Kirk Bell, Senior Editor
Articles
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Subaru has taken the wraps off the updated 2018 Legacy at the 2017 Chicago auto show. Completely redesigned for the 2015 model year, this is a mid-cycle refresh instead of a full-on generational...
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Lucid Air gets sideways during snow testingLucid, the startup that plans to release the 1,000-horsepower Air electric sedan, appears to be serious about getting its car into production. We recently saw it prowling the San Francisco streets, and now Lucid has released a video of the car undergoing snow testing. That's not unusual for any...
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Mopar '17 Dodge Challenger celebrates 80 years of Mopar in two-tone styleMopar, Fiat Chrysler Automobile's performance parts arm, turns 80 years old this year. As part of that birthday celebration, the brand is releasing a limited number of the Mopar '17 Dodge Challenger. A total of 160 models will be offered, 80 of each in two color schemes applied by the Mopar Custom...
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Nissan adds King Cab to Titan and Titan XD pickupsNissan has renewed its efforts in the full-size truck market with a redesigned Titan and a Titan XD that sits between the light and heavy duty segments. The rollout started late in 2015 with the XD, and the light duty Titan followed last year. Both trucks have thus far been offered as two-door...
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Chevrolet introduces series of Redline models in ChicagoWhat does Redline mean to you? For Hot Wheels fans, it means the oldest, most collectible of the breed. For muscle car aficionados, the word sparks memories of the tires on their favorite cars of the 1960s. For Chicago residents, it's the train they take to get home or to go to Cubs games. And at...
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Mitsubishi shows new 2017 Outlander Sport LE trim ahead of Chicago debutThe Mitsubishi Outlander Sport isn't exactly new. Released as a 2010 model, it has been refreshed over the years, but it soldiers on as one of the backbones of the struggling brand. For 2017, Mitsubishi is expanding the Outlander Sport's model range with a new Limited Edition trim. The not-so...
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Effective March 1, BMW North America will have a new CEO. Bernhard Kuhnt will take over the position from Ludwig Willisch, who stays on as Head of BMW Group Region Americas.
Willisch took on the...
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Land Rover offering factory-restored first-gen Range RoversWould you buy a 132-horsepower vehicle from the 1970s for $170,000? Now's your chance. Land Rover Classic is now offering the second series in its line of Reborn classics. The first was the Land Rover Series 1, and now its the first-generation Range Rover. Only 10 of these vehicles will be restored...
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Buick Super Bowl ad stars Cascada, Cam Newton, and Miranda KerrLast year at this time Cam Newton was in the Super Bowl. This year, he'll be part of the festivities again, and he'll even be playing football but it will be with Pee Wees. That's because Newton, the incredibly talented but often brooding Carolina Panthers quarterback, is featured in Buick's Super...
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How Subaru's AWD system works in the snowAll-wheel-drive systems work in many different ways. They differ from four-wheel-drive systems in that they don't have a transfer case that typically provides low-range gearing. They all can work full time (though many have an axle disconnect feature to preserve fuel), while 4WD systems may or may...
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Video tour of the 2018 Ford Mustang's exterior changesFord made headlines a couple weeks ago by showing us the updated 2018 Mustang coupe, then released information on the 2018 Mustang convertible just a few days later. We've already described the changes and showed you the pictures, but now Ford has created a video to illustrate the changes as plain...
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2017 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS first drive review: the bargain 911Cape Town, South Africa - I'm at the wheel of the 2017 Porsche 911 GTS at Killarney Raceway behind 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Marc Lieb and I'm frustrated. Lieb, in the even more powerful 911 Turbo S, is setting a leisurely pace and I want to pass him. It's not because I'm some world-class...
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How do you make an old car new again? If you’re Dodge and your Challenger's structure hasn’t significantly changed since it was released for the 2008 model year, you add an... -
Mercedes 'Easy Driver' Super Bowl spot features Peter Fonda, AMG GT RoadsterThe Coen Brothers are rightfully viewed as directorial geniuses. With such masterpieces as "Fargo," "Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou," "Miller's Crossing," "and "The Big Lebowski" under their belts, their take on the world can range from understated to surreal to hyper real. It's not often you can get...
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Ruffians burgle Hellcat from Detroit-area dealershipAccording to a report from CBS Detroit, one or more ne'er-do-wells brazenly boosted a Dodge Charger Hellcat right off the showroom floor from the Snethkamp's Ram City dealership in Highland Park, Michigan, last night. The scoundrels broke a large glass door to get into the dealer, and broke pushed...
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Land Rover conducts all-terrain 0-60 mph testing with the Range Rover Sport SVRWith its supercharged 5.0-liter V-8 engine, we already know that the Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR is fast on pavement. The thing has claimed the fastest production SUV lap time around the Nürburgring, for criminy sakes. But what happens when the surface changes? How fast is it then? Land...
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Lexus previews its Super Bowl commercialLexus has a big year coming up with two line-topping luxury cars. To promote the forthcoming LC coupe and LS sedan, the Japanese luxury brand will be spending big during the Super Bowl telecast set for February 5. A 30-second spot called "Man & Machine" will run during the second quarter of the...
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2017 Ford GT previewThe spiritual successor to the Ford GT40 of the 1960s, the Ford GT is the second car to wear that badge. The first generation was built in limited numbers in 2005 and 2006. The reborn Ford GT will be even more restricted, with just 250 made each year for perhaps four years. A mid-engine supercar...
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What does your engine look like on the inside as it warms up? Aside from some "Honey I shrunk the kids" scenario in which you could protect yourself from heat and the mechanical bits inside your...
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New Subaru Crosstrek teased ahead of GenevaSubaru is teasing the "next XV" on Facebook, saying the small raised wagon will be shown at the Geneva auto show on March 7. The current model was known as the XV Crosstrek when it came out, but now it is just called the Crosstrek. Subaru is likely using the XV name in its teaser because that is...
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BMW chief designer leaving the companyAutomotive News (subscription required) has confirmed that BMW chief designer Karim Habib is quitting the company. It is not known where Habib will end up. Habib, 46, has been the chief designer for the BMW brand since 2012. He started at BMW in 1998 and worked there since, with the exception of a...
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2018 Porsche Panamera 4 E-Hybrid first drive review: Split personalityCape Town, South Africa - The 2018 Porsche Panamera 4 E-Hybrid is an enigma wrapped in the sheet metal of a four-door 911. It’s a car with incredible power, a lightning quick 4.4-second 0-60 mph time, and a ridiculous top speed of 172 mph. Yet, it’s a plug-in hybrid that can run on...
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Ford unveils 2018 Mustang ConvertibleShortly after unveiling the 2018 Mustang coupe, Ford has shown the 2018 Mustang Convertible. The convertible gets all the same significant changes as the coupe. The big changes come under the hood, where a 10-speed automatic transmission replaces a 6-speed, the 2.3-liter 4-cylinder and 5.0-liter...
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2017 Porsche 911 GTS laps 'Ring in 7:26The forthcoming 2017 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS has lapped the 12.9-mile, 73-turn Nürburgring-Nordschliefe in 7 minutes 26 seconds. That's 12 seconds faster than the last 911 Carrera GTS and four seconds faster than the latest 911 Carrera S. The so-called 991.2 generation of the Carrera GTS...
Kirk Bell