The Coolness of American Sports Cars I haven’t been able to travel recently due to COVID, but I usually go on business trips to the U.S. once or twice a year. Whenever I do, I always rent a slightly higher-grade car and try to travel by car as much as possible. For example, I’ve done grand tours from LA to Las Vegas and then to San Francisco, which is one of the pleasures of business...
MINI John Cooper Works The other day, a friend purchased a BMW MINI JCW (John Cooper Works), and I had the chance to take it for a test drive. This time, I wanted to review it with as few preconceptions as possible, so I didn’t do any prior research before the day arrived. The JCW I saw for the first time had a completely different vibe from a regular MINI. The first things that catch...
Testing the New Macan (3rd Generation) on Winding Roads Continuing from the previous article, this is a review of the new Macan (3rd generation). This time, I’m reporting on my impressions when taking the Macan onto winding roads. When you think of the Macan, it’s a very sporty SUV, and calling it merely sporty doesn’t do it justice—it’s a car with the athleticism that makes you want to call it a ‘sports car’. The strong...
New Macan (3rd Generation) This time, I borrowed the current new Macan (3rd generation, also called Macan 3 or facelift model) as a loaner for my 991 Carrera 4 GTS, so I’d like to share an honest review after driving it for about a week. This Macan is the latest current model, the simplest base model. It has only minimal options, mainly just the 14-way comfort seats with memory function. The wheels are standard 19-inch,...
Porsche 911 Type 996 On this blog, I have experienced and reported on quite a number of 911s, from the original 911 to the ’73 Carrera and all the way to the 992 GT3, but for some reason, there are hardly any articles about the 996 and 997. Regarding the 996, I have done only one review of a later model Carrera 4S, but that car had modified suspension and wheels, so it wasn’t a...
Following up on the previous test drive of the Mercedes-Benz GLB200d 4MATIC: Differences from the GLA (Part 1), here is the second part of the report. GLB200d 4MATIC GLB200d Engine Sound One more notable point about the GLB’s engine is the sound it makes when revved. At first, since it’s a diesel engine, I thought it would either be simply quiet or just noisy, but it’s neither. The engine produces a sound that’s clearly audible...
GLB200d 4MATIC The other day, a friend of mine purchased a GLB200d 4MATIC, so I had the chance to test drive it. Actually, I had previously test driven my younger brother’s GLA200d 4MATIC. At that time, I was impressed by the engine and body’s rigidity, and the stability at high speeds was amazing. The handling was very sporty, but at town speeds, I felt the rear suspension was a bit bouncy over uneven roads and...
The Ducktail on the Porsche 911 Recently, Porsche unveiled the limited edition 992 model 911, the 911 Sport Classic, which is still fresh in our memories. This Sport Classic is based on the Turbo body and features a ducktail spoiler, paying homage to the 1973 Carrera RS (commonly known as the ’73 Carrera’). The very first production Porsche to feature a ducktail was this ’73 Carrera, developed to generate downforce on the 911’s body, which...
A Year Later, Behind the Wheel of the Air-Cooled Porsche 911 (964) The other day, I drove my husband’s air-cooled Porsche 911 (964 model) for the first time in a whole year, and I’d like to share my impressions. My husband had urged me dozens of times before, saying things like “Why don’t you drive the 964?” “The suspension’s been refreshed, it’s way better now.” But I was reluctant to get behind the wheel. The...
Nine Months Since Swift Sport Delivery My beloved car, the Swift Sport, was delivered in October 2021. Time flies—it’s already been nine months. Since then, the only modifications I’ve made are installing lowering springs and replacing the interior lights with LEDs. I’ve been driving the Swift almost daily over these nine months, but since most trips are just to the local supermarket or kindergarten, the mileage hasn’t grown much. So far, it’s about 4,000 km....
