RideLust

Thumbs Up: Far more refined than its cousin, the Honda Civic Si

Thumbs Down: Navigation unavailable, average fuel economy

Buy This Car If: You’re looking for a commuter car that isn’t boring to drive

Had things gone according to plan, Acura’s ILX sedan would have been an instant success the moment it hit dealer showrooms, allowing Honda’s luxury brand to put the aging TSX sedan out to pasture. On paper, at least, the ILX delivers the goods: it’s available in models ranging from hybrid though sport-tuned, looks good and delivers a fair amount of content for the price. Acura even wrapped it in a slick ad campaign that said, effectively, dad would have bought this car if he hadn’t been burdened with the responsibility of a family first. We weren’t sure what it meant, either, but then again we’re not exactly in the ILX’s target demographic. Read More…

Even though it’s over 20 years old there is no doubt that the Acura NSX is still one of the worlds premier super cars. When it first hit the streets it was touted as the first true exotic that you could and more importantly would, drive everyday. It had bulletproof reliability, stellar styling and a presence that would make Ferrari’s of the day run for cover. Motor Trend’s Johnny Lieberman recently got a hold of an old NSX as well as a new Lexus LFA to run a very cool old versus new comparison. Click through to check it out.

Source: MotorTrend.com

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Thumbs Up: Chances are you won’t see another in your neighborhood

Thumbs Down: Ineffective A/C, a design that asks for too many concessions to style

Buy This Car If: The idea of a hatchback coupe styled crossover appeals to you

The duck billed platypus, it’s been said, is an animal designed by committee. It’s got a beaver-like tail, but its snout more closely resembles the beak of a giant bird, smashed flat in a hydraulic press. It’s got webbed feet, but males also get a poison-injecting spur on their hind ankle. It’s a mammal, yet its offspring are hatched from eggs. Finally, it relies on electrolocation, not eyesight, to locate and track its prey. In other words, the platypus seems to defy convention, proving that the universe doesn’t always like order. Read More…

Thumbs Up: Better looks, more power better fuel economy.

Thumbs Down: No blind spot or cross-path warning?

Buy This Car If: You want a compact luxury crossover with bulletproof reliability.

The first-generation Acura RDX was an answer to a question that few buyers were asking. It was relatively sporty, given it’s forced-induction four-cylinder engine and available Super Handling All Wheel Drive, but it was also a thirsty beast, returning just 19 mpg around town and 24 mpg on the highway in front-drive trim. Opting for the SH-AWD drivetrain lowered this even further, to 17 mpg city and 22 mpg highway. For a compact crossover those were disappointing numbers. Read More…

So there you are, sitting around the house with that $30k in your pocket that you’ve allotted for the purchase of your next car. You’ve looked at some domestic new cars like V6 powered Mustang’s, Challenger’s and Camaro’s, as well as some imports like Subaru WRX’s, Nissan Altima coupes and the Volkswagen GTI, however nothing seems to fit your fancy. What about a good used car though? I mean $30K will give you the ability to purchase some pretty serious hardware. You can go the modern muscle route by way of a used BMW M5, Chrysler SRT and or Mercedes-Benz AMG. Get sporty with any number of used STI’s, a Porsche Boxster or BMW M3, or if you’re crafty enough, you can even delve into the world of exotics. I found this out first hand this weekend when my buddy Alan stopped buy to show me his new ride.

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Thumbs Up: Fast, comfortable and quiet; a GT car with a bargain price tag.

Thumbs Down: Improved automatic transmission still disappoints.

Buy This Car If: You’re looking for a solid bargain in a luxury sport sedan.

It’s easy to jump on the Honda / Acura bashing bandwagon these days, and many critics feel that Honda has lost its way. While concessions were made to get the new Civic to market at a certain price point, in a certain time frame, the 2012 Acura TL is proof that the automaker still listens to its customers and still builds aspirational cars. Read More…

Thumbs Up: Comfortable, capable and relatively entertaining.

Thumbs Down: Even with a racing pedigree, it lacks soul.

Buy This Car If: You like your entry level luxury with a dose of sport.

In 2006, I was commuting 110 miles per day, in New York City rush hour traffic. My two year old BMW 325 was turning into a reliability nightmare, and with the warranty about to expire it was time to find a new ride before my 3 Series did indeed “Break My Wallet”. I started by narrowing the search to a sedan, since I needed the 4 door people-hauling capability. It had to be relatively fuel efficient, since I was putting on over 30,000 miles per year. It had to be comfortable, since I was spending a minimum of 3 hours per day behind the wheel. Finally, it had to have a shiftable automatic and had to provide at least some entertainment value. Read More…

Honda's HSV-010GT. Image: Morio

Honda was well into the development process of an NSX successor when the global economy went south, forcing Honda to shelve the project. The car ultimately became Honda’s HSV-010GT race car, campaigned in the Japanese Super GT Series. That posed a problem, as Super GT cars were supposed to be based on production cars, and the HSV-010GT wasn’t. While not technically illegal, the absence of a road-going version of the HSV-010GT violated the spirit of competition, something Honda president Takanobu Ito hopes to put right. Last Friday, Ito confirmed that Honda has restarted development of a high end sports car based on the HSV-010GT race car. Read More…

When families gather for the holidays many things tend to get discussed around the dinner table. Topics of conversation cover everything from politics to how long we should cook the pasta. As we talked a family member inevitably brought up automobiles and we began to discuss brands we liked and brands we disliked. We hit on just about everything until someone posted the question of which brand was the most boring and or had the least amount of personality. As I thought about this I realized that it was actually a pretty good question. You see right now automobiles are so good that it’s really tough to purchase a bad car. Sure, some may have more gadgets and gizmos than others, but for the most part cars today are more reliable and better built than any other time in history.
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We here at RideLust have a bizarre attraction to wagons. Mike has one as a daily driver, and although I’m in between wagons right now, I’ve owned more than my share. They’re comfortable, give you plenty of room for car guy stuff (try fitting four mounted wheels and tires in a Mustang) and they fly under the radar, both literally and figuratively. I don’t have hard data to back up this assumption, but I’m thinking that wagon drivers get popped for speeding a whole lot less than sport sedan drivers. Even if a wagon is fast (like Mike’s Magnum SRT-8 or the Audi S4 Avant), cops just don’t give them a second glance.

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