You-Tube Auto Reviewer Uses the Same Test-Roads I do

mmcartalk

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Some of you have asked where I do reviews. I'm in the D.C. area, of course, and do most of them in the Virginia suburbs...some of them, occasionally, in the Maryland suburbs...such as when I tested a Lotus Elise, which, at the time, was not available in Northern Virginia (if you wanted to see something really funny, me getting in and out of an Elise, which was almost but not quite impossible, was a trip).
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Anyhow, one area where I like to do a fair number of reviews is in the large dealer-complexes near Dulles Airport in Virginia, where there are some side roads with little traffic, main roads with varying amounts of congestion, and varying road surfaces where differences in road noise can be noticed. As a side bonus, the dealerships are all large, well-stocked, modern, and thoroughly impressive inside and out. A number of them are virtually brand-new in this rapidly-growing area.

This (Red-Line) reviewer is not only a pretty sharp fellow (he does excellent reviews)
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, but also does this particular Kia Sportage SX Turbo review up and down Route 28 and some of the other side-roads I use. (he doesn't mention the road names, but I recognize them from my own reviews).

By the way, I'll be checking out an SX Turbo myself this week....possibly tomorrow. I had planned to do a full-review on a Subaru Forester this week (that review is still upcoming, but will be delayed a little). My brother, though, called and asked me to check out a new SX. He is currently driving an older Sportage LX, but, with his job and company having moved further away (about 15-20 miles further out in the D.C. suburbs), he spends significantly more time on the road, in a lot of traffic, and feels he needs something with more safety features (rear-cross-traffic alert, auto-emergency braking, lane-change departure, back-up camera, blind-spot monitoring in the mirrors, etc.....). Those features (and much more) come standard in the SX, and would cost virtually as much on an EX model with option-packages. The SX, though, comes with harder-riding 45-series tires, a lot more power in the turbo engine, and a standard sunroof. My brother said he wouldn't necessarily mind the firmer ride (his old LX model is not exactly soft to begin with), and he felt there are times when the power would come in handy, though he's not a speeder by any means. It looks like he's also getting a promotion at his company (they're testing him right now in a higher-ranking job while that person is on a leave of absence, probably retiring). That promotion would mean a significantly higher salary. So, now that I've ordered my own new car, looks like I'll be helping HIM shop LOL.
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Anyhow, here's that person's "Red-Line" review.....on some of the same roads I use:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-Nq...ature=youtu.be
 

mmcartalk

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Redline Reviews is Sofyan Bey, he lives in your neck of the woods...I watch his reviews. He owns a ND Miata.


That figures.....a classic enthusiast's car. Being part of the auto press, though, he probably travels a lot, too. From what I can tell from some of his reviews (and the image-backgrounds), they are set either in the Western states or, sometimes with German cars, in the Alps.

In the Western states, of course, California's Pacific Coast Highway, especially near the bridge at Big Sur, is a favorite backdrop for new-car ads and reviews. Here closer to home, the Blue Ridge Parkway through the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina is probably the most beautiful backdrop in the East.
 
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That figures.....a classic enthusiast's car. Being part of the auto press, though, he probably travels a lot, too. From what I can tell from some of his reviews (and the image-backgrounds), they are set either in the Western states or, sometimes with German cars, in the Alps.

In the Western states, of course, California's Pacific Coast Highway, especially near the bridge at Big Sur, is a favorite backdrop for new-car ads and reviews. Here closer to home, the Blue Ridge Parkway through the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina is probably the most beautiful backdrop in the East.
If you see California in his reviews, its because he travels to where the manufacturers' fly him to for the press introductions. Most of the time, he's reviewing the vehicles around your area as they are delivered to him. I've not seen him travel outside the US for any press drive.
 

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If you see California in his reviews, its because he travels to where the manufacturers' fly him to for the press introductions.

That Big Sur area on the Pacific Coast Highway seems to attract a lot of reviews and photo-ops, not just his.
 

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Sofyan is a nice guy, I know him personally.

Yeah.....Sofyan doesn't seem to be on a soap-box or ego-centered like some guys in the auto press. Another really sharp guy is Alex from Alex on Autos....he does what (arguably) are some of the most detailed reviews I've ever seen. I don't know Alex personally, but he really impresses me.

I know John Davis, from Motorweek, but rather casually, not on a close-up basis...I see him at the D.C. Auto Show and sometimes some other local shows, and we talk. John is also a nice guy, but the short length of the Motorweek reviews doesn't really give him enough time to adequately describe the car stem to stern. (that's one of Motorweek's shortcomings.....the producers try and cram too many different things at once into it). John, like Alex and Sofyan, is a nice guy, and a refreshing change from the stuffiness of some of the others in the auto press.
 
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