Watch Out Scion - Nissan Has Its Own Hot Box

Finally, Americans can buy a car that looks like it was imported directly from the streets of Tokyo.

The 2009 Nissan Cube arriving in U.S. dealerships next month has the tall, narrow, boxy shape and quirky touches of Japanese vehicles that maximize interior space while sharing narrow roads in a congested Asian city.

The Cube's styling is so cartoonish it's clearly evident the look didn't originate with designers in America.

Gaywheels review: 2010 Chevy Camaro

Last Tuesday night, we gaped at the ripped-up, muscular silhouette of a hot guy in New York’s West Village. Even from outside the windows, it was clear he’d moved beyond the Chelsea muscle boy phase, looking svelte and serious among the sophisticated milieu at Cooper Classics gallery. The view was so great from outside that we couldn’t resist ducking in for a closer inspection …

Electric SuperCar For Recession-Proof Rich Guys

Take a sports car, add a dollop of Bruce Wayne and a generous helping of James Bond, and you might have an idea what it's like to drive the Tesla Roadster.

The electric super-car, unveiled in '06, is impressive by any conventional measure. Years later, the two-seater is still one of just a handful of electric cars on the road that can hold its own alongside any gas-powered challenger -- and is by far one of the most stylish of the bunch.

A Porsche Hybrid?

Porsches are known for the sound of their rippling horsepower under the hood, but the company's new gas-saving hybrid actually runs on batteries more than half the time, leaving the driver with little more than the sound of the wheels on the road.

Using a parallel full hybrid design developed with Volkswagen and Audi engineers, the prototype Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid relies on a combination of internal combustion and electric power to reduce C02 emissions and boost mileage from 14 mpg in the city to 24 mpg.

That's still only half what the Toyota Prius hybrid gets, but then again, it's an SUV. The company wants to improve mileage further by the time the Cayenne S Hybrid hits the market in 2010.

Gaywheels review: 2009 Audi A5

Think about this for a fun time: driving a high-powered purebred sport coupe into the worst storm of a Michigan winter. There will be lots of ice, deep snow, semi trucks spraying salt residue, and crazy lunatics in 4x4 trucks who discover the limits of adhesion by way of center medians and guardrails. Sound fun? Probably not, but the Audi A5 proved to be a snow blower beyond reproach during my drive to the recent North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Driving Gays Wild

Is there really such thing as a gay-looking car? I think so. Sure, there's the typical Audi, VW and Mini Cooper-loving West Hollywood and Castro boy stereotype that comes to mind. I saw this for myself during a visit to Los Angeles to see Madonna at Dodgers Stadium. The traffic was so bad while leaving, that the only thing one could do was check out the ride each homo was driving out of the parking lot that unseasonably warm November night.

Another Italian Job: Fiat 500 Reborn

The joke used to be that Fiat stood for "Fix It Again, Tony!" But a deal with Chrysler and a new generation of safe and stylish cars (like Mini Coopers and Smart) have positioned the Italian automaker for a comeback, particularly for its two-door 500 compact, a hit remake of its iconic model.

Cute, "Smart" and Cleaner

 

If you live in a urban setting, chances are you've already seen the super cute (and very easy to park) "Smart fortwo" zipping around city streets.

Now, Tesla Motors says their company is now developing an electric version of the Smart "microcar" with Daimler AG, and plans to initially produce 1,000 of the vehicles -- with plans to expand to tens of thousands of vehicles per year, if successful in the U.S. market.

Gaywheels review: 2009 Volvo C30

As publisher of Gaywheels.com, I do my best to get seat time in as many vehicles as possible in order to bring you the most up-to-date reviews of the new cars and trucks. With a plethora of new and updated vehicles coming on line every year, it is nearly impossible to get seat time in them all so I count on my fellow journalists to share their opinions on vehicles I simply can’t get into.

One vehicle that has eluded my schedule until recently is the Volvo C30. Based on the lukewarm praise that some of my colleagues gave it, I wasn’t going out of my way to get behind the wheel. However, the Volvo C30 has been coming on strong in our Top 10 Most Researched list so I decided to spend time in one and I am certainly happy I did.

Gaywheels review: 2010 Mazda3

The Mazda3 is a very important car for Mazda globally. So when it came time to design the 2010 Mazda3, the question came to "evolution or revolution?". Thankfully it was "evolution" that won out at Mazda and the new Mazda3 promises to continue as a sales success for Mazda with an all-new vehicle that builds on the previous car’s popularity. The question is; "Is the Madza3 only half as good as the excellent Mazda6?"