Kurt Ernst, Contributor
Articles
-
Ivan Jaramillo is our kind of car enthusiast. Not only do we admire his passion for early Nissan Skylines, we agree that an audio system has no place in a car like this. Sometimes, the mechanical... -
Would You Pay $167,000... For A Parking Space?If you had $167,000 to spend, you could buy yourself a brand-new, well-equipped Aston Martin V-8 Vantage Convertible, or perhaps a thoroughly-loaded BMW M6 Convertible. Check all the option boxes on a Porsche Cayenne Turbo, and you’d still have a hard time spending your entire lump sum of...
Kurt Ernst -
Mayan apocalypse, BMW 4-Series, 2014 Lexus IS range: Car News HeadlinesToday, we tell you what cars we’d be looking to lease if we really thought the world was coming to an end on December 21 (which it isn’t). We’ve got good credit, and the monthly payment is no object when you aren’t planning on being around to make it. BMW has released...
Kurt Ernst -
1965 Ford GT40 Expected To Hit $3 Million At AuctionIn 1963, the Ford Motor Company very nearly became the owner of Ferrari. Ford reportedly invested millions of dollars on due diligence, only to have Enzo Ferrari back out of the deal after learning his cars would be ineligible to compete in the Indy 500 under Ford’s ownership. That...
Kurt Ernst -
Go Big Or Go Home - Lincoln Airing Ad Spot During Super Bowl XLVII: VideoLincoln is dead; long live the Lincoln Motor Company. As part of an initiative to rebrand itself, Lincoln has adopted a more evocative name, teed up a series of commercials rich with visual imagery (including that of Abraham Lincoln) and has announced its first ever Super Bowl ad campaign. Before...
Kurt Ernst -
Mayan Apocalypse: 10 Cars To Lease (Just) Before The World Ends
If the Mayans were correct, the world will come to an end in just 17 days. Though the specific event is open to interpretation, colliding with a planet called Nibiru, being swallowed by a black hole or suffering through a sudden loss of gravity will all produce the same results, and none of us will...
Kurt Ernst -
Sometimes, you never see the divorce coming until the kindly-looking lady serves you with papers. Though we don’t know all the behind-the-scenes details, we surmise that’s likely how the... -
Porsche Launches 2014 Cayman Configurator SiteNow that Porsche has debuted the all-new 2014 Cayman at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the countdown to inventory hitting dealers has begun. Priced from a remarkably affordable $53,550 (including the $950 destination charge), the Cayman lies within financial reach of a surprising number of buyers. If...
Kurt Ernst -
Mercedes Using Kate Upton To Introduce The CLA Class At Super Bowl XLVIIIf you don’t know who Kate Upton is, chances are good you’re not in the demographic that Mercedes-Benz is trying to attract with its upcoming upcoming CLA Class four-door coupe. In case the Sports Illustrated cover model isn’t enough of a draw, the automaker will reportedly use...
Kurt Ernst -
Racer JJ Lehto Cleared Of Charges In Fatal Boating AccidentFinnish driver JJ Lehto’s career spans an incredibly diverse array of motorsports, ranging from Formula One through the American Le Mans Series. In between, Lehto even spent a year in the United States, driving for Hogan Racing during the 1998 Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) season...
Kurt Ernst -
Subaru’s SHARC Wins L.A. Auto Show Design ChallengeIn the future, highway patrol vehicles are likely to look a lot different from the police cruisers of today. This year's Los Angeles Auto Show Design Challenge asked automakers to sketch what the ideal highway patrol vehicle of 2025 might look like, and top honors go to Subaru for its SHARC design...
Kurt Ernst -
Barrett-Jackson To Auction Off The Original TV BatmobileIf you grew up in the late 1960s or early 1970s, you know this absolute truth: there is only one Batmobile, and it was driven by the only real Batman, Adam West, on the television show that pioneered the concept of starring a car alongside an actor. Despite the success of the Batman movie...
Kurt Ernst -
If you’re in the market for a new Subaru BRZ, you’ve probably come to the realization that the rear-drive sport coupes are in extremely short supply. With demand outpacing deliveries,... -
New Saleen 351 Mustang Announced In Los AngelesNow that Steve Saleen is back to leading the company that bears his name, it makes perfect sense to reintroduce iconic products from the builder’s past. The current Saleen Mustang, which gets its power from a 302 cubic-inch (5.0-liter) engine, is well established, so the company has chosen...
Kurt Ernst -
Porsche To Debut 4-Cylinder Cayman Turbo At The 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show?Porsche’s completely-redesigned 2013 Boxster was a major step forward for the German brand, and it looks like the all-new 2013 Cayman will offer the same progress in a hard-top version. The new car certainly looks better (in our eyes, anyway), and we’ll tell you exactly how much better...
Kurt Ernst -
Nissan DeltaWing Racer Live Photos: 2012 Los Angeles Auto ShowPerhaps no other race car in recent years has captured the imagination of fans in quite the same way as the Nissan DeltaWing. Perhaps it’s the car’s futuristic shape, or perhaps it’s the fact that the car is considerably down on horsepower compared to others in the field, yet it...
Kurt Ernst -
Volvo S60 Polestar Live Photos: 2012 Los Angeles Auto ShowWe’ll admit to being fans of the Volvo S60 T6 R-Design sedan, as it’s a near-ideal blend of performance and comfort. As much as we like the car, however, it’s Volvo’s uber-sexy S60 Polestar concept that we’d rather have parked on our garage. Rumor had it that Volvo was...
Kurt Ernst -
Volkswagen To End Eos Production With Current Version: ReportDrop-top Volkswagen models have always enjoyed something of a cult following, thanks in part to their distinct personalities. Whether you’re talking about a Beetle Convertible or a Golf Cabriolet, there is no shortage of Volkswagen fans waiting to buy one on the new or used market...
Kurt Ernst -
Fisker has temporarily halted production of its extended-range electric sedan, the Karma, as it awaits the outcome of battery supplier A123 Systems’ bankruptcy auction. The automaker is banking... -
Bodie Stroud Builds 'The Real Thing' 1969 Mustang: VideoWhen it comes to pro-touring cars, some enthusiasts love the idea of taking a vintage muscle car and bringing it up to modern performance standards. Others feel this is blasphemy, and that vintage iron should only be restored to original specifications; after all, a new Mustang offers a vintage...
Kurt Ernst -
2013 Honda Civic PreviewAutomotive critics, it seems, are a hard bunch to please. We look at things in a different light than most consumers, paying careful attention to details like the material used to cover a dashboard, or the quality of plastic used throughout the interior. While we’re quick to pan a car...
Kurt Ernst -
To Illustrate Its Future, Lincoln Honors Its Past
If all you know about Lincoln automobiles comes from what you’ve seen in its dealer showrooms over the past two decades, it would be easy to write the brand off as a pseudo-luxury automaker reselling badge-engineered Fords. The demise of the Mercury brand was supposed to clarify the line...
Kurt Ernst -
Ford's 'Octane Academy' Reality Show Returns For A Second SeasonIn July 2011, Ford announced a program called “Octane Academy,” targeted to action-sport fans. The premise was simple: film a video showing why you should be picked, and get a chance to learn driving from instructors like Ken Block, Tanner Foust, Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Brian Deegan. With...
Kurt Ernst -
Fisker Production Halted, Pending The Sale Of A123 Systems' Assets
Last October, extended-range electric automaker Fisker’s sole battery supplier, A123 Systems, filed for bankruptcy. That’s left the struggling startup without a source of lithium-ion batteries, forcing Fisker to suspend production of its Karma sedan. As Bloomberg reports, Fisker Karma...
Kurt Ernst