Archive for October 2013

2013 Mini Cooper Paceman S - Pac-Man Spelled With an "E" - Review

The new-for-2013 Mini Cooper Paceman S ALL4. It's for purists who thought jacking up and adding two side-doors to create the near CUV Countryman went too far.<br> <br> This more intimate of Maxi-sized Mini Coopers starts at $28,900. Options like Steptronic automatic transmission, ALL4 all-wheel drive, xenon headlights, heated leather seats, power folding mirrors, Mini Connected with HDD navigation, 19" wheels, dual pane glass moon-roof, comfort keyless entry, HK premium sound, etc. etc takes this near-luxury compact SAV to the premium price of $39,800.<br>
“Drive…He Said” has found a  new use for Duct Tape: Turning a car into a carnivorous video game character. Pull the tape off the letter “E” and there’s the eighth model in the Mini car brand: The 2013 MINI Cooper Paceman. Excluding the MINI Cooper E [for limited market Electric] and the John Cooper Works... Read more »
By George Straton,
October 20, 2013 at 10:40 am • 

2013 Nissan Juke NISMO AWD - Frog Hopping the Gridiron - Review

Call it "Godzilla...extra,extra-light." New-for-2013 is Nissan's sportiest-for-the-masses personal crossover-ute. The Juke NISMO. Good for the Gridiron.<br> <br>Starting at $22,900 for the front-drive 6-speed manual version. The fully optioned CVT all-wheel drive model tops out at $27,200, which, coincidentally is just undercuts the base price of the Mini Cooper Countryman S All4.<br>
You wouldn’t normally describe the amphibian Rana temporaria, aka the “Frog”, as particularly “Cute.” Unless you happen to be a 21-year-old to 30 something urban gal in search of a squatting, bug-eyed sub-compact crossover-utility vehicle. For the boys, whose interest in amphibians leans to more menacing creatures, for 2013 Nissan introduces a [mild] factory tuner... Read more »
By George Straton,
October 5, 2013 at 11:53 am •