July 25, 2008

(Note to readers: Some subscribers have noted difficulty with overlapping text and images or reported wide gaps of open space on some pages. Suggestions: Clear your "cookies" and/or adjust the size of  your computer's screen resolution. Cheers, James)

Editor's Notebook:

A few weeks ago, I drove to the most expensive car I've driven – a 2008 Audi A8 W12. Priced at more that $140,000, everyone who was in the car thoroughly enjoyed it. It was the size of a small motorhome, plush, spacious, 450 horsepower and with an unbelievably good, $6,300 sound system. It had a refrigerator in the back seat, massaging front seats and a solar-paneled sunroof. I drove it to Reno and back and didn't want to get out of the car. It also got 13 mph in city driving and 19 mph on the freeway.

Last week, I drove a 2008 Ford Focus coupe to the Monterey Peninsula and back, and in many ways it put the Audi to shame. It's an unfair comparison, really. But the $20,000 Focus SES coupe performed as well as any car I've test driven in recent years. It had 140 horsepower, five-speed manual transmission, comfortable leather seats and zipped around corners and fit quite nicely into tight parking spaces. It got 24 mph in the city and 35 mph on the highway.

In short, The Weekly Driver is all about driving diversity. Welcome back. Cheers, James

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Audi A8, W12, 2008: The Weekly Driver

Ford Focus, 2008: The Weekly Driver

Pontiac G8, 2008: The Weekly Driver

Ford Taurus, 2008: Weidel On Wheels

Toyota Matrix, 2008: Weidel On Wheels

Land Rover LR3, HSE, 2008: Bill Belew Reviews

The Weekly Driver Video Reviews

Audi A8, W12, 2008

Honda Civic (Hybrid), 2008

Pontiac G8, 2008

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Cheers, James Raia
Editor/Publisher
E-mail: James@ByJamesRaia.com


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