2009 Chrysler Sebring Convertible

If the only thing you want out of a car is a convertible and the ability to seat four, then this car is for you. If it is one thing I can say about this car, it is large and capacity for four is definitely possible. If you value anything else in life, survival, value for money spent, a good driving experience, the ability to feel like you aren't driving a blender without a top... run somewhere else.

Upon first look... the car hides its size well. From the outside, it looks decent sized, but when you sit on the interior, you get a true grasp for how limosine like this car is. The front feels like the hood on a Corvette... it ends in a different area code. The rear of the car feels like you are pulling around well... another car. The front leg room was spacious as was the shoulder room, but the head room was a little crampt. The rear room isn't meant for large adults for long trips, but children or short people would be comfortable back there provided the person in front of them was not a basketball player and they had uh... knees.

Our test car was equipped with the 2.4 liter four cylinder. If you are into fuel conservation, this is the engine for you. If you like getting where you are going... skip it and go for the six cylinder. The four cylinder was economical on gas, has to work really hard at highway speeds negating any savings in gas because it is always dropping down to the lowest gear to accelerate spinning the motor at high speeds and well... sucking up gas.

As with all convertible... the lack of a roof for rigidity plays a huge part on the driving experience and with this car it is no different. The smallest of bumps will upset the chassis and large bumps will make you almost seasick because of the rotational chassis twisting forces. Feels as if you are sitting in the middle of a ladder while people on either end twist in different directions. This is a car to definitely be seen in, not drive and in this case, that's not a good thing. Wind noise from the convertible top is horrible. The radio sometimes has a hardtime overpowering the noise at highway speeds.

However, putting the top down (while a long process) makes many of these problems go away as you are greated with endless headroom and the wind in your hair. Wind noise up front isn't bad, but wind noise for the rear passengers can make having a conversation almost impossible. In all reality, if they are in the back seat, you probably don't want to hear what they have to say anyway... that's why you put them back there.

For it being a cheap four seat convertible... it definitely does the job. However, I would much rather pay more for a car to do that or skip the convertible option all together. Cheap and convertible should not be in the same sentence together.

2008 BMW M5

After 600 miles, the M5 is still just as much fun as the first mile. However, some of the appeal has been lost due to multiple trips to the gas station. That V10 is thirsty ... but you tend to forget about that when you are winding it out past 7000rpm. It gathers speed unbelievably fast and sheds it off equally as fast considering how large it is.

Let's go over the car from the beginning.

The sticker price on this car is just shy of $100k ... is it worth it? If you are looking for an autobahn crushing family cruiser, then the answer is unquestionably without a doubt. The looks of the car have been claimed by many to be less than perfect, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I behold greatness here. The interior while new and modern not typical of BMW's of the past has won me over and finding things is easy and intuitive.

The iDrive system, that many hate... does not phase me one bit. I'm able to use the voice commands and the control knob easily. Maybe this is because I am a computer person, maybe it's just because I spent more than two minutes reading the manual and playing with it ... who knows.

Now the stuff you are really looking for ... the performance. How does this thing drive? It drive good. Thanks for coming reading. Just kidding. The car drives really nice and not too firm. Even in the hardest of suspension settings (there are three -- soft, normal and hard) it is quite tolerable. The power is intoxicating. Getting it moving takes a moment because well, it is heavy and mass requires power to move, but once moving... any sort of acceleration is only a flick of the wrist away. The seven speed SMG unit executes down shifts with lighting speed and up shifts equally as fast. The faster you want to go, the faster it shifts gears. At speed well in excess of common, the car continues to gather speed.

Does anybody need a car this fast ... no. Is it nice to have, you bet! There is nothing like having a car that can haul a family with luggage around and still be able to blitz a mountain pass when you want to.

Introduction / Update

Well ... you'll probably notice that I am now using a blog to manage all the automotive reviews. As such, all the dates for the reviews are currently out of order. I'm hoping to fix that soon.

Also, we are going to be expanding this section to handing automotive, as well as motorcycle reviews and if it is promising, I may even branch out into personal watercraft as well (but that is in the future).

Enjoy the reading, I hope it helps you make a decision on what to buy/drive next.