Nelson Ireson, Senior Editor

Articles

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  Is Slow-Selling, Hyperlux Maybach On The Chopping Block? Nelson Ireson January 13, 2011

  Daimler's distress over the dismal Maybach brand is apparently growing, with Dieter Zetsche saying all options are on the table, including getting rid of Maybach altogether. The news isn't...

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  Ford Unveils New 2011 Fiesta RS WRC Livery

  Ford factory WRC driver Mikko Hirvonen and much of the world rally team was on hand in Birmingham, U.K. today for the unveiling of Ford's new Fiesta RS WRC entrant, set to take the place of the current Focus for next year's championship. The use of the Fiesta as the WRC racer comes on the heels of...

  Nelson Ireson January 13, 2011
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  Ford GT Successor In The Works?

  Production American supercars can be counted on one hand, and with the death of the Viper, all of them are Corvettes. But Ford may be getting back into the game with a new version of the Ford GT, according to the altest reports from the Detroit Auto Show. In an interview with Derrick Kuzak, Ford's...

  Nelson Ireson January 13, 2011
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  Mercedes-Benz Tweet Race Teams Chosen, Race Starts February 2

  The celeb-studded Mercedes-Benz "Tweet Race to the Big Game" is about to get underway, with the four two-person teams and their "coaches" chosen. Using Twitter as some sort of "fuel" they'll race to reach Dallas, Texas for the Super Bowl. Fans of each team stand to win prizes for their...

  Nelson Ireson January 12, 2011
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  Next Bugatti Veyron To Hit 270 mph?

  If you love speed, you probably love the Bugatti Veyron. Sure, it's been eclipsed by the SSC Ultimate Aero TT and its own Super Sport variant as the world's fastest production car, but the original 253-mph Veyron is still no slouch. The next Veyron will be even faster. How much faster? About 17 mph...

  Nelson Ireson January 12, 2011
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  All Corvette Buyers Now Eligible For Free Driving School Through February

  A few thousand bucks for the price of a driving school is small beans compared to the purchase price of a new Corvette, Grand Sport, or Z06. But if you're new to the world of high-power performance cars, it could be the best few grand you ever spend. Except now you can get the school for free. The...

  Nelson Ireson January 12, 2011
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  2012 Audi A6 Wins EyesOn Design Award At Detroit Auto Show Nelson Ireson January 12, 2011

  Understated, simple, even plain. Audi's design themes--outside of the S and RS lines, at any rate--are often a bit sleepy, but they're always tight, clean, and sleek. The 2012 Audi A6 is no...

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  Report: Mercedes Considering Non-Turbo 5.5-Liter V-8 For AMG

  The new twin-turbo 5.5-liter V-8 making its way throughout AMG's 2012 lineup is a beast: 544 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque with a performance pack upgrade that can kick things up to 571 horsepower and 664 pound-feet. But AMG is looking at stripping the turbos off and running with natural...

  Nelson Ireson January 12, 2011
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  Video: 2012 Buick Verano Unveiling At The 2011 Detroit Auto Show

  We know you've seen the photos and read up on the details of Buick's new compact luxury sedan, but if you weren't in Detroit, you didn't get to see the unveiling as it happened. We've got you covered. The flash and bang is all done with pretty quickly, followed by a detailed description of the car...

  Nelson Ireson January 12, 2011
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  Video: Aston Martin Rapide In 'True Power' Mini-Film

  BMW is well-known for its automotive mini-cinema, and Audi took a stab at it with Justin Timberlake and the A1. Now Aston Martin is getting in on the action with the first part of its "True Power" series. Staged, like so many car promos, around some mysterious cloak-and-dagger type operation, the...

  Nelson Ireson January 12, 2011
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  Video: BMW M Customers Visit 'Area 51' Test Site

  There aren't any aliens at BMW's "Area 51" test site in Miramas, France, but you won't be disappointed with what is there, should you get the chance to go. Instead of UFOs and crates full of little grey men, the Miramas site holds the testing grounds for cars like the M3 GTS and M3 GT4. And once in...

  Nelson Ireson January 12, 2011
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  ZF Announces 9-Speed Automatic, We Ask When The Madness Stops

  How many gears does your car have? Have you ever felt it had too few? Well, say hello to the Matt LeBlanc of transmissions, the ZF nine-speed automatic. Feeling inadequate? You should, according to ZF. "Similar to ZF's eight-speed automatic transmission used in rear-drive platforms, the new 9-speed...

  Nelson Ireson January 11, 2011
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  Audi A1 Quattro Talk Revives In Detroit Nelson Ireson January 11, 2011

  Last October the Web was buzzing with talk of a quattro all-wheel-drive version of the Audi A1. With the 2011 Detroit Auto Show winding down today, talk of the quattro A1 has resurfaced, and with...

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  Report: Base BMW Z4 To Get 200-HP Turbo Four-Cylinder

  Turbos, as we've mentioned, are our friends. Soon, they'll be friends to base BMW Z4 owners, too, according to a recent tweet from Automobile Magazine. How soon? Later this year, according to the unsourced tidbit. It's slated to replace the base naturally aspirated 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder...

  Nelson Ireson January 11, 2011
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  2011 Detroit Auto Show: Kia KV7 Concept Live Photos

  There's no doubt Kia and sister company Hyundai have managed to pull off two of the most extreme makeovers of their corporate images the industry has seen in the last decade. Cars like the Optima, Sorento, and Sportage put Kia firmly at the front of the class in design in their respective segments...

  Nelson Ireson January 11, 2011
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  2011 Detroit Auto Show Video: 2012 Hyundai Veloster

  Looking to see the 2012 Hyundai Veloster J-turning, sliding into parking spots sideways, smoking the front tires, and generally hooning about? This isn't the video for you. If you like synchronized driving on two-lane desert roads, though, you're in luck. Not a lot goes on in the video aside from...

  Nelson Ireson January 11, 2011
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  2011 Detroit Auto Show: 2011 Chrysler 300

  If you haven't seen the 2011 Chrysler 300 by now, we hope you're recovering well from your coma. Plastered around the web and everywhere else Chrysler could get it, the new 300 takes the sinister look of the original and brings it up to date without changing too much. It looks pretty sharp in...

  Nelson Ireson January 11, 2011
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  2011 Detroit Auto Show Video: Live MINI Paceman Reveal

  It was shown as a concept, but the MINI Paceman crossover/coupe has already been given the greenlight for production, rocketing this world premiere from interesting to important. It was also intensely odd event, as you'll see in the video below. MINI, as a brand, has embraced the odd in its...

  Nelson Ireson January 11, 2011
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  2011 Detroit Auto Show Video: 2012 Chevrolet Sonic Nelson Ireson January 11, 2011

  You've seen the live shots, the preview, and now you get a video. Sadly, there are no hedgehogs in this one. Just the 2012 Chevy Sonic.
  
  When you're done here, be sure to check out our Detroit Auto...

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  2011 Detroit Auto Show: 2011 Chrysler 200 Live Photos

  Aveo begets Sonic as Sebring begets 200. Trashing old, tarnished names and replacing them with new labels for fresher (or completely different) vehicles is nothing new. It's just popular this season. The 2011 Chrysler 200 does its best to step out of the shadow of the Playskool-inspired Sebring...

  Nelson Ireson January 11, 2011
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  2011 Detroit Auto Show: 2012 Chevrolet Sonic Live Photos

  Turbos are our friends. Whether we're after better fuel economy or more power, they get the job done in a way nothing else does. The 2012 Chevy Sonic is a perfect example. It's true that 1.4 liters doesn't sound like much displacement--and it's not. There's more volume in a bottle of Coke. But when...

  Nelson Ireson January 11, 2011
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  2011 Detroit Auto Show: 2012 Audi A6 Live Photos

  With new versions of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and BMW 5-Series launched over the past year or two, Audi’s entrant in the mid-size executive sedan segment, the A6, was starting to get a little long in the tooth compared with its rivals. However, that’s all set to change as the brand new...

  Nelson Ireson January 10, 2011
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  2011 Detroit Auto Show: 2011 Hyundai Curb Concept Live Photos

  Looking almost like a Nissan Juke without the extra side of ugly, the 2011 Hyundai Curb concept brings off the compact crossover coupe theme with a futuristic grace and Hyundai's new yet already characteristic style. These live photos show it's not just interesting in carefully-lit studio shots. If...

  Nelson Ireson January 10, 2011
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  2011 Detroit Auto Show: 2012 Hyundai Veloster Live Photos

  The Hyundai Veloster is as much an exercise in "why not?" as it is in "why" so don't ask yourself too many questions when you look at these live photos. But beware if you're prone to neurasthenically-induced seizures. For the full details on the 2012 Veloster (and some considerably tamer paint...

  Nelson Ireson January 10, 2011