Test Drives, Trends & Events

Godzilla and STILLEN have invaded Canada… (photo courtesy of Kyle Millen)

Try to imagine race cars, new and old, roaring through your local suburban community. The glowing brakes and roaring engines a few feet away from you as the drivers wrestle their purpose-built machines down Main St. Now imagine piloting one of these rumbling rockets through side streets, past the local store fronts, and occasionally over someone’s lawn. You have just pictured the 7th Annual Targa Newfoundland.

This year marks the first year that Steve Millen, good friend to NADAguides.com, and his crew at STILLEN attempted to not only compete, but to win the event. The STILLEN folks teamed up with Mike Monticello from Road & Track who served as Co-Driver for the targa - their chariot of choice; a modified 2009 Nissan GT-R. How did they do? Well, either you skipped the headline or want me to say it again. More...

Is that bulge in your hood from a 414 hp V8 or am I just happy to see you?

Is there such a thing as having your automotive cake and being able to drive it too? If you drive any one of the handful of available sport sedans, then it’s possible to get a slice. Sliding behind the wheel of the 2009 BMW M3 Sedan however, I received a face full of Funfetti cake and pressing the gas pedal further only spreads the frosting wider across my smeared, “why-so-serious” gaping maw. More...

The 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI with Subaru Performance Tuning (SPT) goodies is enjoying the sun at the NADAguides.com office.

Subaru has a long history of building quality sedans and wagons that come standard with a good all-wheel drive system and a reliable engine. The average Subaru today is a very useful and safe vehicle that can provide driver and passengers with the occasional thrill thanks to the all-weather handling capabilities and fun turbocharged motors. There is a car in this family that takes this “fun” to another level. The 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX STI is not simply a fun car, it is a rally-racing bred, all-terrain conquering, lunatic car that smashes through the “fun zone” taking its occupants straight to 11. More...

The 2009 Cadillac CTS-V is a stylishly-creased sports sedan with aggressive body lines.

A luxury sports sedan is a wonderful thing. A comfortable and well-equipped interior paired with an engine that has a little oomph behind it, and you can enjoy the fun with up to four other people. There are quite a few choices in this category; the Audi S6, BMW M5, and Mercedes E63 AMG spring to my mind right away. They are all German and they are all excellent. However, the most thrilling member of this class prefers Levi jeans stained with last night’s apple pie; The 2009 Cadillac CTS-V, the American embodiment of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hannibal Lecter. More...

The auto industry is full of symbolism, full of history and definitely has its share of iconic vehicles. However, there are very few movies that truly capture these slices of the American Auto Industry. Auto fiends like myself, have movies like Gone in 60 Seconds and its famed Eleanor to The Italian Job with the MINI Cooper. On any given Sunday (another great movie reference), you’ll see these types of movies running in living rooms and garages nationwide. Us car people like to see chase scenes that defy reality. More...