Nelson Ireson, Senior Editor

Articles

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  Report: Buick Regal Hybrid Coming To Chicago Auto Show Nelson Ireson February 1, 2011

  Buick has yet to officially confirm the plans, but reports are breaking that the Buick Regal Hybrid will be on display at the 2011 Chicago Auto Show. Borrowing the eAssist hybrid system from the...

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  Video: Chevrolet Super Bowl XLV Ad Features Transformers, Burnouts

  "Never mess with a Chevy, dude." That's the moral of the story of Chevrolet's latest Super Bowl XLV ad. It's also a cross-promo for the new Transformers movie. We'll leave the details to the video, but here's a teaser: it includes a giant woodchuck getting thrown through the air, Bumblebee, and a...

  Nelson Ireson February 1, 2011
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  Mercedes-Benz Creates One-Off 388-HP V-8 B-Class

  Rumors of a potent, possibly AMG-branded, Mercedes-Benz B-Class have been making the rounds for a while now, but Mercedes just put a point on the talk with the official unveiling of a one-off 388-horsepower V-8 B-Class built by the trainees at the Rastatt plant. You may remember the car from a...

  Nelson Ireson February 1, 2011
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  2011 Geneva Motor Show Preview: 2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG

  After months of leaks, the 2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG is finally official, complete with U.S. specs and imagery. Though European markets will also get a wagon, we'll only be getting the sedan from this latest release. The car will be shown officially at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. A coupe is also...

  Nelson Ireson February 1, 2011
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  5 Awful Car-Related Things You'll Find On Etsy

  Etsy is a unique marketplace for all the handmade and vintage items you could ever want. Unfortunately it's also full of things no one should ever want, and many of them are car-themed. Here's our short list of what to avoid buying, or gifting, to the car person in your life. Car Scrap Jewelry...

  Nelson Ireson February 1, 2011
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  GM's Akerson Says Cadillac SRX Plug-In Hybrid 'Likely'

  Late last year reports of a plug-in hybrid version of the Cadillac SRX surfaced, and though GM did not confirm them, neither did it deny such a vehicle was in the works. Today GM CEO Dan Akerson, while talking about future EV and extended-range EV (EREV) strategy, revealed that the SRX plug-in is...

  Nelson Ireson January 31, 2011
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  Regular Joe Beats Pros To Win 2011 Sno*Drift Rally Nelson Ireson January 31, 2011

  Travis Pastrana has moved on to NASCAR's Nationwide series, but he's been replaced at Subaru Rally Team USA with David Higgins, and Dave Mirra remains in the other factory seat. Despite that, it...

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  Video: This Guy Needs To Learn The Throttle Pedal Isn't An On-Off Switch

  Ferraris sounds gorgeous at full throttle, and they can do some pretty impressive things in the right hands. This guy does not have the right hands--or feet. In a very good demonstration of why the throttle pedal should not be considered an on-off switch, this Ferrari driver's wet skidpad antics...

  Nelson Ireson January 31, 2011
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  Team Lotus, Sauber Unveil 2011 Formula 1 Cars

  Team Lotus--the other Lotus--and Sauber F1 today unveiled their entrants for the 2011 Formula 1 season. The cars showcase the latest in back- and mid-field development for the sport. Comparing the Team Lotus and Sauber cars to the recently unveiled (and ironically named) Ferrari F150, it's easy to...

  Nelson Ireson January 31, 2011
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  Video: Boris Said Slaps The Sleep Out Of Joey Hand At Rolex Daytona 24

  Racing drivers are a tough lot. Maybe not as touch as they once were, in the days of Niki Lauda, Jackie Stewart, Phil Hill, or even Ayrton Senna, but tough nonetheless. They're play can be just as tough, as proven in this video of Boris Said interviewing Joey Hand. No doubt intended (and received)...

  Nelson Ireson January 31, 2011
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  Video: BMW 1-Series M Coupe On Track At Daytona, SPEED Review

  Running slow pace laps during caution periods might seem like a relatively lame duty for a high-performance car, but when that pace car has to run hard enough to keep in front of massively powerful, lightweight, race-tired Daytona prototypes, even at half-speed, it's a different story. The 1-Series...

  Nelson Ireson January 31, 2011
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  Laboratory Wars: Do Video Games Make Drivers Safer Or More Dangerous?

  Racing video games: we all play them, many of us love them. They give us an outlet for the days when we can't get to an actual track, and, for the better simulations, can even help us hone our edge in the off-season. But do they really make us better drivers, or do they make us more dangerous on...

  Nelson Ireson January 31, 2011
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  Video: Volkswagen Teases New New Beetle Nelson Ireson January 31, 2011

  Have you ever wanted to drive a gigantic black beetle through a temperate rain forest? Volkswagen may just have you covered with the next New Beetle if this teaser video is any indication.
  
  Of...

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  Video: Cadillac CTS-V Coupe Race Car Does Sebring In 60 Seconds

  Sebring. The legendary home of American endurance racing. So how does the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe race car do Sebring in 60 seconds? A montage, of course. In the inimitable words of Trey Parker: The hours approaching, just give it your best You've got to reach your prime. That's when you need to put...

  Nelson Ireson January 28, 2011
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  Video: Chevy Puts The Caprice PPV Through Its Paces

  The Holden-built, Commodore-based Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle (PPV) will be hitting the streets in search of lawbreakers soon, and this video shows the car in testing by U.S. agencies at Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix. In addition to some solid tire-squealing parking lot...

  Nelson Ireson January 28, 2011
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  Reborn Chinese MG Considering U.S. Sales (Again)?

  The rebirth of the MG brand in Chinese hands has hit no shortage of stumbling blocks over the last four years, but as sales heat up in China, talk of U.S. sales are surfacing. It's not the first time such plans have arisen. Even before Shanghai Auto (SAIC) bought the brand along with Nanjing...

  Nelson Ireson January 28, 2011
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  Video: Chevy Engineers Explain The 2011 Camaro Convertible

  You've already read our take on the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible in our first drive review. Now you can see what GM's engineers focused on to make a car they claim is just as capable as the coupe. No matter whether you think the drop-top Camaro is for blow-drying mullets or blowing the doors...

  Nelson Ireson January 28, 2011
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  2011 Chrysler 200 Convertible Priced From $26,445

  High Gear Media recently spent some quality time with the Chrysler 200 sedan and convertible during the first media drive in San Diego, revealing it's more than lipstick on the pig that was the Sebring, but still not quite a match for the competition from Subaru, Ford, or Hyundai. Today, Chrysler...

  Nelson Ireson January 28, 2011
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  Spy Shots: 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS Daytona 500 Pace Car Nelson Ireson January 28, 2011

  Daytona pace car duty is nothing new for the Chevy Camaro, and this year, it'll pace the Indy 500, too. These shots of the pace car for the 2011 Daytona 500 show a pretty mean package that we're...

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  2012 Fiat 500 Cabrio Coming Q2 2011, Abarth and EV In 2012

  Fiat is poised to make its return to the United States, with the 500 Prima Edizione the forerunner of a flotilla of pint-sized hatches and convertibles. Already open for order and soon to start delivery, the manual-only Prima Edizione will be joined over the next year by the 500C Cabriolet, Abarth...

  Nelson Ireson January 28, 2011
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  New Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger First To Get 8-Speed Automatic

  Plans for an eight-speed transmission at Chrysler have been known since last summer, but we have a few new details from the first drive launch of the 2011 Chrysler 300. The ZF-built unit will first appear in the revamped 300 and the 2011 Dodge Charger , and it will feature some distinguishing...

  Nelson Ireson January 28, 2011
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  BMW USA Chief O'Donnell Confirms Multiple Four-Cylinders In U.S. By End Of 2011

  We already know the new BMW X1 will be coming with BMW's four-cylinder TwinPower turbo engine later this year, but today at the Washington Auto Show BMW USA boss Jim O'Donnell announced that more than one is in fact coming before year's end. Other BMW models expected to get the four-cylinder...

  Nelson Ireson January 27, 2011
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  Rumorific: Road-Legal MINI Countryman WRC In The Works?

  File this one in the "we hope, but we don't expect" drawer, as it's almost too good an idea to be true: a road-legal, widebody, 300-horsepower MINI Countryman based on the World Rally Championship car. The source of the rumor? Anonymous and sketchy, but we almost don't care. Almost, because we hate...

  Nelson Ireson January 27, 2011
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  Volvo Kills U.S. V50 En Route To Smaller Lineup

  Making your way in the car world today takes everything you've got, and Volvo is giving its all by taking away: the V50 will be discontinued, according to Volvo's U.S. operations chief Doug Speck. That's just the beginning, though: more models will fall as Volvo tightens its focus in a bid to boost...

  Nelson Ireson January 27, 2011