By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(September 22, 2014) After 23 years at the helm, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has left Ferrari; left as in pushed out the door. For Montezemolo it was an ironic end to a career that began with the wunderkind modernizing the Ferrari F1 team for Enzo Ferrari and leading it to success after years of failure, and ended with him lobbying for a return to rules more favorable to Maranello, as he steered Ferrari’s car division to record profits.

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(September 16, 2014) The wraps have finally been pulled from the Mercedes-AMG GT. Built mainly of aluminum, the lightweight GT is powered by a 4.0-liter twin turbo V8 mounted behind the front wheel centerline driving through a seven-speed dual-clutch rear transaxle. Available in both GT and GT S form, the new car has a claimed top speed of 193 mph, and can sprint from 0-60 mph in 3.7 seconds in the more potent GT S trim.

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(September 1, 2014) The Malaysian automotive website paultan.org is reporting that new Lotus CEO Jean-Marc Gales has told the Proton Cars board of directors that Lotus will have two new vehicles around which it will build its future: a D segment performance sedan and an SUV. If this sounds familiar, it’s because it is what many believe to be the playbook that led Porsche to become fabulously profitable in the early part of this century.

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(August 25, 2014) Why in the name of all that is holy would Toyota make the 4Runner look like an outtake from Mitsubishi’s design studio? The aggressively… interesting… front end could only have been stolen from Mitsubishi’s Raider pickup, which itself was built on the Dodge Dakota platform.

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(August 11, 2014) In a nutshell, the big news for 2015 is that the Toyota Yaris is dumpy looking no more. The compact hatchback has a more youthful, aggressive look with a distinct X-shaped grille motif. In fact, the nose is about the only thing that has changed on the outside.

Available in both three- and five-door models, the Yaris also gets a new interior, retuned suspension, more rigid body structure, and increased sound deadening.

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

Though the nameplate has been around for 45 years, Toyota worried that its Corolla was becoming stagnant. A perennial best seller, the small sedan was never high in excitement, preferring instead to provide solid, economical motoring for singles and families on a budget. However, the fight-to-the-death competitiveness of the global car market, which has seen many newer, fresher and more exciting designs enter the market, obviously got the Japanese giant’s attention. It had to respond.

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(July 30, 2014) Despite protests from purists when it was introduced, the Cayenne SUV has proven to be the most popular Porsche. The first generation (2002-2010) sold 276,000 units, while the second generation (2010-today) has eclipsed that mark in less time with 303,000 sold. It has been the cash cow for Porsche and a dependable source of revenue, thus helping make it one of the most profitable car companies in the world.

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(July 27, 2014) It’s the damndest thing. No matter how hard or how many times I look at the measurements, Toyota’s third generation Highlander comes out feeling much bigger than it is, especially when compared to the Ford Explorer. Step aboard and you notice just how wide the vehicle is, how far away are some of the controls, and how tall the interior feels.

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(July 20, 2014) Ford has been teasing the media — and its followers — with a steady drip of news about the new car, hoping to milk the launch of the sixth generation Mustang for as much publicity as possible. This time, however, the invitation to come to Dearborn to learn more about the 2015 Mustang came with a kicker: the chance to get a front seat ride in the car.

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(July 11, 2014) The last generation Sonata put Hyundai at the forefront of the styling sweepstakes. That car had a bold, prominent spear-like character line that swept across the car’s otherwise slab-sided flanks, and gave it character and presence it otherwise lacked. It also broke the mold that had Sonata styling caught in the box it came in; they were as aerodynamic as a brick.