Automotive

I just ran home from Main Street in Motion so that I could pop off a quick post for y’all.

GO.

If you’re buying a car Main Street in Motion is brilliant because you can test drive (short but fun drives) two or three comparable cars one after the other. When you’re at Auto Row running from one dealership to the next it’s sometimes hard to remember what features you enjoyed about which car. With this setup you hop from one car to the other in minimal time.

I’ll post pictures to Flickr later this evening, but I drove a few cars:

Chevy Cruze: this is a compact car that grew a set of balls pistons. I hadn’t really planned on driving it, because I was too busy salivating over the Camaros, but one of the fine ladies at GM suggested we try it, and I’m pretty sure she lived to regret that. The car is small, not a rocketship, but not slow either. It handled a 140 degree turn at about 40 miles an hour beautifully. The car hugs the road in a way I hadn’t expected for a car in that class. Oh, it also has doodads. Doodads are important (like USB hubs and paddle shifters). It was the big surprise of the day.

Impala: It’s a beast. I’m going to do a little research, I want to know what engine they jammed in there.

Camaro SS: I want. I love. I want. I love. I want.  Review over. (it’s fast and luxurious, like ridiculously so)

Corvette GS Convertible: My lap around the track was so fast I think we time traveled. It handles exquisitely, as Corvette’s are known to do.

Volt: I still think it’s fabulous. It’s not a performance car, but it’s a high torque car with limited drag. Driving it at 40 mph is an absolute joy, and it handles curves well.

If you decide to to to Main Street in Motion (this weekend in Los Angeles, coming to other locations all through 2011) there are a few things you should know.

• Register ahead of time if possible.
• Test drives are limited to folks 18 and up.
• Lines will be long for the performance cars
• Getting there early is probably a good plan
• The track is short. Floor it off the line. You won’t regret it.
• Don’t brake in a turn, speed up, it’s fun
• They had hot dogs, sandwiches, and drinks. You really can hang out there all day
• If you’re bringing kids, make sure you have two adults so you can take turns driving