A Special Thanks to John Mc Elroy of Autoline Detroit!

I had an opportunity recently to chat with Autoline Detroit's own John Mc Elroy! I thank Mr. Mc Elroy for taking time out of his busy schedule, and I appreciate his advice!

The Car Exam Is Now On Facebook and Twitter! :)

The Car Exam is now on Facebook and Twitter! :) Look up "Car Exam" on Facebook and you'll find it! Go to Twitter and look up "The Car Exam." Become a friend on Facebook and a follower on Twitter and tell your friends, too! :)

The Car Exam Quick Quiz #8: The Chevrolet Camaro (2) SS

Good Grades: Powerful 400 horsepower, 6.2 liter V8 engine and good six-speed automatic transmission, solid chassis, terrific retro exterior styling, comfortable front seats, good interior materials.

Bad Grades: This car is extremely claustrophobic--the windows all around are extremely small (and the black interior doesn't help), limited outward visibility, huge blind spot when changing lanes, retro instrument gauges aren't a good thing (Instrument gauges down by the gear shifter on the console? C'mon, Man!), small back seats and trunk, and the car is too heavy--it needs to be lighter.

Final Grade: If you love all-out, American Muscle, then the Camaro SS is the car for you--possibly. This car would be the near perfect muscle car if it weren't for its glaring shortcomings. Still, it's a blast to drive! If you want better fuel economy, go for the 304 horsepower, 3.6 liter V6 in the Camaro RS. If you want more horsepower , get the Camaro SS with the six-speed manual transmission--and you'll get 426 hp, 26 more than the SS with the automatic transmission. The 2010 Camaro SS vs. the 412 hp 2011 Mustang GT: Let the heavyweight comparisons begin! Woo Hoo! :)

The Car Exam Grade: B+

Vehicle Price: $37,975

The Car Exam Quick Quiz #7: The Ford Taurus Limited

Follow The Car Exam on Facebook "Car Exam" and Twitter!


Good Grades: Solid build quality, nice interior ergonomics and quality,supportive and comfy seats, good exterior styling--in short a lot of the SHO's good attributes.

Bad Grades: The base 3.6 liter, 263 horsepower V6 struggles to pull the 4,000 pound Taurus. You really miss the twin-turbocharged 365 horsepower V6 in the SHO--and it shows (pun intended)! My test car missed some of the goodies found on the SHO (navigation, all-wheel drive, etc.), and it shares a flaw with the SHO (short windows all around--which means a big blind spot in the rear.

Final Grade: The Taurus Limited is a good car, but it feels underpowered--especially after you drive the Taurus SHO. If you can afford to spend the extra dollars (and driving performance matters), do go for the SHO.

The Car Exam Grade: B

The Car Exam - New Car Reviews - Quick Quiz #6: The 2010 Ford Mustang GT Convertible

Follow The Car Exam on Facebook "Car Exam" and Twitter!


Good Grades: Good power for the 315 hp 4.6 Liter V8, solid 5-speed manual transmission, competent braking, good exterior styling and better interior than the 2005-2009 models, Microsoft/Ford Sync System, comfortable seats, cool sequential turn signals at the rear.

Bad Grades: Retro is fine, but the skinny numbers on the speedometer and tachometer need to go away--now! I still felt like it could use more horsepower, small back seats, and I didn't care for the "Grabber Blue" color on my test car.

Final Grade: Chevrolet Camaro sales have been topping the Mustang for several reasons this year--one of them being huge horsepower advantages with the V6 and V8 engines. Ford freshened the Mustang for 2010, but left the outdated powertrains alone--a big mistake! If you are in the market for a Mustang, wait until spring and get a 2011 Mustang. You can get the new 5.0 liter 412 horsepower V8 Mustang GT or the new 305 horsepower, 3.7 liter V6 in the base model with a whopping 31 miles-per-gallon fuel economy on the highway (only 19 m.p.g. city), apparently a record for a 300+ hp engine. By the way, the 2011 Shelby GT 500 gains 10 hp to reach 550 horsepower. I have a feeling when I test the 2011 models, the Mustang will surely get a better grade!

The Car Exam Grade: B/B+

The Car Exam Quick Quiz #5: The 2010 Lexus RX 350

Follow The Car Exam on Facebook "Car Exam" and Twitter!


Good Grades: Superb interior, nice exterior styling, silky-smooth and strong V6 3.5 liter, 275 horsepower engine/six-speed automatic transmission combination, terrific ride, good braking, good interior room and stereo system.

Bad Grades: It uses premium fuel--not good, considering gas prices are on the rise again.

Final Grade: The Lexus RX 350 is (by far) my favorite luxury CUV so far. It's best for daily driving--if you you just want a stress-free, easy driving experience. If you want a more exciting, connected driving experience--go with the Mercedes ML 350--it's the sportiest CUV I've driven so far (look for it in an upcoming review soon). The RX 350 stays true to the Lexus formula--which isn't a bad thing. Hopefully, Toyota's woes will not expand to the RX 350 line--if they do, then THAT would be a bad thing.

The Car Exam Grade: A

Upcoming Quick Quizzes

....

These new quizzes will be coming soon: the 2010 Ford Mustang GT, the 2011 Kia Sorento, the 2010 Mercedes ML 350, the 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid, and the 2010 Ford Taurus Limited. Look for them! :)

New Feature: "Mini Quizzes" Coming Up!

....

I'll be doing a short series of "mini quizzes" on cars that I took on brief test drives. These will include: the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS, the 2010 Toyota Highlander, The 2010 Chevrolet Equinox, the 2010 Toyota Camry Hybrid, and the 2010 Toyota 4 Runner. Look for these posts in the days ahead! :)

The Car Exam Quick Quiz #5: The 2010 Lexus RX 350

Good Grades: Superb interior, nice exterior styling, silky-smooth and strong V6 3.5 liter, 275 horsepower engine/six-speed automatic transmission combination, terrific ride, good braking, good interior room and stereo system.
Bad Grades: It uses premium fuel--not good, considering gas prices are on the rise again.
Final Grade: The Lexus RX 350 is (by far) my favorite luxury CUV so far. It's best for daily driving--if you you just want a stress-free, easy driving experience. If you want a more exciting, connected driving experience--go with the Mercedes ML 350--it's the sportiest CUV I've driven so far (look for it in an upcoming review soon). The RX 350 stays true to the Lexus formula--which isn't a bad thing. Hopefully, Toyota's woes will not expand to the RX 350 line--if they do, then THAT would be a bad thing. The Car Exam Grade: A

The Car Exam: Quick Quiz #4: The 2010 Cadillac SRX

Good Grades: Excellent interior and exterior styling, high quality interior materials, good ergonomics, comfortable seats, good navigation system with back up camera, nice visibility, good stereo system, decent ride and braking.

Bad Grades: Weak acceleration from the 3.0 liter V6 engine is a deal-breaker; large blind spot, the ride could be a bit softer.

Final Grade: The 2010 Cadillac SRX is light years better than the cars GM used to make. It is a very impressive crossover. However, if you choose to buy it, get the SRX with the 300 horsepower, 2.8 liter turbo V6 engine. It's more potent than the gutless 3.0 liter, 265 horsepower V6 engine (which strains to pull the 4200 pound CUV). The Car Exam Grade: B

The Car Exam – Quick Quiz #3: 2010 Ford Fiesta (Euro-Spec Model)

Good Grades: Great Styling, good utility, good seat comfort, good fuel economy, decent power and acceleration, acceptable ride, Microsoft Sync System, ambient interior lighting.

Bad Grades: Claustrophobic interior, large blind spots, rear headroom, uneven texture of dash materials, too many buttons for the stereo, "sloppy" feeling 5-speed manual shifter.

Final Grade: The Fiesta is a promising car from Ford. To be fair, the "sloppy" shifter could have been the result of a lot of test driving (which still doesn't make me feel any better about it long term). This car has its issues, but it should appeal to a fair number of people wanting to buy a small, fuel-efficient car. I would like to drive the U.S. Spec 2011 model later this year to get a better sense of what we are getting here--although the Euro-spec model is very close (the attached photos are of the 2011 U.S. spec models). The Car Exam Grade: B/B-

Flex-ing its Muscle: The 2010 Ford Flex SEL

Either you like it, or you don't--the styling of the 2010 Flex is quite polarizing, to be sure. While that may be the case, all can agree it's big on utility--and especially power--when it's packing the optional 3.5 Liter, twin-turbo charged 355 horsepower Ecoboost V6 engine under the hood.

To be fair, I don't particular like the styling of the Flex. To me, it worked much better as the higher-riding Ford Fairlane concept several years back. It simply looks better sitting higher off the ground. Now that I have that out of the way, I'll tell you the things I do like about it--which is actually a lot.

Back to the Ecoboost: what a blast! It's a smooth, gutsy power plant with plenty of muscle to get you where you need to go--and quickly. That's very impressive for a 4800 pound vehicle. The standard 3.5 Liter V6 touts 262 horsepower, but I didn't drive a Flex with that engine. However, based on the 2010 Taurus Limited I drove with the same engine (I'll feature that in an upcoming review), that weaker engine seriously lacks power in comparison to the Ecoboost V6.

The smooth six-speed automatic transmission (with paddle shifters) works well with the Ecoboost engine, too. Braking was decent--it could have been better, but decent. For people wanting a vehicle with high fuel economy, they may skip the Ecoboost Flex: the EPA ratings for city/highway driving: 16/22 mpg--not so good. In spite of its name, the Ecoboost could probably use some more economy. That's the price you'll have to pay for its strong rush of horsepower, though.

The Flex has comfortable seats, lots of leg and head room (excellent overall interior room, I must say), and good ergonomics. The dash seems generally well laid out. In fact, the interior is impressive--which shows just how far Ford has progressed the last several years. The quality--total fit and finish--is much better than Fords of old.

Other goodies include: a push-button ignition starter, the Microsoft SYNC system, heated seats and mirrors, BLIS mirror system (blind spot information system), a navigation system with rear backup camera, ambient lighting, moon roof, three-row seating (with rear climate controls), lots of cup holders and great outward visibility from all sides.

It sum it up, I was surprised how much I liked the 2010 Ford Flex SEL. Its exterior styling may leave a lot to be desired (its cousin--the Lincoln MKT--is less attractive) and the fuel economy isn't the best--but for those buyers who can get past those shortcomings, they will be rewarded with one heck of a crossover utility vehicle.

The Car Exam Grade: B+