What the Autoblog staff drives: the ultimate editors' picks

We spend a lot of time at Autoblog evaluating cars from ordinary to outrageous to help you learn what car is the best for you. We even have a segment of our podcast called "Spend My Money" all about helping listeners find the right car for them. As such, we thought maybe we should share with you what we have spent our own, real money on.

Our garages are quite diverse, featuring everything from stock crossovers to modified sports cars. We have cars from all around the world and of all ages. And we have all kinds of reasons for owning what we have, as well as likes and dislikes. So click on to see what our ultimate editors' picks are.

Road Test Editor Zac Palmer

I bought this 2001 Acura Integra GS-R just a week before my 16th birthday, and it’s been mine ever since. The months prior to my purchase were dedicated to reading all the original reviews in the buff books of small, sporty cars from the 1990s and tirelessly searching used car listings. That way, I’d know exactly what was, or wasn’t, hot from a fantastic era of cars that was becoming gloriously affordable in the early 2010s. I had narrowed it down to just a few options by the time I decided on the Integra, but in the end there were a few specific things that landed this car in my driveway: engine, handling and reliability.

Firstly, the GS-R is a fun car to drive. It has a little 1.8-liter four-cylinder that revs to 8,100 rpm. A big thank you to VTEC for making my trips back and forth to high school far more entertaining than they would’ve been otherwise. The engine only makes 170 horsepower and 128 pound-feet of torque, but it’s light enough that 60 mph happens in just under 7 seconds. That was more than plenty for me then, and it’s still plenty now. And oh yeah, all the ink you’ve seen spilled about how great the Integra Type R drives and handles; much of that applies to the GS-R, too. You just need some modifications to get there, and I won’t go into detail about what’s different underneath mine (plenty), but it’s remarkably refreshing to drive on a good road.

Aside from the Integra, the newest addition to the fleet is a 2004 Porsche Boxster S 550 Spyder Special Edition. Yeah, that name is as long and ridiculous as some other new Porsche models these days, but the car is rad! The 2004 model year was the last one for the first-generation Boxster, and this special edition model was the king of them all. Versus the standard Boxster S, the 550 Spyder featured 6 additional horsepower from the 3.2-liter flat-six courtesy of an engine tune. It also has a 10 mm lower ride height, uniquely-tuned dampers and springs, a short-shift six-speed manual gearbox, 5 mm wheel spacers and a whole host of visual changes. The only color you could get it in was GT Silver Metallic (a new color at the time that was previously only available on the Carrera GT), and that was combined with a Cocoa Brown soft top and interior. Plenty of other aesthetic changes like unique wheels, a special dual exhaust finisher and loads of painted trimmings (grilles, side intakes, interior trim) also made it stand out. I've had the car for months (not years) at this point, but it's lived up to all the expectations I ever had about the original Boxster so far.

Associate Editor Byron Hurd

The last time we did an editors' rides round-up, I had a garage dominated by then-FCA products (see top left). The balance has since shifted. The Challenger left on a Carvana flatbed in the summer of '20 after an offer I absolutely couldn't refuse, and with it my only car payment. I picked up my 2003 Toyota Matrix XRS in the southwest later that year; it's my utility vehicle. As Corollas go, it's not bad — special, but not so special that I feel bad using it to haul mulch.

But since I really hate money, my lack of payment lasted barely a year. After attending the launch at VIR, I was so smitten by the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing that I placed an order for one. The above photo is from the day I took delivery. Sadly, that was in November, and it has thus sat dormant in my Michigan garage for the bulk of the time it has been in my possession. Soon, you Blaze Orange riot. Soon.

My winter utility champ is my 2011 Wrangler. It's a mess, but a stubborn and reliable one. The 3.8L "minivan" engine is a complete dog, and the base fuel-sipper gearing makes it both too slow for the highway and too fast for trail crawling. Plus, it's beige. Sorry, tan. Both diffs are open and everything is stock, less the parts that have been damaged or knocked off on trails. Yes, this Wrangler has spent a significant amount of time off-road, both in the Northeast and the Southwest.

Then, there's the Miata. This is the car I've owned longer than any other in my life. It's also one of two Miatas I've owned so far, and I doubt it will be long before that number ticks up yet again. It had more than 200,000 miles on it when I bought it in northern Virginia back in 2008, and the clutch slipped when it was cold, likely due to rear main seal leak from the 1.6L. In the 12 years I've owned it, it has seen numerous track and autocross events and never failed me once. Oh, and the clutch still slips when it's cold.

Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder

When we last checked in with staff rides, I was without a personal car, having sold my 2004 Subaru WRX, and my wife was daily-driving a 2013 Mercedes-Benz GLK turbo-diesel. I had said we’d likely replace the GLK with something bigger, especially if we had another child, and that I’d be more likely to get something impractical for myself rather than take over the Mercedes as my own. Well, we had another child, my wife now drives a Hyundai Palisade, and I’ve got a 1974 VW Beetle in my garage. I’ve written about the Palisade quite a bit, and it’s still serving us well. What we’d considered our extreme-use case — a long drive in a car packed with kids, pets and a week’s worth of luggage — happens more often than I think either of us expected, but if you’ve got the ability, why not make use of it, right? Live a little.

As for that Beetle, it’s a lifelong dream realized, and it was a surprise from my wife (I am, indeed, a lucky man). What child of the ‘70s or ‘80s wasn’t enamored with the ol’ slug bug? Now, whenever I sit in it, I get flashbacks of cruising down a rainy Highway 101 along the winding cliffs of the Oregon coast, teasing more speed out of my friend Luke’s Bug, snacking on bulk figs and coaxing the cold motor back to life after stopping to traverse the Hobbit Trail and comb the beach for agates. Right now, I’m trying to chase down an electrical gremlin affecting the lighting, but the car runs great, and I can’t wait for a summer of bumming around Ann Arbor in the perfect car for an Ann Arbor summer.

Just as with my last update, I’m always thinking about what’s next, however far out that forecast may be. With both the kids in school and our lives increasingly busy, it’s seeming ever more likely that I’ll be looking for a daily driver when the market calms down. That’ll be electric. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is at the top of the ultimate wishlist, but the Kia EV6 (understandably), Polestar 2,  Ford Mustang Mach-E and Subaru Solterra are all in the running. More realistically, I might just get a used Nissan Leaf or something, as I’m going to have to be okay with it spending a lot of time undriven, as such is often the lot of auto reviewers’ personal vehicles.

News Editor Joel Stocksdale

My garage has a toy car, a parts car, a more practical daily driver/toy and a hauler/winter vehicle. The first of those is the 1999 Mazda Miata you see above. It's actually my second one. I bought it because my first ever car, another 1999 Miata, was on its last legs burning oil and rusting. I found this low mileage one in the same color for probably less than it would have cost to overhaul my original. I still have the original, and it has become my parts car, and I've already moved over several parts to the new car, including the green and black houndstooth seats I made in college (yeah, I learned to sew there). Since buying it, I've proceeded to turn it into the Miata I dreamed of as a high school student, giving it sleek wheels, front and rear spoilers, a roll bar, and most importantly, a supercharger. It should make about 190 horsepower at the wheels (I haven't dyno tested it yet) and it has a sweet supercharger whine. It's an absolute hoot and I'll probably keep it for the rest of my life.

As for the daily-ish toy, it's a 2013 VW Beetle. I've talked about it before back when I compared it to a vintage Beetle that VW itself owns. It also effectively replaced my old 2007 Civic Si, which was a lot of fun, but I was kind of tired of, in part for its lack of long-distance refinement. The Beetle also fulfilled a bit of a dream for me. I've had a serious soft spot for Bugs since I was a kid, probably mostly from hours of watching The Love Bug, which remains a favorite movie for me. And with the turbo engine, manual transmission and independent rear suspension similar to a contemporary Jetta GLI, it's also quite fun to drive. I've enhanced that aspect with a variety of upgrades, such as an intake and ECU tune that bring it up to around 250 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque. It's also lowered with adjustable shocks, and has visual upgrades such as the wheels, custom floor mats and a fun arcade-style starter button. And even with these upgrades, it remains surprisingly comfortable and quiet. The hatchback even makes it pretty practical.