Mini Cooper Vs. Fiat 500

By: Skylar Bennett and Gregan Pace

Mini cooper has long been the reigning king of the “small and fun to drive” car market in the U.S. Having the DNA of a BMW without the gut busting price tag has made the Mini the perfect car for the driving enthusiast who enjoys small cars but lacks the “mula” for something more extreme. But wait….what’s this? A competitor? That’s right, the Mini Cooper may finally have something to be afraid of. The Fiat 500. Fiat recently dropped a dealership in our little home town of Salt Lake City so we decided it was time to see what the fuss is all about. We decided we’d go test drive a Mini Cooper and a Fiat 500 to see if the car that took over Europe really has what it takes to knock the Mini off of its very high, and thus far very stable, pedestal. Check out the jump for the results.

Fixer Upper

So there's a company here in Utah that posts wrecked cars for sale on ksl.com. Some of them really aren't all that bad and with some body work they could definitely be driveable again. But this CLS55 they have for sale has me somewhat confused. It looks like it was crashed into a redwood tree, hit with Thor's hammer in the rear, lit on fire, and then dropped in a river. The best part is the description of the car. In the ad they say that "it may be in need of repair". Hmmm, really? I really don't see how this car will ever drive under it's own power ever again. And I definitely don't think there's $4500 worth of parts in it. Nope, not even in those ridiculous rims. Maybe I'm just being pessimistic and I need to see the car's true potential. Or maybe they really meant to put $4.50 for the price. What do you guys think? Check out the jump for more pics!

New York Spotlights

Well now that the Viper's finally come out of hiding all the excitement is pretty much over, right? Actually, that was just the party opener. This years New York Auto Show has had plenty of other cars that are worth much more than a slight glance. Take a look at some of my fav's from this year.

The Rally Dart

Yep, I'm impressed. The new Dart looks pretty awesome in rally mode. Even more awesome is the fact that Travis Pastrana is going to be behind the wheel of this 600 hp dirt monster at the Global Rallycross Championship. Oh yes, that will be fun to watch.


2013 SL65 AMG

This is probably the most impractical, obscene, ludicrous car that has been presented at this year's show. And that is exactly why i love it so much. Mercedes has jam packed the new SL65 AMG with a fire-breathing twin turbo, 12 cylinder engine which is good for 621 hp and an outrageous 738 lb.-ft. of torque. They obviously had to reinforce some things to prevent the car from twisting in half. Well done Mercedes.


The S.H.I.E.D. Acura MDX

It's too bad this Avengers protecting MDX isn't real because it's "been fitted" with some pretty cool stuff. For example, it's powered by a Palladium engine made of titanium, a 9 speed transmission, and diamond quartz brakes. It's also got a bulletproof body, a cloaking device, and a repulsor cannon. Yep it's got plenty of gadgets to satisfy the geek in all of us. Be sure to look for it when the new Avengers movie comes out this May.


The Shelby 1000

Of course Ford had to bring one of their Shelby 1000's for everyone to gawk at. This new mad mustang will be available in 2 models; The street legal 950 hp model and the track-only 1100 hp model. Although it's still hard to comprehend driving a near 1000 hp mustang on the road. Anyways, if you're a mustang worshiper and you think you might want one of these bad boys you may already be out of luck. Shelby's only producing 100 of them and there's already a wait list of 30. The sticker price of $200k also narrows down the market quite a bit. I think i'll just enjoy this one on youtube.


The SRT Viper GTS-R

And why not finish where we began. This is the race version of the new Viper and it's ready to bite the head off of the competition at the Le Mans this year. SRT is hoping to pick up right where they left off with their 3 successive victories at Le Mans and their incredible victory at the Rolex 24.

So there ya have it. This might not be the most practical list of cars shown at this year's New York International Auto Show, but their definitely the most fun to look at and read about. Let me know some of your guys' favorites below!

The Viper has struck!

Yes that’s right, the long awaited, incredibly anticipated 2013 SRT Viper has finally been unveiled. And it does not disappoint! The newly redesigned Viper is even more aggressive than the original with its big and bold “I want to bite your head off” front end to its sleek and sinister rear end. And power? Yep, it’s got plenty of it. With an 8.4 liter naturally aspirated V10 that produces 640 hp and 600 lb.-ft. of torque, this new venomous machine has a better power-to-weight ratio than a Corvette ZR1 and a Lamborghini Aventador. This new beast is also somewhat more civilized than the last with stability and traction control (both can be turned off). The seats are made by the same company that makes Ferrari seats, it has a 7 inch LCD directly in front of the driver with about a million different options and configurations, and there’s an 8.4 inch Uconnect Media Center in the middle. It even comes standard with cruise control. Available in two models; the high performance SRT, and the GTS which has more techno gadgets such as two mode active suspension, the new Viper is sure to satisfy all those who partake of it.  Check out more pics below the jump!

It’s Viper Time:)

For the past few months SRT has been torturing us with teaser pics of the new Viper. Well the wait is finally over! Tomorrow the new SRT Viper will be unveiled at the New York Auto Show. Check out the jump to see all the teasers we’ve had to endure leading up to this incredibly anticipated unveiling. Hopefully it’s worth it!

 

Mercedes Hunter X6- Zombie Killer

I'm not sure why but it seems like a Zombie Apocalypse has been a pretty hot topic lately. Last month MSN posted an article in their auto section about which vehicles would best prepare you for such an event. One of the vehicles mentioned in that article was the Paramount Marauder which I'm pretty sure everyone would agree is a great zombie obliterating vehicle. But if you want to hunt down zombies with a little more class, then the Mercedes Hunter X6 is a much better choice. Check out more details and pics after the jump!

CTS-V Sport Wagon vs. Mercedes E63 AMG Wagon

A couple weeks ago I wrote a post about the Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon and how absurd it is. You'd probably think that Cadillac is the only company crazy enough to build a 550 HP station wagon, but they're not. Mercedes also makes a bonkers family wagon and it's called the Mercedes E63 AMG Wagon. You know anything built by Mercedes that has AMG attached to it has gotta be pretty crazy. Motor Trend recently did a "Head 2 Head" with these two monsters. Check out the video to see which one came out on top.