From behind the wheel of a bright-yellow model at Tata Motors’ engineering and testing center here in a suburb of Pune, an industrial city some 60 miles southeast of Mumbai, the Nano proved agile and fun to hustle around the test track.. (more)

Cars and trucks bearing well-known names could soon arrive in the United States with “Made in India” on the window sticker. Automakers from around the world are already exporting Indian-built vehicles to Europe, the Middle East and the rest of Asia. (more)

Thankfully, the Mahindra Scorpio sport utility vehicle I recently took for a spin came equipped, at least, with a fine horn. Jostling with city buses, challenging slow and rickety taxicabs for gaps in the teaming jumble of traffic, the Indian-built Scorpio kept me out of trouble. (more)

It is not often that I blame a car for causing amesia. Then again, it's not often a car rattles my senses and pushes my cranium into the headrest like a certain Mercedes-Benz SLK 55 AMG did one rainy day in the nrth of Poland. ...You somehow forget all about things like boot space, radio buttons and soft touch plastics - not to mention most self-preservation instincts.

The Carver One resembles a giant mechanical insect, yet its bizarre looks give no hint that the three-wheeler has moves to rival a "Dancing With the Stars" finalist. It works like this: When steering into a corner, the front wheel and the passenger cabin lean like a motorcycle. Flick the steering wheel back and forth and the Carver bobs left and right like a prizefighter dodging jabs.

Yes, you read that correctly - we've gone back to the future and find ourselves, once again, face-to-face with another much hyped four-wheel steering system. But Renault seems intent on making 4WS a cornerstone of its image. Haven't we been down this road before? Well, yes, sort of, but never with Renault.

Despite being the first automobile manufacturer to score multiple victories at the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans, the French firm of Korraine-Dietrich never achieved the fame and prestige enjoyed by its British rivals. ...The most successful, at least from a competition standpoint, was the B3/6, which arrived in 1922. Its rugged good looks are remarkably similar to those of Bentley's touring and racing cars of the same era.

Nick is a regular contributor to the Wheels blog of The New York Times Online. Click here or on the image at left to see all of his contributions to this edgy auto blog.

Nick is a regular contributor to AutoObserver.com, one of the automotive industry's fastest-growing blogs. To search for his latest posts to this insightful source of information, click here or on the image at left.

(excerpt)
"The new 500 is a pint-sized city car that has all the looks and attitude of fine Italian sports cars that cost ten times as much. True, the 500 will never posses the reflexes of a Ferrari F430 or the oomph of a Maserati Gran Turismo. But even those superstars...fail to match the head-turning appeal and anti-snob charm provided by the little Fiat..."

(In January 2008, Nick was lucky enough to travel to New Delhi, India on behalf of Edmunds' AutoObserver, to cover the burgeoning New Delhi Auto Expo. Here are some links to his coverage of this exciting show!

• Q&A: India’s Tata Motors Chief Ratan Tata
• A-Star Shines at New Delhi Show
• A Look Back at India’s Automotive Future
• German Giants Battle for Slim Slice of Small India Luxury Pie
• For $500 more (or .2 Lakh ), Indians Can Buy a Bajaj Auto
• Hydrogen’s Three-Wheeled Future in India
• And Now, For Something Completely Different ...
• Economy and Environment in Conflict
• Tata Nano : The World’s Cheapest Car
• Tata Introduces New Indica -- Quietly

(excerpt)
"The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run is routinely touted as being the longest-running motoring event in the world, the original having taken place on November 14, 1896. But for those who participate and the huge crowds who cheer from the curbside, the London to Brighton run is as much a 54-mile street party as it is automotive history in motion..."

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"Now that the average 15-year-old has a mobile phone capable of powering the International Space Station, a high-class fountain pen sets you apart from the text-messaging masses more than ever before. Unfortunately there's no straightforward guide to the world of classic and luxury fountain pens. Preference for a specific make and model is as personal as how you dot your i's and cross your t's..."

(excerpt)
"Not all hybrids need big battery packs and generators. That's what Flybird Systems of Silverstone, England, is suggesting with its kinetic energy recovery system..."

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"From street-level, the garage housing Nicola Bulgari's cars looks like little more than an underground car park, tucked among a cluster of drab apartment buildings in Rome. Once inside, it's like stepping into another world. The room is dazzingly clean and full of cars. Vintage neon signs sparkle overhead..."

(excerpt)
"Though Aachen was once famous for sulfurous spring water and its status as Charlemagne's medieval vacation hot spot, today the North German town is best known to BMW fans as the home of AC Schnitzer...This respected outfit has spent 20 years turning everything even remotely associated with the BMW brand..."

(excerpt)
"The H3 Alpha is smooth, quiet and comfortable. It’s also an ego machine that guzzles gas and is about the size of Liechtenstein. If you can afford the constant fuel bills and have a large parking space, it’s the best Hummer yet. But, like gobbling two America-big cheeseburgers and supersize fries, it’s hard not to feel guilty about it...."

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"The steering is accurate, and the brakes - the largest fitted to the E Class - provide drama-free stopping power. Leaving the driver's seat for a short ride as a pampered passenger, we found the Binz quiet and the ride composed and comfy..."

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"Somewhere around 4000 rpm, the turbochargers ignate, and every rule you knew about driving fast is forgotten...Full acceleration doesn't just shove you into your seat; it knocks you down, slaps you in the face and steals your milk money..." (excerpt)

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"I'm strapped into the passenger seat of a modified Audi A4 DTM car, and my head is bouncing around like bobble-head doll as my chaffeur brakes, accelerates and slides his way around the 2.8-mile Hockenheimring in Germany...The ferocious acceleration presses me into the seat, while the blare of the engine makes it impossible to even hear my own screams..."

(excerpt)
"After spending years as a bench warmer among compact crossover utilities, the Mitsubishi Outlander is finally making a serious bid for the A-team. Redesigned for 2007, the Outlander combines carlike dynamics, S.U.V.-lite styling and a reasonable price tag - as long as you don’t get carried away with big-ticket option packages..."

(excerpt)
"Despite all the signs and markers, for a Nürburgring newcomer every corner seems to flow directly into the very next one. Our heads bob left and right as the G-forces build. Suddenly, Schmitz kicks the M5's tail out at more than 60 mph...."

(excerpt)
"Someone told me that there is no sleep better than the sleep after the 24 hours of Le Mans. But 23 hours into the race...no one on the Corvette Racing team was close to dozing. Every pair of bloodshoot eyes stared at the banks of television monitors on either side of the team's garage...."

(excerpt)
"What you call the Kia Rondo depends on how far you bend to the fickle winds of autospeak. The boxy upright shape shouts minivan, even if marketers prefer hipster labels like 'crossover utility' or 'multi-purpose vehicle'...."

(excerpt)
"The Four Stroke Design Rumen looks a lot like a classic 1938 Bugatti 57SC Atlantic, just one that was left in the dryer for way too long...Whether you love or loathe the pocket-sized retro design, there is no denying that the Rumen is full of clever details."

(excerpt)
"We never turn down the keys to a Mercedes-Benz, especially if it's black and chrome and looks evil. And if it weighs 18 tons, so much the better. That's how we came to drive the Mercedes-Benz Actros Black Edition, a 612-horsepower limited-production heavy-duty truck with more menace than a pistol-toting pit bull....."

In April 2007, Nick was proud to assist The New York Times once again in its online coverage of the New York Auto Show.

FIRST GLANCE REVIEWS:
-Saturn Vue and Astra
-Infiniti EX Concept
-Bentley Brooklands

VIDEO REVIEW:
INFINITI EX CONCEPT

(excerpt)
"We were thrilled to be invited to Tuner Test Days, the third installment of a tuner-car showcase held at the Hockenheim racing circuit near the old university town of Heidelberg, Germany. On hand would be some of the newest and most notable tuner cars in Germany — along with a couple of the strangest ones..."

(excerpt)
"The Geneva show is also known for being eclectic, and that description fit well this year. The halls of the Palexpo center were filled with electric cars, upright minivans, exotic supercars and bizarre vehicles that tried to be all of the above. Back-to-back press conferences, often barely 10 minutes long, kept the air thick with PR spin and manufactured excitement. Here are some highlights from the introductions this year:...."

In January 2007, Nick was proud to assist The New York Times once again in its online coverage of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

FIRST GLANCE REVIEWS:
-Maserati Quattroporte Automatic
-Kia Kue Design Study
-Acura Advanced Sportscar Concept

VIDEO REVIEW:
MAZDA RYUGA