2011 Acura TSX Sport Wagon: What it is and what it could be

Car reviews, much like annual performance reviews, can be tricky to write. Love the car and you’ll be labeled a fan-boy. Hate the car and you’ll be labeled, well, a hater. Most writers find a few things they love, few things they hate, throw all into the mix and bam, a review. A writer whom I respect calls it “The Wobble” and chances are that at some point we all have all been guilty of doing it.

It’s easy to be a critic, but it’s tougher to be a constructive critic. I just spent a weekend with the Acura TSX Sport Wagon, and as a critic I’m tempted to write simply that I liked it – but I couldn’t love it. As a constructive critic, however, I’ve decided to offer a solution that would change my opinion, and perhaps the opinion of others as well, from “like” to “love”.

The idea stemmed from looking the TSX over and just realizing that it could look so much better with so little effort. Don’t get me wrong. This is a great car. It drives smoothly. It corners well. The engine and transmission combination is more than adequate. The interior is nice, and if it is not opulent it is at least high quality. The seats are very comfortable, and there is plenty of storage room. Frankly, there isn’t much wrong with the TSX wagon. Still, I couldn’t help imagine how much better it could look with some simple changes.

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Review: 2011 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4×4

The world of SUVs is quickly turning into the world of over-sized station wagons with all-wheel-drive. Gone are the ladder frames and live axles, replaced by unibodies with half-shafts seemingly no thicker than a straw. Advantages of unibody design include reduction in weight and fuel consumption, along with more car-like driving characteristics.

So why is the 5^th generation Toyota 4Runner still a truck? Because it can be, because it should be, and because it needs to be. Allow me to explain. … Continue Reading

Review: 2010 Acura TL

All-new for 2009 the Acura TL has grown in size and received what can only be described as controversial styling compared to the slick 2004-2008 model. I recently had the chance to drive a 2010 Acura TL courtesy car for 5 days which is how long it took to fix my 2005 TSX.

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Review: 2010 Hyundai Tucson GLS

The year was 1986 when my parents decided that the old Buick should be replaced by a new, reliable, fuel-efficient, Japanese car. At the time however, a new Asian company came onto the market in United States. The cars seemed similarly made and of similar quality but at a much lower price. My parents ended up with a loaded four-door hatchback Hyundai Excel GLS. The S must have stood for sunroof, which was the only thing that was electrically powered. No air-conditioning, no power-steering, and a five-speed manual made the best use of the 68-horsepower dished out by the furious 1.5-liter four.

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Review: 2010 Infiniti EX35

With the general dislike for station wagons in the United States, auto manufacturers are trying to make not-wagons disguised as small cross-over SUVs. The G-sedan-based Infiniti EX35 is just that. Sort of. Not really.

Typically, wagons and cross-over SUVs are the bigger, more functional than their sedan counterparts, but this is not the case here. The EX35 rides on a shorter wheelbase, is shorter overall, has less passenger volume, less headroom, less legroom, and to add insult to injury, is also heavier. To its credit, it does have a slightly larger trunk. All of the above precludes the EX35 from being a great family vehicle. However, after spending a weekend with it, I realized that it was not meant to be a family vehicle at all. … Continue Reading

Review: 2010 Volkswagen GTI

The story which began in 1976, when Volkswagen introduced the first Golf GTI, is a well known one. Small front-wheel-drive car, peppy engine, improved handling, and bam, a Hot Hatch was born. And that’s good n’ all, but if you are between the ages of twenty-eight and thirty-eight, the ninety’s were the era of the Hot Hatch for you.

Honda was dominating the market with its Civics and Integras. The turbo AWD DSM trio was the powerhouse of the bunch, often running 12’s in street trim – that is when their owners were not busy replacing timing belts, differentials, oil seals, and such. Other cars included the Sentra SE-R, 240SX (cough truck engine cough), few Celicas and an occasional turbo Mazda. … Continue Reading

Review: Jaguar XKR Convertible

I don’t believe that cars have genders but this Jaguar XKR is a clear exception. This is a lady, and she is beautiful, confident, athletic, smart, and classy. And she likes to drive fast.

Ironically, I got this Jag after spending a day with three fabulous roadsters and had very low expectations of it. Surely it cannot be as exciting as the unbelievably fun-to-drive Boxster, the angry SL63 or the exotic California, can it?

Yes, it can. Yes, it is.

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2010 Subaru Outback takes on Crosstour and Venza

Different but the same would be the way to describe the feeling I got after driving the Subaru Outback for about forty seconds. It is different because the fake wood trim is of different veneer, some buttons are in different places and the windows are a little bigger. Otherwise, everything is almost the same as the Honda Crosstour and Toyota Venza I drove recently. It is therefore appropriate to look at all three vehicles and have ourselves a very first CarGuyDad.com comparison test. Well, sort of, since I didn’t have all three vehicles at the same time. … Continue Reading

Review: 2010 Toyota Sienna

For most people, myself included, purchasing a minivan equates to throwing in a towel into your game of life.  The minivan has taken up the stigma of station wagons from decades past and it may be the vehicle most responsible for influencing the SUV trend, which gives young parents hopes of freedom they have once known.

For 2010 Toyota strives to change this unfavorable image with the all-new Sienna. It is marketed it with a comedic rap song performed by suburban parents who are clearly living the dream, in hopes that Generation-X will relate and accept the Swagger-Wagon as the family vehicle to have. … Continue Reading

Review: 2010 GMC Terrain SLT2

The once mighty General Motors is trying to reinvent itself after a near-collapse. Part of their revival approach is to produce bread & butter cars which sell in large volumes such as pickup trucks, sedans and smaller cross-over utility vehicles which have become modern day stationwagons. I have recently spent a weekend with one of those cross-overs, a mildly equipped GMC Terrain. … Continue Reading

2010 Lexus HS250h – Why It Makes Sense To Some

Forget anything you think you know about this car. Forget that it is a hybrid, forget the fact that is made by the same company which brought us the Prius. Forget for a second about the fact that you think you know anything about cars. They say ignorance is bliss and in this case you want to know less. … Continue Reading

2010 BMW 328i – An Inside Look

Until now my, exposure to the E90 chassis was rather limited; a quick drive in a friend’s 335i and a stint at the BMW Performance Driving School in an M3. Recently, however, I got to spend a weekend with a brand new 328i and I must say that it really frustrated me. It was the kind of maddening frustration that many teachers and few employers have expressed about me; I knew it could be so much more if it just tried a little harder, if it just paid attention to details and did not take the easy way out. … Continue Reading

2010 Honda Accord Crosstour – Q&A

I was not sure what to make of the Honda  Accord Crosstour when it was first introduced and judging by its facebook reveal neither did many other people. Having spent a long weekend with one, I finally understand it and I am able to answer some questions.

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Jeep Wrangler Unlimted Rubicon

My first independently purchased vehicle was an ’84 Jeep CJ-7. I loved it. One day I met a pretty girl who was driving a Jeep Wrangler. I loved her. Fast forward few years, several cars, and one baby later; no more Jeeps, just a slightly-boring but superbly good MDX performing its daily grind as a comfortable family transporter. On-and-off we’ve been talking about the new 4-door Wrangler Unlimited and how cool it would be to have one, but would it be as comfortable? What about gas mileage? How is the highway ride? And safety? The basic question is: Could a Jeep Wrangler make a good family vehicle? … Continue Reading

Review: 2010 Lincoln MKZ

Recently Ford Fusion has undergone a refresh and has since received a ton of accolades. I have not driven either the first or the second generation Fusion, but after Motor Trend named the Fusion its “Car of the Year”, my interests were piqued. The Lincoln MKZ is based on the Ford Fusion but is fancied up with leather this and electric that, so it could only be better, right? … Continue Reading