Brandon Turkus, Contributor
Articles
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The 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio needed style, personality, and drivability to help the fledgling brand not only survive, but thrive. The only question we had: Could all those things be too much?
Let's...
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2018 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe first drive review: a grand touring value
When you have an obscene amount of money, you should be driving a grand tourer. I recommend the Aston Martin DB11 or a Ferrari GTC4 Lusso. But what if you're not a sultan, an oligarch, or a tech innovator and still want what a GT can provide? You buy the 2018 Mercedes-Benz E400 Coupe. Priced from...
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Latest "Gran Turismo Sport" trailer emphasizes racing, not car collecting
Earlier this week, we got our first look at “Forza Motorsport 7” during the annual E3 event in Los Angeles. While Microsoft turned a lot of heads with its newest Xbox One exclusive, arch-rival Sony wasn't going to go through an entire E3 without releasing some news on its long-running...
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"Forza Motorsport 7" might be the prettiest racing game ever
Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios announced the latest installment in the popular “Forza Motorsport” series Sunday night at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. This would be big news, but it gets better, because “Forza Motorsport 7” might be the prettiest racing...
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"Dirt 4" first play review: dirty, demanding, and damn good fun
Codemasters' "Dirt 4" has beautiful graphics, immersive physics, delightful sounds, and intimidating weather. This isn't big news in a modern console-based racer. Where "Dirt 4" distinguishes itself is with a combination of accessible and advanced driving modes and an enormous variety of gameplay...
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2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon deep dive: a study in obsession and insanity
“You guys are crazy.” That's what Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne told Tim Kuniskis, head of passenger car brands at FCA, and Chris Cowland, director of advanced and SRT powertrain engineering, when they first pitched the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. After learning about...
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The letters and numbers on a car's trunk usually are its calling card, a shorthand mission statement.
As writers, we'd suggest an edit on the 2018 Genesis G80 Sport decklid.
Sport is a silly name...
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2018 Acura TLX A-Spec first drive review: character by committee
A jack of all trades, the 2018 Acura TLX is so balanced it fades among more daring, extroverted rivals. A mid-cycle update rather than a full-scale redesign, the 2018 Acura TLX hammers yet another nail in the coffin of Acura's hated shield grille. The new grille stretches more horizontally and sits...
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McLaren design boss Frank Stephenson rumored to rejoin Mini
Owners of the first generation of the modern Mini should be doing a happy dance today, because if a certain rumor is true the man behind the iconic, retro-inspired design could be coming home to the brand. Motoringfile, a site exclusively focused on Mini-related news, is reporting a rumor that...
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2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport will pace Indy 500 field
When the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 kicks off in a few weeks time, it will be with a Chevrolet at the head of the field…as the pace car. Aside from fielding several of the top entries for this year's race, Chevy is once again supplying the pace car, a patriotically colored...
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Jaguar Land Rover boss defends diesel, blames VW for backlash
Jaguar Land Rover has launched a ferocious defense of diesel power as the United Kingdom prepares a wide-ranging plan to improve air quality in its major cities. JLR CEO Ralf Speth, pictured above left, told Autocar, “Diesel has to—needs to—have a future,” before laying out...
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Living with the 2017 Volvo S90: the good and the bad
I don't think there's a single brand that has a stronger identity than Volvo. Hear me out. Its focus on safety and reserved, stylish design with just a hint of Swedish flair and modernism survived Ford's perpetually rudderless, mismanaged Premier Automotive Group. Meanwhile, anyone who thought...
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Bros of the world, your new chariot has arrived. This is Chevrolet's new RST trim, coming to the 2018 Tahoe and Suburban, and while poseurs might be interested in the chrome-less look, special...
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2018 Buick Regal coming as hatchback and wagon, but no sedan
Mid-size cars might be yesterday's news (even though they're still the third-largest vehicle segment in the U.S.), but Buick is sticking with them. Sort of. Ahead of the 2017 New York auto show, GM's near-premium brand introduced a fresh take on its mid-size car with the new 2018 Regal Sportback...
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2018 Subaru Crosstrek preview
Need a small, lifted wagon but loathe the idea of stepping into the world of crossovers? The Subaru Crosstrek (nee XV) is the answer. A five-door Impreza body in platform shoes, the original Crosstrek proved its popularity with 95,000 of the Subaru brand's 615,000 sales last year. To maintain that...
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'The Fate of the Furious' looks too insane to watch
Guys, it might have finally happened. The "Fast and Furious" franchise may have just jumped the shark. We know, we know, that's kind of a ridiculous statement to make about a series that views the rules of physics as optional, but the latest trailer for "The Fate of the Furious" has completely...
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Alpine A110 is France's answer to the Alfa Romeo 4C, Porsche 718 Cayman
As with most things that are good in the auto industry, Americans are getting hosed. That's as true of hot hatchbacks as it is of mid-engine sports cars. For the longest time, the Porsche Cayman/Boxster twins were the only option here in North America, unless you wanted to upgrade to a supercar...
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Audi Q8 Sport concept drops plug-in function, slashes 0-60 time
Audi has unveiled a second iteration of its Q8 concept, one that hints at a more performance-oriented version of the upcoming coupe-like SUV. Like the original Detroit auto show concept unveiled in January, the new Q8 Sport concept, which debuted on Tuesday at the 2017 Geneva auto show, also pairs...
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Look, we like a fancy car as much as the next enthusiast, but Rolls-Royce might have finally taken things too far. This is an extended-wheelbase Ghost that the company has painted using the dust of...
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2018 Lexus LS 500h is an inconspicuous, four-door LC 500h
Are you one of the seven people who wants a high-dollar Lexus hybrid, but think the new LC 500h's two-door body isn't practical enough? Well, there's good news coming from Geneva, where the Japanese luxury giant introduced the new LS sedan with the LC's hybrid powertrain. Dubbed the LS 500h, the...
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Hyundai FE Fuel Cell concept is inspired by water (and emits it, too)
The 2017 Geneva auto show has, broadly speaking, been about performance and luxury. The Aston Martin Valkyrie, Porsche 911 GT3 (with a manual transmission!), Range Rover Velar, Audi RS 5, and Mercedes-AMG GT concept are a few highlights. And now, Hyundai has come along with… a fuel cell...
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Bentley EXP 12 Speed 6e teases Continental GT Convertible, EV future
At the 2015 Geneva auto show, Bentley wowed audiences with the beautiful British Racing Green EXP 10 Speed 6 concept. Over the next two years, we spotted the concept's influence on the design of the next Continental GT, while also studying the potential of an electric Bentley model. With the new...
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Porsche listens, reunites 911 GT3 and manual trans for 2018
Porsche 911 GT3 owners had every right to be angry after the 911 R debuted at the 2016 Geneva auto show. Not only did the R get an extra 25 ponies via the GT3 RS's 4.0-liter, 500-horsepower flat-6, it had what numerous GT3 owners wanted in the first place—a 6-speed manual transmission. A year...
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2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 first drive review: too fast to be fun
What's the right amount of horsepower? After driving hundreds of different cars in my career, I'm very confident the answer isn't “As much as humanly possible,” otherwise we'd all be driving around in Top Fuel dragsters, and that'd be a real nightmare during rush hour. And we'd be deaf...
Brandon Turkus