Author Archives: Vincent Nguyen

There's no mistaking the Porsche 911 RSR for what it is: a monstrously-powerful race car with which the German automaker hopes to make a significant splash at races like Le Mans next year. Bringing the potential for over 500 horsepower to the World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech Championship, the single-seater made its debut at the LA Auto Show 2016 this week. You certainly can't miss the bold black, red, and white color scheme.

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In an age of homogenized design, the Soul is unmistakably a Kia and, internally, it’s known as the company’s most affordable “halo car”. It’s the heart and soul of the company - no pun intended - and in its eight years of production it has smoked the competition, leaving many in the dust and others out of production altogether. Yup, this car is that good – and per the company, the Soul has multi-generational reach across buying demographics.

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The Google Assistant has been bundled into the browser, added into Android, and squeezed into Android Wear: now, it's getting a sleek object d'art for the smart home. Google Home is the search giant's take on the smart speaker space, a direct challenge to everyone's current favorite virtual PA, Amazon's Alexa. At $129, Google Home undercuts Echo (though not Echo Dot) and, if your digital life is already in Google's cloud, it promises a more streamlined way to consume that data around the home.

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Porsche is putting all luxury sedan automakers on notice: beware the one-two punch of the 2017 Panamera 4S and Panamera Turbo. Completely redesigned, in the four-door’s first major overhaul since its debut in 2009, which one you decide upon depends heavily on both your pocketbook and your appetite for raw performance.

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I’ve been using Lenovo’s new Yoga Book the last couple of days, and it’s hard not to love this ultra-compact, sleek, and versatile tablet with a twist. This isn’t what you’d call a one trick pony, but instead a multi-talented 2-in-1 to help you stay more productive on the go. Trust me, clocking in over 250,000 air miles this year alone, I know a thing or two about staying productive on the move.

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When I think of cutting-edge technology in the automotive world, Audi comes to mind. Performance, it’s Porsche. Bentley, of course, holds the title for luxury and the hypercar trailblazer, without a doubt, is Bugatti. So where does that leave VW? When I think of Volkswagen, I think of reliable cars that are affordable for mass-market consumers.

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First came the revamped Q7, then the baby Q3 got a makeover, and now the most important member of Audi's SUV tryptic, the 2018 Q5, has broken cover in Paris. Borrowing styling cues from its larger and smaller siblings, as well as a welcome blast of tech from the Ingolstadt automaker's labs, it's a serious upgrade for what's a very serious vehicle for Audi.

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Audi has been holding out on North America, so far keeping the hatchback charms of the A5 and S5 to itself in Europe, but all that changes with the 2018 model year. Finally headed to US shores in 2017, the 2018 A5 and S5 are each sleeker versions of the A4 and S5, switching the sedan styling for a far more practical - and, to many eyes, more handsome - hatch at the rear.

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The Nissan Pathfinder used to be an adventurous, off-road sport-utility vehicle, then one day Nissan decided to switch gears. For better or worse, depending on who you talk to, it’s no longer the same vehicle as it was before 2013; had Nissan renamed it, in fact, I don’t think it would have had any arguments. What was once a rugged icon in the automotive industry has evolved into an everyday people hauler. That means it’s definitely roomier and more comfortable for the kids in the back, but what is it like for the person actually behind the wheel?

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Overview, concept and design - The all-new 2017 Porsche Panamera epitomizes, to me, what a true four-door sports sedan ought to be: bad to its bones. Everything’s new, inside and out; it looks like a Porsche; it drives and performs like a Porsche. The only thing left is for me to actually get behind the wheel myself.

Sadly so far Porsche isn’t quite ready to entrust those outside of the company with the keys, but the automaker did invite me to take a “Taxi Ride” in the new Panamera recently. Don’t let the name mislead you: this is the hottest of hot laps, driven by a pro-driver around a proper racetrack. While I’d obviously prefer to be at the wheel of a car I’ve written about extensively over the past few months, this was definitely the next-best-thing. Launch control? Check. Slicing through hairpin turns? Check. High speed down the straights and then maximum braking? Check. One of the most epic cab rides ever? Oh, definitely check.

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It’s track time and Pikes Peak Hill Climb is no ordinary race track. Taking a corner too wide pretty much anywhere within the 14,114 climb along what’s a 12.42 mile course packed with 156 twists and turns has consequences beyond a couple of dents. Luckily, Porsche’s confidence in the new 2017 Macan GTS is off the chart. This is a super rare opportunity where automotive journalists were given the opportunity to drive up Pikes Peaks and then, on the very same day, keep on going right up Mount Evans.

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In this review, Signia offered me the Pure primax (Receiver in Canal or RIC) and a custom Insio primax “near” invisible-in-canal (IIC) version (more on this later). I’ve worn both extensively over the past months – long enough to be able to share and recommend the right version for you.

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