Jason Harper

Is this the little-car-that-could for Ford? The company has been rocking lately. I plan to find up, with a hiking trip up to New York’s Catskills, which will give me plenty of time on both highways, byways and narrow lil’ roads. Plus, it’s got to handle lots of gear.

Orange Crush: The $550,000 Gumpert Apollo

By Jason H. Harper – Jul 22, 2010 (Bloomberg News)

You don’t want to be the guy who crashes someone else’s $550,000 supercar.

That’s obvious, but never more so than when you watch a half-million-dollar car getting towed from the racetrack into a garage where the frowning owners stand.

I wasn’t that guy, thank heaven. It was the dude right after me who lost control of the bright-orange Gumpert Apollo, helicoptering off the track and into a tire wall, cratering the nose.

Then there was the fellow just before me. He spun it but didn’t hit anything.

Super sensation: Hey, it's only, like, half a mill...

I drove about six laps in the violently powerful, German- made supercar, treating it like a pit viper with irritable bowel syndrome. Very, very delicately. (more…)

Top down: Maserati's $130,000-something GranTurismo

By Jason H. Harper – Jul 15, 2010 (Bloomberg)

School’s out. Too bad we can’t say the same for work.

To my mind, the best shot at recapturing that piquant sense of summertime escape is found in a convertible.

Last week four of us jumped in a 2011 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Cabriolet ($56,850), with the ostensible goal of an afternoon hike and picnic. Dreamy grins settled on my passengers’ faces as soon as the top swept down. (more…)

One week with the little Bimmer that could (or does). Same size as the old 3 Series, but with all the punch of the 335i. What’s not to like? (Well, some claim it’s a chick car, but what do they know?)