From Wows to Woes

It seems that as sales of vehicles drop off, vehicles sent for reviews increase. Delivery folks have been dropping off as many as three a week; it's usually only one. So, instead of focusing on a single vehicle this month, I'll do shorter reviews of several. 

Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG. Easily my recent favorite, the two-seat sports car flips its hard top to become a roadster. But it's the AMG part that's special. AMG is a company that injects Mercedes-Benz models with performance steroids.

The rehab given this little car cost $6,800 and brought the final price to $77,195. And what a car AMG turned the SLK into. Under the hood is a

V-8 that has been juiced to produce 355 horsepower at 5,750 rpm. An automatic transmission does the work for you and has seven speeds.

Power, however, is just the start. A fast car needs to corner well, and AMG adds a sport suspension to achieve that. It needs to stop in short distances; it does with AMG's high-performance braking system. And it needs to look the part. The model is made more aerodynamic, and a spoiler on the trunk hints that this car just might reach the 200 mph mark on its speedometer.

From behind the steering wheel, the SLK55 AMG had just about a perfect feel. Acceleration is blazingly fast, but the car doesn't feel like it's running out from under the driver. Traction control quickly stops spinning tires, preventing it from becoming squirrelly.

Mazda CX-7. This Mazda is my idea of functional utility. It is what has become known as a crossover vehicle-a cross between a car and sport utility. It rides on a car platform, which means it won't pound passengers on rough pavement or skip sideways when crossing a railroad track the way trucks and truck-based sport utilities do.