Four Wheels Good

The day's too pretty to actually have to think

I was planning on taking the Suzuki SUV out for another couple of spins today as I need to do some errands. But it turns out that this is the kind of day that makes me believe I'll never sell my Wrangler: clear blue sky, direct sunlight leaving just a hint of chill in the air, trees not yet spewing pounds of pollen into the atmosphere.

The Jeep may need a new top, it may be operating sans floor carpet and the black plastic fenders may be closer to gray, but there are times when driving it seems like the only good choice I have.

At least until it rains.

A Caddy web-shooter

Via Autoblog, Cadillac's 2009 XLR convertible has been caught running around naked in public. While I'm generally a fan of Caddy's CTS and STS, the XLR is a model that I initially liked, but have grown less enamored of over time. This new version doesn't look like it'll change that, at least from the outside. In fact, this looks like it could be the answer to the question, "What if Spider-Man had a Spider-Car?"

The actual answer to which is:

Frankly, I'm seeing more similarities than I should. Though if the XLR came with web-rockets, I'd so totally be there.

First Impressions: 2008 Mitsubishi Outlander SE

Note: "First Impressions" and "In the Driveway" posts are basically my initial impressions of cars I'm currently driving for review. Given that they are initial impressions, sometimes my opinions will change -- for good or ill -- between the time I post and the time I actually review. I'll post links to reviews as they're finished, as well, and try to explain any evolving opinions.

Mitsubishi strikes me a bit of an odd car company, with some exceptionally strong entries for both performance (the go-go Lancer) and style (the seductively curvy Eclipse). Balancing those out are some, well, not-so-strong models.

Case in point, the Outlander "crossover" SUV -- crossover meaning, basically, a car that's been jacked up to ride kind of like an SUV but without some of the downsides like excessive weight. The Outlander definitely rides more like a car than an SUV, but that's not necessarily a good thing. It feels soft and disconnected in its handling.

The SE version I drove comes standard with straight-four engine, which provides decent gas mileage for a part-time four-wheel drive -- 20 mpg city, 25 highway -- but that comes completely at the expense of power. With only 168 horsepower at your disposal, getting out onto a busy road requires a touch of caution and some good timing, and I imagine jamming the accelerator to the floor over and over to hit merging speed won't do much to help those mpg numbers.

Looking at the outside, the Outlander is competent without being compelling. The prow-like nose recalls some Acura's beak-nosed SUVs, but I don't consider that a plus. While the Outlander doesn't stand out with beauty, neither does it stand out with ugliness. It's simply average.

Inside the economy roots show pretty heavily, with oddly textured hard plastic -- the honeycomb pattern isn't as big a sin as some other manufacturers' fetish for faux-carbon-steel patterns, but it doesn't make a lot of sense, either. But there's definitely more to like with the interior than the exterior of the Outlander. Numerous power outlets make it easy to juggle your portable electronic life, and the navigation system (should you choose to spring for it) works pretty well. The cargo area is fairly large. The front seats provide a lot more support than I expected, particularly lateral support. Unfortunately, the back seat was so hard and bench-like that if I closed my eyes I half expected the coach to call me out to play right field. An extended time in the back would not be a pleasant experience.

If you're on a budget but need a larger vehicle, the Outlander might have some appeal for you. The base model starts at under $20K -- the SE model I tested starts around $25K (I'm still waiting to see the invoice that includes the extras on my test model). But if you have some financial wiggle room, you'll definitely want to do some comparison shopping.

New Gears this week

I've got a new Gears up at Metro Weekly on the 2008 Mini Cooper S. In short, there's a lot to love about the Mini, and the new enhancements, mostly stylistic, don't do anything to change that. The new Mini Clubman -- a larger version of the car that should address some of the Cooper's problems with storage area and back seat passengers (it doesn't have any and it doesn't hold any) -- is out soon and I'm awaiting my chance at the wheel. Given the interest in the car, though, I don't expect to get a crack at it until mid-summer at the earliest.

Because I'm slacking, I've neither noted the earlier review of the Lexus IS 350 nor finished the logo for this embryonic site. Soon, soon, I promise.

Review: 2008 Subaru Outback

My latest Gears review is now up at Metro Weekly, part of our new Domestic Partner section. Check out the whole thing here.

Wild-eyed

Via Autoblog, news that the Honda Pilot's new design for 2009 isn't garnering the positive reviews the company hoped for. Maybe it's because with those wildly staring headlights the Pilot looks like a pokemon on a meth bender.

More pics at Autoblog.

Judicial activism from beyond the grave

The saga of Virginia's abusive driver fees continues its convoluted and frustrating way, this time because a previously unremembered 1878 state Supreme Court ruling that it seems would prohibit the legislature from telling the state's courts to stop assessing and collecting fines for abuse driver convictions even though the legislature is now repealing the law. From the Post:

Since the fees went into effect July 1 to help finance a transportation bill, more than 1,000 motorists convicted of felony and misdemeanor offenses have been ordered to pay the fees, which are assessed over three consecutive years. One option under review is to ask motorists to finish paying the installments and then issue a refund.

Hey, maybe next time the legislature will elect to raise highway revenue in a fair way, without resorting to political trickery and sleazy conflicts of interests.

Or not.

Nuts to that

Someone needs to bar Virginia lawmakers from having anything to do with our highways. Via Jalopnik, this report from WTKR explains how Va. Del. Lionell Spruill (D) of Suffolk is showing his political stones by taking on the burning issue of truck nuts. Sigh. Now I'm going to have to order me some.

Unsurprisingly, it all comes down to another case of, "Won't somebody please think of the children?"

Four wheels rising

Slate has a middling piece by Anne Applebaum on the moral quandaries posed by the development of technologies than can alleviate some of the world's extreme poverty but increase the dangers of climate change. Applebaum points to the unveiling in India of the $2,500 Nano, the new ultra-cheap ride that promises to greatly expand the mobility of the nation, particularly those rising from the lower to middle class.

I say the piece is middling because she's absolutely spot on about the dilemma, but reluctant to go anywhere with the observation. Here's the former:

What does feed the masses, at least at the moment, is no secret: high-tech farming, chemical fertilizers, genetically engineered crops. Modern means of communication and transport—cars, telephones, computers—will eventually make the poor richer, too. Though there are many fans of "environmentally sustainable development" who believe we can have less poverty, less pollution, and lower carbon emissions at the same time, that's not happening out there in the real world, as the unveiling of the Nano demonstrates well.

"That's not happening out there in the real world" is kind of an understatement, and it gets to one of my bigger frustrations with the overall movement to combat global warming. I actually do think global warming is a problem that needs to be addressed, but when activists are running around blaming specific hurricanes or short term weather patterns on the long-term (and still not completely known) effects of global warming, it's obvious they're taking a page from the anti-smoking movement where statistics are routinely manipulated to make it seem that being within 100 yards of a lit cigarette is as lethal as shot of cyanide on the rocks.

It's also very, very easy to bemoan the miserable state of the environment when you can afford to make "environmentally friendly" choices. As Applebaum notes, "In many countries, the desire not to be poor is, at the moment, stronger than the desire to breathe clean air. Look at photographs of Beijing in the smog if you don't believe me."

Even though Applebaum gets the problem, she hedges when it comes to what sorts of measures might show that environmentalists were taking the poverty v. environmentalism debate seriously. She writes: "If, at the next [climate change] conference, delegates also focus even a few minutes of their attention on the millions of Nano cars that will take to the roads in India and elsewhere over the next few years, then we'll know they're really serious."

Some words aren't really a measure. Some level of support for things that will elevate the world's poor and speed up the process by which more of the world can afford to be environmental caretakers would be a better measure. But I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for an endorsement of upward mobility as represented by the Nano.