2017
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Las Vegas – If it were a teenager, it'd do things just “for the lulz.” Fiat Chrysler is starting to take that approach, and it's making this Italian-American brand one of the most absurd automakers on the market. CAFE standards? Start stuffing a supercharged, 6.2-liter V-8 into everything. Financial struggles? Pour money into a single-seat, street-legal drag special. And while the market is clamoring for crossovers, FCA is updating the Ram Power Wagon, a truck so ridiculous that no rational person would buy one. But plenty of lunatics will love it. CHECK OUT: 2017 Ford F-150...
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2017 Lexus LX 570: The luxobarge value?
We live in an era in which flagship luxury SUVs start around $70,000, and they can easily top $100,000. Heck, the Mercedes-AMG G65 exceeds $220,000. And that's before we start talking about the Bentley Bentayga and its available dash clock priced at $170K (no, that's not a typo). To say things have...
Joel Feder -
Video outlines differences between new BMW 5-Series and its predecessor
BMW has just introduced a complete redesign for its 5-Series, though to the casual observer the differences between the new car and its predecessor will be hard to spot. It appears the issue has not gone completely unnoticed at BMW as the automaker has released a video outlining the stylistic...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Ford ships first F-150 Raptors to China
Ford’s F-150 Raptor has been a hot commodity in China for years though it’s never officially been sold there, so most that have made it over arrived as gray imports. That’s no longer the case as Ford is now selling the Raptor in its Chinese showrooms and this week shipped the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2017 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS first drive review: the bargain 911
Cape Town, South Africa - I'm at the wheel of the 2017 Porsche 911 GTS at Killarney Raceway behind 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Marc Lieb and I'm frustrated. Lieb, in the even more powerful 911 Turbo S, is setting a leisurely pace and I want to pass him. It's not because I'm some world-class...
Kirk Bell -
800-hp ‘Yenko’ 2017 Chevrolet Camaro revealed
Remember the Yenko 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport that debuted during the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona earlier this month? The company behind the car, Specialty Vehicle Engineering of Toms River, New Jersey, has since dropped its supercharged V-8 into the engine bay of the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
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 sequential runs of the 2017 Kia Optima in red, black, and silver, then red, black, and white, to honor the Falcons' success. Those are the Atlanta Falcons' colors, and a total of 51 cars will be built to honor the Falcons' participation in Super Bowl LI (51). CHECK OUT: Mercedes 'Easy Driver' Super Bowl...
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2017 Dodge Challenger GT first drive review: Old dog, new tricks
How do you make an old car new again? If you’re Dodge and your Challenger's structure hasn’t significantly changed since it was released for the 2008 model year, you add an all-wheel-drive system from an existing product, slap a new model name on it, and call the all-season muscle car...
Kirk Bell -
Mercedes 'Easy Driver' Super Bowl spot features Peter Fonda, AMG GT Roadster
The Coen Brothers are rightfully viewed as directorial geniuses. With such masterpieces as "Fargo," "Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou," "Miller's Crossing," "and "The Big Lebowski" under their belts, their take on the world can range from understated to surreal to hyper real. It's not often you can get...
Kirk Bell -
2017 Hyundai Veloster gets value-packed edition
Anyone in the market for Hyundai’s Veloster can look forward to a new value-packed option aptly named the Veloster Value Edition. Hyundai has included many of the most popular options for the Veloster as standard on the Value Edition. With a starting price of $21,350, you’re looking at...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Dodge Viper ACR racks up one more track record
The Dodge Viper is on its way out but is still managing to set records. A bit over a year ago, Dodge took the Viper in ACR trim to 13 top tracks across North America and set records at all of them. One of these was Laguna Seca where the car managed to outmuscle both the McLaren P1 and Porsche 918...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2017 Audi R8 V10 Spyder priced from $176,350, V-10 soundtrack standard
The 2017 Audi R8 Spyder, the topless version of Audi's second-generation supercar, made a surprise debut last year at the 2016 New York auto show, and now it's finally about to go on sale. Priced from $176,350, including destination, the new R8 Spyder comes with the stout performance of the R8...
Joel Feder -
Ford Motor Company's [NYSE:F] sixth-generation Mustang has scored just two out of a possible five stars in the latest crash test run by Euro NCAP, the first time since 2008 such a low score has been handed out to a major automaker by Europe’s main safety body. Euro NCAP also issues scores, measured as a percentage, in four critical areas of safety: Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Pedestrian Protection and Safety Assist. In the case of the Mustang, the scores came in at 72 percent for Adult Occupant Protection, 32 percent for Child Occupant Protection, 64 percent...
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2017 Ford GT confirmed with 647 hp, 216 mph top speed
Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] has finally revealed some of the performance specs for its new GT supercar. We can confirm that the twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V-6 fitted to the car makes 647 horsepower at 6,250 rpm and 550 pound-feet of torque at 5,900 rpm, with 90 percent of that torque figure coming...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Ruffians burgle Hellcat from Detroit-area dealership
According to a report from CBS Detroit, one or more ne'er-do-wells brazenly boosted a Dodge Charger Hellcat right off the showroom floor from the Snethkamp's Ram City dealership in Highland Park, Michigan, last night. The scoundrels broke a large glass door to get into the dealer, and broke pushed...
Kirk Bell -
Ford F-150 Raptor purchase comes with off-road driving course
The Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] F-150 Raptor is the latest member of the Ford Performance fleet to come with a complimentary driving course to help owners get the most out of their vehicles. The course is called the Raptor Assault program and joins the previous GT350 Track Attack and ST Octane...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
8 things you need to know about the 2017 Subaru BRZ
For the first time since it went on sale in 2012, the Subaru BRZ has received a substantial refresh. From an updated design and interior materials to new tech and powertrain upgrades, there's a lot to talk about. While we have a full first drive report here, more impressions here, and some insight...
Joel Feder -
2017 Ford GT preview
The spiritual successor to the Ford GT40 of the 1960s, the Ford GT is the second car to wear that badge. The first generation was built in limited numbers in 2005 and 2006. The reborn Ford GT will be even more restricted, with just 250 made each year for perhaps four years. A mid-engine supercar...
Kirk Bell -
If you're still complaining about the Subaru BRZ's lack of turbo, you probably don't quite understand how Subaru--with help from Toyota--developed this sports car. From the beginning, the point was to save as much weight as possible, and that doesn't change with a 2017 update. Subaru has given the 2017 BRZ its most substantial update since it was introduced five years ago, amping up what's best about the car while turning down the nannies. It's also introduced a Performance Package that upgrades what the brand views as important. Hint: that isn't power. This is because, in its current form...
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Shelby rolls out 50th anniversary Super Snake
It was 50 years ago that Carroll Shelby and his team at Shelby American built the first Mustang-based Super Snake, a high-performance machine that started out life as a tester for Goodyear. It was based on Shelby’s original GT500 and featured the V-8 of the GT40 race car. Unfortunately, it...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2017 Porsche 911 GTS laps 'Ring in 7:26
The forthcoming 2017 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS has lapped the 12.9-mile, 73-turn Nürburgring-Nordschliefe in 7 minutes 26 seconds. That's 12 seconds faster than the last 911 Carrera GTS and four seconds faster than the latest 911 Carrera S. The so-called 991.2 generation of the Carrera GTS...
Kirk Bell -
800-hp ‘Yenko’ 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport revealed
Back in the 1960s, the muscle cars from Yenko Chevrolet of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania were highly regarded for their performance modifications. And today the cars are among the most collectable of that era. But there are also new “Yenkos” in production, though today the name is used under...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2017 BMW 5-Series first drive review: playing the middle
BMW’s middle child has always had identity issues. Iterations of the 5er have had their moments, but it’s always worn hand-me-downs from the 7-Series and, quite frankly, we would’ve rather played with the 3-Series on a Saturday afternoon. You can imagine how hard this 2017 BMW...
Aaron Cole -
Ford GT gauge cluster changes to fit the driving mode
The hype train for the Ford Motor Company [NYSE:F] GT is once again in high gear. It seems like every enthusiast outlet made sure to get some seat time in the car on display at the 2017 Detroit auto show. Little did they know that Ford would soon be releasing a video detailing how the gauge cluster...
Jeff Glucker