissan's bullet designed to elevate the Japanese … [Read more...] about 2013 Nissan Sentra: The Jalopnik Review

I have loved cars since I could talk, and I’ve loved Subarus almost as long. I love them so much that I daily-drive one of the wildest and worst Subies in New York—a bagged and stanced 2005 Baja Turbo. But when I talked my way into a brand new 2016 WRX STI, there was only one question. How does a modern, proper, unmolested Subaru compare to my monstrosity? Yes, I’ve gone off the deep end. This is happening. Yes, That Is My Daily-Driver Advertisement Photo Courtesy of Jacob Tompkins Hi, my name is Jared. I currently suffer from the “Stance Life.” Yo. I also happen to be one of the video creators for Jalopnik’s YouTube channel. Ever since the Fast and the Furious movies (as well as my discovery of the Long Island Subaru Club and NASIOC) back in the early 2000s, I’ve been into modifying Subarus. As you’ve surely seen in our season finale of Worst Car Stories, my mother bore witness to my Subaru addiction and ill-fated attempts at … [Read more...] about My Stanced And Bagged 2005 Subaru Baja Is Almost As Awesome As A 2016 WRX STI

A thing you should all know by now is the 2020 Hyundai Veloster N is an incredible, everyday hot Hyundai RM19 and I got a taste of what it’s like on the track. More than that, in just those four laps, it was obvious to me the RM19—or idea of it, at least—was ready for public roads. Obviously, some things need to be nipped and tucked for production. But it’s nearly there. And it’d be a crime if something like it didn’t hit dealers soon. (Full Disclosure: After the LA Auto Show, Hyundai paid for one night for me at a hotel in Beverly Hills so it could shuttle me out to the Hyundai California Proving Ground the next morning to drive the RM19.   What Is It?  Since 2012, Hyundai has been building performance prototypes that all use the RM moniker, which stands for Racing Midship. These cars were meant for research, with racing-derived technology that would trickle down into the automaker’s sporty N models. So far there’s have been … [Read more...] about What It’s Like To Drive A Wild 390-HP Mid-Engine RWD Hatchback From Hyundai

Jaguar wants you to think it just loves to be bad. It even hung a whole advertising campaign on that notion. So really, the biggest surprise about the new F-Type SVR is not its bewildering aggression, or its newly sharpened handling. The real shock is that it took Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations two years to try and deliver on the implicit promise their name insinuates; to finally produce a special F-Type that doesn’t hold back. An F-Type with no limits. Think of SVO to Jaguar as the M to BMW, the Quattro to Audi, or the AMG to Mercedes. Or at least that’s how they billed themselves to the journalists assembled at Motorland Aragón in Spain. But is it just hot air, or is there some substance to this upstart crew? Advertisement Sideways on a racetrack, at 90 degrees, all four expensive forged 20-inch alloys, spinning vainly forwards under the load of 575 barking supercharged horses, I would have to say YES. Yes, there’s some substance to this … [Read more...] about The Jaguar F-Type SVR Is A 575 Horsepower Screaming Track Day Lunatic