Nelson Ireson, Senior Editor
Articles
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The MINI family is already growing, and it's soon to gain two new members: the Coupe and Roadster. We'll have to wait a few months yet to see the Coupe later this summer, and a whole year for the...
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Porsche Reaffirms Performance Electric Car PromisePorsche may not be the first name you think of when you think electric cars--Tesla, Nissan, Chevrolet, even Smart are more likely--but that may change, especially if you're into speed and handling. Porsche recently reaffirmed its promise of a year ago to build electric performance cars. A year ago...
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Car Transporter Meets Bridge, Cars LoseYou probably see them every day, or nearly so: car transporters, bringing the newest cars to market, shipping used cars to where they're wanted, and generally helping us all get the wheels we want. Sometimes, however, things go wrong. In this case, spectacularly wrong. A tractor-trailer rig...
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Pagani Huayra Haunts Our Ears, The Track, Again: VideoThe Pagani Huayra is an unusual-looking supercar, with all its active aerodynamics and arthropod proportions, but it sounds absolutely brilliant thanks to the 7.3-liter Mercedes-Benz V-12 under the engine cover. This video is just more evidence. Or, if you wish, ear porn. Crank the speakers and...
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2011 KTM X-Bow R LaunchedLast fall we brought you a preview of the coming KTM X-Bow R, and, finally, it's launched. What does that mean? It means 300 horsepower from a Audi-sourced 2.0-liter TFSI powerplant packed into a lighter, sharper version of the already light and sharp X-Bow chassis. Unfortunately, in the U.S., the...
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Infiniti To Build Red Bull-Flavored Peformance Model?Formula 1 is more interesting this year than it has been in any of the recent five, and though that has little to do with Infiniti's tie-up with Red Bull, the new partnership may yet spawn something even more interesting, and more relevant to those of us in the U.S., who won't get to witness F1...
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You may have already read reviews of the 2011 BMW 1-Series M Coupe (aka 1M), but if you have, you've likely suffered through strained historical analogies, detailed comparisons to previous M cars,...
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2012 MINI Roadster Spy ShotsIt's hard to believe that it's been nearly two years since the MINI Coupe and Roadster concepts (pictured below) were unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt auto show. Production is already gearing up, however, and today we have some new spy shots of the upcoming 2012 MINI Roadster in testing, this time at...
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2012 MINI Coupe Spy ShotsEarlier this week we brought you some of the first spy shots of the 2012 MINI Coupe JCW, and now we have the model it's based on: the standard Coupe. Even the Coupe spied here bears the inlet on the hood marking a turbocharged engine, however, potentially leaving the door open that this is the...
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2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe Black Series Spy ShotsEarlier this year we brought you the first spy shots of the 2012 C63 AMG Black Series, and today we have fresh images of a moderately disguised the coupe version of the car, the 2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe Black Series--only this time it's at the notorious Nurburgring circuit in Germany. Like...
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2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gets Suspension Upgrade, Minor UpdatesOK, so the debut of the 2012 SLS AMG Roadster (pictured) isn't exactly a minor update. In fact, it's a whole other gullwing-less model, which we've covered previously. The standard hardtop model gets some minor tech upgrades and new paint colors for the model-year change, plus an optional...
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2012 Mercedes-Benz E550 Sedan Gets Standard 4Matic AWD--OnlyIf you like to haul the kids and, in the same car, get a bit sideways on occasion, you'll probably have to choose something besides the 2012 Mercedes-Benz E550 Sedan (2010 model pictured), because this time around it's all-wheel-drive only. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. Given the...
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That's right, folks, the Cadillac CTS-V Wagon is no longer the only uber-wagen to be on sale this year. Mercedes-Benz is joining the party with its 2012 E63 AMG Wagon, and it's everything you'd...
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Porsche's New U.S. HQ To Include Track, Driving ExperienceWe'll have to wait about two years for Porsche's new U.S. headquarters facility to be completed, but when it arrives it'll include a test track that will be used as part of a buyer experience unlike anything Porsche has previously offered in the U.S. European buyers, plus those buyers that have...
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Mercedes-Benz Working On G65 AMG V-12 SUV?File this one in the unsubstantiated rumor bin for now, but reports out Europe indicate Mercedes-Benz is working on a twin-turbo V-12 version of the G-Class for a special 200-unit limited run as the sun sets on the platform. If it is built--and that's doubtful--it would potentially mean a...
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BMW Compares Performance Parts Cars Against Standard Versions: VideoBMW has a healthy business in its own performance parts division, as evidenced by its ability to actually sell people the $4,374 M Performance exhaust. This video takes a look at the regular versions of its cars in comparison to the performance package versions through the eyes of owners on an...
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Infiniti's Carlos Tavares Explains Formula 1 Involvement: VideoIf you're a fan of F1, you've undoubtedly heard of Infiniti's involvement with Red Bull Racing, and seen the company's logo on the RB7's DRS wing element and on the chassis itself. But you may have wondered why it was happening at all. We've wondered the same thing, even allowing for the brand's...
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Production Mercedes-Benz A-Class Leaked?UPDATE: The new Mercedes-Benz A Class has been revealed. Click here for all the details. New images have emerged on the Web today, looking very much like official patent filings, and showing what appears to be the Mercedes-Benz A-Class. Expected here in the U.S. either next year or early in 2013...
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Despite the fact that GM has previously hinted that the C7 Corvette won't be mid-engined, the rumors of such a plan continue to percolate through the Web's enthusiast aquifer. The latest revives...
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2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Sounds Off: VideoIn the world of automotive audio enthusiasts there are competitions called "sound offs." In their simplest forms, these are gatherings of cars with modified sound systems where a winner is chosen for a variety of reasons. The 2012 Camaro ZL1 doesn't have much in the way of a competitive audio...
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Porsche North America Moving HQ To Ex-Ford Plant Site: ReportIn a move that's already prompted superhero-themed exclamations from news desks in the industry, Porsche Cars North America is expected to announce that it will move its North American headquarters out of the Atlanta-area Sandy Springs location to the site of a former Ford Taurus plant near...
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Kia Planning Two-Seat Roadster As Halo Model: ReportAn MPG (Motor Press Guild) meeting underway at Kia's North American headquarters today, and the image above, tweeted from the meeting by PickupTrucks.com's Mike Levine, shows a sketch for a proposed two-seat halo roadster. Our first impression was that of a Mazda2 convertible. Upon closer...
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2012 Audi A7 first drive reviewThe 2012 Audi A7 has been a long time coming to the U.S. We first learned about the car from the official release nearly a year ago, in July 2010. It wasn't until last month's New York Auto Show that the car was revealed for America. Shortly after the show, I spent a week in the car. So how was it?...
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Red Bull Drifts Streets Of Atlanta In Genesis Coupe, Solstice: VideoAside from the fact that roughly 50 percent of the streets in metro Atlanta are named Peachtree, there's almost nothing about this video that isn't unique in the world of drift. Smoky burnouts, rev-limiters banging, all on downtown streets? Sign us up. Unfortunately, it's not something the rest of...
Nelson Ireson