What I Drove in 2011: The Year in Cars
We’ve compiled our year in driving in a singular blog post. We drove cars in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Le Mans, France. We drove big cars, we drove small cars. We drove gasoline engines, electric cars and hybrids. We drove 53 cars. We drove 2011 models. We drove 2012 models. And still so many cars left to drive.
Gotryke’s Year in Cars:
1. Honda Civic Hybrid. Arrived today. Feeling clean and green.
2. Mini Countryman. A red Mini makes people happy in Michigan. If you are crazy and close your eyes while driving, you can pretend it’s a BMW 350i.
3. Ford Explorer. A study in new Ford technology and old school SUV comfort.
4. Jeep Rubicon. The sturdy Rubicon rode from New York to Detroit and back, and was a brusk handler.
5. Chrysler 200. Just like the commercial said “Imported from Detroit.”
6. Dodge Nitro. “Cosmic Cars” comes to mind.
7. Audi A3 TDI. Audi had a banner year in 2011, and we got to go along for the ride, starting the year in the A3 TdI and working our way through several cars in the lineup.
8. Audi A4. Just a good. clean. solid. sedan. period.
9. Audi A6. Fast, fun, slippery,
10. Audi A7. The big cheese of 2011.
11. Audi A8. A fussy flagship.
12. Audi S5 quattro Auto S-Tronic Cabriolet. S is for speed and Cabriolet could also be “Kabrio” auf Deutsch.
13. Audi R8 – Beyond. Just, beyond. Rrrrace car!
7. Toyota Highlander Hybrid. A civilized way to drive an extraneous SUV upstate.
8. Infiniti QX-56. Too big to be bad.
9. Jaguar XKR-S. How everyone should arrive at Pebble Beach — pushing 550 hp cloaked in electric blue.
10. Jaguar XK. Not a bad way to pull up to a valet in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles country, across from Jim Morrison’s home, which sadly, burned down today.
11. Mercedes-Benz GL 320 Blutech. My perfect cool-mom car.
12. Mini Coupe S. S is the key word and a feisty manual transmission.
13. Nissan Rogue. Rugged anime.
14. Dodge “The Man Van” Caravan. A manly metrosexual.
15. Hyundai Genesis. The creeper, sleeper luxury dweller.
16. Cadillac CTS-V – Cadillac’s big dog. The V is for va-voom. Every bit of fun and more.
17. Buick Regal - A sleepy but cozy sedan.
18. Cadillac SRX – A sparkly compact SUV.
19. Chevrolet Camaro. My son’s favorite test drive. Can’t shake the Transformer analogy.
20. Chevrolet Volt. The livable electric car, but still not the easiest to charge in the big city.
21. Kia Forte. Keeping things simple. Allegro.
22. Kia Optima EX. Solid as a rock.
23. Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart. A little too deep in tuner territory to my liking.
24. Mazda Mazda2 Touring. Child’s play.
25. Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC
26. Honda Odyssey – We heart minivans, but can we get a little excitement in our interior?
27. Subaru Forester – A civilized compact SUV.
28. Bentley Continental GT. The ultimate way to travel to Storm King Art Center and back.
29. Porsche 911. The 911 has returned with a technical vengeance and new suspension system.
30 Porsche Cayenne. Even cops gawk.
31. Porsche Boxster Spyder. Helluva ride, but not ideal in December
32. Land Rover Range Rover Sport. Survived Hurricane Irene.
33. Scion XB/ Lee Quinones secret loves this vehicle.
34. Fiat 500. Head turning, bumpy ride, but all around endearing.
35. Dodge Journey.Status quo.
36. Lexus GX. A big comfy SUV for splurging.
37. Lexus CT 200. A gussied up Prius.
38. Volvo S60 – Savory, speedy and worth revisiting.
39. Toyota Sienna. Not a beauty on the inside, but big-family friendly.
40. Jeep Grand Cherokee. Bordering on classic — solid driving, iconic exterior, with a spruced up interior.
41. BMW Active Hybrid 7. The name alone is telling — this car takes athleticism seriously. Shh, it’s a hybrid.
42. Suzuki Kizashi. Wild cat that has Los Angeles valets talking.
43. Suzuki SX4. A pint size SUV poser.
44. Toyota Tacoma Double Cab. Durable, double duty.
45. Scion TC. Easy does it.
46. Dodge Challenger SRT 392. A Mopar fantasy come true.
47. Lamborghini Gallardo – We are the robots. A lot of hype to get that bite.
48. Ferrari 458 – What do you think? A freaking’ dream car come true.
