The 2001 Pontiac Bonneville, redesigned last year, maintains the car’s heritage as a fun-to-drive, stylish driving machine.

People who want attitude in their sedan will likely enjoy the Bonneville. The car has plenty of power, very good handling and enough available gadgets to make any technophile happy.

The 2001 Bonneville, which has minor enhancements for the model year, shares the same platform as the Cadillac Seville and Buick LeSabre.

Although they may have similarities underneath their exterior, the Bonneville’s outward appearance has virtually nothing in common with the Seville or LeSabre. The new-look Bonneville stands out from the competition, with its sleek, contemporary styling.

Although 20 years is not a long time for a vehicle nameplate in the auto industry (consider the Chevy Suburban has been around since the 1930s), this year Nissan nonetheless wanted to honor the 20th anniversary of one of it most recognizable vehicles, the Maxima.

As with every vehicle that has been around for 20 years, the Maxima has gone through many changes, including a switch from rear-wheel to front-wheel drive and twice as much horsepower as the 1981 Maxima.

If anything, younger buyers will like the 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse simply because there are so few affordable sports car still produced by automakers. The latest generation Eclipse, introduced in the 2000 model year, is one of the last of dying breed of reasonably priced sports cars.

Mazda RX-7, Nissan 300ZX and Toyota Supra are just a few of recently departed cars, while rumors have been circulating for a while that the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird will also go the way of the dinosaur.
Changing tastes of the market aside, the new Eclipse has exciting exterior styling and a reasonable price that will appeal to younger buyers but an engine that will turn off people looking for a high-performance vehicle.

$18,080! I don’t usually start a review with a price, but in this case, it’s impossible not to first mention the great value when talking about the Hyundai Sonata.

At that price, the Sonata has many competitors beat, including Chevrolet Malibu, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima and Saturn L-Series. While the Sonata may face a reputation with some people who think South Korean vehicles are inferior in terms of quality; they shouldn’t.

Hyundai even backs its vehicles with extended warranties that prove the automaker is confident in the long-term reliability of its product. These include a 5-year, 60,000-mile new vehicle warranty; 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty; and a 5-year, 100,000-mile anti-perforation warranty. The competition simply cannot match this offer.

Even though Ford came into the compact SUV market late in the game, it has made up for lost time with the Escape.

First introduced in the 2001 model year, Escape offers attractive exterior styling, roomy interior and a powerful (albeit optional) engine combined with good value that puts it in the top echelon of the crowded compact SUV category. While only in its second year of production, the Escape ranks up there with the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 as one of the mini-SUVs consumers should consider when shopping for this type of vehicle.

Although gone in name, the Dodge Avenger lives on in spirit with the 2001 Dodge Stratus R/T coupe.

The similarities don’t stop there for the Stratus. The car is built in Normal, Ill., and it and its sibling the Chrysler Sebring coupe share their engine, instrument panel, some interior design and much of their basic structure with the Mitsubishi Eclipse.

If you scratch a real truck drivin’ guy you will usually uncover a bent toward huntin’, haulin’ and hard racin’. That’s spelled NASCAR, you’all!

Ask any tried and true NASCAR fan what his favorite radio station is and you can bet it’ll be playing country and western. But country music today is a far cry from the hard edged music of yore. Nashville went mainstream years ago and finishes its sound with a polish that was once found strictly in the pop genre.

2002 Audi S4 Sedan

Rhythm and Blues

?Well it?s one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, now go cat go and don?t you step on my blue suede shoes, you can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes.?

It?s not often I would start the review of a world class sports sedan with Carl Perkins penned and Elvis voiced lyrics, but sitting behind the wheel of the 2002 Audi S4 it seems strangely appropriate.

In fact if I didn?t know better, I would think the blue suede, (Alcantara) inserts on the seats and door panels, matching the ?Oh so bright!? Nogaro Blue Pearl exterior, were chosen as an inside joke by the Audi designers of the S4. If this is the case, I?m laughing with joy all the way to the next curve in the road.

You see, a little more than a decade ago Audi was considering saying goodbye to the North American market. In other words, Elvis was about to leave the building.

2002 Audi S4 Sedan
Rhythm and Blues

?Well it?s one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, now go cat go and don?t you step on my blue suede shoes, you can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoes.?

It?s not often I would start the review of a world class sports sedan with Carl Perkins penned and Elvis voiced lyrics, but sitting behind the wheel of the 2002 Audi S4 it seems strangely appropriate. In fact if I didn?t know better, I would think the blue suede, (Alcantara) inserts on the seats and door panels, matching the ?Oh so bright!? Nogaro Blue Pearl exterior, were chosen as an inside joke by the Audi designers of the S4. If this is the case, I?m laughing with joy all the way to the next curve in the road.

You see, a little more than a decade ago Audi was considering saying goodbye to the North American market. In other words, Elvis was about to leave the building. The late 80?s were dark years, and to this day I still hear comments to the fact Audi vehicles are expensive to maintain and generally unreliable. A concern which in this millennium rings less true with every new vehicle they introduce. These days there is sustainable comfort in having an Audi underfoot.

2002 X-Type:

Jaguar’s new compact-class sedan is forceful at speed, agile like an athlete when steered around a twisty route, plush in cockpit appointments and elegant in style.

Two different aluminum-block V6 engines breathe life into the X-Type. The entry edition X-Type 2.5 has a 2.5-liter six rated at 194 hp. A twin-cam V6 for 3.0-liters drops into X-Type 3.0 with 231 hp at play.

A manual five-speed is offered with either engine. A five-speed automatic, rigged with Jaguar’s J-pattern gate for automatic plus clutch-less manual shifts, is optional for the 2.5-liter plant but standard on the 3.0 six.

Also standard is a computerized mechanism to apply power from the engine to all four wheels.

The cockpit in X-Type adds twin front bucket seats and a rear bench for three, plus touches of luxury and electronic controls for comfort, navigation and safety.

There are eight-way controls for the driver’s seat and four-way power movement for the front passenger’s seat, electric windows and an automatic climate system, soft Connolly leather on seats and bird’s-eye maple trim.

The Premium Package adds an electrochromic rearview mirror, rain-sensing wipers and automatic headlamps, reverse park control, a message center and trip computer.

A Sport Package brings sport-style seats, 17-inch alloy wheels and a rear spoiler plus a sport-tuned suspension and Jaguar’s Dynamic Stability Control system.