Aaron Cole, Managing Editor
Articles
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There are high hopes for the 2017 Chevy Colorado ZR2. So high, in fact, that the automaker didn’t mind if we jumped the truck repeatedly over a short-run trophy course.
Would you consider doing...
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2017 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 first drive review: cast in convenience, forged off road
There’s no substitute for the right tool. How do I know that? Decades of hammering nails with a meat tenderizer. Don't ask. Off-roading requires the right tool, and Chevy owners have waited a long time for that equipment to show up in their Snap-On chests. Fast-rewind to the 2015 LA auto...
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Dodge Challenger Hellcat and Ford F-150 Raptor race around, over a mountain
It was the question burning on our minds for all of 10 minutes: What's the quickest way to conquer a mountain? Around, or over? Like a forced induction race between a rabbit and a super-powered rabbit, we took the strongest examples to Sugarloaf mountain. Motor Authority editors Andrew Ganz and...
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With new GT3, the automatic vs. manual debate rages, even within Porsche
The third pedal is a third rail. Last week at the 2017 New York auto show, enthusiasts claimed another moral victory as Porsche announced the return of a manual transmission to one of its most coveted models. The 2018 Porsche 911 GT3 will be reunited with a 6-speed manual alongside the 7-speed PDK...
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2018 Porsche 911 GT3 doesn't care about lap times--and that's the way it's supposed to be
In a hypothetical bar, over hypothetical drinks between hypothetical friends, Porsche’s director for its GT model line, Andreas Preuninger, imagines a hypothetical conversation about hypothetical numbers. “People are discussing lap times that they can never achieve themselves over a...
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2018 Mercedes-AMG GLC63 video preview
The 2018 Mercedes-AMG GLC63 is evolution, baby. The performance SUV with a fire-breathing turbo V-8 just made its debut at the 2017 New York Auto Show and we’re sure this thing is the duck-billed platypus of our dreams. We’ve seen the GLC-Class evolve from a compact SUV to a...
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Automakers deepened their benches at the 2017 New York auto show with a long line of performance and luxury offerings.
Sadly, this year's show lacked big surprises—who couldn't see the 2018...
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2017 Honda Civic Si video preview
It's hard to believe that the Honda Civic Si has been with us now for more than 30 years. In the three decades it's been on sale, the sporty Civic has stood for affordable performance. Now, the automaker turns the page for the Civic Si for this year in a big way. Whether it retains the same...
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The 2018 Mercedes-AMG GLC63 and GLC63 Coupe are your insane compact SUVs
Performance SUVs appeal to a subset of people who are into naked base jumping, bear wrestling, and punching kangaroos. Mercedes-AMG doesn't mind those people skipping their meds—they prefer it—and has unveiled a salve at the New York auto show until the next big-game bare-knuckle boxing...
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New Subaru Ascent aims to climb busy hill of crossover SUVs
Growing up from the Subaru Outback doesn't mean growing out of the Subaru brand anymore. On Wednesday, the automaker revealed the near-production version of its 3-row crossover SUV, now officially dubbed the Subaru Ascent. The 3-row Ascent made its debut at the 2017 New York auto show alongside the...
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Infiniti previews next-gen QX80 with Monograph concept
Gone is the idea that a luxury brand's flagship for design and tech must be a sedan. Infiniti's full-gainer into the design deep-end with its QX80 Monograph concept should be proof enough of that. It made its debut on Wednesday at the 2017 New York auto show and is a preview of the design of the...
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2018 Audi S4/S5 video review: making our own music at Coachella
We have a tough time nailing down what “performance” means anymore. Automakers work really hard telling us that every car has sporting potential—right down to a minivan. We’re easily not convinced. We know “sssspeed” when we see it, and Audi’s twins here...
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The 2018 Audi S4 carves the desert better than a blistering sandstorm. Turn after turn, the S4 knifes ribbons of pavement like a scalpel in bread dough.
The looks of Audi’s new sport sedan...
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5 questions with Audi designer Frank Lamberty
Question: Let’s talk design. Shapes, ideas, motion, whatever. What is your favorite car—or make it cars, if you like? Answer: Porsche 904 and Volkswagen Karmann Ghia—the coupe. Those are pure sculptures. They don’t even need wheels. I just love the shapes. Q: What about the...
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McLaren teases F1 successor, says it will be faster, more powerful than P1
McLaren showed its newest supercar to the public this month at the 2017 Geneva auto show, but behind closed doors the company's talking about what's next. Not the next car, but rather the next "F1." The company insists that it's not looking to replace the F1, rather that its next hypercar...
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3 automakers took different roads to same destination: a supercar
From the moment the supercar-heavy 2017 Geneva auto show started, it was clear that the future for speed, luxury, and exclusivity would be split into two camps: the possibilities of an electrified future, and an outright celebration of the internal combustion present. Three automakers offered cars...
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How can we make auto racing an Olympic sport? Subaru has an idea
Bobsleds don't have rearview mirrors. Turns out, Subarus about to run down bobsled tracks don't need them. But that's only one of the modifications made to the Subaru WRX STI prepped by rally specialists Prodrive to race down the mecca for bobsledders in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The others? A...
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Ferrari 812 Superfast says what it does, does what it says
Now that we've had an up close look at the replacement for the F12 Berlinetta, Ferrari has clued us into the details on the 812 Superfast that we saw for the first time during last week's 2017 Geneva auto show. We already know that the car features a new 6.5-liter V-12 underhood that makes about...
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Math is not sexy. Math doesn't hang on many walls. Supercars have been primarily driven by emotion, seduction, or outright sex—but passion can be enough to drive anyone insane.
By contrast,...
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2017 Mercedes-AMG C43 Coupe first drive review: seeing what sticks
Its impossible not to notice that the 2017 Mercedes-AMG C43 has too much tire. The 225- and 245-millimeter, 19-inch Pirelli P Zero rubber sticks to the road like hot Doublemint, and the standard traction control setting has a short leash anyway. Back and forth in the C43 along coastal roads, we...
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Auto companies look for federal exemptions for self-driving tests
A tangled web of state laws could make it more difficult to test self-driving cars soon, representatives from automotive companies told a congressional committee Tuesday. Spokespeople from automakers such as General Motors, Toyota, and Volvo, and representatives from ride-sharing company Lyft and a...
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Fast camp: Take me to Porsches on ice
Drivers dread the moment they effectively "run out of talent." That sinking feeling in the bottom of your stomach when a turn goes pear-shaped and the car goes sideways isn't exactly thrilling. For some, talent runs out on the day's last lap, when tires are hot and tensions are hotter. For others...
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Teen drivers can learn how to get it right by getting it wrong
Teen drivers are 1.6 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than adults and last year more teen drivers were involved in crashes than the year prior—the first year-over-year increase in a decade. For the reasons outlined above, which were included in a Governors Highway Safety...
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Kia's Georgia plant is making a Super Bowl-sized run of Optimas
The Atlanta Falcons may have new allies in helping stop the New England Patriot's edge-rushing talent for the Super Bowl this weekend. A new offensive line with a combined weight of 18,000 pounds could do it. This week, Kia's manufacturing plant in West Point, Georgia, announced it will build...
Aaron Cole