2012 Volkswagen Golf R Review

For some reason I had always thought of this car as a cheap little fuel economy car. No idea where I got that idea from. I guess the name of it seems to be that sort of vehicle to me. It's not very "flashy" in my opinion so I always expected it to be one of those Ford Focus type budget cars. Not exactly the case. Get your spray on tan and get ready for a fast drive in a $35,000 car.

The Golf R is a pretty amazing little car. It drives superb with the 256 HP turbo 2-liter engine pushing through a 6-speed manual and putting power to the pavement through the 4MOTION all-wheel drive. Zero to 60 takes about 5.7 seconds and the R tops out at 130mph. All this can be had for around $35,000 of your hard earned cash. full review

2013 Ford Taurus Review

The Ford Taurus has made a lot of changes over the years. It's one of those cars though that almost everyone you know has owned at some point when they picked it up used as a youngster. It wasn't too dorky looking and ran well enough for the most part. You didn't feel like a total loser driving one around at least. If I remember correctly, the older 80s-90s Taurus' had either a problem with their brakes, or it was some sort of problem with the transmission. All I know is that between that, or one of my older Luminas I had issues with the transmission and every person I talked to said the same thing. "Oh yeah...all those cars have a problem with the transmission at around 100K miles", or something along those lines. Young guys having to get a transmission fixed wasn't exactly a banner day I can tell you that. It isn't a cheap thing to get done. Ends up sitting in the back yard as a bed for pet. Move forward to 2013 and the Taurus is completely different. It looks much sleeker, and has been completely redesigned. In fact it is much different even than the 2012 model. Although the basic architecture underneath hasn't changed, a moderate restyle of the hood and front fascia gives a refreshed appearance, also improved with projector-beam headlights. Unseen behind the grille, an active shutter system uses aerodynamics to help improve highway fuel economy. LED taillights distinguish the rear. Torque Vectoring Control uses electronic sensors and the stability control system to improve cornering behavior under acceleration. All versions of the 2013 Taurus use electrically-assisted power steering, which simplifies, reduces weight, and further helps improve fuel economy. The standard engine in the SE, SEL, and Limited models is a 3.5-liter V6, but this one has a host of upgrades to improve both power output, now 288 horsepower, and fuel economy, with 29 mpg allegedly possible on the highway. Want better economy with little loss of power? Ford's new 2.0-liter "EcoBoost" four-cylinder uses turbocharging and direct fuel injection to make a maximum of 240 horsepower when needed, with over 30 mpg possible on the highway. With more torque than the V6 -- 270 lb-ft vs. 254 -- performance is unlikely to suffer much. Both engines are matched with a six-speed automatic transmission to optimize acceleration and economy. Want more power? That would be the SHO, with 365 EcoBoosted horsepower and some new features of its own. But that's a different story for a different time. full review

The Pink Cadillac

The Pink Cadillac is kind of an interesting story. Originally created in 1969 it was by request of Mary Kay Ash of the infamous Mary Kay cosmetics company. It was requested for obvious reasons of being the car of the company and was being used by the top 5 independent sales professionals for the company. The pink Cadillac became the first Career Car program. It is an incentive for the best of the best. Today more than 19,000 pink Cadillacs have been in the hands of Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultants. Currently, there are more than 1,200 Mary Kay pink Cadillacs on the road nationwide. The perfect ride to park in front of your white picket fence on your louisville real estate. The pink Cadillac is the most coveted incentive awarded by Mary Kay. The modern day Cadillac comes in pearlized pink -- a color unique to the Mary Kay Career Car program. Qualified Mary Kay Independent Sales Directors who earn the use of a pink Cadillac can choose from the CTS, or SRX models. Other cars offered within the Career Car program are the Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, Chevy Malibu, Toyota Camry, Chevy Equinox and the newest addition, the Ford Mustang. Fun facts about the Mary Kay Career Car program: -In 1969 the retail price of a pink Cadillac was approx. $5,900. Today it's approx. $41,295 -Mary Kay Career Cars have logged an estimated 3.7 billion miles throughout the U.S. in the last 43 years -Mary Kay Career Cars have (figuratively) circled the Globe 148,585 times -Since 1969 nearly 140,000 Mary Kay independent sales force members have qualified or re-qualified for the use of a Mary Kay career car -Today nearly 5,600 Mary Kay Career Cars are on the road, representing a retail market value of approx. $159 million

Audubon And Toyota Over $1 Million In Funding to 41 Innovative Environmental Projects

To help some lesser known groups working on innovation in energy conservation, water, and engaging people in conservation Toyota and the National Audubon Society have awarded over $1 million in grants to 41 41 projects. That will get you a lot of medi compression stockings. Fo r a full listing of the projects and what they are working on click here. "Groups that won Innovation Grants this year have ingenuity and creativity on full display. And that's what it takes to tackle the environmental challenges we face today," said Audubon President and CEO David Yarnold. "I'm proud to partner with these innovators in creative approaches to achieve healthier communities and big conservation results."