There are many reasons you might want to skip red for your Toyota Supra Launch Edition. The minor one: the red mirrors don't contrast with the body.

Toyota Supra V: Revenge of the Germans

Lets get the awkward stuff out of the way, first: No manual transmission. Made by Germans. Not as fast as the Corvette.

Now that we've rid ourselves of the baggage, this is a wonderful sports car. As for the real rivalry, the Supra is a full second faster to 60 MPH than the Nissan 370Z... with a manual. Eight tenths of a second faster than a 370Z with the 7-speed automatic option.

How about a comparison to the Mark IV Supra Turbo? Both are turbocharged straight six beasts, but with time the new overshadows the old: the 1998 Supra Turbo needs a full extra second to reach 60 MPH or cover the quarter-mile. Handling differences are even more lopsided.

But that ignores the reality; this is a comfortable, beautiful grand touring two-seater that will hardly be revved in anger. The sound from its exhaust is wonderful (with a little help from the stereo system), just watch our video to see for yourself. And everything about this German-born Japanese sports car has been improved over the original or its German counterpart. Its interior is luxurious and simple. The sheet-metal is curvy and inspiring. The sound of its straight-six pleasing.

Lets talk about ergonomics. The BMW Z4, upon which the Supra is based, has a Driving Dynamics Control. This system has four separate button for "Sport," "Comfort," "Eco Pro," and "Adaptive" settings. Pressing the buttons repeatedly can also invoke "Sport Individual," "Sport Plus," "Eco Pro Individual." Or you could use iDrive: simply select "Car" then "Settings" then "Driving Mode" then select the mode you prefer. The Supra has a button marked "Sport." Press it and the shocks get stiffer, the steering gets sharper, the engine gets growlier and the accelerator pedal gets touchier. Press it again and it goes back to kitty cat mode. Simple. Easy. Nobody needs or uses umpteen modes with modifications possible on each one. The exact settings for the "Sport" mode can be adjusted using the computer.

Open the infotainment system and you can tell its BMW, but Toyota engineers have simplified it and made it so you won't run over a family of ducks trying to change a radio station.

On the road the Supra is mannered, unless you don't want it to be. With or without the "Sport" mode, you're in control, but the rear end can step out and the car lunge at the tip of the throttle and a twist of the wheel. Acceleration is brisk: Zero to 60 MPH in 3.8 or 3.9 seconds (depending on whom you ask), the quarter mile goes by in the mid-twelves. Cornering is over 1 G.

Did we say this car is gorgeous?

Music credit goes to our friend in New Orleans, Delfeayo Marsalis. Download the entire album here: https://tinyurl.com/delfSweetThunder

"What year is that?" The young man and his girlfriend are standing next to their older VW Jetta, and the his eyes are lit up as he inquires into the Buick's bonafides. "It's gorgeous." And he isn't wrong; this White Frost Tricoat Regal GS is gorgeous. 

The Regal GS drives well, like a GM. And I mean that in the best way. Its steering is light when it needs to be light, firm when it needs to be firm. It doesn't lean in corners, hangs on for quite a while in hairpins and has excellent all-around feel. You can tell this Buick is a front-driver at heart, even though the GS has all-wheel drive. It doesn't understeer, but its rear definitely doesn't get playful, either. If you want your drive a little more relaxed, make sure the "GS" and "Sport" buttons are off. Sport stiffens the steering and suspension. GS ramps it up another 20%. Although neither of the firmer settings are disturbingly firm.

The GS accelerates admirably, especially in the mountains and their high altitude. Its 3.6 V6 puts out 310 horsepower, 60 more than the standard Regal 2.0 turbo. A strange omission in a sport sedan like this: paddle shifters. The nine-speed automatic offers manual shifting the old-fashioned way; you pull the shifter to the left to place it in manual mode and then push up for up-shifts, down for down-shifts. Car and Driver tested the GS and it ran 0 to 60 MPH in only 5.4 seconds and went through the quarter mile in 13.9 at 101 MPH. That is less than half a second quicker than the 4-cylinder turbo Regal, but that just means the lesser Regal is very quick. The Regal beats the Acura TLX V6 and the Honda Accord 2.0 turbo, but is a little slower than the Fusion Sport with its turbocharged V6. A similarly priced Kia Stinger GT is significantly faster.

Speaking of the Stinger, the Regal GS shares one significant feature with the Kia: both are hatchbacks. The Buick Regal sedan went away with the 2017 model, replaced by the hatchback and a station wagon variant. GM really is betting against sedans. Where this change pays big dividends is the trunk. The larger LaCrosse features a 15 cubic foot trunk, the Regal GS has a gargantuan 31.5 cubic feet of cargo volume. Fold the rear seats and that jumps to an SUV-worthy 60.7 cubic feet.

Buick Sportback's Hatch is not Evident Unless You Look for It

Up front, the driver and front passenger of the GS will be very lucky, indeed. The 2019 Buick Regal GS comes standard with heated, ventilated and massaging front seats. You heard right" standard seats that warm you up, cool you off or even give you a massage. Want a cooling breeze on your backside? The BMW 3 Series, Alfa Romeo Giulia, Audi A3 Sedan, Mercedes CLA, Subaru Legacy, Nissan Altima and Toyota Camry can't help you. However, if you want a massage, too, then the Acura TLX, Audi A4, Audi A5 Sportback, Genesis G70, Honda Accord, Kia Stinger, Toyota Avalon and a slew of others are off your list, too.

The brakes on the GS are larger than everyday Regals: 13.6 inches in the front and 12.4 in the rear. Stopping distances as measured by Car and Driver are 164 feet from 70 MPH. Good enough to beat the Fusion Sport and even a foot shorter than the BMW 330i. A sweet magnetic fluid adjustable suspension differentiates the GS from other Regals and it helps the ride. All-season tires keep it from excelling in the handling department. 26.6 seconds in a Motor Trend figure-eight handling test is better than the TLX SH-AWD V6, Accord Touring and Taurus SHO, but not as good as an Accord Sport or Malibu Premier.

Some will complain that the Regal GS isn't fast enough, or especially hard in its cornering. It isn't a car that gets you in trouble with the police (unless its quiet, smooth character fool you into not noticing that you're going a good bit over the speed limit). But this is a Buick.

This competent mid-sized car won't bite you. If you're looking for a mean, surly driving companion, this isn't it. This isn't that friend that got you into a brawl with a slab of a man at the end of the bar that night. The GS doesn't tell you you didn't take that last corner fast enough. Or too fast. The GS is more of a yes-man. But then, after a long day at work, with contentious co-workers, demanding bosses and harsh florescent lighting, who couldn't use a yes-man for a while on the ride home?

I'm buckling into BMW's latest sport utility, the X7. The starter button I press is crystal. The shifter I pull back to engage "Drive" is also crystal. Optional massaging seats are available for me and the passenger next to me. Behind me and next to me are six more seats of comfortable, sumptuous leather. All seven seats are capable of warming your buns with available heated seats; the front heated seats are standard. Only the fronts also offer ventilation for the seat cushions, a valuable addition for Summer. In addition, the second and third row each have their own climate controls with separate temperature and fan controls; vents are in the B-pillars and center console for the second row and in the ceiling for the third. The second row reclines and has a center armrest; the third row doesn't offer either of those amenities. Still, with 33.3 inches of legroom and 37 inches of head room, third row passengers are not cramped in the least. Those numbers are 4.1 and 1.1 inches larger than the Audi Q7, respectively.

Third Row Climate Controls with Heated Seats

Second Row Seat with Armrest and Cupholders

A mountain road in a New York State Park is not an ideal playground for a 5617 pound mommy-mover, but this BMW takes to it well enough. The 456-horsepower twin-turbocharged V8 does a good job, even up on this steep mountain road, but this isn't a race-car. If you are going to use it to carry multiple adults and their luggage up mountains and tow, I would steer clear of the xDrive40i 6-cylinder model. Empty, it pulls very strongly. If you really must race Durango SRT's, this Fall the 2020 X7 M50i will offer 523-horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque. The eight-speed automatic is very smooth but quick to shift. Paddle shifters are standard and the transmission responds very quickly to their commands. Towing is 7500 pounds, regardless of engine choice.

The handling, as you would suppose, is competent but a little ponderous. The Dynamic Stability Control (BMW speak for Stability Control) kicks in more often than on other BMW models. 

As you would expect, the X7 offers a swath of electronic safety and driving aids. As you would also expect, some of these are annoying and possibly dangerous. As car-makers try to rush fully autonomous driving, they test the features one-by-one on their customers. This X7 xDrive50i had BMW's Active Protection System, which detects an imminent crash and tightens the front seatbelts. This system lets you know it's working by tugging on the belt shortly after you put it on. It had post crash braking, a system that applies the brakes after a collision to prevent subsequent crashes. A Fatigue and Focus Alert monitors the driver for signs of tiredness and sets off an alarm. BMW Assist eCall automatically calls emergency services if a crash is detected or you press the SOS button in the ceiling. Blind spot warning and rear cross traffic warning are standard as are Park Distance Control (front and rear parking sonar) and a backup camera. A full surround-view camera and an automatic parking assistant are available.

Frontal Collision Warning with City Collision Mitigation will sound an alarm if you are approaching an obstacle too quickly; it will stomp on the brakes if you fail to act. I have found that this feature goes off unexpectedly during close maneuvers, and it could startle a driver and cause a mistake. In general, I think it's a mixed bag that could possibly lull a driver into a false sense of security or interfere with a driver performing an evasive maneuver. If it is more closely linked to the Focus Alert it might be more valuable. The Insurance Institute for highway Safety believes it reduces crashes, so statistically it may be a plus. 

The Lane Departure Warning and Lane Keeping Assistant (standard on xDrive50i, optional on xDrive40i) was the most dubious. Since the early aughts these systems have been annoying people (especially in New Orleans where turn signals are a sign of weakness). The BMW version doesn't have an audible component, thank you very much. Instead it vibrates the steering wheel. That is on the standard Lane Departure Warning. With the available Lane Keeping Assistant, it also pulls you back towards your lane if you left without using the turn signals. Imagine my surprise when, with cyclists in my lane unexpectedly, I steered around them and the BMW tried to pull me back over the lane divider. BMW makes bicycles, so maybe its a money thing: smash some bikes, sell more replacement bikes. This type of feature in theory could be quite a safety boon, but it needs more integration with other systems and much more artificial intelligence before it becomes more than an annoyance or a danger. Luckily, it can be turned off.

The X7 offers a decent number of variants and options. Choose from the xDrive40i with its 335-horsepower 6-cylinder or the xDrive 50i V8. Choose Luxury or M Sport design variants (the M Sport doesn't affect performance, just the looks). 21 or 22-inch wheels are offered. A Dynamic Handling Package partially delivers on what the M Sport design promises, with larger brakes, more direct steering and a system that actually looks down the road and stiffens the shocks when it sees a curve ahead. The Driving Assistance Professional Package offers the aforementioned Lane Keeping Assistant, Active Cruise Control with Stop & Go, and other electronic aids.

Such luxuries as heated and cooled front cupholders, remote engine start, soft-close automatic doors and rear window power sunshades are all offered. Please save yourself $400 if you buy the X7; the aluminum running boards only impede entry and exit and they don't really add anything to the appearance, either. Their purported use is to access the roof more easily. Just use a step stool.

If you want quiet, luxurious comfort and space for six to 7 people and the ability to tow a pretty good sized trailer, BMW has something to offer, finally and its pretty respectable. BMW has handled the transition from Ultimate Driving Machine to Ultimate Luxury People Mover very well, indeed.

Honda Civic Si: Perfect L.A. Car?

On our recent trip to the L.A. Auto Show, we wanted a spry, powerful, anonymous little car for buzzing around Southern Cali traffic, both downtown and all around the area. The idea appealed to us of a Civic Si with its new turbocharged engine, 6-speed manual and light, tight chassis. After checking the box, “Yes, I’m able to drive a stick shift,” we’re all set.

Fuel Mileage

What do you need in a good L.A. car? With gas prices still well over $3/gallon, your first need in a good L.A. car is good fuel mileage. The Si is rated at 28 city/38 highway by the EPA. It does this without a start/stop system (yes, BMW has one with a manual transmission.), cylinder deactivation or brake regeneration.

In our entire week zooming (Yes, literally zooming; more on that later.) around the L.A. area, including Newport Beach the Convention Center and the airport we only filled the tank once. Premium fuel is recommended (30¢ higher, minimum), but if you won’t be flooring it and racing everywhere you can save the extra and burn regular. We used premium.

Car and Driver recorded 26 miles per gallon during their testing, but Consumer Reports recorded 34… so your mileage may vary!

Braking

On a rainy night on the 101, traffic never suddenly stops in the left lane in L.A., does it? When it does, and you’re driving even faster than the prevailing traffic, as one is apt to do, its good to have 12.3-inch vented front discs and ABS. Consumer Reports recorded a 60-to-zero wet stop in an impressive 135 feet. We didn’t measure our wet stop from (ahem) a somewhat higher speed, but the nose on our little Civic Si was still intact when we turned it back in. The brakes did warp a little from the hard braking and will need to be turned, but that is probably simply accumulated wear from L.A. traffic.

Hard stops are straight with no wandering and the car remains completely under control. In regular traffic the brakes are light and easy to modulate.

Power

205. That’s the horsepower from the Civic Si’s 1.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder. 192 pound-feet is also underfoot, but not as important in a manual transmission car. The light six-speed manual is a delight and helps spit out acceleration from this small but healthy power-plant. Road and Track returns a 6.3-second zero-to-60 MPH time and Car and Driver achieves the fastest quarter-mile time of 14.8 at 96 MPH.

None of those numbers convey how lively this car handles the streets of L.A. or the California freeways. Unlike a lot of turbocharged engines, this is not a stump puller with no revs. The airflow through this little plant has been tuned to peak at a relatively high 5700 RPM, and it keeps pulling all the way to its 6500 RPM redline. 

Two different progressive shift light help you catch the shift perfectly without staring at the tach, just like one of those fancy Lamborghinis. The first one blinks when you approach redline and speeds up right before you need to shift. The second one can be activated through the custom display mode and has colored lights that display progressively starting at 4000 RPM until redline.

Speaking of shifting, all of you are going, “A manual transmission in L.A.?! Are you crazy?” 1. Yes, my insanity has been documented at Tulane Medical Hospital. 2. The clutch and shifter in the Civic Si are so light, direct and straightforward, even after a 10-hour day of standing at the convention it wasn’t a hardship to drive in heavy traffic for an hour. The gates on the 6-speed are very transparent: there’s little chance you dump it into third instead of fifth or vice versa. The clutch’s friction point is very near the top of travel, speeding up shifts and reducing the need for leg flexes. Even reverse is natural to engage, I did it the first time without even looking at the shift pattern. This would also be a natural first car to teach a youngster the love of rowing his own gears.

Handling

Many young people will be handed the keys to one of these by unsuspecting parents. That said, the Si has a very controlled limit: it understeers (pushes). It’s .97 G’s of cornering force, as measured by Car and Driver, is lower than true sports cars, but does make the Civic Si safer for young drivers, as it can help them out of trouble, without tempting them to speeds in corners that could have disastrous consequences.  It has quick reflexes and can handle a fast emergency maneuver without over-correcting. Its stability control cannot be fully disabled, unlike the Type R’s. This said, it is unobtrusive most of the time.

Auxiliary Systems

It’s very easy to buy a Honda Civic Si: Do you want two doors or four? What color? Then if you want you can add some dealer accessories.

You can’t get a navigation system, but with standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, who needs one? You say your mom still uses a flip phone? Then she probably uses a paper map or asks for directions. 

Honda LaneWatch™. During daylight this system is a little distracting, takes too long to engage, but does add valuable information. At night, you might as well have someone flashing a strobe light in your face; disable it. In addition, since it comes on every time you use the right turn signal, regardless of whether you are changing lanes (helpful) or making a right turn (not), when we were using Apple CarPlay to navigate L.A. streets, it would override our view of where to turn next while it showed us the mailbox on the sidewalk. Honda has come to the same conclusion, as the latest versions of the CR-V and Accord ditched the LaneWatch for electronic blind spot monitoring.

Radio. Not having a physical volume knob on the unit is not as big a deal as people make out. But, rejoice, for 2019 sees the return of it. If you get a good deal on a 2018, take it, and just use the handy steering wheel controls to adjust the sound system. That said, as CarPlay and Auto catch on, factory infotainment systems will be relegated to secondary status, acting as exterior monitor and mouse. Only their sound quality and reliability will be important. The Si gets good marks here.

Safety

The Civic, and by extension the Si, nails every single test the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety can throw at it. Except one. The Civic missed a Top Safety Pick for 2018 due to the poor rating for its headlights. In L.A., where everything is brightly lit, its hardly a pressing problem: we never noticed a lighting deficit.

We did have one serious issue with the lights. When the valet returned our Civic to us before we went out for our late-night dinner, he had turned our headlights off. Hopping in, all we saw was the brightly lit dash and the reflections of our DRL so we happily drove off. It was a few miles later, when trying to engage cruise control that we noticed. Although the gauges and radio light up with the ignition, our steering wheel mounted controls did not, our only clue that we were driving with weak DRLs and no taillights whatsoever. Luckily our score of no cop trouble stayed perfect and we put the headlight switch back on “automatic.”

Accommodations

This isn’t a Lexus or Lincoln. That said, the manually adjustable seats are comfortable, the trim has good workmanship and the interior is quiet at highway speeds (normal highway speeds). Heated front seats, unlikely to be needed in L.A., are standard. At 14.7 cubic feet the trunk is a good bit larger than many similar small cars, including the Civics long-lost cousin the Acura ILX (12.4), MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 Door (13.1), Impreza Sedan (12.3) or a Mazda3 4-Door (12.4).

Appearance

The Civic is a crazy-looking spaceship of a car. Now that Toyota has calmed the appearance of its Prius down, one can hope Honda will follow suit with the Civic. Your author wouldn’t even consider the sublime Type R because it looks like an escapee of a work-release body shop at a mental institute. That said, the Si is not nearly so bad and Civics are so ubiquitous in L.A. that you could rob a bank in front of the cops and then park across the street eating a sandwich as long as they didn’t get your plate. For some people that might be a bad thing. For them, the booby-hatch/body shop is open late; go get a wing the size of a chest of drawers bolted on.

Conclusion

This is a great car for L.A. It fits in without swallowing truck-loads of money like a new BMW (or even worse, a ten-year-old BMW). It can squirt through holes in traffic, handle speeds on the freeways you shouldn't be doing and sip gas while doing it. Valets won't fight over it, but they also won't slip away with it to show their girlfriend.

California has four Bentley dealerships, but Missouri has Saint Louis Motorcars. With franchises for Bentley, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin, Lotus and Bugatti, its a one-stop ultra-luxury and ultra-performance shop minutes from the St. Louis Gateway Arch.

Almost exactly in the center of the United States, Saint Louis Motorcars provides sales and Service for Bentley and is one of only 12 locations in the U.S. to purchase and service a Bugatti. The remodeled facility now features a Bugatti gallery, in which there sits a 2019 Chiron, the newest model.

The new showroom was unveiled on March 9, 2018 by partners and Dealer Principals Graham Hill and Jim Mills, assisted by Don Heditsian and Jeff Kuhlman of Bentley Motors, and charming hostess Krysta Struthers.

Marketing Manager Krysta Struthers with Ice Sculpture Commemorating new Bentley Showroom

On loan from Bentley, the new Bentley Continental GT was unveiled during the opening. Prospective owners can now place orders with Saint Louis Motorcars for deliveries starting in June.

Overall, the night was a huge success with over 300 well-wishers and Bentley fans in attendance.

Bentley Background

Bentley Motors Limited was founded by Walter Owen Bentley in 1919 in Cricklewood, North London, United Kingdom. Bentley won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1924, 1927, 1928, 1930, and again in 2003.

Originally, Bentley and Rolls-Royce were competitors, but the two joined forces in 1931. In 1998, Volkswagen Group acquired Bentley. Rolls-Royce Plc (Aerospace) sold the Rolls-Royce name and logo to BMW Group. However, the two are competitors once again.

Why Bentley?

People may ask: "Why drive a Bentley?" A $30,000 Camry will take you from point A to B just as reliably as a $300,000 Bentley. If it's performance, there are certainly less expensive cars that can complete the quarter mile within 13 seconds, or achieve a top speed of 190+ MPH.

There are two reasons to drive a Bentley: One reason is to make oneself feel successful. The level of comfort, craftsmanship, performance, and exclusivity that a $300,000 car represents is a constant reminder of success. The second reason is to demonstrate personal success to others. In business and other areas of life, anyone can claim success, but a Bentley is tangible proof of success to one's peers and anyone else.

Nevertheless, why is it that someone would spend significantly more than the median price of a four bedroom house on simple transportation? Ultimately, it's none of our business. A man is the sole proprietor of his own resources, and has the right to choose how he invests them.

MULLINER LIMITED EDITION: MULSANNE DESIGN SERIES