Before you buy that car, watch that movie, or listen to that CD, be sure to check this section of our site. Our staff members regularly check out the hottest and newest items on the market, and here in this section, we provide you with reviews of the latest merchandise, movies, or music we've had the opportunity to test. We strive to be as honest and direct as possible when giving our opinions, so you know you can trust us.

2008 Buick Enclave Review I had a chance this week to review the sort of crossover SUV I never would have requested myself, but had more use and appreciation for than I could have imagined. The all-new-for-2008 Buick Enclave had a refreshing array of features, remarkably for the price point, and to my surprise, I ended my test with the advice that it's actually a remarkable buy from a brand that's been pretty lost for identity...READ MORE

What a Brazilian Steakhouse Is, and What it Should Be If you want to taste the food of another culture, you could go to the old Italian standby up the block, whether authentic or heavily Americanized, or you could try something else. I'm not talking about an unpalatable Thai place, but something more along the lines of exploring new tastes you already like, but might not know about. I'm talking about the Brazilian Steakhouse, and I know just a few such places in the world to recommend...READ MORE

Subaru Legacy Sedan (Spec-B) Review On the surface, the Subaru Legacy Spec-B is as attractive as it is curious. This odd beast was devised by the engineers at Subaru years ago as an answer to a question it seems painfully few had the pause to ask; where is my rice-racer from Subaru? Well, ask no further. Though the bygone models so lauded from the 90s are gone, this is a fair compromise, but I still have to ask, even with its spectacular performance, who would want to buy this thing?READ MORE

Blue is the New Green – Mercedes E320 Bluetec Nails it Perfectly If you're looking to do the new thing, the popular thing, and perhaps even the conscientious thing, you want to get a bit greener, even if just in subtle ways. The Gas-Electric Hybrid market is still limited, and E-85 engines are still limited, unsupported, and environmentally debatable. Even still, there are painfully few choices in the environmentally conscious markets. Even if you're looking at a traditional diesel-powered car, in which you can pour soy-based biodiesel, you still have an array of logistical problems, most notably the car from which you can choose. To the tremendous fortune of premium buyers, Mercedes Benz has made the choice that much easier than ever before...READ MORE

2008 Chrysler Pacifica Review – First US Crossover Still Arguably the Best Even in the days when petrol-swigging SUVs where the very staple by which the Big-3 kept their quarterly dividends within investor expectations, Chrysler made the criticized decision to start scaling back the super-size equation. They began work on the Chrysler Pacifica (under various test names) long before gas became priced alike liquid saffron, so when that first shoe fell, they were perfectly poised to fill a niche that hadn't quite existed, but had been imagined. The vehicle in question is the Chrysler Pacifica, and it strikes a modest balance, even if not a perfect one...READ MORE

Dodge Magnum SRT-8 Review – Even Skeptics Worship this Beast Some people believe that muscle cars died the day Ford manufactured the first Mustang-II, but this just isn't so. No, the American muscle car died when the first consumer decided to purchase that sorry excuse for a car, and it's been a losing battle for the industry and enthusiasts ever since. Camaro, Mustang, Corvette, Viper and the lesser likes of Firebird and a small handful of others I can't be bothered to remember have worked in vain to resurrect the class of cars over these past three-decades, but nothing has really filled the gap… well, not until now, anyhow...READ MORE

2007 Kia Rondo Review – When Did These Things Get So Good? Korean automaker Kia made its first splash into the American market with uncommonly (if not alarmingly and suspiciously) cheap cars that managed to survive the tricky stateside market, despite numerous quality complaints and styling often beaten out by entries in the Pinewood Derby. Having survived such a battered infancy and placed millions of cars on millions of roads, Kia has had the luxury of getting to stick around long enough to figure out what makes people buy cars, and how to build them accordingly. The Kia Rondo, though not the best car in the lineup, is a very good example of everything Kia is doing right today...READ MORE

Ford Expedition Review – Getting All the Flash & Power You're Buying The Ford Expedition is a bold-faced monster with all the subtlety of a punch in the bits and kibbles, and unapologetically so. I know I'm supposed to be objective, and I'm honestly trying to be just that, but when it comes to a black and chrome beast standing well over six-feet, with enough horsepower to make you sick on top of the sort of curb appeal that literally earned me kudos in traffic, objectivity has to be tempered. There's more to the Ford Expedition, though, so put your pretended modesty aside a minute and do us both the justice of reading on...READ MORE

2007 Volvo S80 Review I first became a fan of Volvo in 1998 when my sister bought an all-new S70, and loved it to bits. I'd had rich, suburban milf-moms who drove Volvos throughout the 80s because their cash-laden hubbies (who could never give them the wealth of my "auto" experience) wanted to give them luxurious cars that topped the charts in safety features. My sister's rich as Rockefeller, and today she's still driving the same car, and she still loves it. Folks of means don't usually cling to a brand, let alone a single car, so I automatically gave Volvo an extra ounce or pound of credence... READ MORE

2007 BMW X3 Review Is it just me, or has the market gotten sick of crossover SUVs yet? They're too small to be SUVs and too big to be cars, so how do you build them? You can't go with a truck chassis, but using a car chassis makes them underpowered, overweight and patently incapable of functioning as any sort of viable option in between. The BMW X3 does a better job than most, so if you're bent on a CUV, though I can't imagine why you would be, this is about as good of a choice as any... READ MORE

2007 Lincoln MKX Review: Answering the Critics This year Lincoln came out with its own crossover SUV for the American market. It's a good car that is exactly what it purports to be, but it's faced some pretty harsh attention from the critics. Not because it pretends to be something it isn't, or because it isn't a good car, but I think it's because they just don't like Lincoln. Car critics drive everything, but they don't buy much, and they certainly don't take the town car to the airport. What I'll do, rather than review it straight up or heap on the nitpicking, is address the gripes raised and give you my take on it... READ MORE

Forget What You've Known About Jeep, All-New Compass Defies it All I've had more than a few friends who were runaway Jeep advocates over the years, and though I've only had a handful of opportunities to ride in them, I've never much been impressed. Historically these off-road throwbacks have been fun, with curb-appeal on tap, but it isn't the sort of benefit that could make up for the high price, lack of economy and efficiency, or the terrible track record of unreliability. If you're thinking about a Jeep Compass, you can forget what you might have known about Jeep, because this ain't your creepy uncle's mud-wrangler, it's a whole different ride of a whole different breed... READ MORE

2007 Nissan Quest Review – Minivans Ain't What They Used to Be I don't like minivans, I should say that right off the bat, just to give you an idea where I'm coming from. When station wagons went the way of the dodo in lieu of them, I wasn't excited. They're more versatile, sure, but they're hideous, hog the road, and invariably cost more than many are able to pay, not to mention the fact that any self-respecting motor-head wouldn't be caught dead in one. Well that's the take I have from twenty-years ago, so let's talk about what they are today, and how I became a minivan believer... READ MORE

2007 Nissan Altima Review – Style, Comfort, Value and Big-3 Crushing Economy I've reviewed a lot of cars in my career, and there's always something to like about each of them, some more than others. I went in to the review of the Nissan Altima expecting a hum-drum, mid-sized, mid-range car, but it has more going for it than I expected. It's as comfortable as any Altima has been, more affordable than I remembered, and the damn thing gets 34mpg on the freeway, despite having enough space and comfort to satisfy all but the most eccentric of tastes... READ MORE

Spirit of Washington Dinner Train Offers Beautiful View, Tasty Food When I found out that I would be going for a ride on the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train, I immediately pictured myself dining on fine cuisine while looking out the window at a picturesque view of Lake Washington and wandering around a winery halfway through the ride. Although reality turned out to be slightly different (okay, very different), I still had a wonderful ride through suburban Seattle... READ MORE

2007 Nissan Pathfinder Strikes Right Balance A couple weeks ago I ran a review of my 1987 Nissan Pathfinder, and somebody at Nissan must have suffered a case of the burning ears, because this week I was asked to review the all-new 2007 Nissan Pathfinder. It's a very different car, and a good car, but in very different ways. It's bigger, more deluxe, and a very different animal altogether... READ MORE

NBC's Lackluster "The Winner" Plainly the Biggest Spring Loser The appeal of Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is almost impossible to resist, so when I learned that one of their star correspondents, Rob Corrdry was leaving after what seemed like an eternity, to forge new ground on his own, I was excited and delighted, but after just a few episodes, my delight turned quickly to dismay... READ MORE

BMW 328i Review: Lives Up To Every BMW Expectation BMW has always been legendary for comfort, luxury and uncommon performance. My friend in college had one when we worked at the Olive Garden together, and despite its age it was an eye catching car that was easy to drive, comfortable to ride and as pretty as you'd hope for what he could afford. Times have changed and technology has come a remarkable distance, and BMW is still living up to these impossible expectations... READ MORE

2008 Ford F-250 Lariat Review Ford's Super Duty models are the heavy-hauling monsters in Ford's full-size pickup truck line. Much like the bright orange equipment you find tearing down houses, these trucks are built, at least ostensibly, for work. Not just work, but serious work at that. The F-250 is the three-quarter-ton version, while the F-350 is the full-ton version, but as you'll quickly find, there isn't a whole lot of practical limitation to what you could do with this truck, assuming you were so inclined, which is really your choice. Just saying I haven't seen many being used for work... READ MORE

Review of 1987 Nissan Pathfinder Two Decades Past As a regular reviewer of the widest variety of shiny new cars, I'm better known for my work in those of the brand-spanking variety than those simply "new to me". Every once in a hundred or so blue moons, however, a car is invented twenty-years ago that deserves runaway praise… or ridicule, but this time it's praise... READ MORE

Chrysler Aspen a Big Great Car, Not a Great Big Car We're asked from time to time to perform a review of an exciting automobile that may be of interest to parents. We've covered the Ford Explorer and the Volvo XC90, and today we're talking about the Chrysler Aspen. In short, it's a big, great car, though not a great big car... READ MORE

Chrysler Aspen a Big Great Car, Not a Great Big Car All new for 2007 is the Chrysler Aspen. Chrysler is trying to fill a unique niche with it, in that it's luxurious without all the price, big without all the size, and comfortable without being a land yacht. The total package didn't impress me too much until I saw the sticker. At that point I was pretty much sold... READ MORE

Hemi is the Hemi of Motors, and for Good Reason We've all seen the commercials about the line of Dodge cars with available Hemi motors. If you, like me, are under the age of 40, it's likely you also had no idea what the fuss is about. Short answer, it's an old muscle car engine that made Mopar famous. Longer answer, it's a modern day monster that can burn you off the line, tear down a house, or just make your commute an ounce more bearable… did I say ounce? I meant foot-pound... READ MORE

Nissan Versa Review; It Ain't Big, but it's Little If you're looking through your choices amongst the scant few micro-compacts on the market this year, you're not going to find many, but one you will find is the all-new Nissan Versa. It's a little car, and when I say that, I'm not kidding. It packs a gaggle of bigger car options, and at the price point, you might just consider the bigger cousins even if you're in the city, or trying to stretch your dollar... READ MORE

2007 Nissan Sentra Balances Economy with Comfort Nissan has long been reputed as a manufacturer of cars that are inexpensive to purchase, economical to operate and as durable as any car on the road. The 2007 Nissan Sentra seems to be no exception to this reputation, and it looks good too... READ MORE

Us Explorers Double-Delighted by Ford Explorer We don’t normally rave about a rental, but in all honesty, we don’t normally rent things anything but asunder, so this experience has been a big exception for us in at least a couple ways, but the overall benefits of these neo-fangled Ford Explorers have us junior explorers giddy as geoducks, and I just don’t think I can say enough nice things about it... READ MORE

Volvo XC-90 Makes Us Feel Safe, Cool, Despite New Jersey Plates This week we had an opportunity to review the 2007 Volvo XC90, the crossover SUV for the hippest of modern soccer moms and dads. It's an interesting car, and it makes us feel uncommonly safe, even though the car itself has New Jersey license plates... READ MORE

Eddie Bauer Explorer Makes Ride Sleepily Smooth We love our age-old and (un)duly weathered Ford as much as we love anything else in our lives, but when it came time to take our trip to San Francisco, we sagely opted to take out a much newer, much sweeter version of our Ford as much for review purposes as it was for our own comfort, convenience and overall peace of, um, woah, sleepy, hang on, zzzz... READ MORE

Lincoln MKZ About as Killer as the US Luxury Cars Come The extent of my understanding of the Lincoln line of cars has historically been limited to the Towncars that have taken me to the airport and the limousines that have taken me almost nowhere, except for maybe a wayside place of unexpected fun here and there. When I took out the Lincoln MKZ for an exceptionally long drive, I was handicapped by my own inability to foster a preconceived notion, but I have to tell you, it's a pretty nice car.... READ MORE

Ford Edge Gives Counter-Sticker-Shock, AKA Surprising Value When I agreed to review the all-new Ford Edge, I wasn't too excited about it. Sure, I come from a Ford family, own a Ford myself (my third, specifically,) and have was surprised when I reviewed the Eddie Bauer Explorer last year. This time, though, I was skeptical, hesitant, and fully ready to say something insulting… but I just can't do it.... READ MORE

Gabe Dixon Band Reinvents Piano Rock If you like music, and based on our demographic research, you do, you're always looking for the next big thing. Maybe you're like the masses and just want something sweet and easy to swallow, if such a metaphor can be extended to things going into your ear, or if you're more of an elitist snob like me; you're looking for the next unsung hero.... READ MORE

Subaru B9 Tribeca the Obvious Executive Choice Last week I was convinced by my editor to take out a crossover SUV, and I have to tell you from the first second that this was entirely against my will. I love a muscle car as much as the next man, and a good, utilitarian car likewise, but a crossover is something I've never even pretended to have time for. This B9 Tribeca, however, blew off my socks, shoes, and even my calf-garters, which I'd not have otherwise admitted to.... READ MORE

Starbucks Embodies Feeling (and Prices) of Home Pedestrians beware of the craziest of all attempts to swindle you from your hard earned money. It’s not the worst because it tries to sell you goods of little value or even take much of your money. No, it’s the craziest of all because it will come in the form of an old guy who will stop you, waste what time you’re kind enough to patronize, vandalize what goods you have on hand, and then still have the gall to ask for money in trade for it....READ MORE

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