Blog Posts by: Joe Lorio  

BMW brought its X1 SUV to the New York auto show, as the long-promised subcompact entry will finally be coming the U.S. market this fall. The most surprising aspect about this model is that it will be the least expensive BMW. The 4-cylinder, rear-wheel-drive version starts at $31,545 (including destination), ...    Read more

In a roundtable discussion, Klaus Draeger, BMW board member in charge of product development, touched on a variety of subjects, ranging from electric vehicles, triple-turbo diesels, and his commitment to the straight six. Weight saving and EVs Commenting on the Mini E and the 1-series Active E, Draeger said that the takeaways ...    Read more

Joe Lorio caught up with Ralph Gilles, president and CEO of SRT and Motorsports, as well as senior vice president of product design, at the 2012 North American International Auto Show. The two discussed a variety of topics. Here's what Ralph had to say. ...    Read more

After a year of driving lots of different cars, I’ve decided to cobble together a list of highs and lows. Rather than sticking just with new models, which would likely create a roster much like other Best lists, I thought of this instead as a recounting of cars that surprised ...    Read more

Back in the bad old days of a divided Germany, the Trabant was a stinking, smoky, torpid symbol of the lameness of the Communist system. Pathetic by West German standards—or any standards, really—the car has all but disappeared from the streets of unified Berlin.   While it may be no longer used ...    Read more

In the most recent J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study, the Ford and Lincoln brands suffered a major setback. Ford dropped from 5th place to 23rd, and Lincoln dropped from 8th place to 17th. Ouch. Does this mean that new Fords and Lincolns are shedding parts all over the driveway? ...    Read more

This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending what promises to be a significant new concours for car geeks on the East Coast, The Elegance at Hershey. This is its inaugural year and it was held in conjunction with The Ascent at Hershey, a hill climb. The concours took place ...    Read more

Anybody who was within earshot of a television yesterday was treated to overkill coverage of Will and Kate’s historic day. And while I personally could not have cared less about The Dress, The Kiss, the crowds, the hats, the weather, the vows, the sermon, or anything else that was endlessly ...    Read more

The Mitsubishi i electric vehicle will be priced at $27,990, for the base ES, and $29,990 for the SE. Deliveries will start in January, but the company is happy to take your order—and $299 (refundable) deposit—starting tomorrow, for those dedicated environmentalists who want to celebrate Earth Day by pre-ordering an ...    Read more

For 2012, the Jaguar XK sports car range will include a new, ultra-high-performance model: the XK-RS. Available only as a coupe, the XK-RS gets 550 horsepower from its 5.0-liter supercharged V-8 (up from 510 hp in the XK-R). The top speed is the highest ever in an XK: 186 mph ...    Read more

The Mazda 3 is getting a mid-cycle update for 2012, in which it gets a new front fascia that tones down the controversial “smile” look of the current car, as well as a new engine that hits the magic 40-mpg figure on the highway. The new engine is the first application ...    Read more

At the New York Auto Show, Mini announced a partnership with rock band KISS, in which KISS-inspired graphic wraps will be sold for Minis, with proceeds from the sales donated to UNICEF. Additionally, four Minis, each painted with a design taken from one of the band members’ faces and signed ...    Read more

New York City, more so than anywhere else in America, is the place where one is more likely to be driven than to drive. Thus, it's probably the ideal place for the U.S. debut of the Range Rover Autobiography Ultimate, an ultra-luxe Range Rover that particularly caters to rear-seat riders. Perched ...    Read more

It's a truism that Americans won't buy diesels. But Volkswagen, which now offers TDI engines in four different models, is proving that theory isn't necessarily true. More than one in five VWs that rolled out of dealerships in March did so under diesel power. The individual model percentages were 15% for ...    Read more

The redesigned, 2013 Chevrolet Malibu lineup will include a high-mpg ECO model that pairs a 180-hp, 2.4-liter four-cylinder with an electric motor-generator and a lithium-ion battery pack. The electrically assisted Malibu is expected to achieve city/highway fuel economy ratings of 26/38 mpg. Chevrolet is not calling the gas/electric powertrain a hybrid, ...    Read more

Nissan is introducing a redesigned Versa for 2012—but the redo is only for the sedan, the new version of the hatchback (which actually accounts for a majority of sales) probably won’t be out until next year. The Versa sedan switches to an all-new platform that sheds 150 pounds, even though it ...    Read more

At a brand-new, gleaming-white dealership in Manhattan’s Tribeca, Maserati took the wraps off the latest addition to its stable: the GranTurismo MC coupe. The MC sits above the GranTurismo S as the sportiest iteration of Maserati’s coupe. The GranTurismo MC is similar to the European-market GranTurismo Stradale, but it is not ...    Read more

Volkswagen unveiled its new, 2012 Beetle (no longer called New Beetle) at an event in New York City just ahead of the New York auto show. We spoke with VW design boss Klaus Bischoff about the new car. On this Beetle versus the outgoing model: “We took seriously into consideration the current ...    Read more

BMW has announced pricing for its ActiveE battery-powered 1-series coupe: $499/month for a 24-month lease, with $2250 down. Although the terms are different, that pricing ends up being about the same as what you'd pay to lease the company's current electric vehicle, the Mini E, which was available in 2010 ...    Read more

This past weekend was the Pinewood Derby, which is a big item on the Cub Scout calendar. Based on our previous three years experience, my son had no notions of actually winning the race, but was instead focused on building something cool, with an eye toward winning some other award ...    Read more

It’s a truism among product planners that Americans don’t buy station wagons, instead preferring high-riding, car-based SUVs. So, for those of us who like wagons, the fact that Acura has decided to import the TSX wagon is good news. Automakers often set their wagons up to fail by pricing them higher ...    Read more

The CT200h is both the least expensive and most fuel-efficient Lexus you can buy. At $29,995, it undercuts the IS250 by $3500, and its EPA numbers of 43 mpg city, 40 mpg highway easily surpass the HS250h’s 35/34 mpg ratings. The true energy miser won’t be tempted out of his Prius ...    Read more

The Acura RL is a car I hadn’t driven or thought much about in years, and judging by its sales numbers, I have plenty of company. Speaking in round numbers, only 2000 of Acura’s flagship sedan left dealer lots last year. Compared to the RL, the Volvo S80 is a ...    Read more

Like much of the country, we’ve had an epic winter here in the New York area, so the desire to speed its departure is understandable. A recent break from the cold temperatures—and the arrival of an Audi S5 Cabriolet—provided the taste of spring we’ve been craving. With its Quattro all-wheel drive, ...    Read more

If the movie "Smokey and the Bandit" has a special place in your heart—and particularly if you have a Pontiac Trans Am in your garage—you need to check out the Bandit Run, a road trip that celebrates the movie and the car that made it great. Automobile Magazine went along on ...    Read more