Blog Posts by: Jason Cammisa  

Even as I approach my sixth anniversary with Automobile Magazine, there are times I feel the need to pinch myself as quick reminder that I’m actually experiencing something in real life. In the first person. I’ve had pinch moments in cars from practically every continent. Like when I hit 8000 ...    Read more

I like to think of myself as a really fair guy. Always have been. So when my dad reneged on a deal to buy me a car in my last year of college, I felt like the world had suffered a giant injustice, and it was my personal responsibility to ...    Read more

I love the Germans, I really do. I spent half my professional life working with them, and I have the David Hasselhoff CDs to prove it. Most of my cars are German, and I even went to high school in the Vaterland. And so I feel I’m uniquely qualified to ...    Read more

It was a nice try. Those logical German engineers at BMW and Mercedes came up with logical naming strategies that would help those logical German car buyers immediately identify a car’s model and engine displacement just by the badge on the back. Show Chris Cardork a Mercedes C280 and he’ll explain ...    Read more

The final EPA fuel economy numbers are in for the new 2012 F30-chassis BMW 328i, and they’re mighty impressive: 24 mpg city, 36 mpg highway, when equipped with an automatic transmission. The 240-hp 2.0-liter four-cylinder isn’t just a miser, it’s powerful enough to catapult the sport sedan to 60 mph ...    Read more

We joined a roundtable with Ulrich Hackenberg, member of the board of management for Volkswagen AG, responsible for product development during the Detroit auto show this week. Hackenberg says that localization is the most important thing to VW's continued growth in the U.S. That means the volume engines we get ...    Read more

For only the third time in my life, Mercedes-Benz is debuting a new SL roadster. Three times in almost four decades isn’t much. In fact, the R107 SL went on sale before I was born, and by the time it was replaced, I owned a car myself. The car that replaced ...    Read more

Last year, Shelby SuperCars was nice enough to take me out for a spin in their world-record-setting SSC Ultimate Aero supercar. It was perfect timing because I was just two days from hopping into a Bugatti Veyron for the first time—the car the SSC stole the Top Speed trophy from. I ...    Read more

Our editors have been plenty busy scouring the show floor of the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show -- but in between running to and from press conferences and battling spotty Wi-Fi connections, they picked their three favorite concept and production cars at the show. Jason Cammisa, West Coast Editor Peugeot HX-1 Yes ...    Read more

Volvo's Frankfurt concept is called the You because the Swedish company says it's taking a human-centric approach: it's "heart is in Sweden but eyes and ears are all over the world," said German-born Volvo boss Stefan Jacoby. Right after he praised the company's Chinese owners. And after he took ...    Read more

Ford had a lot of news in Frankfurt this year. Here's what we took away from the show: Ford 3-cylinder Focus At this year's Frankfurt auto show, Ford showed off its smallest engine: a new 1.0-liter three-cylinder. The engine makes its debut next year in the European-market Focus, where it will be ...    Read more

I don’t know what was more horrifying, the fact that I got suckered into buying a $500 Rolls Royce, or that I had to tow the damn thing home using a full size truck with an engine the size of a pea. For the first terrifying part of that sentence, I ...    Read more

There are those who think this nameplate is called “Austin Martin.” There are those who criticize Aston for making endless variations of sports cars with the same basic design. Who can’t tell a DB9 from a DBS from a Rapide from a Vantage from… the Virage. ...    Read more

Okay, it just happened again. It happens quite often, actually. I, as a representative of the automotive media, have been accused of having a bias toward BMWs. I started my email retort all defensive-like, but then I realized it was time for some self-examination and introspection. And now I’ll share that ...    Read more

So apparently I'm out of the loop, but I didn't realize that BMW was making a sedan version of the 335is. Okay, so it's not called the 335is - it's called the BMW Performance Edition 335i. It's even available with four-wheel drive, as the 335i xDrive Performance Edition. To get it, ...    Read more

I recently had the chance to get behind the wheel of the new Volkswagen Passat, and I’m disappointed. Disappointed in my peers, that is. I’ve read plenty of commentaries about how VW’s newest sedan is watered-down, cheapened, and boring – and I just plain disagree. First, please let me confess that ...    Read more

I can’t remember the last time I was excited about a cartoon. Okay, FX Network’s dirty, raunchy series Archer has made me laugh out loud for two seasons… but that one definitely isn’t G-rated. But I’m counting down the minutes until I can throw myself into a dark theater and ...    Read more

Last May, Porsche called to ask if I wanted to transport a Boxster Spyder from San Francisco to Los Angeles for them. Obviously, I didn’t say no. And rather than brave 400 miles of cop-infested I-5, I took the Pacific Coast Highway. This way, I thought, I’d relax and enjoy ...    Read more

Last May, during a photo shoot for an Automobile Collectible Classic story, my lovely little VW Scirocco 16V requested a new engine. It did this in subtle ways, such as pouring a six-foot puddle of oil out onto the street in front our photographer's pristine mid-century modern home. (The street ...    Read more

Oh wow, Tesla’s PR tailspin keeps getting worse. If you hadn’t heard, the startup car company filed suit last week in the UK against the BBC TV show Top Gear for pretending that the car broke when it didn’t. Yes, Top Gear’s actions are reprehensible. Sadly this isn’t the first ...    Read more

Type “MyFord Touch” into Google, and the auto-completer’s third suggestion adds the word “problems.” That’s unfortunate, because if you say “2012 Ford Focus” to me, the response you’ll get is “Great Car!” But I wouldn’t consider buying a MyFord Touch-equipped Focus until MyFord MyFixes that MyAwful Mytouchscreen interface. Seriously. Last month, ...    Read more

Before I wound up in this business, I often wondered how much journalists drove. I mean, do these people sit at desks all day and just drive some hot car home from work? Or are they out all day driving, shredding rubber and racking up speeding tickets? I can now answer ...    Read more

;The NHTSA's results are in... and guess who caused those runaway Toyotas? Yep, the same evil people who caused the runaway Audi 5000s. Was it Satan worshipers? Hexes? Voodoo dolls? Possessed computers? No. It was the driver. Quelle surprise.;I hate to say "I told you so," but I did. The ...    Read more

I just had the pleasure of spending a couple of days with BMW's new 335is. For those who haven't heard about it yet, it's a 335i with some more power, a bunch more torque, and an exhaust clearly designed by my hero, whoever that is.The 335is' exhaust is the best ...    Read more

A few weeks ago, I got a pretty exciting phone call. Porsche needed to get a Boxster Spyder from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and offered me the chance to drive it for them. Would I be interested?Wow, that's a tough decision... not! I took the day off from work, ...    Read more