Kirk Bell, Senior Editor

Kirk Bell avatar
The Senior Editor in charge of Motor Authority, Bell has oil in his blood. He grew up in the automotive culture, helping his father drag race a pair of Pontiacs, rather unsuccessfully, at Great Lakes Dragaway in Union Grove, Wisconsin. Bell has been reviewing cars and writing about the automotive industry since 2001, when he joined Consumer Guide Automotive. At Consumer Guide, Kirk wrote and edited several books, including the award-winning Hot Rod & Custom Chronicle and NASCAR Chronicle, which earned him gold and silver International Automotive Media awards. Most recently, he spent eight years as a freelance journalist, with such clients as the Chicago Tribune, the New York Daily News, and MSN Autos. In 2014, Bell was named to the North American Car and Truck of the Year jury, and he gave back by serving as Secretary-Treasurer. He was also Vice President and then President of the Midwest Automotive Media Association. Prior to his time in the automotive industry, Bell was editor of Scale Auto Enthusiast magazine, the leading magazine about the model car hobby after graduating from Marquette University. In his spare time, Bell imagines the Midwest has better roads on which to drive his 2006 Porsche 911 Carrera S.

Articles

  • With the release of the 911 Carrera GTS this April, Porsche will also offer a factory approved aftermarket tire for customers who want more grip at the racetrack. The tire, a Pirelli P-Zero Corsa...

  • Fiat Chrysler under investigation by Justice Department over diesel emissions

    According to a report by Bloomberg, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is under investigation by the Department of Justice for a possible violation of the Clean Air Act. Bloomberg's report cites "people familiar with the investigation." As we learned yesterday, the EPA is accusing FCA of failing to...

  • This VW Bus is a Hot Wheels car come to life

    What's your daily driver? We're betting it's some kind of Accord, Camry, or Traverse. Why not a 1963 VW Bus with a 468-cubic inch Chevrolet V-8? That's the daily driver of the lunatic in this video from 1320 Video. Shout out to Road & Track for digging it up. As you can tell by the Chevy V-8...

  • Breaking: EPA accuses Ram and Jeep of using cheating software on its diesels (updated)

    UPDATE: FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne spoke to CNBC regarding this issue later in the day. This story is updated to include his comments. The Environmental Protection Agency has accused Fiat Chrysler Automobiles [NYSE:FCAU] of failing to disclose engine management software for 2014-2016 Ram 1500s and...

  • The top 10 classic cars to buy in 2017

    As we kick off the new year, it's a good time to look ahead at what's to come. Hagerty, the largest insurance provider for vintage cars in the United States, is doing that for the collector market. Hagerty knows its classic cars. The insurance company tracks collector car sales and is host to a...

  • Carl Edwards steps away from NASCAR

    Carl Edwards announced today that he is stepping away from NASCAR and Joe Gibbs Racing. The 37-year-old driver wouldn't use the word retirement, but has no plans to get behind the wheel. Edwards said he would like to devote the time he spends on racing to the people that are important in his life...

  • Mercedes-Benz on Monday revealed the 2018 E-Class Coupe at the 2017 Detroit auto show. The Coupe joins the sedan and wagon that have already been released, and a convertible is soon to follow.

    The...

  • Tech-laden 2018 Lexus LS flagship debuts in Detroit

    A flagship model is supposed to push a brand forward with new technology and style. And yet the Lexus LS hasn't received a complete redesign since 2006. That all changes for 2018 as Lexus is redesigning its flagship and lading it up with new technology and engineering. The engineering starts with...

  • Chevy Bolt EV, Chrysler Pacifica, Honda Ridgeline named 2017 North American Car, Truck & Utility of the Year winners

    As it traditionally does, the 2017 Detroit auto show officially kicked off with the announcement of the North American Car and Truck of the Year winners. This year was a little different, though, as a third category, utility vehicle, was added to the list to represent the growing significance of...

  • Refreshed 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLA debuts in Detroit

    We first saw the Mercedes-Benz GLA as a 2015 model; here in Detroit, Mercedes showed the an updated version of its small, front-wheel-drive-based crossover as a 2018 model. The changes for the GLA 250 and performance-oriented GLA 45 are mostly cosmetic. Let's start with the GLA 250. On the outside...

  • Mercedes-AMG GLA45 and CLA45 to get black-and-yellow AMG Performance Studio package

    With the GLA45 and CLA45, Mercedes-AMG has tapped into a new customer base. Priced around $50,000, these vehicles allow AMG to sell its vehicles to a customer who can't afford its higher end models that cost $65,000 or much, much more. To celebrate this relatively new customer, Mercedes-AMG is...

  • The differences between automatic and manual transmissions

    You no doubt know which type of gearbox you prefer, be it automatic or manual. Do you know how these gearboxes do what they do? If you don't, then today is your lucky day. This video from Learn Engineering starts off with the basics of how a manual transmission works. It comes down to three shafts...

  • If you're a drifing pro and you stuff the V-8 from a Ferrari 458 into a Toyota 86, what do you suppose is next? Exactly, you drift it.

    That's exactly what Ryan Tuerck is doing here with his so-called...

  • Toyota's Concept-i decides when to drive autonomously

    As we move into an autonomous future, automakers are looking at how occupants will experience cars that drive themselves. Toyota is doing just that with the Concept-i it has introduced at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Toyota bills the Concept-i as a car built from the inside out...

  • Dale Earnhardt, Jr. got married on New Year's Eve

    He may be the darling of NASCAR, but she is his darling. That may sound schmaltzy, but schmaltzy is OK when it comes to nuptials. On New Year's Eve, 14-time NASCAR most popular driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. married his long-time girlfriend Amy Reimann. The ceremony took place in a tent at Childress...

  • Faraday Future reveals 1,050-horsepower FF 91 electric crossover due in 2018

    Faraday Future, the startup electric brand with Chinese backing based in Nevada, introduced its first production-intent vehicle today on the sidelines of the 2017 Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. The FF 91 is a crossover SUV that boasts 1,050 horsepower and posts a 2.39-second 0-60 mph time...

  • Ford GT-inspired Mustang available starting at $125,000

    Remember the Ford GT-inspired custom Mustang from this past SEMA show, the one done by Zero to 60 Designs so well that Ford said it couldn't be called a Ford? Now you can buy it. Zero to 60 Designs is offering a limited run of 50 GTTs with pricing starting at $124,950. The original plan was to...

  • BMW M1 found after 34 years in Italian garage

    What's the best thing to do with a BMW M1 supercar? If your answer is to drive it just under 4,600 miles then let it sit in a garage for 34 years to be used only as a makeshift shelf for miscellaneous junk, then you are just as crazy as the former owner of this now-rescued M1. Between 1978 and...

  • Audi on Thursday gave us an early look at its Q8 concept vehicle, which it will unveil on January 9 at the 2017 Detroit auto show. The concept previews a production model of the same name, due ...

  • How does the Rimac Concept_One fare against a Bugatti Veyron?

    The Bugatti Veyron may no longer be the king of internal combustion horsepower. The Bugatti Chiron's 1,480 horses now takes the production horsepower crown, but 1,200 ponies kicked out by a quad-turbocharged W-16 is still plenty. But how does it compare to 1,088 electron-induced horses? Matt Rimac...

  • Camaro ZL1 vs. Challenger Hellcat, McLaren MSO, Ken Block in the snow: Today's Car News

    The 650-horsepower 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is just hitting the streets, so it's only natural that someone would pit it against the muscle car horsepower champion, the Dodge Challenger Hellcat. That someone was John Hennessey and the contest was a roll-on drag race. Check out the story for the...

  • Ken Block plays in the snow in a Ford F-150 Raptor

    Ford Performance and Ken Block have a symbiotic relationship. Ford provides him with race cars and the occasional other Ford product. Block drives the living daylights out of them, has his team create cool videos, and the two parties use said videos for awesome marketing campaigns. Ford gets views...

  • Honda in talks with Waymo for self-driving tech

    Google has been working on autonomous technology since 2009, and it recently spun off that business into a company called Waymo. Instead of building its own car, Waymo seems intent on working with automakers to incorporate its self-driving technology into their vehicles. Waymo recenly showed a...

  • Dodge Dakota with Viper engine for sale on Craigslist

    Got $23,000 burning a hole in your pocket? How do you feel about severe oversteer? Do you, in any way, value your life? And how close do you live to Boise, Idaho? Depending on your answers to these questions, you may want to buy the 2001 Dodge Dakota Sport powered by a Viper V-10 for sale on...

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