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DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
About 1,000 houses crumble along border areas of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, state media say.
BOOK REVIEW
Biography of Wendell Scott, NASCAR racer who crossed color line
CALIFORNIA
It was an offer he couldn't refuse: the use of an Airstream for a week. Along the way, Dan Neil ponders the Zen of camping, the costs of Dr. McDreamy hipness and the future of the RV.
MAJORDOMO
Dudes, it's as sleek and cool as a certain sports car. There's even a TV. But what if you want toast?
In demand
2009 Honda Fit
* Base price: $15,220
The best subcompact on the market is slightly larger, vastly stiffer, noticeably more quiet and comfortable, and every bit as dorky-looking as the previous edition. But what a view from the cockpit.
Rare cars like the 1927 Bugatti Type 35B resurface as prized collections go to auction.
RUMBLE SEAT
Given Barack Obama's bracing summons to civic duty this week, telling the masses to keep their tires properly inflated to save gas, I was surprised and a little disappointed that the tire maintenance section of my local AutoZone was so uninhabited.
RUMBLE SEAT
Volkswagen often invokes the climes and cultures of North Africa for its products' names: Toureg -- the name of VW's goodly sized off-roader -- is borrowed from the aboriginal people of the Sahel. Scirocco is a withering desert wind. This is a curious practice since the Germans had a decidedly mixed record in North Africa.
RUMBLE SEAT
The luxury behemoth is beautifully constructed, exquisitely appointed, heroically engineered — and drives like an excellent BMW sedan with an elephant on its back.
RUMBLE SEAT
A pair of evenly matched super-luxury sports cars have distinctly different personalities.
RUMBLE SEAT
Europe's Car of the Year is fun to own and drive -- not least because of its fuel economy.
RUMBLE SEAT
Where are the hot-cool small cars, the drive-all-night cars, the panties-on-the-mirror cars? Where they've always been: In Europe. Here's a look at two of them: The Alfa Romeo MiTo and the Fiat 500.
RUMBLE SEAT
The total family package is high-functioning and deserves a good home.
RUMBLE SEAT
And it's solid and safe, with charisma to boot.
RUMBLE SEAT
Thanks to the A4, a troubled Audi was recharged in the '90s. This time the brand doesn't need saving, but the sedan comes back looking like a hero anyway.
RUMBLE SEAT
A rejiggered product from Down Under, the G8 tries hard to please. Just don't compare it to the BMW 5-series.
RUMBLE SEAT
The popular crossover has lost the boxiness and gained a few inches. In other words, there's more space for your legs, plus the skis, bikes or kids.
800 WORDS
Growing numbers of travelers venture to remote and fragile places knowing that their presence makes matters worse. Here's a solution.
As a reborn pony car, the fuel-inefficient Challenger is a retro stallion
RUMBLE SEAT
The GM import is as entertaining and nimble as its German cousin, the Opel Astra.
OUTDOORS & ADVENTURE
Finding solitude in Joshua Tree National Park -- albeit with a satellite phone, GPS unit and locator beacon. Call it 'e-survival.'
RUMBLE SEAT: ACURA TSX
The sedan has the requisite sparkle and performance, but feels like a luxury car wrapped around an economy powertrain.
RUMBLE SEAT
The best-selling small SUV in Europe vrooms to American shores.
RUMBLE SEAT
A marvel of power and speed, the all-wheel-drive GT-R coupe is so safe and serene that it's curiously lacking in thrills.
RUMBLE SEAT
The new luxury sedan has all the sparkle and power you'd expect. If they could just do something about that grille.
800 Words
If a large flag is good, is a giant flag even better? Donald Trump seems to think so, but oversized patriotism like this is a serious breach of flag etiquette.
RUMBLE SEAT
The 200-mph supercar, basically a Porsche Motorsport version of the 911 Turbo, is all the scarier for its effortless ways.
RUMBLE SEAT
The Murano's new front looks more aggressive, but not much has changed on the road.
RUMBLE SEAT
The 135i packs a lot of oomph into its little body, but those looks . . .
RUMBLE SEAT
The little car that could grows out but, whew, not up with the Clubman.
RUMBLE SEAT
In looks, ride, even in sound, a Ford Mustang edition pays proper homage to a legend.
RUMBLE SEAT
The eight-speed IS-F brings swift splendor to the high-performance luxury club.
RUMBLE SEAT
The new Audi TT is a bolder, sleeker version of its old self. Yes, still the designer's dream car.
RUMBLE SEAT
Computer-like precision kind of takes the fun out of it.
RUMBLE SEAT
A sneak peek shows the truck-nugget tackles today's big issues: driveability, fuel efficiency, space.
RUMBLE SEAT
The Subaru Impreza WRX STI is still rowdy enough to delight true believers. Yet nuance is part of the story in '08.
RUMBLE SEAT
Infiniti's feisty little hatchback protects car and driver with its lane sensors and AVM cameras.
RUMBLE SEAT
The Tahoe Hybrid is smart, smooth and strong, but it's a lot of vehicle for a little environmental progress.
RUMBLE SEAT
Heavy on the technical -- and on the bulk
RUMBLE SEAT
It's average, but that's a good thing.
RUMBLE SEAT
Mercedes GL320 CDI is just fine, but it's another SUV in a world that should be thinking green.
RUMBLE SEAT/DAN NEIL
From stem to stern, Audi's S5 Coupe is one smooth operator, all refinement and lubriciousness. Get it on the highway, and it moves like greased lightning.
RUMBLE SEAT
Plagued by reliability issues, the company is doing damage control with its new C-class.
RUMBLE SEAT
The Chrysler Town & Country Limited -- quick, comfortable and commodious -- is a patriarch among minivans.
RUMBLE SEAT
Overindulgence done right, Mercedes-Benz's CL63 is luxe lightning.
THE WAITLIST
If you didn't sign up in 2004, you're outta luck.
RUMBLE SEAT
The Accord EX-L's quieter, safer, more middle-of-the road. Just like its target audience.
Automobile Columnist
RUMBLE SEAT
Upgrades inside and out give the coupe a more refined feel.
COLUMN ONE
The late actor's Ferrari goes to auction this week. Auto critic Dan Neil slips into a machine from another age and drives like a Bullitt.
RUMBLE SEAT
With a nifty and satisfying sport-utility like this in its portfolio, the automaker may save itself yet.
RUMBLE SEAT
Chrysler's '08 Sebring Convertible has a nifty roof mechanism. But things go down quickly from there.
RUMBLE SEAT
The C30 could mark the emergence of a species: Volvo rockinus.
RUMBLE SEAT
The classy automaker goes ultra-sassy with a supercar for grown-ups.
RUMBLE SEAT
Ford's new offering is quite a looker, and much more affordable than the luxury brand.
RUMBLE SEAT
Looks aside, there's plenty to praise in the 2008 Scion xB -- more fun, more substance, more room inside. And isn't beauty an inner glow?
RUMBLE SEAT / DAN NEIL
Pumped up and powerful, this Mercedes brings a racy pedigree to the street.
SOMEWHERE in Germany, rich guys are geschwinging around in their 400-hp, mega-dollar Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG Black Series, the excessively excessive version of the company's yar little roadster. And yet, for reasons that remain mysterious (well, I suppose I could ask), Mercedes elected not to bring the first creation of AMG's "Performance Studio" to these blessed shores.
RUMBLE SEAT
The 2007 Tundra competes in the large pickup market with all the right gadgets
LAS VEGAS
You can get away from the dealing and into wheeling, on two wheels or four, tracks or dunes. Racing schools can help kick your visit into gear.
In Germany, automakers are in fierce competition to come up with the most jaw-dropping shrines. Car-loving travelers, come peek under the hood.
RUMBLE SEAT / DAN NEIL
Porsche's 911 Turbo for 2007, the class of its class, simply laughs at lag.
RUMBLE SEAT DAN NEIL
No question, there's a lot of bunny for the buck here. VW's re-engineered Rabbit is agile, sturdy and quite a catch.
RUMBLE SEAT/DAN NEIL
With the Sky, GM has polished up its vision for a darty little two-seat convertible. In a Saturn, no less.
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
In the Mercedes CLK 63, any pangs of conscience get blown right into the countryside.
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
Acura's RDX isn't perfect. But it's fun, attainable and has a lot of personality.
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
Heavy and sluggish, the 2007 Caliber forgets about fun. Sorry, Dodge, but what were you thinking?
CARS / 125 YEARS / COMMEMORATIVE EDITION
The weekly auto review takes a giddy spin down the streets of Pasadena in the world's first vehicle -- and reflects on an era when wheels like these first touched the pavement.
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
Sales and quality are way up at Hyundai. Nevermind that the boss is in jail.
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
The carmaker stumbles with Sedona. Nice trimmings can hide only so much.
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
But odd snout aside, Jaguar's XK has a sultry, sinewy style. Sports car fans: Prepare to be hooked.
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
The frugal and frisky Mazda5 'space wagon' has a place for everything, including four kids.
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
The 9-3 SportCombi is one sweet Swede, a slick wagon that shows what the company can do when it sticks to its roots.
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
Volkswagen pulls its fine-tuned Phaeton from the U.S., where performance is important but badge image is everything. Really, it never had a chance.
RUMBLE SEAT
Like a Trojan horse, Camry sneaks gas-saving radicalism into a trusted American staple.
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
Like other hybrids, this Honda makes you feel good by saving gas. But it looks cool too.
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
Think luxurious. Think flash. OK, even hybrid. The Germans are. (Think about that, L.A.)
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
Not since torch-wielding peasants chased Frankenstein's monster through the town square has such a noble spirit been so mercilessly taunted. One critic compared the new $320,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom to a coffin maker's "Executive Slumber Series"; another called it the world's most majestic air conditioner.
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
Plenty of pound-feet -- that's torque -- help make the ultra-performance version of Mercedes' E-Class one of the best cars in the world, if not the best.
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
A lighted fuse of polished elegance and high ambition, Chrysler's latest riff on the history of car design is bound to hold up well over time.
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
If you ever despair that the U.S. auto industry is whirling, slowly but with gathering momentum, down the tubes of history, the second-generation Toyota Prius will give you no comfort.
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
The xB from Toyota's Scion brand is a kind of stereo on wheels, aimed squarely at Japanophile Gen-Y buyers barely old enough to drive. Parents won't get it, but that's the point.
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
Nissan's super-sized Pathfinder Armada is aimed squarely at Detroit's most profitable piece of the SUV segment. But do bigger ends justify bigger means?
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
With its futuristic, look-at-me XLR convertible, GM's luxury brand delivers a diamond in the rough.
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
All that's missing from the well-engineered TL is personality.
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
The all-new Bentley Continental GT is a feast for the senses as well a drain on the wallet
DAN NEIL RUMBLE SEAT
Supercharged and hyperactive, the Mini Cooper gets the 'Works'
Story Gallery
Automotive Critic Dan Neil
click to enlarge
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