The Subaru WRX Concept Isn’t Ugly Enough
About 18 months ago Subaru brought a then brand new Impreza by the office. It was Ugly! Capital U and everything. I pointed as much out to Subaru’s PR dude, who replied, “We don’t waste money on...
View ArticleMarch Madness! Five Things You Can Learn from March 2013 Sales
March Madness could be used to describe the recent auto sales numbers that rolled in this week. At first glance, the 3.4 percent monthly increase seems rather timid. But that number is compared to last...
View ArticleIn Search of the Long-Distance Natural Gas Automobile
America is awash in clean-burning natural gas, with around 320 trillion cubic feet of the stuff, and we discovered more of it than we extracted in 2009 and 2010 (the latest years on the Department of...
View ArticleThe Premium Club: It’s Getting Harder To Join
Back in the mid-’90s, I sat and listened as Audi designer Peter Schreyer — now the man responsible for all those good-looking Kias — ran through the media briefing for the C5 Audi A6. Smooth and...
View ArticleTesla Model S: Your Mileage May Vary
Motor Trend was the first media outlet to do any kind of long-range testing on the Tesla Model S. We performed three tests back in August 2012, shortly after the vehicle’s launch. These road trips were...
View ArticlePrelude to an Accord
The last car I owned was a 2000 Honda Prelude. At the time, it was one of the best-handling, most fun, and most refined sporty coupes you could buy for around $25,000. I have nothing but fond memories...
View ArticleAlfa Bettor: Sergio Marchionne Gambles Big on Reviving an Italian Legend
Alfa Romeo was the BMW of the 1960s. Back then, Alfa sedans, coupes, and sports cars delivered almost exactly the same combination of sporty driving dynamics and daily utility that BMW later stumbled...
View ArticleBreaking Records and Rules
This month’s cover layout breaks all sorts of professional and personal rules. One of the first tenets of journalism is to report the story, not be part of it. From a design standpoint, just look at...
View ArticleIndian Motorcycles Expands Its Lineup
The 2014 Indian Chief will join the family of Indian Motorcycles later this year, company officials announced on Monday. The new flagship to the brand, which was purchased by Polaris Industries in...
View ArticleThe Immortal Porsche 911: We’re Not Bored Yet
It’s 28 years since I first drove a Porsche 911. I still remember the wonderful clarity of the steering and the clattery rasp and razor-sharp throttle response of the air-cooled flat-six. I remember,...
View ArticleHappy 110th Birthday Buick — Your Future Looks Bright
It was a rather quiet event. Understated if you will. But on May 19th, Buick celebrated its 110th birthday. The historic “Doctor’s Brand” has had a long and storied history, which, honestly, I think is...
View ArticleHow to Allroad and Crosstrek it to the Bank
Not too long ago, we had a 2009 Audi A4 Avant in our long-term test fleet. What a sweet car. Dressed in Monza Silver metallic and with a sophisticated S line package, it was a stealthy streamliner...
View ArticleFuture Tech—A roundup of cool gizmos recently crossing the Tech Director’s desk.
A week of breath catching in between a flurry of new-car launches and drive programs saw me catching up on journals, surfing the tech web, and attending the 2013 WardsAuto Interiors Conference in...
View ArticleThe Big Test
There has never been a more challenging time in auto-motive publishing. Everyone is scrambling to find the right way to connect to an audience that has fractured and fragmented to numerous different...
View ArticleChrysler to NHTSA: Jeep Recall Request is Flawed and Wrong
Chrysler continues to call the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s request for a recall of 2.7 million Jeep Grand Cherokees and Jeep Liberty SUVs flawed and wrong. If something is broken,...
View ArticleOpinion: Chrysler is Right to Refuse the Jeep Recall Request
Chrysler is certainly not going to win any popularity contests with its decision to refuse to voluntarily recall millions of Jeep Grand Cherokees and Jeep Liberty SUVs, but when you start to examine...
View ArticleThe Mercedes-Benz GLK250 BlueTec is a Solo Standout
In this issue there are no fewer than three million-dollar gas-hybrid super sports cars. (OK, the Porsche 918 starts at $845,000, but with a few options, it’s close enough.) Think about that for a...
View ArticleBehind the Blueprint
The seed of this month’s cover story was embedded in an observation made by Paul Mackenzie, McLaren Automotive’s P1 program chief, at the 83rd Salon de l’Auto Genève. I asked him why somebody should...
View ArticlePorsche’s Fundamental Shift
In 2012, Porsche sold a couple hundred of its awesome, track-taming 911 GT3s. Often referred to as the “purist’s Porsche,” every one of those high-horse, big-winged, 8400-rpm-redline Bauhaus beauties...
View ArticleOnce-Exotic Carbon Fiber Inches Toward the Mainstream
Time has long been carbon fiber’s enemy. The time a preimpregnated sheet of woven carbon fiber can spend at room temperature before it starts to set up; the time it takes to lay up a structure of this...
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