Caffeine and Octane Atlanta, July 2014

When I think of a car show, I usually have a pretty clear image in my head. I see dozens of white-haired men and their wives sitting in folding chairs behind meticulously restored American luxo-barges and muscle cars. There are usually signs that read "Look, but please don't touch!" Some tired old Beach Boys song belts through the speakers of an antiquated p.a. system, conversations involving "matching numbers," "frame-off restoration," and "back in the day" drone on, and when the sun goes down, everyone packs up their chairs and trophies, and the cars return to their garage shrines to sit underneath a cover until the next show.

Don't get me wrong, I have immense respect for the work that goes into restoring an old car to showroom condition, but that kind of stuff only applies to a small portion of the car enthusiast community.

This is what makes Caffeine and Octane so great. This grassroots effort --inspired by the wildly popular Cars and Coffee in Irvine, California-- is a rebellious breakaway from the traditional classic car show.

There's no admission fee. There's no way to register your car for the show. You have just as much chance of parking your bone-stock Chevrolet S10 in the show area as Rick Babyboomer has in his numbers-matching Hemi Cuda. First to arrive? Well, then you get first pick of a parking space. It's that simple.

In one row, you'll see everything from that numbers-matching Cuda, to a Lamborghini Diablo, to a 1998 Acura Integra with clearcoat failure. You can see how this quickly becomes an event where anyone who attends can find something they like.

With a diversity in cars comes a diversity in crowd members. Sure, the majority is comprised of fathers and sons --my father and I included-- but there are also entire families who get up at the crack of dawn to make the trek to Caffeine and Octane. Pint-sized photographers and not-so-pint-sized photograpers zig-zag through crowds of reminiscers, couples, dogs, salespeople, police officers, and anyone and everyone in between.

The collection of special cars that congregates here on the first Sunday of every month does something special. It fosters relationships between strangers, friends, and families. Everyone is out to have a good time and share their enthusiasm for cars.

Caffeine and Octane, along with shows like it popping up across the country, are reinventing the way we all think about car shows. The formal, ritualized, and frankly outdated model of the car show that many of us grew up with is changing, and I couldn't be more thankful for that.

2013 Kia Sorento: Long-Term Test

Efficiency, practicality, and style come together to make the Kia Sorento one of the best selling mid-sized SUVs on sale today. The Korean automaker undertook a massive redesign effort in 2006 that resulted in more coherent interior and exterior design across their lineup. And their efforts have not gone unnoticed, with KIA Motors consistently posting sales numbers that rival Japanese automakers and downright beat domestic ones.

In my two weeks with the Sorento I've noticed that it's more than just a cheap alternative to the established brands from Japan and the United States; it's actually a respectable well-built, and capable car. Maybe it's a bit too suburban mom/dad-ish for my taste, but that doesn't keep it from doing an excellent job at a wide array of tasks.

We can start with the performance. Since I first drove the Sorento, I've admired the 3.5 V6's overall peppiness as mated to the six-speed auto box. You get the sense that the engine has more than enough power to handle the job of moving the car and any combination of passengers and luggage around without any trouble at all. However, with the LX trim's front-wheel drive configuration, torque steer becomes a slight issue. On occasions where I had to really mash the pedal to the floor (of which there were relatively few), the whole car shimmied as power was being shuffled frantically between the two front wheels. I highly doubt that this would become an issue during a normal daily commute, but it's something you should definitely be ready to deal with when it happens.

Fuel economy is somewhat below-average, but the KIA still returns more than acceptable numbers. The 240 mile trip to school took me a little over half a tank of gas to cover, and around town the Sorento has returned an acceptable 20 miles to the gallon. Another thing to note is the green ECO light that appears in the bottom of a speedometer gauge. Apart from reminding you that, yes, keeping your foot off the throttle pedal is good for gas mileage, there are no "Eco mode functions" like cylinder deactivation or varied throttle mapping in place to save you fuel.

The Sorento may be clasified as a mid-sized SUV, but that doesn't mean you'll be wanting for space. The third row seats are so easy to deploy once your friends have discovered that you now drive the biggest car of the group. Cargo space with the seats down is brilliant as well. Plenty of space for as much flat-packed Ikea furniture as your heart desires. Apart from moving a new entertainment center (some assembly required), I found the abundance of space a bit unnecessary for my needs, but, again, I'm a student living alone on a student's budget. The grocery load is never going to be overwhelming.

Apart from its suburban mother and sorority girl appeal, the Sorento has proven itself to me. I can almost trust KIA Motors now. Well, almost, anyways.

2015 Nissan Juke: Revised, Not Revolutionized

Keeping that face that only a mother, or a questionably sane person like myself, could love, the Nissan Juke is ready for another generation of niche market domination. No matter where you go, be it a bustling sub-metropolis like Baltimore or a rural college town like Statesboro, you're bound to see a handful of these quirky small crossovers roaming the streets and littering the apartment complexes and Aldi parking lots. In fact, the Juke all but invented the small crossover market back when it was introduced in 2010. Since then, it has sold nearly 420,000 copies and has brought a staggering amount of new customers to Nissan's doorstep.

Tuesday marked the unveiling of the brand new, (slightly) redesigned Juke at the Geneva Motor Show. As noted in the press release, the Juke is a car based, and either loved or hated, on it's exterior design, so major design changes were out of the question. Instead the new Juke sports some handsome tweaks, such as reshaped headlights and tail lights, both furnished with LEDS, reshaped front and rear bumpers, and an optional sliding sunroof. And the options list just keeps growing from there. Three new paint colors have been added for the 2015 lineup, as well as a myriad of different personalization packs, which allow customers to change the colors of mirror caps, the roof spoiler, side sills, and door handles.

These personalization packs also carry over into the interior, which is otherwise unchanged, save for an optional new NissanConnect system. Drivers can now further personalize colors of door panels, the center console, and other interior panels. The split folding rear seats are now able to fold completely flat and, in two-wheel-drive models, a two-stage floor in the luggage compartment increases cargo capacity by 40 percent.

Standard equipment in the new Juke will include LED daytime running lights, a CD player with AUX input, and tire pressure monitoring, but more interesting is the list of available options. The first of which is the new NissanConnect system, which utilizes a 5.8 inch touchscreen and Google navigation. This system also allows for Bluetooth connectivity, internet radio streaming, and weather information. Nissan also offers a host of different driver aids based on an optional Around View Monitor and Safety Shield system. Around View Monitor is comprised of four different cameras mounted around the car, which together give a 360 degree view to assist in parking. Safety Shield, meanwhile, includes Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Monitoring, and Moving Object Detection. In addition to these new options, drivers can also choose power folding mirrors, a smart key access system, and light and rain sensors.

Engines and drivetrains have not yet been announced for the U.S. market, but the two variations of gasoline engines and the new 4WD system are likely to be carried over. The Juke offers a more refined version of the old 1.6 liter, and adds a smaller 1.2 DIG-T turbocharged engine with stop/start to the lineup. Either of the engines can be mated to either the existing 6-speed manual or a new Xtronic gearbox, which maximizes fuel efficiency.

Since its inception, the Juke has been a car that you either loved or hated. 2015 brings some modern refinement to the model, but it essentially remains the same lovable (or unlovable) little crossover it has been for the past four years.