Brandon Turkus, Contributor
Articles
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The Hyundai Veloster seemed like a safe bet in the automotive death pool. Here was an odd, not very useful hatchback that wasn’t very good to drive from a brand that desperately needed...
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2019 Mercedes-Benz G-Class video preview
Mercedes-Benz has redesigned an icon, but it might not look like it. The Gelandewagen carries on the boxy, brutalist styling it pioneered in the 1970s. But the rigid adherence to this iconic design hides some of the changes for 2019. Mercedes added more emotive headlights and a dark, militaristic...
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2018 Infiniti QX80 first drive review: age is more than a number
The 2018 Infiniti QX80 is a frustrating vehicle. It's (finally) attractive. There's a charming powertrain moving it along. And this big truck does luxury well, with beautiful leatherwork and a quiet cabin. But these attributes aren't enough to to overshadow the QX80's age. At the very least...
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2019 Aston Martin Vantage video preview
Power, beauty, soul. Aston Martin owners have seen that phrase pop up in gauge clusters for years. The 2019 Vantage might be the best expression of that mantra. Let’s just get this out of the way—the 2019 Vantage is beautiful. The huge grille presents a menacing face. The side grilles...
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With Nautilus, Lincoln moves away from alphanumeric names
Lincoln will drop the confusing three-letter series of names present on most of its models, Kumar Galhotra, Ford’s chief marketing officer and group vice president for the Lincoln brand, told Motor Authority on Monday. The 2019 Nautilus, formerly the MKX, is the first to ditch the panned...
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2019 Lincoln Nautilus improves on MKX in almost every way
The Lincoln MKX is dead. Kind of. Its replacement is the 2019 Lincoln Nautilus, but aside from a new name, a freshened face, an updated powertrain, and more advanced driver assistance technology, this is still a Ford Edge-based crossover, for better or worse. The crossover was revealed ahead of the...
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The Volkswagen Tiguan is a nice, handsome option in the small SUV segment. It is not, however, very sporty looking.
Enter the latest Volkswagen R-Line package. Attached to the 2018 Tiguan, this...
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2018 Ford Mustang first drive review: getting serious
Ever since Chevrolet relaunched the Camaro, it’s effectively been poking Ford, almost trying to provoke its oldest rival with cars like the SS 1LE, Z/28, and ZL1. And Ford has spent the past several years politely asking Chevy to stop with a short string of competitors in the Boss 302, GT500...
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2018 Ford Expedition first drive review: an "A" student at last
For a long time, the Ford Expedition was forgotten—perhaps, even forgettable. Last redesigned in 2007, the SUV received next-to-no attention until 2015, when Dearborn decided to drop a 3.5-liter Ecoboost under the hood as part of the mildest of refreshes. It was fine, the “C's get...
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Living with the 2017 Honda Civic Si: the good and the bad
The latest Honda Civic is also the best Honda Civic. That's an easy statement to make, but it's not quite as simple when you add the “Si” designation on the end. Because despite a raft of bad Civics for the current model to overshadow, the reality is that the Si range has been a much...
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Porsche InnoDrive first drive review: automating enthusiasm
With the self-driving car on its way, our days as drivers are numbered. Eventually, some accursed batch of engineers in a shadowy automotive tech center will put all the pieces in place and birth the first truly autonomous vehicle. Assuming Skynet doesn't become self-aware shortly after and kill us...
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2019 Porsche Cayenne Turbo takes familiar route to high performance
Porsche knows chemistry. Take an engine from the Porsche Panamera Turbo that can reach 150 mph (ask me how I know), and add the third-generation Cayenne. The solution is the 2019 Porsche Cayenne Turbo that appeared Tuesday at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA). Or maybe it's alchemy because the...
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A long time ago, Honda built a car called the City. It was adorable, tiny, and has garnered something of a cult following today.
Think of the Honda Urban EV concept, which debuted Tuesday at the...
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Audi Aicon, Elaine preview self-driving, all-electric future
The 2017 Frankfurt auto show hasn't even started yet, and already we have a good idea of what this year's affair at the Frankfurt Messe is going to be all about thanks to Audi. Meet the Aicon (pronounced like “icon”) and the Elaine, a pair of all-electric autonomous vehicles that...
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2019 Porsche Cayenne adds power, tech, restrained look
In the past couple of years, Porsche has redesigned the Cayman and Boxster (adding the 718 designation to each), introduced a twin-turbocharged 911 Carrera, and turned the Panamera from one of the most unattractive cars on the road into one of the best looking. Good. Great. Wonderful. And none of...
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2018 Ford F-150 first drive review: so good you won't even notice
When the new Ford F-150 was unveiled in 2015, it was the world's first aluminum pickup truck, an innovation that General Motors and Ram still haven't caught up with. Combined with a pair of twin-turbocharged V-6 engines, Ford's perennial best-seller pushed the art of the truck into an important new...
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Subaru WRX STI Type RA NBR claims Nürburgring sedan record with 6:57.5 lap
Weather did not spite Subaru today. After torrential downpours derailed its first effort at a Nürburgring lap record, Subaru returned to the Green Hell with its WRX STI Type RA NBR and rung up a 6:57.5, a record-breaking run around Germany's most notorious race track. Subaru completed the run...
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Ford F-150 Police Responder adds pursuit rating to a pickup
Ford announced on Thursday that it's adding an even more hardcore F-150-based police car to its lineup. Following up on the F-150 Special Service Vehicle, the new Police Responder gets a twin-turbocharged power, a 10-speed automatic transmission, and enough suspension and brake upgrades to chase...
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A Dodge Durango might be one of the last vehicles you'd want to drive on an angry lap of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's in-field road course. It's a 3-row crossover SUV, designed for school runs...
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2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody first drive review: big looks, incremental improvements
The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is very, very fast. The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is even faster. So naturally, rather than calling it a job very well done, Dodge is introducing a middle child, blending the looks of the Demon with the standard Hellcat's powertrain and attaching much larger...
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2018 Dodge Demon first drive review: Hellcat for real sinners
Americans love excess, noise, and bombast, and the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is as excessive, noisy, and bombastic as a car can get. But the ultimate Challenger is also a stunning piece of engineering, capable of nearly effortless straight-line performance unlike any car to ever carry a...
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Tackling Goodwood Hill in a right-hand-drive Subaru WRX STI
Automotive public relations is a funny profession. As a young writer, my editor told me ahead of my first media program to never say anything that could be construed as a request for something, even in passing, because PR people take it seriously. I apparently forgot that lesson, and ended up...
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10 best things we saw at 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed
God must be a gearhead. Want proof? Southern England inexplicably managed good weather for three consecutive days so we could witness seven decades of Ferrari, multiple generations of Formula One cars, and a tribute to Group B rally cars. Bear witness to the best we found at the 2017 Goodwood...
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The engineering behind the Subaru WRX STI Type RA NBR Goodwood hill climber
If done right, the Goodwood Festival of Speed can be an excuse to get champagne drunk on a British aristocrat's estate and watch very fast cars drive up a hill. We were there, accomplishing those goals and having a grand time of it. Subaru was also there, and the only bubbly it wanted to indulge in...
Brandon Turkus