From the Passenger's Seat

There doesn't seem to be any real car news today, but there does look to be plenty of reviews for the 2013 Lexus ES. I'll just summarize what I read in the reviews for you here. Overall, the ES has improved, as expected from a redesigned car. The handling is more precise, but not by much, in order not to alienate traditional buyers with a stiff ride. It's as quiet and comfortable as ever. The car keeps its comfort, yet feels slightly more athletic overall. The strong V-6 helps its case. There's also a new hybrid version of the ES. It drives like a Camry Hybrid. Inside, there's much more room in the backseat. The consistency of materials and such has gone down. Some features are disappointing as well.

Are you tired of the same old boring test drive around the dealer's block? Well, the Focus ST Performance Academy may be for you! You can churn out timed hot laps after getting professional driving instruction stuffed into your brain. The program will be severely limited to only New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C., and Boston.  Ford is throwing a group of new, 252 horsepower Ford Focus STs into these cities for you to test lap. The group will be touring one city at a time, from late June to the middle of August. Of you happen to fall in love with the Focus ST test lapping it, you can bring one to your own home for $24495.

This post most likely will not matter to you as Porsche is producing 13 examples of this highly exclusive and pricey 911 that honors the 60th anniversary of Porsche Club's existence. To make matters worse, only 12 of the 13 will be for sale (Porsche is hogging the last one for museum purposes, I guess) and only Porsche Club members will be eligible for the upcoming lottery to have the privilege of grabbing $175580 to bring home this car. Currently, there is only  just over 180000 members in Porsche Club . Now, you might ask what you obtain for the extra Acura RDX over an almost identically featured non-special edition Carrera S? The most perceivable change will have to be the Brewster Green paint. There's also a body kit tacked on, and special 20-inch wheels and an iconic ducktail spoiler. This car also serves the debut of a new Powerkit that ups the horsepower of the 4 liter flat six to 430, 30 horsepower beyond the regular Carrera S. There is white "Club Coupe...

Now, this is no exotic car recall like my last recall post about Ferrari engines throwing crankshafts around, but it's still worth mentioning I guess... especially since there is absolutely nothing going on today. My YouTube subscriptions haven't posted anything, there is like two new posts on Car & Driver , four posts on Kicking Tires, and not much on CNN.  The problem of the recall is a faulty sensing and diagnostic module. In situations of hard braking, the module will reset itself. If you are braking firmly and cornering sharply simultaneously,  the side airbags might puff up unnecessarily. In a serious car accident, the airbags and seat belt pretensioners could possibly not do their job.  Owners of the 4304 cars with this defect will be told about it by General Motors the first day of June. Disconcerted owners can call the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at 888-327-4236.

In what seems like the most unlikely partnership in the history of partnerships, Mazda and Alfa Romeo (part of Fiat) will come together to develop a compact, rear wheel drive sports car.  This is just a random rendering of the next Miata. Don't take it too seriously. Now, this actually makes sense for both car companies; they aren't stupid. From the time Ford got rid of Mazda, it has been running out of money for new cars and such. Fiat, in the midst of the European financial disaster, is also in need for somewhere to spare some cash. Alfa Romeo also has a long history of small, rear wheel drive sports cars, and is making use of this opportunity to continue that legacy.  For Mazda, the car in question will be the next generation Miata, which is expected to arrive to the world mid-2014. Alfa Romeo hasn't named its Spider predecessor yet, but these tow cars will have separate designs, and separate engines. For Mazda, expect a SkyActiv engine. The Alfa Romeo might empl...

In the happiness of a snappier than expected government approval of the Tesla Model S, Tesla has now mentioned a specific date that customers can drive their Model S's home. That day is June 22, a month before the previous suggestion of July.

It may be a surprise to you, but this does happen. Ferrari is recalling 74 cars. The vehicles that fall under this recall include the model year 2011-2012 California and 458 Italia.   The problem triggering this recall is weak crankshafts. When the crankshafts were made, they have been done so in a flawed manner. The crankshafts can give away, which will cause the motor to cease functioning.  This month, Ferrari will begin warning owners about this problem. Your local dealer will fix or swap out the engine for free. Owners who crave for more information can call the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at  888-327-4236 or Ferrari at 201-816-2600.

More information for the Ford C-Max miniature van thing with swinging rear doors has at last been set out.   The base price will be $25995, excluding an unspecified destination fee. Now, this might seem like a little much for a minivan-hatchback thing, but keep in mind that a hybrid powertrain is standard. Ford claims the C-Max will be more fuel efficient than its primary competitor, the more expensive (by $550, not including destination fee), 44/40 city/highway miles per gallon.   The hybrid C-Max isn't the only C-Mac that will be sold. The plug-in hybrid C-Max Energi will have a longer total driving range than the Prius Plug-In's, and should better the Prius Plug-In's 95 MPGe electric operation mode mileage.  Cargo volume is surprisingly abundant. There is 24.5 cubic feet of space behind the second row, and 99.7 cubic feet of volume behind the first row.  The C-Max can be equipped with features like MyFord Touch, active parking assist, a foot op...

Land Rover will put some minor updates on the 2013 Land Rover Sport. New wheels, a new towing package, standard Brembo brakes on the Supercharged model (regular brakes are an alternative for no extra money), and shuffled color combinations for the interior round out the changes. Yep, that's it. But wait; there's more! Land Rover is selling two new limited edition models here! One is called the  Sport Supercharged Limited Edition while the other is the GT Limited Edition. In keeping with what their names suggest, the Sport makes the SUV sportier, and the GT will add some more opulence and bling to the SUV. Like a gangsta.  300 Sport Limited Edtions will be delivered to our shores sprayed Santorini Black and 200 will be painted Fuji White. 400 GT Limited Editions will be Santorini Black and 350 will be coated with Fuji White. Funny thing is, Land Rover is British.   Anyways, you don't really get much with the GT Limited Edition. Paddle shifters on the steerin...

In a nice gesture, Porsche has put out some photos of a prototype version of its 918 supercar. In the past, we have seen a concept form of this car in Geneva, but this will be pretty much the shape of the 918 , even if the taillights are from the production 911.  This car will be a hybrid vehicle, with a high-revving 4.6 liter V-8 engine assisted by two electric motors on both axles that balloon the total output to 770 horsepower. The base price tag will likely be above $850000 to compete with the Enzo successor Ferrari is planning to sell. That car will also be a hybrid. The 918 918s Porsche is going to build will go on sale in late 2013.

In contrary to America's despise of practical, sometimes stylish station wagons, BMW is bringing back the 3 Series station wagon to the United States next spring, and it will sell alongside the already on-sale sedan. This is the second variant to be released for the new generation of 3 Series cars, and the coupe and convertible still remain concealed in BMW secrecy. The new wagon will come with the 240 horsepower 2 liter, turbocharged four cylinder, the 300 horsepower, 3 liter, and, surprise, a 3 liter turbocharged diesel inline six that should put out horsepower in the vicinity of 250. It is essentially the same size size as the sedan, with only a negligible decrease in overall length. Inside, BMW claims the cargo area is almost ten percent larger than the current generation. That makes it have the largest cargo area in its relatively small class, but by only a miniscule difference. The wagon does have some pleasant cargo features, like a net partition, a rear window that po...

In pursuit of more sales, Porsche has an upcoming midsize sedan thing in store to snag more than a few customers from the Audi A7, Mercedes-Benz CLS and the BMW 5-Series GT. It will cost anywhere from sixty thousand to one hundred thousand dollars. Right now, Porsche is regarding it as the Pajun, as in Panamera Junior. And the Macan small crossover's internal name is Cajun, like Cayenne Junior, get it? Both will be riding on the MLB front wheel drive platform, though all wheel drive is expected to be standard for both of those vehicles for obvious reasons. Then there's a nice little surprise! Porsche is aiming for the Ferrari FF for this car, which is going to be a $200000+ coupe or sedan that is mid-engined like the Boxster or Cayman are. It is expected to be extremely sporty. Final confirmation for this exotic vehicle isn't available.

Like previous similar incentives from Hyundai, Saab, and some other super high end sedans, Cadillac is going to give away free iPads with its new XTS flagship sedan.  The thing about the XTS is that it was the car that debuted the new CUE infotainment system for Cadillac back when it was first unveiled to the public. The CUE system integrates a large touchscreen with capacitive buttons and  your smart device to operate many apps, like Lincoln's MyLincoln Touch, among others. There will be a CUE app downloaded onto the iPad that teaches you how to use CUE and has imitations for CUE's functions. The iPad will also come with the MyCadillac app and OnStar RemoteLink that can help you locate dealers, call roadside assistance, and more. More features of the CUE system includes Bluetooth streaming and a Doppler radar display (woah!). This is a Linux-based system, so it might be able to be modified by third party developers.  The iPad in context is the lastest generati...

The Sonata is now a well-respected car among among car shoppers and experts alike. Now, for the 2013 model year that is already on sale, the Sonata gets some price increases and additional standard equipment.   First off, the manual transmission is completely gone from the Sonata lineup. The base GLS trim now starts at $21670 with a 6-speed automatic transmission. A new optional Popular Equipment Package on the GLS costs  $825 and adds heated seats and fog lights.  The SE will need $24120 to buy, and comes with standard heated seats. The SE costs $150 more than before. The top trim level, Limited, starts at $26620, a price drop of $600 compared to last year's Limited. That's because the panoramic sunroof is no longer standard; a regular sunroof replaces it. For all you panoramic sunroof fans, you can still get it as part of a $2900 Limited Premium Package. A fully loaded Sonata will set you back $31270, an $100 rise.  Turbo models will add add $1550 for t...

The first RAV4 EV came out for fleet sales in California in 1997, with small numbers of units sold individually to customers in 2003.  After nine years away from the American car market, the new Toyota RAV4 EV electric SUV is making a relatively unremarkable return back. It is based off of the current generation RAV4 with electric car components from Tesla. The electric motor spins out 154 horsepower and a whopping 273 pounds feet of torque. It propels the forward through a single speed transmission. One thing that's amusing about the RAV4 is that it has a Normal mode and, get this, a Sport mode. While the Sport mode doesn't stiffen the suspension or tighten the steering, it is the key to the 273 pounds feet of torque and 100 miles per hour. The Normal mode chops torque to 218 pounds feet and it lowers top speed to 85 miles per hour. Sport mode also drops estimates acceleration times from 0 to 60 miles per hour from 8.6 seconds in Normal to 7 seconds. Compare that to ...

The Juke powered by a GT-R engine that was shown in Dubai in January as a concept will go into production, but on a customer order system only and not in the United States.  For those of you that don't know, the Juke-R is a gussied up Juke fitted with a Nissan GT-R engine. The regular Juke is an odd hatchback powered by a 188 horsepower 1.6 liter turbocharged four cylinder engine while the production Juke-R will have a 545 horsepower, 3.8 liter V-6 from the 2013 Nissan GT-R. It's worth noting that the concept Juke-Rs were powered by the less powerful, previous generation GT-R.  Buyers that are overseas and are serious about buying a Juke-R can email Juke-R@Nissan.co.uk.  

While sales for the Prius C was off to a brisk start, it has waned off significantly since its launch in March. At one point, Toyota sold 1201 copies in three days. For April, Toyota only managed to sell 4006 Prius Cs. The Prius v and Prius Plug-in are still making remarkable sales numbers, however, leading to an overall gain in the Prius family's sales. Meanwhile, let's get back to the C. It falls widely short of other subcompact players in the United States. The Kia Soul sold over ten thousand units in the same period, with the Nissan Versa following at over eight thousand sold, the Hyundai Accent and Chevrolet Sonic both at over six thousand, and the Ford Fiesta following at over five thousand units. The Yaris, Toyota's non-hybrid subcompact car, wasn't too far ahead of the C at 4274 units sold. Surprisingly, the minicar Fiat 500 comes very close to the C's number with 3849 sold. Why the slow pace? Well, inventory is one thing. There was only 927 Cs on dea...

From now on, buyers of the Scion iQ minicar will receive an absolutely free PlayStation Vita from Sony. It is a never before seen type of incentive to get potential customers excited about a car.    The Scion iQ battles with the Mini Cooper, smart Fortwo and Fiat 500 for relatively youthful customers. A PlayStation Vita, a jacked-up mobile gaming device, will certainly entice the younger generation into buying a Scion iQ.  The Scion iQ has a base price tag of $15265 while a PlayStation Vita will set you back $250. You be the judge on whether buying a Scion iQ to get a free PlayStation Vita is a good deal.