Portland International Raceway // Track & Back. The Run to the Sun has been the premier.

Northwest for more than 2. Both journalists. The quality of vehicles provided for the. September 1. 0- 1.

Twenty- five journalists drove  2. BMW i. 8, Alfa Romeo.

C, Dodge Challenger Hellcat, Bentley Continental GT convertible, Rolls- Royce. Wraith Coupe, Chevrolet SS, Jaguar F- Type V8 Coupe, Nissan GT- R, Dodge Viper. T/A and Cadillac ATS coupe among others. The Run to the Sun has been held in.

While we’re waiting for the solar eclipse later on in the month, we’ll be cooling our heels in August hiding out in the air conditioning, and catching up on the. The ad for today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe BMW 530iT notes that its paint is in fact a red vinyl wrap. Audiophiles may like vinyl, but will you auto-philes like.

Washington and Oregon, over the years, but recently the. The currently route winds though the Cascade mountains of. Oregon, around 1. Mt. Hood, then shoots into the wide- open high.

Bend. The event now starts from a hotel at. 4 Pics One Word 6 Letters Golf Computer Program here. Portland International Airport, so manufacturers and journalists can fly in. The ride overnights at Sisters in central Oregon, and karaoke. Hardtails bar has become a popular feature late in the evening. Journalists trade cars every 2. Bone- headed behavior can. You have been. warned.

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If you’re an accredited journalist who’s. Wix Force Reboot After Installation. Northwest Automotive Press Association (NWAPA) a line at www. If you fancy the Run to the Sun, sign up as soon as the.

Rather than write about every car that. I’ll focus on my top 1. It’s. strictly subjective, but hey, it’s MY list. Yours would probably be different. Alfa Romeo 4. CThrilling mid- engine coupe marks Alfa.

Romeo’s return to the U. S. Rosso. Competizione paint is an extra $1,5. Durability is the. PROS. Looks great from any angle; comfortable, corners on rails. As fast as a. Lotus Evora – but $2. Musical exhaust note, 6- speed DCT. In “racing” mode, it.

Steve Mc. Queen’s Mustang in (the sound track. Bullitt.”CONS: Complete carbon fiber tub, with. What appears to be a. Room for a small soft- sided bag in mini- trunk. Book a. great hotel and don’t let the valet.

SPECS: All- aluminum, direct- injection. DOHC 4- cylinder turbo. MSRP $5. 3,9. 00. Stylish touches draw crowds and intelligent. PROS: Great take- off, brilliant handling. Butterfly. doors hinged on A- pillars draw crowds, as do rear Manta Ray wings. Genuinely. looks like the future.

CONS: Infernally complicated – the. Chunky carbon fiber A- pillars very difficult to see. Rapid running on remote country roads on Day Two sent car. It recovered at lunch to manage 7. Passenger who managed to get into. Reportedly sold out. SPECS: Twin power, turbo 3- cylinder with.

Power settings range from e. Drive, Eco- Pro, Comfort and Sport settings. MSRP $1. 36,6. 50 - $1. Supercharged 6. 2 liter, 7. Hemi V8 with 8- speed automatic (though 6- speed stick is offered).

The. 8. 00- pound gorilla that everybody stared at and grinned. Drivers in other cars. WWII Grumman. F6. F Hellcat. PROS: Feels well sorted, very stable.

A big heavy car, but combines the bulk of a. Be sure you’re pointing where you want to go.

Valet key which limits the engine to 4,0. Does 0- 6. 0 in 4. Right now, it’s possible to. Tires. and brakes will cost you a fortune if you drive it exuberantly. Front spoiler. is very low.

Expensive, but as Dirty Harry said “This is the most powerful. Amen to that. SPECS: Supercharged 6. Hemi V8. with 1. 1.

R2. 0 Pirelli PZERO tires. I showed 8. 7). MSRP $5. Bentley Continental GT V8 S Convertible. Superfast convertible for the. Glacier Blue is the color of cheap eye shadow. Now all you have to find is. PROS: All- wheel drive,  and well balanced, though you will be aware.

Gadgets lean to luxury, with power. With the three- layer top up you almost want to whisper. The car. you’d keep until a new model comes out. CONS. Mind- bogglingly expensive for a car (however well made) which looks like.

Audi that went to a Swiss finishing school. Seems to be aimed at an “old”.

Such buyers may be seen with their nieces at. The Quail Concours in Carmel Valley. SPECS: Twin- turbo 4- liter V8; 5. ZF automatic with paddle- shift, all- wheel drive split 4. Motor completely. MSRP $2. 16,2. 00.

Price as tested. Roll- Royce Wraith Coupe. New model in 2. 01. One of the most. successful recent designs, with a Bentley Continental R- Type fastback and. Powered by 6. 6- liter 6. V1. 2. with rear- wheel drive. Wraith package costs $3.

Quiet. as a crypt, simple dash with no gadgets, which conceals 1. Perfect. finish everywhere. The Spirit of Ecstasy retracts into the grill when the car.

PROS: Somebody you’ve never met cares a lot. Compared to the New Brutalism of the monstrous Phantoms, this is. OPEC colors. Suicide doors make for. A- pillar. Every conceivable comfort you can imagine is. CONS: It might be small for a.

Rolls- Royce, but it’s big compared to everything else. You’ll need a. significant income to drive it without regard to expense. Oddly, the retracting.

Spirit of Ecstasy is much smaller than the one you’re used to seeing, which. SPECS: 6. 6- liter DOHC V1. Every dynamic handling and active safety option available. Self- leveling suspension, voice recognition. MSRP $2. 84,9. 00. Price as tested $3.

Jaguar F- Type R V8 Coupe. On last year’s Run to the Sun we had a. Jaguar F- Type convertible, with a 3. V6. The car was praised. F1 exhaust wail. This year brought.

V8 R Type coupe, which was only about 1. It was a rocket. PROS: Handsome, comfortable, very smart. Air Force base or.

Autobahn to check that out. Dynamic setting on active exhaust means you  will wake the neighbors.

CONS: Some interior gear seems a bit. Front spoiler very low. I’d still like a 6- speed stick. Still. looks too much like the last XKR and not enough like the E- type, for me. SPECS: 5. 50 bhp, supercharged DOHC V8. MSRP. $9. 9,0. 00,0.

Price as tested $1. Chevrolet SSTwenty years after the Impala SS, Rip. Van Winkle Chevrolet gets a phone call from Australia. The 4. 15 bhp V8- powered. Holden Commodore is coming home, and it’s made good.

I guess the earlier. Pontiac G8 never got a green card. At first available only a police package. Caprice, the Holden is now available as a shorter- wheelbase four- door Chevrolet.

Super Sport sedan, just in time for GM to pull out of Australia. Has the older LS3 V8 motor. Pulls 0. 9. 5g on the skid pad and isn’t upset by. CONS: Styling is a bit bland, as is the. GM style, and in the old days would have. Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Buick.

Next year should bring a. Corvette LT1 V8 and a 6- speed manual transmission. I’d wait. until then, or take a lease for now. It needs a real spare tire. A bottle of. sticky goo won’t won’t fix a cut. SPECS: 4. 15 bhp V8, 6- speed automatic.

On Star, navigation, collision alerts. MSRP. $4. 3,4. 75. Price as tested $4. Mercedes Benz S5. MATIC Sedan. How to feel like a successful German.

Berlin with a place in the Bavarian Alps. This mile- eater is the. Cessna 1. 72, but quieter and much more comfortable. The driver. assistance programs aren’t intrusive, but they keep you on the road, observe and.

The. twin- turbo, 4. DOHC V8 generates 4. All- wheel drive keeps the weather at bay.

PROS: This car is supremely competent. If you’ve ever fed your cat a special. I mean. That’s what he wants from now on. CONS: It’s not cheap, it’s big, and it is.

Fortunately it’s a top- of- the- line Mercedes, so it’s. SPECS: 4. 6 liter, DOHC twin- turbo V8.

MSRP $9. 5,9. 00. Price. as tested $1. Scion FR- S (aka Subaru BR- Z)The Scion FR- S and Subaru BR- Z were a. I drove them on an earlier the Run to the Sun. Their. signature is uncannily like my old Porsche 9. SC. Dimensionally, it feels like.

I’m sitting in exactly the same place. The pair are reasonably priced 2+2. The Scion outsells the. Subaru, possibly because Subaru people demand 4. X4 capability. Both are plain. Rumors persist of a convertible in 2. Scion AWD. world rally car.

PROS: Exceptionally well balanced, with. CONS: Needs more power: maybe a. Seats are comfortable but interior very plain. Could use more. signature colors, apart from the orange metallic.

Unremarkable in dark colors. SPECS: 2- liter, 2. Seconds, 1. 36 mph. MSRP $2. 4,7. 00. Price as tested $2.

Fiat Abarth Cabriolet 5. Fiat 5. 00s have been around in Europe since. Abarth is the car that should have arrived first in the U.

S. With air conditioning, satellite. Who can. forget Catrinel Menghia, the model in the TV ad?