Day in Malibu

This weekend I went with some friends into the canyons of Malibu. I don’t remember the last time I’ve gone with friends to drive around in the mountains but it’s definitely been a while. It was an amazing trip. The stars and planets must have aligned to make the drive perfect. The weather, the scenery, the road, the conditions and even the traffic all came together in harmony.

On Top Gear, the crew goes off searching for the best road in the world and concludes with a helicopter view of a beautiful and picturesque backdrop of lush green rolling hills, a waterfall and stream running through rocky terrain and a silky string of road lined neatly a top of that landscape. I think the roads up in Malibu are about as close as you can get here in the US.

On a sunny Saturday morning, a group of us drove along the ocean side Pacific Coast Hwy. From the PCH, we turned on road that ascended up the seaside mountain. It climbed and climbed and climbed. It seemed like we were diving deeper into the mountains and away from the beach until a sweeping right hander brought us 2,000 ft alongside a cliff with an aerial view of the ocean. I could only see it out of my peripheral vision, but we were high up. The cloud level must have been low because we were venturing in and out of the foggy cloud cover. At this point, we had again turned away from the ocean and we could only see jagged rock formations peek in and out of the occasional fog. When it seemed that we reached the summit of the road, there was an ocean on one side and the city on the other. The road wound through the forest and the cars meandered, ducked under trees and blurred passed shrubs.

I almost wish I had a chance to pull over and stare, but sitting in the driver’s seat was still the best seat in the house. The roads in Malibu must have been designed by a driving enthusiast because it is just amazing. It bobs and weaves with a purpose and there are swoops, drops, crests, hairpins, and banked turns. We linked a string of roads together to form a 14 mile “track” with an elevation change of 2,400 ft. It should be called Poor Man’s Nurburgring. Amazing road, beautiful scenery, good drivers, and, best of all, no unexpected events. Everyone went home in the same vehicle they came in. Epic win.

2011 Toyota Sienna

There comes a point in a man’s life where driving a sports car makes as much sense as former president George W. Bush. Kids and family, and maybe even a Labradoodle make owning something more practical an unfortunate necessity. That of course, automatically brings to mind the horrid of horrid, the minivan.

There was a time when I felt when one succumb to the minivan is the point in life where one loses the will to live, slowly drowning in a bucket of cement. Practical as they may be, most were about as enjoyable to drive as getting stung by killer bees.

These days, however, the new era of minivans have become rather nice, and in some instances, impressive. In a segment that was started by American carmaker Chrysler with their Caravan, it is now dominated by the Japanese giants, Honda and Toyota. Given the massive demand for such vehicles, it is no wonder that Toyota has gone to seemingly great length to develop and promote their new for 2011 Sienna. In an attempt to provide useful consumer information, we tested the Sienna. If you feel the minivan is the grim reaper’s attempt to make you lose your will to live, you may stop reading now. Otherwise, please continue.

The first thing that hits you when you see the new Sienna is the radical difference in exterior design versus the last generation. Whereas the last generation offered all the excitement of paint drying, this new redesign looks sleek and aggressive, with trendy wheel/rim sizes ranging from 17 to a sports car-ish 19 inch. It also has some clever touches such as hidden rails for the sliding doors, and nice projector beam headlamps.

Our tester car was the top of the line Limited model, with leather seats, nice big rims, fake wood trim, and get this: center seats are lounge style seats that recline ala the $400k Maybach super luxury barge or 1^st class on an airliner. It also comes with a rear entertainment system that has a fantastic 16.4 inch display that drops down from the roof, with a dual screen function to allow one side to play video games for instance, while the other side is watching a DVD. However, some of the interior materials were unfitting for a $45k car, with the plastics a bit too hard and the seams a bit too exposed. The leather was nice and supple however.

Of course it comes standard with 7 airbags (knee airbag is new) and the usual automatic sliding doors and tailgate. It also has a fully automatic 3-row seat stowing system. That is a good idea, but the execution was a bit too slow. Still, there was plenty of cargo space, and with the center seats that could be slid forwards and back, leg room is more than ample. The backup camera system was also a nice touch, with a panoramic view mode that allows the driver to see on the screen the corners of the car, and had sight lines that automatically adjusts and displays where the car is going to go. This should be very helpful for soccer moms.

On the road, the Sienna felt composed and rode very smoothly. The new 6-speed automatic transmission offered silky shifts and responsive shifts. The steering however, felt a bit lacking in road feel, and offered little to give the driver confidence. That said, it was relaxed and perhaps a good setup for the grocery run.

Our car had the top spec v-6 engine, producing a healthy 266 horsepower. 4WD is also an option, as well as a more economical 187 horsepower 4-cylinder.

So what is the combination of all those facts and figures? Will it be the preventer of the loss of the will to live? Unfortunately, at least with our limited time with the Sienna, the answer is no. It is, at the end of the day, another minivan, built with practicality in mind. That said, at this point, it does offer a nicer ride than the competition, and the engine is surprisingly smooth. The brakes were also nice and linear. It is definitely a car suitable for the long road trip, with plenty of gadgets to keep the occupants occupied, as long as the road trip does not encounter twisty mountain roads.

The verdict? As of right now, the Sienna seems to be on the top of the class. It is not cheap though, with the basic inline-4 cylinder starting at around $25k and the test car we had going for a whopping $45k (fully loaded). That said, it is a nice ride. Yet, despite the gadgets and the gizmos, it still fails to provide that light at the end of the tunnel for car enthusiasts to avoid having the life sucked out of them by the practical needs of starting a family. Rumor has it that a SE version is on the way that may provide that refuge, namely because the chief engineer of the project is Mr. Kazuo Mori, an avid autocrosser. Till then, though, we must make do with another minivan.

6/10

The new Toyota Hysteria

OK, enough is enough. I'm sure you have heard about the Toyota 'Crisis' going on and if you're like me, you're pretty sick of it. I just came across an article where a Toyota Prius driver says his throttle got stuck and was driven by his car exceeding speeds of 90 mph on a "winding" hwy. check out the article and see what you think: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/03/08/california.runaway.prius/index.html?eref=igoogle_cnn

I call BS. He hit 90 mph and was still able to pick up the phone to call 911? If you are that calm and collected, why not just throw the car into neutral and/or stand on the brakes? The Prius ain't exactly a muscle car where the engine can overpower the braking system. The ordeal lasted 20 minutes!? how can that be? Just chatting away w/ the operating and CHP vehicle? what is completely ludicrous is that he attempted to pull the pedal from the floor w/ his hand. HOW!? Even traveling down a straight highway with light traffic, I wouldn't even attempt to pick up a dropped soda let alone reach down to my toes and spend time prying something from the floor. This guy's story is way too suspicious... either he is just looking to get his 15 minutes of fame at Toyota's expense, or he has found the fastest way to get home and brag to his friends about how he made everyone look like fools.

Get ready for the Car of the Future!

Mercedes is unveiling a concept car called the F800 at the Geneva Auto show, which they are dubbing the car of the future.


I thought there would be something cutting edge or spectacular but its just a car w/ an optional hybrid or full electric power plant. boy, that's disappointing. thats about as cutting edge as a butter knife. welcome to 5 years ago, MB.

Oh wait, Mercedes always has crazy cutting edge technologies inside the vehicle. So what's the coolest tech trend? a multi-touch pad. you mean like the ones on my laptop? Oh, but it zooms out when you split your fingers apart! Wait, doesnt the iphone do that already? The only thing I'm getting ready for is yawning.

So basically Mercedes Benz is unveiling a concept car called the F800 which should be dubbed, "the car of now and slightly before". ok. well at least the back looks sorta like an Audi. That's a plus!