Car News

Saturday was the final day of the Fireball Run, and it was also the last time we'd have to face down a track event--this time at Cordova Dragway Park in Cordova, Illinois. But we had to get there first. We departed Cedar Rapids, Iowa in the morning, with only a couple of bonus missions in hand...

Things were a bit more settled today, as I felt a little more comfortable with the rhythm of the road at the Fireball Run. As on the day before, I took the while to start the day, with myself and High Gear Media teammate Joel Feder switching seats after lunch. The morning's first mission consisted...

It's hard to beat American muscle for hauling tail in a straight line, and Mopar's Drag Pak for the Dodge Challenger is among the best out-of-the-box Stock Eliminator/Super Stock configurations you can buy. For 2011, the deal gets even better: Viper V-10 power for just $85,512. Like previous Drag...

Tiny, American (sort of), ridiculously fast, and dedicated to rally competition, the Ford Fiesta RS WRC is a gravel-to-pavement lover's lust item. And it just made its global public debut at the 2010 Paris Auto Show. Built around a 1.6-liter EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder engine, the Fiesta RS...

The 2010 Paris Auto Show is winding down, but there's still much to be seen, including Audi's punchiest version of the A1, the 1.4 TFSI. Packing a supercharger, a turbocharger, and 185 wild horses, the A1 1.4 TFSI is just a quattro all-wheel-drive system short of earning an S1 badge. Despite the...

Camaro SS versus Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2 Valentino Balboni. Sounds like a foregone conclusion, right? Not so fast--Team High Gear Media took to the track at Heartland Park Topeka and managed to catch and pass the LP550-2 piloted by none other than Balboni himself. You may remember my...

The Porsche 911 GT2 is a car that needs no introduction. Often nicknamed the widow maker due to its sheer rawness and tendency to go sideways at will, the 911 GT2--as hard as it is to believe--has now been made even more extreme with the introduction of the latest 2011 Porsche 911 GT2 RS. On...

The small-car band wagon is piling high with automakers, including those from Detroit, offering vehicles like the 2011 Ford Fiesta, 2011 Mazda2, and 2011 Chevrolet Aveo, all of which are either in showrooms already or on their way. Suzuki has recently moved the other way, introducing what many...

We told you that Juliette Lewis had been tapped to perform at the Range Rover Evoque launch party during the 2010 Paris Auto Show. You didn't believe us. "Juliette Lewis?" you asked. "Why not Joseph Gordon-Levitt? He's got a band. Last we heard, Keanu had one, too." But do they possess the power of...

The Maserati GranTurismo coupe and convertible are without doubt some of the best-looking GT cars on the road. But for some, good looks just aren’t enough. That’s why Maserati has been persuaded to build an even more extreme version of its stunning GT; the fastest, lightest and most...

With MINI's return to rally racing imminent, the BMW brand brought a special concept car to the 2010 Paris auto show--the Countryman World Rally Car it intends to use, to re-establish itself in the racing series. With new Formula 1 rules for the WRC now in place, the 1.6-liter four-cylinder MINI...

Before its world premiere this week at the 2010 Paris Auto Show, the world knew the details on the 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class sedan. Now, the demimonde of auto journalists and Parisians know how well the CLS translates into reality, as it's on display on the auto show floor. In adopting some of...

Chevrolet has just announced pricing on the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible, and it's slated to check in at $30,000 for a V-6 model, including the $850 destination fee. That puts it about $2,000 higher than a base 2011 Ford Mustang Convertible, including destination. Little else has been...

Today, I got my first official taste of Fireball Run. I spent the morning behind the wheel of Team High Gear Media's 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS, before switching seats and taking over navigation duties in the afternoon. To reiterate, the Fireball Run is billed as an "adventure rally" which places an...

Lotus is probably in the best financial position it’s been in for years, with its debts about to be cleared and production at full capacity. Focus now turns to what’s in-store for the future and we’ve had a preview of that with the unveiling of no less than six production intent...

Hyundai has looked to RIDES and 0-60 magazines, and in turn found some inspiration from Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche, to put together a special custom version of its upcoming 2011 Sonata Turbo. The exterior mods on the car are described as "modest and tasteful," with influences from the...

BMW has announced that it will voluntarily recall 198,000 vehicles for a potential brake issue. In affected vehicles—including BMW 5-Series, 6-Series, and 7-Series models, as well as Rolls-Royce models, spanning from the 2002 through 2010 model years—a vacuum leak might cause a loss of...

It's near the end of the life cycle for the current 911, so the appearance of dueling versions of the current car--the new 911 Speedster and the 911 GTS--at the 2010 Paris Auto Show will close out this generation of the famed sports car with a bang. The Speedster reconnects the 911 to the days of...

With the handful of new production intent concept cars Lotus is showing off at the 2010 Paris Auto Show this week, it’s evident the automaker, typically focused with lightweight sports cars, is trying new things. What’s interesting to see is that Lotus is expanding towards both ends of...

MINI chose the Paris Auto Show to pull the wraps off its all-new FIA World Rally Championship car, which is based on the new 2011 MINI Countryman and signals the brand's reentry into world-stage rally racing. The WRC, which has been under development for two years, gets a 1.6-liter turbocharged...