Kirk Bell, Senior Editor
Articles
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The Kia Sportage is the fraternal twin to the Hyundai Tucson. It was last redesigned for the 2011 model year, but a new Tucson is hitting dealerships as we speak, so that must mean a redesigned...
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Notes From The Driveway: 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C SpiderI was lucky enough to go on the media drive programs for both the Alfa Romeo 4C and the 4C Spider. Held at Sonoma Raceway and Laguna Seca, respectively, my time in both versions of Alfa Romeo's pocket supercar was pure, unadulterated fun. ALSO SEE: 2017 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe: 2015 Frankfurt...
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Mother-Son Autocross Run: VideoWe've seen hilarity ensue when a man takes his five-year old son drifting. Now we get to see what happens when a son has his mom ride shotgun during an autocross. In this video from Spectro Racing, "Scott" takes straps his mom into the passenger seat of his Volkswagen GTI, helmet and all, while he...
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Excavator Callously Destroys Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG: VideoWhen you first take a look at this video, you can't help but think it must be a joke. Surely that excavator isn't going to rip apart a $200,000 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. Nobody could be so stupid. Well, they can. Next you think that they will stop and save some of the parts. Certainly they must be...
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Dodge Bringing Back Plum Crazy, Releasing High-Impact Colors Production FiguresOne of the reasons muscle car fans remember the Mopar products of the early 1970s so fondly is the bright and slightly off-kilter "High Impact" colors that were offered at the time. Dodge revived the High Impact colors in 2006 and has offered them since, but perhaps the most noteworthy of those...
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Possible Donald Trump-Owned Acura NSX Found On eBayDonald Trump is having a grand old time bloviating across the country about how Mexican immigrants are problematic, women he doesn't like are dogs and pigs, and John McCain isn't a war hero. It's all part of a calculated marketing effort known as his presidential campaign. It may have the...
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NASCAR driver and part-time Sprint Car racer Tony Stewart is being sued over the 2014 on-track accident that took the life of 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr. The wrongful death lawsuit has been filed...
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Low-Mileage, Original 1969 Corvette L88 To Be Auctioned At MontereyTo Corvette fans, certain groupings of letters and numbers have a lot of meaning. For late-model cars, Z06, ZR1, and Z51 are important alphanumerics, and for fans of vintage 'Vettes, ZL1, L71, and L88 stir their passions. Later this week, Corvette fans will be able to bid on what may be the...
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Don Draper's Cadillac Sells For $48,980The 1965 Cadillac Coupe DeVille Don Draper drove on the AMC hit series Mad Men has just sold at auction, where the final bid came in at $48,980. We know, we know, you thought Don gave the car away to a budding con man in the show's penultimate episode, either to shed material goods or help put a...
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Notes From The Driveway: 2016 Mercedes-AMG GT SIt's not very often that something as special as the 2016 Mercedes-AMG GT S comes rolling into my driveway, so I was excited to spend the last week piloting Mercedes' new Porsche 911 fighter. Prior to my test drive, I had only been behind the wheel for one glorious lap of the Road America road...
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Rubbin' Is Racin', Even In Austria: VideoAccording to the just and wise Harry Hogge, crew chief of Cole Trickle's Chevrolet Lumina race team in the 1990 motion picture "Days of Thunder," rubbin' is racin'. Well, that may often be the case in the gold ol' US of A, but the Germans aren't too fond of that adage. On the last lap of Sunday's...
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Notes From The Driveway: 2016 Volvo XC90My colleague Bengt Halvorson calls the 2016 Volvo XC90 one of the most important production introductions of the year. Let me clarify that for you. To the industry, the second-generation XC90 is just another luxury three-row crossover SUV. But to Volvo, it's the vehicle that could make or break its...
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Ford is aiming to make the 2016 Shelby GT350R Mustang the most nimble, fun-to-drive, most track capable Mustang yet. The engineering appears to be there. To the impressive latest generation Mustang...
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Ford Shelby GT350R Mustang, Lamborghini Aventador vs Huracán, 2016 Focus RS: Today's Car NewsFord is throwing gasoline onto the firefight between the Mustang and Camaro by claiming the upcoming 2016 Shelby GT350R Mustang is faster around a track than a Camaro Z/28 and just as fast as a Porsche 911 GT3. The Blue Oval has also leaked other information on the car it claims is the fastest...
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Ford Says Shelby GT350R Lap Times Match 911 GT3, Beat Camaro Z/28According to Ford Motor Company, the forthcoming Shelby GT350R Mustang is as quick around a racetrack as the Porsche 911 GT3. Well, one track anyway. In independent testing conducted at Grattan Raceway in Belding, Michigan, the Ford Shelby GT350R Mustang posted a lap time equal to that of the...
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Teaching The Teachers: Track School For JournalistsAs part of our job here at Motor Authority, we test performance cars in a performance environment. That means we spend several days every year at race tracks wringing the living daylights out of the latest sports sedans, sports cars, and even supercars. We do this as a service to you, our loyal...
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2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata: Short Takes From Our EditorsI may have written the First Drive review for Motor Authority, but I wasn’t the only member of the Internet Brands Automotive team at the 2016 Mazda MX-5 press drive in Westlake Village, California. We were lucky enough to have five journalists at the event, including one former first-gen...
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2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata first drive reviewWhat’s an automaker to do when it’s time to redesign a car that is universally loved? Simple, give its fans more of what they love. In the case of the Mazda MX-5 Miata, more equals less. Since it was introduced in 1989, the Miata has offered the fun, engaging driving experience that can...
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Brought to you by the good folks at Chevrolet, this week's ride has been a 2015 Chevrolet SS. Chevrolet delivered the car so I could make the 600-mile roundtrip from Chicago to Cincinnati to attend...
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A Semi-Terrifying Night Lap In The 2017 Audi R8As part of the 2017 R8 press launch in Portimao, Portugal, last week, Audi invited journalists to drive its updated supercar at night on the Algarve International Circuit. The idea was to show off the R8's fancy new LED headlights with laser spot technology. Instead, our laps in the dark proved to...
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2017 Audi R8 first drive review“The R8 is born at Le Mans.” So said “Mr. Le Mans,” now-retired race driver and nine-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen in a promotional video that Audi showed at the press drive for the 2017 R8 supercar. Even though the video felt like a combination of a Folgers...
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Notes From The Driveway: An All-American, Corvette-Spangled Fourth Of JulySometimes good fortune smiles upon you. That's what happened to me this Fourth of July weekend, as I found a 2015 Chevrolet Corvette parked in the driveway. Outfitted with the Z51 suspension, the Magnetic Ride Control dampers, and an eight-speed automatic transmission, among a host of other...
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Infiniti QX60 Hybrid Gone From 2015 LineupSometimes a hybrid model just doesn't work out. Such is the case with the Infiniti QX60 Hybrid. Released for the 2014 model year, it was a one-hit wonder. Like its Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid sibling, which has also been dropped for the 2015 model year, the QX60 Hybrid traded a 260-horsepower...
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2016 Mazda 3 Cuts Base Model, Adds EquipmentMazda announced today that its the compact 3 sedan and hatchback gets a lower starting price and more equipment for 2016. That said, the starting price of the 2016 Mazda 3 actually increases because last year's base model, the SV, is dropped. That leaves the Sport as the entry model, and it is the...
Kirk Bell