Aaron Cole, Managing Editor
Articles
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The original Ecto-1, built for the 1984 movie "Ghostbusters," was a 1959 Cadillac hearse that, according to Dr. Ray Stanz, only needed work done to the suspension, shocks, brakes, brake pads, brake...
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Grassroots racing will save motorsports: Opinion
Some of the guys might wear race suits, but they’re just as likely to wear money-green track suits or black-and-white Speedos meant to look like "tuxedos." They’re racers and they’re having a blast. I've been to a fair number of automobile races and they're all carnivals. This one...
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Volkswagen says it may be able to fix dirty 3.0-liter diesels
Lawyers for Volkswagen told a California court Thursday that the automaker may be able to fix illegally polluting cars and SUVs equipped with its 3.0-liter V-6 turbodiesel engine. Owners of the affected cars—which include Volkwagen Touareg SUVs; Audi A6, A7, A8, Q5, and Q7 sedans and SUVs;...
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Volkswagen's $18B TDI buyback would be largest consumer car action in U.S. history
Volkswagen on Tuesday announced a settlement with the EPA and numerous other regulators to resolve class-action lawsuits over its TDI diesel emission cheating scandal. If approved next month, the deal would by by far the largest consumer car action settlement in United States history. It comes nine...
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What do you call your Mini? The world's most popular name is...
No one is quite sure what came first: the automobile, or a name for it. Giving cars people's names is as old as carmaking itself. Sure, some cars already have a name (Civic, Elantra, Tacoma) but those are mostly boring. Other cars have alphanumeric mashups that defy logic (XT5, Q30, X4 M40i) and...
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Watch Laguna Seca's corkscrew chew up, spit out McLaren P1 GTR
Laguna Seca's corkscrew isn't famous because everyone gets it right. The combination of corners—lovingly 8 and 8A—combines a hard left and hard right with little camber to help and a five-story drop to make it even harder. By the time you're done with turn 9, cars have dropped more than...
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Helen Mirren appearing alongside Charlize Theron in 'Fast 8', is actual dame for film franchise Aaron Cole
Remember the time Daniel Day Lewis and Al Pacino co-starred in that Transformers movie? Me neither.
That didn't stop Charlize Theron who signed on for Furious 8 a while ago, and it apparently won't...
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Warm weather turns highway stretch into rallycross stage
Commuting was temporarily made significantly better in northern Minnesota when warm days buckled pavement in the road and left a Scandinavian "yump" in the left lane. One westbound lane of Highway 36 between St. Paul and Little Canada on Tuesday surprised drivers as their cars were launched into...
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2017 Nissan 370Z preview
Walk up to the counter, tell the Nissan dealer the trim model of the 2017 Nissan 370Z you want, take two steps to the left, hand the cashier your money, take your keys and go home. Nissan has announced the 370Z will live on for at least another year—the ninth for the current model (a Z34 to...
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Audi's 24 Hours of Le Forza solves problem of peeing in a race suit
Blasting the Mulsanne Straight at 200 mph in an LMP1 car must be a hugely thrilling experience, on par with the first bite of candied bacon or wrestling a bear. I've only heard. Wetting yourself? That's not awesome. Anyone who's ever endurance raced will tell you that it's an...
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The quick and the dead: 10 cars that were (sometimes mercifully) axed fast
Bad ideas aren't exclusive to the car business--but sometimes, they get mass-produced there. Not all of the cars on this list are bad, but they sure were short-lived. Maybe it was timing. Or maybe they really deserved it, you make the call. Here's a concise compendium of cars that lasted just a...
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When I grow up I want to be like Jeff Zwart
Don’t ask Jeff Zwart for the $100 in his pocket right now. For a multitude of reasons, the racing driver, photographer, and pilot probably wouldn’t give it to you, but for one very important reason, he almost certainly won’t. The 61-year-old speed specialist slowly rolls a smile...
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The 2017 Porsche Macan GTS is the compact SUV the automaker always set out to build, according to Porsche. Based on the Audi Q5, the Macan GTS is, in our opinion, the best handling crossover on the...
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2017 Porsche Macan GTS first drive review
Porsche's strategy for old GTS models had been magnificent in its mission: Even if buyers couldn’t afford faster cars, there was still a race to empty whatever they had left in their wallets.
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Here are the new 2018 Audi A5 and S5 coupes
You'd be forgiven for thinking the new Audi A5 Coupe is the old Audi A5 Coupe, but that's neither here nor there. The newest iteration from Ingolstadt sports relatively the same profile as the old coupe that had been with us for about a decade. This time around, however, the new A5 gets the...
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2017 Kia Cadenza debuts with new look, 8-speed auto
We’re not sure what took so long over at Kia, but the automaker finally confirmed today at the New York Auto Show what goes under the 2017 Cadenza's new skin when the car arrives in American showrooms later this year. The big sedan, which is related to the Azera that’s made by...
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2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF is a droptop fastback dandy
A retractable hardtop Miata may not have been a total surprise by the time the 2017 Mazda MX-5 Miata RF pulled on to the stage at this week's 2016 New York Auto Show. After all, Mazda Europe leaked pictures of the car before the official introduction, and they were picked up by several outlets...
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2017 Toyota Corolla warms up for 50th anniversary victory lap
Toyota’s long victory lap for the Corolla this year began at the 2016 New York Auto Show with the debut of its 50th Anniversary Special Edition and sporty-ish XSE models. The Corolla hasn’t really been accused of getting many hearts racing over its 50-year history, but with more than 40...
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While the Abarth 124 Spider took the spotlight on Fiat's stand at this week's 2016 Geneva Motor Show, the 500 received a little love too.
Fiat showed off in Geneva its 500S, a sportier-looking...