As the short, cold days of winters take hold at our Connecticut test track, this episode of Talking Cars with Consumer Reports focuses on a happy and fun topic: Sports cars. The host, Tom Mutchler, and our frequent podcast guest Jon Linkov are joined by the test technician and resident hot-shoe Ryan Pszczolkowski.
First, we talk about the super-entertaining Ford Fiesta ST, a hot hatch that all of us enjoyed more than the quicker Focus ST. As usual, Tom tries to bring down the mood with practicalities, namely a pair of unforgiving Recaro seats. Then we move on to discussing visits from two high-performance press cars. The Jaguar F-Type proves to be a glorious-sounding fast cat that likes to be drifted around the track, and raves continue for the Porsche Cayman—at least until we get to the price.
Remember that Consumer Reports buys every car that it fully tests, bringing us to two of our latest acquisitions, a Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and Porsche 911. Each has its own purchase challenges—simply finding the high-demand seventh-generation Corvette without a huge markup and figuring out how to "act" wealthy enough to buy a $110,000 Porsche. Finally, we wrap up by talking about a four-door luxury sedan that desperately wants to be a sports car, our newly-purchased Cadillac CTS.
Longer than the usual Talking Cars episode, in this one the gang gets excited about these entertaining cars and reveals insights on how we test and purchase cars. Plus, find out why Jon isn’t going to win parent-of-the-year anytime soon, whether Ryan likes marshmallows in his free-at-the-Porsche-dealer hot chocolate, and how Tom is Cadillac marketing’s dream despite his relatively mundane weekends.
Next episode, we’re trying something a bit different: a full show talking about tires, how we test them, what to look for, and our favorite tire-testing cars.
As with the other shows, this episode is also available free through the iTunes store. Subscribe to the video or audio. The audio is also available via SoundCloud.
Also view:
Talking Cars Episode 17 - Infiniti Q50 vs Lexus IS 250
Talking Cars Episode 16 - Car reliability
Talking Cars Episode 15 - Toyota Corolla
Talking Cars Episode 14 - GM is on a roll
Talking Cars Episode 13 - Chevrolet Silverado vs. Ram 1500
Talking Cars Episode 12 - Have American cars really gotten better?
Talking Cars Episode 11 - Ford C-Max, Mazda3, and other fuel-efficient cars
Talking Cars Episode 10 - Track time with Fiat 500 Abarth and Ford Focus ST
Talking Cars Episode 9 - High-scoring Impala, Ram, and Santa Fe
Talking Cars Episode 8 - Our auto experts get fast, furious, and technical
Talking Cars Episode 7 - Tesla battery swap, diesels, and some disappointing test results
Talking Cars Episode 6 - Rapid-fire reader questions
Talking Cars Episode 5 - Life with the Tesla Model S
Talking Cars Episode 4 - Roadsters and the latest test cars, plus answer reader questions
Talking Cars Episode 3 - Tesla, small SUVs, and a sideways track tour
Talking Cars Episode 2 - Highlights from the New York Auto Show
Talking Cars Episode 1 - Car buying advice
—Tom Mutchler
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