Take · Design
Judging Every Car on the Way to Traverse City
Four hours up I-75 with my dad, judging every new car we passed. Kia and Hyundai are building spaceships. Jeep finally stuck the landing.
Read the take →Independent automotive writing
Cars, told well.
Honest reviews, sharp takes, and the stories behind the metal, written with a point of view and a firm belief that cars should be fun.
Latest
Mailbag · Ford
From the Mailbag: The $10,500 Truck
A reader sent the story of a base-model 1993 Ranger, bought fresh out of college for $10.5K. Turns out the affordable-truck moment has happened before.
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The Rental Review · BMW
I Ordered an Audi and Got a BMW X5
Hertz promised "an Audi Q5 or something similar." Something similar turned out to have a steering wheel like butter and way too many screens.
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Review · Ford
Living With the 2024 Ford Edge ST-Line
A year in the Edge ST-Line: the good, the annoying, and what we lose now that the Edge is gone.
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Take · Opinion
Is the Future Minimalistic?
Slate built a $25,000 truck with no touchscreen and no paint, and a generation raised on tweeting refrigerators might be exactly who it's for.
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About Bauer Drive
Some kids got bedtime stories. I got spy shots. My grandfather, Jim Dunne, more or less invented automotive spy photography. He spent decades hiding in the bushes outside proving grounds to catch cars no one was supposed to see yet. Cars and words are, apparently, the family business.
So here's my turn. Bauer Drive is where I write about cars the way I actually talk about them: honestly, with a point of view, and hopefully in a way that's worth your time. Reviews, the occasional strong opinion, and the stories behind the metal. No brochure-speak, no pretending a bad car is fine because someone might be reading.
JP
