The United States Missile Defense Agency said yesterday that, for the first time in history, it had successfully intercepted a simulated intercontinental ballistic missile (or ICBM) flying through outer space. With a typical closing speed of over 10,000 miles per hour, saying it was like “hitting a bullet with a bullet” isn’t enough. UPDATE
Read MorePresident Donald Trump seems to like big, “bold” ideas. Throw nukes around? Sure. Rip up the deck of an aircraft carrier to install the “goddamned steam?” Okay, fine. But what if we brought back one of the biggest military statements America has ever had—what if we brought back the battleship?
Read MoreThe U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is reporting that its Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system has succeeded in its first attempt to shoot down an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile target (ICBM), the U.S. Department of Defense said in a press release.
Read MoreThe United States flew a pair of long-range, supersonic bombers over the Korean peninsular during a joint drill with South Korea on Monday, drawing accusations from Pyongyang that the exercise is designed to practice dropping nuclear bombs on them.
Read MoreImages of a massive bomb falling to Earth can be jarring to see, but the only way to capture the incredible power they possess is to watch them wreaking destruction in the moment. The folks at Atom Central, a website that publishes restored high-definition videos of atomic bomb tests and the creators of the documentary Trinity and Beyond, make that possible.
Read MoreWhile a sizable portion of you are probably aware that the U.S. military and its allies are flying missions over Syria, and a good chunk of you are probably aware that U.S. special forces are running around and fucking ISIS up, you might not be aware that a whole Marine Corps artillery unit deployed to Syria as well. And it’s been busy.
Read MoreThe United States will attempt to intercept an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile during a missile defense system test Tuesday, the first time such a test has ever been performed. As North Korea aggressively works to perfect the reentry expertise for a functional ICBM, ensuring that the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system designed to stop it is essential.
Read MoreNormally the location of America’s nuclear subs is a closely-guarded secret. But President Rodrigo Duterte now knows where at least two of ours are, and that’s because President Donald Trump told him in a bragging phone call, according to transcripts obtained by a news website today.
Read MorePresident Donald Trump’s 2018 budget is here and he isn’t being stingy with the defense spending. The controversial plan calls for $668 billion in spending, a $52 billion increase overall from last year. But Trump’s bill is still not the military-grower he said it would be.
Read MorePresident Donald Trump is celebrating a ten-year, $350 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia he announced over the weekend during his visit in Riyadh; $110 billion of that figure will take affect immediately. Here’s what $110 billion dollars in nothing but the finest American weapons gets you these says.
Read MoreTrump’s handling of the time he burned the Israeli spy described as the single “most valuable source” against ISIS plots could not be worse.
Read MoreDismantling the world’s 15,000 nuclear weapons is one the most important geopolitical challenges humanity faces. That number seems bleak, given the current state of affairs. But if you wanted to dismantle just one warhead, here is what it would take.
Read MoreThe Russian Tu-95/-142 Bear has been showing up in a lot of places it maybe shouldn’t be over the past month, as the Russian Air Force and Navy continues to probe the air defenses of several nations.The sixty-year-old symbol of the Cold War has been able to remain a viable weapon system despite its age, much the way the B-52 has managed. Russian Bears have pushed close to the United States, Canada and Japan forcing each nation to scramble fighter jets to meet the Bears.
Read MoreA radiation-detecting U.S. Air Force aircraft was intercepted by two Chinese Su-30 fighter jets over the East China Sea Wednesday. Details over the exact cause of the intercept are unclear, but such incidents take place when a sovereign nation believes an unauthorized aircraft is in danger of breaching its air space.
Read MoreYou may not want a robot landing the 737 you’re a passenger on, but DARPA is celebrating the fact that its Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) landing the aircraft.
Read MorePresident Donald Trump revealed above-top-secret classified information to Russia during a meeting with the Russian foreign minister and ambassador last week. That information came from an Israeli spy who is now reported to have been the “most valuable source of information on external plotting by Islamic State.”
Read MoreChinese officials have long protested the U.S. deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system to South Korea because they believe it can spy on its military activities deep inside its mainland. Well, on Tuesday, Beijing’s fears were pretty much confirmed when military officials in South Korea reported that they were in fact able to detect North Korea’s recent ballistic missile test Sunday with THAAD.
Read MorePresident Donald Trump did a very dumb thing last week when he divulged top-secret information during his meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. And while a bunch of places were calling it an impeachable offense, or even suggested treason, it turns out that treason is a hell of a lot more complicated than you think.
Read MoreBack in January, just as President Donald Trump was taking office, there were rumors of despair coming out of the intelligence community. President Trump couldn’t be trusted, veteran CIA officials were claimed to have said, and they told the Israelis he’d soon start spilling their secrets. And now that’s exactly what happened.
Read MoreIt doesn’t have a sweet nickname like “The Bastard,” but the Israeli Air Force recently deployed a F-15B that several years ago was considered a total loss. The back half was ruined in a flight, but the front half was still good. Undeterred, the Israeli techs merely sutured the good half to the good half of another plane, to create this freak.
Read MoreAircraft carriers are massive floating cities, housing over 5,000 people. They have their own nuclear power plants, their own airfields, even their own jails buried in the bowels of the ship. Except in the Navy, they call it a “brig.”
Read MoreDrones are buzzing around the sky delivering products to customers, snapping videos and photos and conducting search and rescue missions, making it necessary for all of these high-flying machines to be regulated with their own air traffic system set to launch by 2025.
Read MorePresident Donald Trump shared classified information concerning the Islamic State with the Russian foreign minister and its ambassador to the U.S. during their meeting in the Oval Office last week, according to The Washington Post.
Read MoreNorth Korea is the most talked about nation on the planet right now, yet just 36 percent of Americans know where it is located on a map, according to a new study. Yes, you read that correctly: 36 percent.
Read MoreThe South China Sea is arguably the most disputed body of water in the world, with China, the Philippines, and Taiwan all vying for influence over this strategically important area. Now China is taking further steps to bolster its position there by deploying airborne early warning and control aircraft to the Jialaishi Air Base in China’s Hainan island—and that makes smaller nations in the region who already feel the country is stealing its territory even more nervous.
Read MoreIt’s pretty rare for the public to know what America’s intelligence and military agencies are working on, because they do everything in their power to keep it secret. Obviously. But, for reasons unknown, a server at New York University’s Institute for Mathematics and Advanced Supercomputing left exposed confidential information on a highly-advanced code-breaking computer named WindsorGreen, The Intercept reported.
Read MoreThe U.S. military has a history of supplying weapons to its proxies and allies. The U.S. military, and its proxies and allies, have a history of losing those weapons. So with the Trump administration announcing that it would begin arming the Kurdish YPG milita to fight ISIS in Syria, there was a concern that those weapons would be lost, again. The U.S. military is here to tell you that NO, they will not.
Read MoreIt looks like after almost a decade of development, the ultra-advanced Gerald R. Ford supercarrier will be commissioned this year. An important detail about this ship, the first of its class, is that it does not use steam catapults to launch planes as is traditional, but instead uses an electromagnetic system to fling them into the air. And then President Donald Trump opened his mouth.
Read MoreYou rarely—if ever—hear “South Africa” and “nuclear weapons” mentioned in the same breath. That’s, of course, because South Africa doesn’t have any nukes. But the history behind why it is the only country to have ever built its own nuclear weapons, and then voluntarily relinquished them, reveals what motivates a country to give up the world’s most lethal deterrent.
Read MoreSouth Koreans have just elected a new president who has criticized the deployment of THAAD on his country’s soil, expressed a need to reconcile with Pyongyang and challenged Seoul to tell America, “no.”
Read MoreEarlier this morning, the Hanford Site—which is where the United States produced most of its plutonium for nuclear weapons, including the bomb dropped on Nagasaki—declared an emergency. Considering all the horrible stuff still contained within America’s most contaminated nuclear site, that did not sound good. But in a conversation with someone ordered to take cover, it turns out it might not be as bad as it sounds.
Read MoreRussia has deployed 215 more nuclear warheads than allowed by the New START treaty, setting itself up to violate a provision that goes into effect next year. Surely this will end well.
Read MoreThe Hanford Site is a mostly decommissioned complex that produced plutonium for most of the weapons in the United States nuclear arsenal, including the bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki. It’s also the most contaminated nuclear site in the entire country. A tunnel just collapsed there, and a state of emergency has reportedly been declared.
Read MoreFormer acting Attorney General Sally Yates started off her testimony by saying ex-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was a major national security liability, but the Republican Party’s only focus was on who was leaking information about his Russia dealings to the press.
Read MorePresident Donald Trump has surrounded himself with federal government neophytes who have displayed their obvious lack of knowledge of how to run a country. But Trump’s most astute hire, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, is reportedly feeling the Presidential disdain for seemingly no other reason than he knows what he is talking about.
Read MoreWar is absolutely terrible, and very few films manage to even remotely capture the sheer horror that was World War II. Saving Private Ryan, the standard bearer for the genre, came out in 1998, almost 20 years ago. It’s been the icon since then. But in the new trailer for Dunkirk, it looks like there will be a new contender.
Read MoreRussia has made a lot of noise about the modern weapons it has used during combat in Syria and how effective these new weapons are. Fresh Su-34 attack jets scream through the skies, while the latest in small arms test their mettle. But the reality is most of what Russia has used is not as shiny and advanced as Moscow would like you to believe. The vast majority of aircraft carrying out airstrikes are among the oldest in the Russian military, and it only gets worse from there.
Read MoreSince taking office in January, Donald Trump’s frequent trips to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida has been a source of consternation. So the group Judicial Watch set about figuring how much it costs to operate the president’s aircraft. The answer? $142,380 per hour.
Read MoreAs China continues to strengthen its presence in the South China Sea with new military installments built on man-made islands, North Korea may be implementing a similar strategy with new islands its building in the Yellow Sea.
Read MoreEmployees involved in an internal investigation of a U.S. contractor in Iraq found evidence that employees for the company, Sallyport Global, were involved in sex trafficking and “routinely flew in smuggled alcohol” to its base, according to an explosive report from The Associated Press. In one instance, a plane reportedly seesawed on a tarmac due to the huge amount of booze it was carrying.
Read MoreThe BMW 8 Series is back. Or at least, it will be soon. This is a profoundly odd development for anyone familiar with one of BMW’s most ambitious and fascinating failed experiments, a car that was an expensive high-tech powerhouse yet never reached critical mass. The thing is, the 8 Series is magic. This video shows you why.
Read MoreFor the first time ever, the BMW M5 comes standard with all-wheel drive. But the tail-out, Full Opposite Lock, burnout-thirsty hoons out there can relax, because there’s also a rear-wheel drive mode in that all-wheel drive system just as the M-gods intended. Here’s how it works.
Read MoreWe’ve seen rough renderings of the 2018 BMW M5, we’ve heard it out on the Nürburgring, and now BMW has finally confirmed that the new generation is powered by a 600 horsepower version of its twin-turbo V8, powered through mostly the rear wheels.
Read MoreDuring a BMW meeting today in Munich, the chairman of the BMW board Harald Krüger confirmed that the BMW 8 Series Coupe is slated for arrival in 2018. Today is a very good day.
Read MoreBMW has touched up the full 2 Series range but you’ll be hard pressed to find exactly what has changed—and that’s perfect, because the 2 Series is one of the most handsome BMWs on the market right now.
Read MoreBrandon from Tucson is doing it right, and the rest of us need to make major changes to our lives. That’s because apparently Brandon bought this sexy, red, luxurious, 4.4-liter V8-powered BMW 740iL for only $1,250, and proceeded to slam the hell out of it.
Read MoreTo get that extra 133 horsepower over a basic, boring, DONE! Dodge Hellcat, you’re going to have to shell out nearly $20,000 more. Dodge announced pricing for its newest, shiniest hyper-muscle-car today, and you’ll pay at least $84,995 for a base model Demon. That’s nearly as much as the last Dodge Viper.
Read MoreWhen I heard that the McLaren 720S had a “Drift Mode,” it sounded to me like a “stunt button” on a supercar. That’s not the case, though. Drift Mode isn’t even a thing. What the McLaren does have is Variable Drift Control. Here’s how it works.
Read MoreThe McLaren 720S has a 710 horsepower twin-turbo V8 that produces a powerful but generally inoffensive exhaust note. I mean, as long as you’re gentle with the gas pedal. Flip a couple extra switches and its full violence can be felt with a little trick McLaren calls “hot start.”
Read MoreMaserati is just now getting around to offering a certified pre-owned program, which isn’t surprising since historically Italian cars and reliability didn’t often go together. But if you want a depreciated Maserati and worry about repairs, a CPO car could be just the thing.
Read MoreThe 2017 Honda Civic Si is no revelation of automotive excellence. But it’s easy to live with, encourages hard driving and has a little attitude without making you look like an asshole. Messing around with this car is enough to lure anyone into driving for the fun of it, and that’s exactly the point.
Read MoreBacking the Callaway Corvette AeroWagen onto the street was like stumbling into a family reunion buck naked. Moms grabbed their kids, grandmas fainted, everybody else ran screaming. “What’s wrong with these dorks,” I snorted. Then I hit the gas and realized the neighbors had every right to be terrified.
Read MoreAndrea is a cool mom who tears up the track on her weekends. Unfortunately, her beloved Fiat 500 Abarth got wrecked, and now she needs an affordable replacement that isn’t what everyone else uses. What car should she buy?
Read MoreYou may not look at the Mazda Miata-based Fiat 124 Spider and say, “Viva l’italia!” But why would you? It’s a Japanese car sold by an Italian-American company. But when I drove one for the first time, something strange happened. I think I found the automotive embodiment of myself: energetic, easy to beat up, made here and there, with borderline Italian looks and a cuore italiano, if you know what I mean. It’s not an Italian car, it’s an Italian-American car.
Read MoreYou have high expectations for an “enthusiast-spec” Porsche, and the 2017 Porsche 911 GTS lives up to a lot of them. Hell, it steps to twice the speed limit in as long as it took you to read this introduction. But for all its power and precision, the car doesn’t have much personality.
Read MoreVolvos have always been for smart people. They were traditionally professor’s cars, cars of people who were just iconoclastic and independent-minded enough to want something different than the usual cars from Japan or Germany. They were cars of people who maybe had odd reasons for why they bought them, like if they thought a Volvo 240 seemed like a car Mies van der Rohe would have built. The all-new 2018 Volvo XC60 shows Volvos are still for smart people, especially if they like a clean windshie
Read MoreLet’s say you show up to a track for some fun times in your hot hatchback. And then, just hypothetically, a friend randomly shows up there with his new toy: a 2017 Dodge Charger Hellcat. He tosses you the keys and says “have fun, buddy.” But there’s a catch—it’s pretty wet out there.
Read MoreJohn is 40 and has never, ever bought a new car. He is still driving the faithful Corolla he had in college. But the time has come for a serious upgrade, and it must be something that his 4-year-old car addict son thinks is awesome. What car should he buy?
Read MoreWhat comes to mind when you think exotic cars? Probably something like a carbon fiber shell and an engine behind the driver. You might be surprised to learn that can have both with a warranty, and it will cost you well under $20,000. These days, the unusual and ultra-efficient BMW i3 is really cheap.
Read More“Where should I put this?” my boyfriend asked, holding up his wallet. I looked around the 2017 Mazda Miata RF’s cramped interior. There was no glove compartment. No door pockets. The center console cubby was too small. The compartment between the seats was already filled with paperwork and other items from the press fleet garage.
Read MoreYes, the Ford Focus ST is actually still around. It’s the hot hatchback we love but faded into the shadows after its little sibling, the Fiesta ST, kicked its ass in the fun-per-dollar argument. It then totally lost everyone’s attention when the almighty Focus RS arrived and decimated everything. It’s still damn good.
Read MoreThe 2017 Ford GT is, without question, a tremendous marvel of an exotic supercar, pushing the envelope in technology, performance, appearance, engineering, and cool features. It also shares its engine block with the Ford F-150 EcoBoost. This fact alone will cause many people—exotic car purists—to dismiss the GT as not being a real member of the exotic car world, since it doesn’t offer 12 cylinders, or at least eight.
Read MoreI always stress that car buyers read the contract carefully before they sign, but what happens when you leave the dealership feeling good about your purchase and the dealer calls and says they made a mistake? Are you obligated to go back and resign a new contract?
Read MoreWhile some people prefer to get a new car every few years, there is a certain freedom to owning a car long after the loan has been paid off. Here are 10 models that owners are likely to keep for a very long time.
Read MoreWe launched the What Car Should You Buy? series in an effort to give real people car buying advice. One of the most common comments in these posts, other than “This person should just buy a Miata!”, is “So what did they actually buy?”
Read MoreNo way. I’m not getting a minivan like a Chrysler Pacifica, no matter how many kids I have. Not going to happen. I’m buying a Mazda CX-5 instead. I’m not a regular dad, I’m like, a cool dad. I shave my head to hide my bald spots and compensate with a beard. I wear Adidas Superstar sneakers because I wore them in high school. I listen to EDM. I do Crossfit, drink homemade juices and hike mountains. Minivans are for boring-ass Baby Boomers like my parents. Not an active, affluent urban Millennial
Read MoreWith the various car-buying services offered online, hardly anyone goes to a car dealership just to browse anymore—they do a lot of that on the internet beforehand. That, then, makes car dealerships question why they keep such large inventories on their lots anymore.
Read MoreNow is a great time to buy a used car, but getting a quality pre-owned model can be a daunting process compared to shopping for a new one. There are a lot more factors to consider to get the right car at the right price. Here are some of the most common mistakes used car shoppers make.
Read More“Rare” is thrown around quite carelessly in automotive culture. New cars made in small batches are rare by design. Authentically rare cars aren’t just around in limited quantities, they’re barely known. Obscure. This BMW 1600 GT is one such machine—far less famous than the 2002 or E30 M3, but amazing and significant in its own right.
Read MoreHave you been trying to let off some steam lately? You know, free your mind from fear of being stranded on an island with sociopathic Instagram billionaires when you just wanted to hear some bands, or stories of airline employees kicking passengers’ asses, or how our species seems doomed in just a general sense? I hear ya. It’s a rough world out there. You deserve a break, my friend. What you need in your life is a 2017 Honda Accord Hybrid.
Read MoreAdi is in a rather envious position: he can finally get his dream car, a Porsche 911. The only problem is even though all the 911s look pretty much the same, and there are so many variations and generations that it’s hard to figure out which is the best one. What Porsche should he buy?
Read More“What you keep calling ‘drift mode’ isn’t a magic button to make you a hero driver,” pro pilot Jamie Wall’s English accent crackled through my headset as we tossed the 710 horsepower McLaren 720S into a corner. “It’s a progressive system designed to help—” the car’s twin-turbo V8 drowned him out with a huge gulp of air, followed immediately by exhaust flames.
Read MoreThe Kia Optima Hybrid isn’t a particularly exciting car. It’s slow but adequate, like most wash-o-matic cars in this category. But the Optima is so much nicer and more user-friendly than the ubiquitous Toyota Camry, it makes me wonder: do midsize sedan buyers just not bother with Camry alternatives at all?
Read MoreSeriously, Chevy(’s ad agency), what the fuck are you doing? Can’t you see what’s happening? Can’t you see you’re tearing us apart? This isn’t selling any cars; this is selling out our very humanity. Yes, dammit, I’m talking about the “bad mamma-jamma” guy at the end of this godawful “Real People” Chevy Equinox ad.
Read MoreThe Nürburgring has its infamous Ring Taxi, there to delight and/or scare tourists who’d just like a quick ride around the circuit. So, naturally, Japan put its own spin on the idea at Ebisu Circuit: the Drift Taxi. It’s one of the few times we’d gladly be driven around by someone else.
Read MoreCars are kind of like jobs in that we all have an ideal car that we’d like to own but we don’t always get them. This just goes to show the unpredictability of car ownership and, uh, life in general.
Read MoreSometimes, you find out some fact, and immediately you feel years and years of suspicions justified. The fact I’m thinking of involves some of my favorite things ever: air-cooled Volkswagens, dogs, and the act of chewing rubbery things. I can’t believe I never knew this delightful fact, just hiding there in plain sight.
Read MoreFifty years ago today, Mazda sent a shockwave through the industry by offering for sale the world’s first rotary powered sports car—the beautiful and futuristic Mazda Cosmo Sport 110S. Despite its lackluster sales, the Cosmo set the stage for rotary engine use in the automaker’s lineup, and what resulted are among the most delightful cars ever created.
Read MoreIt’s strange how one bad experience in one car can follow us around for the rest of our lives. Like a bad smell. Or a shitty phantom.
Read MoreAs I was wrestling with a 27-inch mosquito during yesterday’s sunset, I realized that summer is here and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it. After the mosquito finally collapsed thanks to my high blood-alcohol level, I dispatched it with a crowbar and then immediately set to writing these crucial summer driving tips, just for you.
Read MoreSome cars fulfill their intended purpose very well. The Toyota Camry does an excellent job being a reliable sedan, just as the McLaren 720S is outstanding at tearing your face off with speed and technology. But so many other cars have fallen flat because they could have been so much better.
Read MoreThis is something I remember very clearly. I was just a kid, sitting the backseat of my parents’ car, driving along the Garden State Parkway when, suddenly, it started to pour. It was already kind of overcast and then the rain started. No big deal. Naturally, traffic slowed.
Read MoreIn another installment of “They still make that car?” Lexus has decided to discontinue the CT200h hybrid hatchback after the 2017 model year. This is not a shocking development with cheap gas and buyers flocking to crossovers, but the CT200h was an underrated upscale hatchback.
Read MoreWe often refer to cars as boxes on wheels, or we describe car design in terms of numbers of boxes: one for van-like things, two for hatch/wagon-like things, and three boxes for sedan-like things. With this common way of thinking, you may expect that a car that was a literal, no-joke box-on-wheels would be something that wouldn’t seem so weird, or alarming. You’d be wrong. If you don’t believe me, have a look at that Bubu 502 up there.
Read MoreSummer’s coming, and that means the potential for shit like this—a can of hairspray exploding in your car—exponentially increases. A driver learned that the hard way this week, and it made for quite a visual.
Read MoreI really did not want to abandon a 2017 Kia Niro in the Nevada desert.
Read MoreLike it or not, electric cars are the future. But to truly catch on, they have to be as good as, if not better than, the current gas-driven ones. And if somehow automakers can make the ever-elusive hydrogen fuel cells catch on, we’d be on the cusp of a permanent electric revolution. Jackie Birdsall is one of the engineers working to make this happen, and this is how she got there.
Read MoreElvis Presley’s jet, whose interior The King reportedly took part in designing himself, is for sale in New Mexico. And unsurprisingly, it’s the shag-carpeted, fuzzy dice-having, white wall tire-riding Cadillac of private jets, just like you though it would be.
Read MoreThis website does need more turbo wagon ads.
Read MoreEdgar Wright is one of the most distinct directors working today, tackling the zombie, buddy cop, video game, and superhero genres. Now focusing he’s made what should be an epic heist movie with plenty of insane car chases in this year’s Baby Driver. Check out an exclusive video on how the actors prepared for their driving stunts.
Read MoreYou may recall that I confronted the brains behind Pixar’s Cars franchise about the difficult conceptual issues inherent in the Cars universe. That was a partial success. Now, I’d like to show you a conversation I had with the people behind the visual look of Cars 3. It’s a bit more fun, and a bit less disturbing.
Read MorePop the hood on any modern car and you will be greeted by the sight of evil pixie demons gnashing their teeth at you, squealing with cruel delight. Wait, no, that’s not right. You’ll see a big plastic engine cover! Yes. But why?
Read MoreRead any travel guide to Tokyo and they’ll say the same thing: make a trip to Akihabara. Known as Tokyo’s “electric city,” Akihabara is quintessential Tokyo—mad, loud, and thoroughly Japanese. Here, you’ll see the neon lights, the morally questionable maid cafes, and the ever-charming otaku prowling through various anime and manga shops. It’s a hub for Japanese pop culture.
Read MoreBorn in 1989, I grew up thinking of Porsche as a small, kind of weird and old-fashioned yuppie car company a few decades removed from its brief glory days. Now it’s one of the most profitable automakers in the business, and there’s a reason why.
Read MoreEven when we love them, bad experiences can ruin cars for us. Perhaps it’s because we live so much of our lives in them. And when something goes south, it’s tough to shake off that feeling.
Read MoreEveryone loves Lego, right? Of course you do; you’re not some kind of monster. I’m sure that anyone who’s ever built a Lego car has wondered, at least in passing, say, wouldn’t it be great if I could just build a real car out of Lego? Just in case the weight and cost calculations didn’t wise you up about why that would be a terrible idea, this crash test video should.
Read MoreLast week I was in Barcelona thanks to Volvo, who wanted me to devalue some of their first production XC60s by driving them. I was happy to oblige, and even happier to scrutinize, in conversation-killing detail, the cars of Barcelona’s lovely streets. The big surprise? I saw a lot of cool vans. Come on, join me on this magical tour of whatever happened to be nearby me!
Read MoreEarlier today we discovered that the cover of this Fast & Furious DVD boxed set is just as riddled with malarky as the movies themselves. But one astute Jalopnik reader found a deeper offense. And man, once you see it...
Read MoreFor those not in the market for spectrally named vehicles with starting prices at over $300,000, the concept of a Rolls-Royce umbrella may be foreign. But the company has great pride in the rain shields it hides in its cars. They’re treated more like royalty than you or I will ever be.
Read MoreSometimes going to a car dealership is a fine experience that requires no repeating. Sometimes things go so bad that you just have to tell your story on the internet.
Read MoreChris Cornell’s passing was the first death of a musical artist to really bum me out. I probably listen to his songs on a daily basis, so the news hit me hard. Most of the time I rock out from behind the wheel because Chris made awesome tracks for putting the pedal down and going for a drive.
Read MoreSo, Porsche made this car called the Porsche 911 R, right. And it was basically a 911 GT3 RS with no big silly wing and a manual transmission. There were very few of them made, and because it’s the only Porsche that purists actually want, they sold for silly amounts of money. And that was the end of that... maybe?
Read MoreThe Ford 300 cubic inch straight-six is a staple of American truck culture, having literally helped build this nation as we know it. Found in Ford F-Series trucks in the 1960s all the way until 1996, the big 560-pound iron-block powerhouse served valiantly for farmers, construction workers, and even lumberjacks. It almost cannot be killed, and that’s why you should know about it.
Read MoreEvery so often people ask me what I plan on doing to my car, and it’s hard to formulate an answer.
Read MoreLook into any modern sporty car and you will find two buttons among all the rest: a little button to make the exhaust louder and a little button to put the car in a general sport mode. These buttons get one thing critically wrong: they are backwards.
Read MoreIf you’re a petrolhead like me, then at some point in life you’ve driven past some clapped-out heap at the side of the road and dreamed of turning it into the most badass car on the planet. I’ve been there. Now that dream is real.
Read MoreTraffic sucks, so why not start your morning off with some music? You provide the toast and we’ll provide the jams.
Read MoreLook man, I just want a nice, old sports car that most people don’t know anything about but is actually super cool and makes me feel fulfilled in life. Is that too much to ask for?
Read MoreFriends, I come to you with a heavy heart, for I am at a loss.
Read MoreTakuro Watanabe is a wacky tuning genius. He built a 2JZ-powered S14 Nissan Silvia that has four turbochargers, a hand-activated second throttle body, and a small jet engine on the rear wing for downforce. On top of that, he has a Fierarri F40, and an enormous jet engine that he plans to put into a car. He might be out of his mind, or he might be brilliant. I think it’s the latter.
Read MoreYou don’t need a license to drive this weird plastic-bodied French microcar, nor do you need a reverse gear to get this wacky front-wheel-drive car to spin around in reverse.
Read MoreAs anyone who has tried to draw a completely original car can tell you, auto design is not easy. At all. Perhaps because of some awful little lump of sadism residing in my brain, I had the urge to ask an auto designer to try to design a car with the most difficult design requirement: asymmetry. Incredibly, one agreed, and I think they actually pulled it off pretty well.
Read MoreIt’s true that car dealerships, like all places, exist on a scale that ranges from good to bad. You might have had a fine experience at a car dealership. If that’s the case, then this Countersteer is not for you.
Read MoreMcLaren Automotive Design Director Frank Stephenson is going back to Mini, according to industry sources via Auto Motor und Sport. That’s not the most exciting of news, but I am enthralled with one thought: the idea of a Mini with “billionaire doors” that flip up like a modern-day McLaren. It’s what the world needs right now.
Read MoreSometimes, you just know. You feel it right down in your bones when the car calling your name from hundreds of miles away is the right one.
Read MoreAs you may be aware, I’m very interested in the rich, complex world Pixar has created for the Cars series of movies. Maybe a little too interested. The movies, while enjoyable as simply fun animated movies about cars, nevertheless bring up a great deal of complex issues when given greater scrutiny. Now I’ve finally had my chance to address these issues with the creators themselves, right at Pixar.
Read MoreIt’s always nice to see an unscathed Ford Mustang, right? Well, just not in your review mirror, of course.
Read MoreHello, I’m Karen Roselli, Mike Roselli’s mom. I daily drive a 2016 Chevrolet SS with magnetic ride and a manual transmission, which means I’m automatically cooler than 85 percent of Jalopnik’s staff. Nice to meet all of you.
Read MoreI could never convince my mother to get me a BMW in high school. She had a BMW in high school, I would argue. But hers had a top speed of around 55 mph, provided there was a strong a tail wind. Mom had a BMW Isetta 300, and I finally got to see why she loved it so much when I drove one at the Lane Motor Museum.
Read MoreMy mom’s first car was a pretty typical one for a 20-year-old growing up in the suburbs of Munich in the 1980s. It was a 1972 Volkswagen 1302 Beetle (essentially a Super Beetle) with a beige paint job, 1300 cc air-cooled flat-four engine, four-speed manual transmission and a heater that never worked.
Read MoreDon’t ever sit me in a new Ford GT and not expect me to play with the track mode setting.
Read MoreI’ve seen this ad, from the noted fictional Baltimore-area GM dealership known as Big Bill Hell’s, pop up in our comments section over the years, and I just now realized we’d never featured it. Well consider that fixed, and, as the ad says, Fuck you, Baltimore!
Read MoreI get sent a lot of Craigslist ads for weird and/or shitty cars by readers. I regard this as one of the biggest perks of my job, right after Jalopnik’s very generous policies regarding colonics. An ad I was sent this morning is interesting, not so much because of the car for sale, but more because of who posted the ad: not the car’s owner.
Read MoreWhen most people think of off-roading, few think of a Porsche, but the Cayenne is far more capable than its scourge-of-Nordstrom’s-parking-lot reputation would suggest. Here’s a Cayenne Turbo crashing an off-road day with the Camden County Georgia Jeep Club, just gettin’ muddy like it’s no big deal.
Read MoreHere, check it: this is a 1996 Honda Civic that someone made into a “limo” and wants $1,000 for on Craigslist (ad saved in case it gets removed).
Read MoreIt’s wonderful to meet new people who share our interest in cars, but most of the time we run into them in predictable environments like a car show, a race, or in the comments section of your favorite blog. I have found the best encounters are when you meet a gearhead totally unexpectedly.
Read MoreThe only time it’s safe to stare into del Sol is when your entranced by its cute little folding hardtop. If you are like Mike Ballaban and that is very much your thing—cute and can fold up nicely—there are plenty of other sources of entertainment.
Read MoreToyota has heard one too many jokes about the Camry dent, and about how it carries the large, beige-colored flag of vanilla midsize sedans. But it’s 2017. The angles are sharper, the wheels are sportier, and Toyota wants you to stop calling its cars boring. Please. Guys. Please.
Read MoreI don’t know about you, but my Driver’s Ed lessons—held during one semester during my sophomore year of high school—were basic and straightforward. We went over all the lights and signs and what they meant and maaaybe some bad weather advice. That was it. This old Driver’s Ed textbook, Tomorrow’s Drivers, goes above and beyond in terms of preparing new drivers for the road. And as you might expect, it’s also joyfully anachronistic.
Read MoreThe features of a car that a carmaker, or, more accurately, the ad agency that works for it, chooses to highlight can vary pretty wildly. They can shout insane horsepower numbers or somberly remind you about how safe their cars are, or the novel shapes their seats fold into or how much action you’ll be getting from your preferred gender in their car. I’m pretty sure, though, that no company has ever pushed a car feature as boring as one on this 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera.
Read MoreFew driving experiences are as frightening as a Jeep’s “Death Wobble,” an uncontrollable oscillation of the front wheels caused by worn out steering components. But, as one commenter reminds us, sometimes cars are actually designed to wobble.
Read MoreWe’ve all been there: we’re looking on Craigslist, Ebay or Autotrader and we see the perfect car. It’s exactly the one we’ve been looking for all along, down to the trim.
Read MoreTraffic sucks, so why not start your morning off with some music? You provide the toast and we’ll provide the jams.
Read MoreGuessing that the Ford Tempo would be selected for Meh Car Monday is such a safe bet that it would wear a bike helmet when brushing its teeth, just in case. Almost three million Ford Tempos were sold to people that must have been capable of love, passion, and desire, even though their choice of car suggested nothing of the sort. Three million.
Read MoreWho the hell abandons a Toyota Supra in the mountains of Japan? Is this the start of an amazing anime, of the fabled lost Supra or something?
Read MoreBMW is one of many carmakers guilty of naming things that are not coupes coupes. Which is what made the 6 Series Coupe cool—it was actually a coupe. With two doors and everything. But before you get too excited by this reminder, know that BMW isn’t making them anymore.
Read MoreIn our first installment on the 2017 Motor Fan Festa, I took you through one of Japan’s newest and most enticing car events held each year at Fuji Speedway. It’s also host to one of the biggest meets in the world for cars built by famous tuner company Liberty Walk. Before I talk about that, I want to talk about Dank.
Read More“Two-jay-zee engine, no shit... This will decimate all,” Jesse said in the original Fast and Furious movie after criticizing the hideous junkyard-grade Toyota Supra that was just towed into the shop. In the hands of the right tuners, decimation is what the Supra was all about. Understanding why requires us to look at perhaps the most legendary tuner engine in history: the Toyota 2JZ-GTE.
Read MoreFrom what I can tell, when you have kids, you pretty much accept the fact that there’s going to be a mess somewhere at some point. Especially if you bring them into your car.
Read MoreAfter hearing “The Legend Of The Unrecoverable Supra,” Alexi from Japanese car-culture website Noriyaro searched the mountains of Japan and actually tracked down the fabled abandoned A70 Toyota Supra. What he found would break any JDM-enthusiast’s heart.
Read MoreWith the summer fast approaching for a lot of us on this fine car blog, this scene is quite cool and refreshing—wouldn’t you say?
Read MoreYesterday, the cars-powered-by-electrons enthusiast site Electrek published an interview with noted auto designer Henrik Fisker, titled Henrik Fisker believes that design will play an outsized role in electric vehicle market. I think this is true, but there’s an important reason why this is that’s not really addressed head-on. So let’s do that.
Read MoreA lot of car buyers are willing to pony up the extra cash to get more motor. After all, gas is cheap right now, you might as well enjoy the power while you can. But sometimes the additional cost just becomes an exercise in diminishing returns. What are some factory engine upgrades that really aren’t worth it?
Read More“Before we get to your car questions,” my former next door neighbor, Terrance, said, “I need to tell you both something. My wife left me. My kids won’t talk to me. I lost my job. I embezzled almost a half a million dollars because I’m addicted to BMWs, and have been hiding them all over the state. I’ll probably be going to prison soon.”
Read MoreThere’s never a bad time to visit Japan. Well, maybe between June and August when the rainy season’s humidity makes it feel like you’re walking around covered in honey. But if you’re visiting Japan solely for the purpose of getting a taste of Japan’s car culture, time it during a big event.
Read MoreBiting, as a means to derive sensory satisfaction, isn’t something that’s usually discussed, but I believe almost everyone understands the concept. Some things just feel strangely good to bite. It’s a complex mix of resistance, texture, density, and a number of other factors that all combine to form an ideal bite. I also believe there is one specific car part that meets these esoteric criteria remarkably well.
Read MoreIf you dream of building a drift car, so much of the joy is thinking up weird and wonderful high-horsepower engine swaps to cram into the front of your old four-cylinder car. An inline-six. A V8. Whatever. All these dreams are wrong.
Read MoreRM Sotheby’s Villa Erba auction: my favorite time of year. Beautiful weather, Italian food, gorgeous views and expensive cars. It’s my scene. Sure, the auction doesn’t start until May 27, but I’ve already had a look at all of the lots. It’s all about who you know, see.
Read MoreHaving been in such a situation, I’m sympathetic to people whose high-profile car crashes get blasted all over the web. I can say that whatever guilt that Subaru WRX STI owner feels will go away eventually, and the best he can do is try and learn from it—starting with not doing this on public roads again.
Read MoreOne of the reasons I’m so obsessed with old, air-cooled Volkswagens is the remarkable variety of vehicles that were built on the basic VW Beetle mechanicals. There’s been sports cars and SUVs and off-roaders and mine detectors and on and on and on. Today I want to introduce you to one of the least-known and most humble of the VW-derivatives: the Corcel 1600.
Read MoreStarting in 1991, Jeep offered on its Jeep Wrangler YJ a “Renegade Decor Group,” a box which—when ticked—turned the already controversial square headlight Wrangler into a hideous mess. What are some other special editions that somehow managed to ruin decent cars?
Read MoreAhh, kids. The reason we exist. The centers of our universe. The apples of our eyes. Or so I’m told.
Read MoreA year ago, I blew the motor in my 1974 Volkswagen while trying to make it from Sacramento to New York City. I made it as far as Arkansas, where my car has sat ever since. Now, finally, I am flying down to retrieve it and finish the cross-country journey I started.
Read MoreOn a long, tedious night drive, the mind sometimes wanders. As you watch the twin beams of your headlights reaching across the black, featureless landscape, your mind may wander to this thought: if those headlights are sending out billions and billions of photons at the speed of light out from the front of my car, aren’t those headlights sort of like rocket motors, pushing against the car? Are they slowing the car down? Let’s get to the bottom of this.
Read MoreOn Saturday morning, over 400 rusty crap-cans assembled in Troy, Michigan to partake in the grueling Gambler 500, an on and off-road rally in northern Michigan specifically for $500-ish cars. It was an awesome shitshow filled with some of the most questionable repairs I’ve ever seen.
Read MoreGetting pulled over is just an inherent part of driving. It doesn’t matter if you’re the most law-abiding driver in the world—it just happens sometimes. But whether or not you walk away with a ticket isn’t always guaranteed.
Read MoreJeff Gamroth has been building Porsche 911s since he was 15 years old. His shop, Rothsport Racing, is one of the preeminent Porsche preparers in the country. This year his team took the 911 way out of its comfort zone at the NORRA Mexican 1000 Baja race. Not only did two of his 911s finish, they made it back in decent shape!
Read MoreNot a day goes by that the C6 Corvette Z06 does not go from good looking to better looking to even more better looking. What a clear, simple visualization of a sports car ideal.
Read MoreThe all-new 2017 Chevrolet Cruze is a pretty damn good compact car. For buyers who prefer the added torque and fuel efficiency of a diesel—and still think that fuel has a future in America after Volkswagen lit it all on fire—Chevy has you covered for a starting price of less than $25,000.
Read MoreSome poor Honda Civic driver in Lincoln, Nebraska, cut between some orange cones and got stuck in wet concrete last week. In addition to any damage to the car, the driver is going to have to pony up the costs of repairing the road, the Lincoln Journal Star reports. And it ain’t gonna be cheap.
Read MoreEvery old car owner’s worst nightmare is a mechanical failure, a crash out of your control. Greg built his 1991 BMW E30, a 318is with an S52 engine swap, into his absolute pride and joy, and he’s lucky he lived after his brakes gave out on track at 110 mph.
Read MoreGermany has been switching its power sources to renewable energy for years now, typically without incident. That changed Tuesday morning when a giant rogue wind turbine blade fell onto a lorry traveling along a German autobahn, shutting down traffic for hours in a seemingly desperate and radical attempt to reduce vehicle emissions.
Read MoreIf you’re getting ready to travel for the fast-approaching three-day weekend, maybe it’s time to reconsider: A new study found that you’re way more likely to die in a car crash on Memorial Day weekend than any other holiday weekend. Trailing not far behind Memorial Day, oddly, is Labor Day.
Read MoreIt’s hard not to love nervous, spritely, wheel-hopping hot hatches. And few are more nervous, spritely or wheel-hoppy as a 2000s Honda Civic Type R. Sadly, for one CTR owner on the ‘Ring, things got a bit too hot.
Read MoreI’m not afraid of heights, but even my knees felt weak when I saw this hapless car that was left teetering on the edge of an overpass in California yesterday morning.
Read MoreA crash scene on Highway 101 near Cloverdale, California, this weekend left a Chevrolet Impala literally sliced in half with the driver still behind the wheel. The other half of the car landed upright on a nearby hillside.
Read MoreAn arrest warrant has been issued for a woman seen fleeing the scene after plowing her friend’s van through the middle of a McDonald’s and just casually strolling out of the front door, according to The State Journal Register.
Read MoreIn an act of spectacular acrobatics, an Audi failed miserably at overtaking, instead rear-ending a vehicle, flipping over, bouncing into a light pole, catching fire, and coming to a rest in the oncoming lane.
Read MoreSomething tells me that this tale of two Mustangs was, in fact, the worst of times.
Read MoreEarlier today, the elderly driver of a Jeep drove his vehicle into the Lynnway Auto Auction near Boston, killing three and injuring 10, TV station WCVB reports. Witnesses describe the scene as something out of a horror film.
Read MoreThis is normally the type of situation that is followed by an impossibly large fireball in most hollywood movies and TV shows. Luckily for the 64-year-old man driving the car, that didn’t happen.
Read MoreIt happens about 1.4 seconds before his beautiful, new red Subaru STI plows off the road, down a ditch and into a tree. The moment of clarity.
Read MorePorsche managed to introduce a lot of improvements with the 2017 Boxster, making a better car on paper. Yet in practice, Top Gear host Chris Harris thinks the better Boxster isn’t as good to drive anymore.
Read MoreMuch haterade has been spilled about the new Ford GT. It should have had a V8! The application process was insane! It doesn’t have enough horsepower! Enough is enough: one man who was lucky enough buy a new GT is here to say just drive the car first, because it’s one of the best cars he’s ever driven.
Read MoreOne of the coolest things about the Ford GT (or any of the new crop of active-suspension supercars today’s upper class can buy) is how it squats down when entering its high-speed track mode.
Read MoreWe’re all rubbing our mitts together for the imminent release of the superhero Honda Civic Type-R. But don’t forget there’s a new 2017 Civic Si coming out now too, and that also has the potential to be a lot of fun. It’s also a little more grounded in reality. So what do you want to know?
Read MoreFilling one’s tires with nitrogen is one of those things, like rubbing cheetah’s blood on your engine block, that’s taken on almost mythological status among gearheads. The inert gas nitrogen is given credit for everything from improved handling to better MPG to reduced wheel wear. How much of this is true? What does filling your tires with nitrogen actually do? Let’s find out.
Read MoreImagine you’ve just been hired as a design engineer at a major automotive manufacturer. Your boss introduces himself and says “Hey, are you ready to design the most innovative, mind-blowing, original car you’ve ever seen?” Now stop imagining that, because your boss isn’t going to say that. Maybe Elon Musk says that to his new recruits as they walk through the door. Then he probably mutters something under his breath about tunnels in the parking lot.
Read More“Understeer” and “oversteer” and terms we hear and use a lot in the automotive community, and sometimes actually encounter behind the wheel. If you’re not completely sure what these words really mean and you’re too embarrassed to ask or admit you don’t understand physics, don’t worry. Just watch this.
Read MoreThe concepts of turbocharging and supercharging are well-known to anyone who loves cramming things into other things, which, of course, is all of us. Recently, conventional turbos and superchargers have been joined by electric versions of both. So, what are these electric versions, exactly, and how do they work?
Read More“Sure is a fine looking motorcycle,” I thought to myself, striding through my garage, eyes fixed on the 2017 Honda Rebel I’d just parked. And that’s what I kept on thinking as I walked straight into a concrete pillar and browned out for the rest of the day. But up until then, I was really appreciating the subtle coolness of this bike.
Read MoreOut of all the wearable components on a motorcycle, I would wager a bet that the most overlooked system is the bike’s suspension.
Read MoreUntil Nicky Hayden showed up in MotoGP, there was little anybody could do about Italian legend Valentino Rossi’s dominance on motorcycle racing’s biggest stage. But the kid from Kentucky with the aggressive riding style honed on the dirt tracks of middle America managed to halt Rossi’s five-year winning streak in 2006.
Read MoreThe way I look at it, the time spent washing a motorcycle is better spent actually riding it. But even I break down and break out the bucket and hose now and then, usually when my bike is so dirty I can’t see what color it was originally. Because I begrudge every minute it’s parked in the driveway instead of scaring me silly on some country road, I do the job right so I don’t have to do it as often. Here’s how you can too.
Read MoreThis is not another example of “lane splitting gone wrong,” but it is a classic case of a dingus driver making multiple simultaneous mistakes and damn near killing somebody with their inattentiveness. The motorcyclist literally just sighs as he’s carried down the road on the car’s trunk. Has this happened before?
Read MoreAmerican motorcycle racer Nicky Hayden succumbed Monday to injuries from being struck by a car while cycling Wednesday in Italy ahead of the World Superbike race at Misano, multiple outlets are reporting. Hayden was the last American motorcycle racer to win a MotoGP world championship in 2006. He was 35.
Read MoreDuring the Moto3 race at the MotoGP World Championship’s French Grand Prix over the weekend, it was almost like some sort of weird, hypnotic spell had been put on the field. As if prompted, a huge group of riders began solo slides into a gravel trap along the race course in an almost surreal fashion.
Read MoreMotorcycle racer Nicky Hayden, who was struck by a car yesterday in Italy while cycling, is now said to be in extremely critical condition, reports the BBC.
Read MoreAs video games continue to move into the world of sports, including racing, MotoGP just added itself to the list. In an official, MotoGP-governed eSports championship, gamers will compete for a digital MotoGP title later this year. The fastest e-motorcycle racer, ironically, will win a new car.
Read MoreThe most recent American-born motorcycle racer to win a MotoGP World Championship in 2006, Nicky Hayden, is said to be in serious condition after being hit by a car while cycling in Italy, Fox Sports reports.
Read MoreJust two weeks after winning his fourth Monster Energy Supercross 450SX title and four months after saying he didn’t know when his retirement would come, a dominant force in the sport, Ryan Dungey, said he won’t race professional Supercross or Motocross in 2018. Sounds like he knows now.
Read MoreI don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see a rider bail out early in my life.
Read MoreThe 1980s and ’90s rivalry between Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz was one of the greatest in the history of motorcycle racing. With his hot lapping days behind him now, he instead runs the MotoAmerica series, where he wants to see the same fierce competitive energy in up-and-coming riders. And it’s starting to look like he’ll get his wish.
Read MoreWasp stings are bad, sure, but they’re particularly bad if you’re trying to keep a high-powered motorcycle within the confines of a race track. That’s exactly what happened to MotoGP rider Cal Crutchlow, who said he got stung about five times when a wasp wound up in his leathers during qualifying on Saturday.
Read MoreDon’t call the Honda Rebel a cruiser, but it’s definitely not a firm-upright Universal Japanese Motorcycle either. And it’s obviously no sport bike, but the 471cc engine below the seat has some bite to it. I’m riding this “ultimate everyperson” machine all week, so let me know what you’d like a closer look at.
Read MoreWhen your car gets stuck and you look like a schmuck, make your own luck like you don’t give a fuck!
Read MoreTiger Woods was arrested Monday morning in Jupiter, Florida on suspicion of driving under the influence. His 2015 Mercedes S65 AMG was apparently already stopped when cops found him, but it definitely took some damage before Woods was taken into custody.
Read MoreHave you ever had a moment with a car? Just a brief couple of minutes in which you fell positively, uncontrollably head over heals for an automobile? I did one night in Hong Kong a while back, and now I can’t stop thinking about first-generation Mazda RX-7s.
Read MoreThe Ford Focus RS will likely go down in the history books as one of the greatest performance hatchbacks of all time. Unfortunately, its production run will come to an end after 2018, but Ford is sending it out with a bang—and even more grip.
Read MoreAn international motorcycle gang known as the Hooligans pilfered more than 150 Jeeps over a three year period by accessing a proprietary database containing codes to create and duplicate keys for Wranglers, authorities said Wednesday. The operation was revealed in an unsealed criminal indictment that charged nine members of the Hooligans for their alleged role in the high-tech theft.
Read MoreThe internet and all of your friends may be talking about #carfeve today, but let’s use that enthusiasm as a jumping off point to something even better: Car fever! For the cars of tomorrow.
Read MoreIt may be hard to actually get your hands on the fury of a Honda Civic Type R in America, but if you do, it could come at a decent price: Our friends at the CivicX forums passed along a photo of what looks to be a Type R window sticker, which says the car will be conveniently priced at $33,900 in the U.S.
Read MoreAfter years of teasing and hoping and praying, it is finally happening: a Subaru BRZ STI. But don’t get too excited, friends. The BRZSTI may be a more serious sports coupe, but the likelihood of a turbo under that hood is slim—and the reasons are pretty obvious.
Read MoreVehicle Virgins, for those shamefully not up on their YouTube car channels, is a wildly popular channel run by Parker Nirenstein, a man who’s been featured here before because of some online drama about a hood with fellow popular car-Tuber Rob Dahm. One of the cars featured prominently in that channel is an acid-yellow Corvette Z06, a car that was destroyed in a wreck on Saturday.
Read MoreWhat does this look like to you? This looks like a massive STI wing on a the trunk of a Subaru BRZ to me.
Read MoreWhat you’re looking at is the powertrain for the utterly insane Mercedes-AMG Project One hyper-ultra-super-mega-car—the $2.9 million car so bonkers, they’re essentially stuffing a lightly detuned Formula One engine in it. Neat.
Read MoreThere’s no arguing your way out of this one when your friend was live-streaming the evidence. But dude! Sick three-block-long burnout!
Read MoreEighty-eight miles per hour. That’s how fast Doc Brown’s DeLorean had to go for us to “see some serious shit.” And that shit, at least in this reality, seems to be a speeding ticket.
Read MoreIn case you’re on the fence about trading in those garbage bags full of money you have stashed behind the water heater for BMW’s upcoming halo car, the M8, maybe this will help. It’s the first audio from BMW’s M8 prototype from when it was at the Nürburgring 24 Hours this past weekend.
Read MoreHeading into our home search, my fiancé Brian and I had a lot of goals: a fixer-upper with high ceilings, a good price, a small yard, and, most importantly, a three-car garage or a place in the back for a workspace. But at the end of the search, we got a grand total of two of those things. And one was not the garage space.
Read MoreThe secondhand market for Porsche’s specialty GT cars is insane. We’ve reported on 911 Rs selling for three or four times their original sticker price. Porsche’s not taking this lying down, and so the automaker says it will start getting tough on car flippers to ensure their sports cars are sold to people that will actually drive them.
Read MoreI usually get the same answer whenever I bring it up: “No, you can’t make your own engine. The castings are too complicated. How will you actually pour your own block? Do you have foundry in your mom’s basement? It’s too expensive to machine one from scratch. You don’t know what you’re doing!”
Read MoreThe sports-car market can be a strange place. Cars that aren’t all that special can command a crazy premium while others can be had at a relative bargain. If you’re on the hunt for a V12 Lamborghini, which is really the only way to buy a Lambo, now is the time to grab the awesome Murcielago.
Read MoreThe 8 Series was BMW’s glorious halo car when it originally came out in 1989. With the new revival of the 8 Series nameplate, BMW wants to one-up its own ostentatious halo car by making an M8. Best of all, they’re also developing a M8 GTE endurance race car to take to the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Read MoreThere are plenty of people who still reminisce about the days before airport security checkpoints were a thing, when they could kiss loved ones at the gates and all of that junk. But soon, we’re going to long for the days of more privacy: The TSA will soon make travelers tear apart carry-on bags at security.
Read MoreThe Rolls-Royce Sweptail, a one-off coupe designed for a specific customer who likely has unfathomable amounts of cash, could be the most expensive new car ever sold at a reported $12.8 million. The car has been in the works since 2013, and, in all of its wildly expensive glory, is kind of strange looking.
Read MorePart of the difficulty with owning an aged supercar is that it becomes increasingly difficult to find parts for it when something wears out or breaks. Which means that you won’t want to drive it because you’re afraid, which is a crime. Luckily, McLaren thought of this problem and has a solution for it.
Read MoreThe last Chevrolet SS ever—ever—rolled off the assembly line in Australia yesterday. We eagerly await what rear-wheel drive, V8-powered sedan General Motors decides to replace it with.
Read MoreSomehow, America has gotten to a point where we need the government to tell us to stop spewing black unburned diesel fuel all over our fellow citizens. We’re all a bunch of idiots, really.
Read MoreYesterday, noted local President of the United States and admirer of Grimace Donald Trump made the bold claim that Germans are ‘very bad’ and threatened to halt sales in the U.S. of German cars. The truth is, though, that German car companies build a crapton of cars in America, and are the biggest exporter, by value, of cars from the U.S.
Read MoreAll hail the McLaren P1 LM, the new dominant king of the ‘Ring. The McLaren P1 LM set a ridiculously quick lap time of 6:43.2—over two seconds quicker than the insane electric NIO EP9 and nearly 14 seconds quicker than a Porsche 918 Spyder—for a new overall fastest lap of the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife course.
Read MoreIt’s a Friday afternoon right before a holiday weekend. We’re taking it easy, just like you, and we’re blatantly stealing this idea from Deadspin. Kick back with us.
Read MoreI’m struggling to think of a relevant metaphor for this but I can’t. There’s no parallel for someone so thoroughly, lovingly, painstakingly clean something so unseen and unappreciated as the engine bay of a 1990s Mitsubishi hatchback.
Read MoreAirships are a wonderful and elegant, and Google’s co-founder is looking to build what could be the largest of its kind in the world, according to a report in The Guardian. I say they’re due for a comeback.
Read MoreHazing is generally something stupid kids do to initiate members into a group. Generally, if you’re hazing someone at an actual place of work, or if the hazing includes things like setting people on fire, that’s not an initiation but psychopathic cruelty. It’s also what employees at an Audi repair center in Berkshire, UK did to George Cheese, allegedly leading to his suicide.
Read MoreNormally, people hate on engine-swapped Mazda RX-7s, as changing out the stock rotary engine makes the car too normal, too simple. This guy went the opposite direction, with a homebrew turbocharged and supercharged Toyota 1JZ straight six.
Read MoreIt’s like a warm breeze, blowing from a direction you can’t quite pinpoint. You look up, but you can’t see the trees swaying. Maybe it’s not a wind. Maybe it’s the Toyota MR2.
Read MoreJust remember: if General Motors executives can make the Saturn Sky happen, you can get through this week. Never give up on your dreams!
Read MoreNo, this isn’t the car for arresting anybody, although I’d love to see the police try in the speed and driving haven that is the Isle of Man.
Read MoreHave you ever read a story about someone’s car getting carjacked and thinking how that would never happen to you, because you’re such a badass you’d hang on to that car until the carjackers gave up? Well this woman from Milwaukee is the sort of badass in the real world that you are in your head.
Read MoreIf you want a 590 horsepower supercharged 5.0-liter V8 sedan with all-wheel-drive and you like how the Jaguar XE looks, there’s now a car for you.
Read MoreAt a NATO summit in Brussels with top EU leaders, President Donald Trump scolded Germany, and vowed to put an end to the country’s hefty car exports to the U.S., multiple German and now English-language news outlets report.
Read MoreSince BMW’s i division launched in 2011, it has only offered two models to consumers, the i3 hatchback and the i8 supercar. So you’d think the next plug-in hybrid, the much-rumored i5, would be right on the horizon. Apparently not, because years after rumors of that car surfaced, BMW Blog says the i5 has now been canceled.
Read MoreSurely this is something that the world has never seen before: a ludicrously expensive Porsche 911 that went for over a million bucks at auction. Unicorn, that is. Never happened before.
Read MoreAmerica’s obsession with air-cooled Porsches has climbed from a hippie appreciation to yuppie objectification to big-money speculation and now virtually religious fixation. Luftgekühlt is its newest tent revival, America’s most obsessive car show.
Read MoreA class-action lawsuit filed on Thursday accuses General Motors of installing defeat devices in more than 700,000 trucks to beat emissions tests in the U.S., the latest in a string of diesel cheating allegations against automakers.
Read MoreThere’s a very lucky Honda Accord owner in Bellevue, Washington. There’s also a very unlucky one. They’re the same person. They’re also the person that was T-boned by a dump truck with no brakes yesterday on Coal Creek Parkway.
Read MoreUsually, when an automaker sets a record lap at the Nürburgring, there’s a lot of yelling about it that follows. Press releases. Tweets. On-board footage. Stuff like that. Volvo, apparently, set a record with the S60 Polestar at the Ring last year and then... went about its usual business and said nothing to anyone about it.
Read MoreSometimes you will get a warning, something like “Daaaad, I don’t feel good.” Or you may just get the faint sound of a liquidy burble before the event. A bomb is about to go off in your back seat, usually some putrid combination of chicken nuggets, PB&J and juicy drink. It’s not a matter of if, but when.
Read MoreRemember the Chevrolet Code 130R Concept from a couple years ago, and how it was supposed to be some kind of small rear-wheel drive sports coupe for the teens? It didn’t happen.
Read MoreColorado newspaper the Steamboat Today reports that local business owners Todd and Kim Robertson woke up on Monday morning to see the back bumper ripped off of their Ford Focus, complete with bear prints on the paint. They never saw the bear in the act.
Read MoreThe 8 Series is actually coming back in 2018, and BMW had planned to give internet fanboys who have been dreaming of this for decades a concept design this weekend. Well the weekend is here early, as photos of the concept have allegedly leaked.
Read MoreThe Aston Martin Valkyrie, Aston’s Formula One-inspired hypercar that will make over 1,000 horsepower and be street legal, should be a very fast car. But you already knew that. What you probably didn’t know is that the Valkyrie may end up being the most expensive weight-management program there is.
Read MoreA portion of one of the world’s prettiest driving roads, the Pacific Coast Highway, was buried in a landslide Saturday eight miles north of San Luis Obispo, reports the BBC. Clearly, this is Mother Nature’s punishment for us all not going to drive it enough.
Read MoreIf you are a frequent visitor of this fine website you probably fancy yourself a fan of European sport wagons. I know I do. Now perhaps you are in the market for a BMW longroof that is both unique and insanely expensive. Well, friend, have I found the place for you!
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Justice recently filed a civil lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler for allegedly violating the Clean Air Act by installing undisclosed “defeat devices” on 3.0-liter diesel vehicles. But even though we’ve heard that term before, this case isn’t quite as simple.
Read MoreThis anecdote has been making the rounds following the passing of Sir Roger Moore at 89 yesterday. What a class act that guy was.
Read MoreThis was sent to us by Thomas, a reader of both our site and the BuyFordNow site for the Philadelphia area. This screenshot has a subtle problem; can you spot it?
Read MoreDespite being aware that almost everybody is annoyed by Chevrolet’s “Real People” series of advertisements, the automaker isn’t planning to stop anytime soon. Finally, one of the “real people” has spoken about what the experience is like, and it’s just as cringe-worthy and hilarious as you’d imagine.
Read MoreWhen Indianapolis 500 pole-sitter Scott Dixon and retired three-time Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti got robbed at a Taco Bell, everyone’s first question was “why are they at Taco Bell?” Well, it wasn’t their first choice, either.
Read MoreIn an investigation into potentially fraudulent emissions data, the BBC reports that more than 250 members of German law enforcement searched 11 Daimler offices. If authorities find evidence, Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, will be the latest to join Volkswagen in carrying out emissions scandals.
Read MoreWe finally know how much Fiat Chrysler’s unholy alchemy experiment, the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, costs: one hoagie less than $85,000. Since we also know the car’s horsepower, that means we have all the constants needed to compute that most important of mostly useless automotive-metrics, the legendary cost-per-HP. Let’s see how it stands up against other muscle cars, a minivan—and a lawnmower.
Read MoreThere’s a difference between needing transportation to function in daily life and wanting a dream car. When it comes to the latter, whether a $6,500 Craigslist deal or an $85,000 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, here’s a tip you don’t need to pay any crowdfunded cash for: people don’t want to help you buy it. Stop doing crowdfunding for cars. It’s over.
Read MoreThere’s no way that your normal car look this cool and composed with one wheel missing. We’re sorry. There’s no way you can look as cool while cruising along as these Citroën DSes with three wheels.
Read MoreSir Roger Moore, the third actor to portray James Bond and the longest serving in the role—and someone whose onscreen characters would make any gearhead jealous—has passed away at age 89 from a brief battle with cancer, according to his family.
Read MoreRome, Italy is as much of a “car city” as New York- it’s a real pain to park and the roads are rough, but there are a few diehards with sweet rides crammed into back corners of cobblestone streets. Also, every little econobox from Europe looks fresh and exotic if you’re used to American traffic!
Read MoreAfter just recently entering the crossover game, Jaguar is already fast on track to produce one of the first genuinely attractive electric crossover offerings with the Jaguar I-Pace in a market finally heating up in the looks department.
Read MoreLook, we all know the Fast And Furious movies are not about “realism” in any sense whatsoever. But sheesh, another five seconds of proofreading could have saved this DVD box from eternal embarrassment.
Read More[Every so often, Kavi Reddy, Gizmodo Media Group’s ever-so-cromulent attorney, has Good Car Takes. This is one of them.]
Read MoreNo amount of road salt on a cold, slippery winter day will prevent this Lamborghini Countach 25th Anniversary Edition owner from doing rad donuts.
Read MoreFord groomed Mark Fields to assume the automaker’s top position for a long time, but his tenure as CEO will be short-lived. On Sunday the company announced that he’ll be officially replaced amid a downturn in the auto industry and concerns over Ford’s stock price. So what happened?
Read MoreSugar in the gas tank is one of those staples of miserable things you always heard that awful people do to other, often similarly awful people’s cars. While nobody thinks sweeting your car’s gas is a good idea, the actual results of putting sugar in a gas tank isn’t all that well known. That’s why it’s nice to see someone actually give it a try, and evaluate exactly what happens.
Read MoreIn case you were, you know, sleeping overnight, reports of a huge management shakeup at Ford came out. Ford confirmed it Monday, announcing Mark Fields was out as CEO and Jim Hackett would take over. But a person promoted under Hackett, Jim Farley, is probably the real future of Ford.
Read MoreThe owner of this car made it out of the fire. He also returned to his flaming car to get a beer. I hope that gives you an idea about how truly special this burnout is.
Read MoreI currently am on a second-generation Toyota MR-2 kick and this cutaway is not helping dismiss it.
Read MoreLike General Motors and Fiat Chrysler, Ford Motor Company has continually failed to convince Wall Street analysts and investors of the worthiness of its stock price over the last few years. Tonight, reports indicate that situation may have cost Ford CEO Mark Fields his job at the automaker.
Read MoreNow, I don’t know about you, but I don’t have $20,000 to blow on a nine-day luxury rally in my nonexistent supercar. If I did, maybe I’d understand this better: Washington State Patrol stopped more than 10 cars at the Gold Rush Rally in just two counties for going at or around 100 mph on public roads.
Read MoreIn an industry full of misbehaving employees lately, a passenger was actually to blame for a recent airline commotion. According to reports, a “disheveled” man tried to rush a cockpit with a blanket on his head on Friday. Military planes had to escort the flight to its destination and the passenger was taped to a seat.
Read MoreHearses aren’t the only vehicles used to shuttle the dearly departed back and forth to the funeral home. Other cars with large rear cargo space, including SUVs and minivans, can also be used for that purpose, including one tan SUV stolen from Bryan, Texas, reports KBTX. Sadly, that didn’t deter the thieves, who tried to keep the truck and dump the body.
Read MoreThe 2004 Mercury Meta One concept car used a personal digital assistant device (PDA) as a key fob. Who said Mercury never had great ideas?
Read MoreThere are two rules here: it has to run and drive.
Read MoreFiat Chrysler announced Friday that it plans to install software that should address U.S. regulators’ concerns about excess emissions from 104,000 light-duty vehicles and trucks.
Read MoreAfter nearly two years since Volkswagen admitted to cheating emissions tests on over 475,000 diesel vehicles, the EPA and California Air Resources Board have approved a fix for over 84,000 offending vehicles. Only a few hundred thousand more to go!
Read MorePresident Donald Trump’s administration is putting together a privatization-centric plan that reportedly would provide $200 billion for infrastructure repairs. Chances are that won’t do much—not when estimates suggest we need $4.6 trillion to improve things. That’s too bad, because the roadways are now hitting us over the head to try to call attention to the issue.
Read MoreDoing a J-turn (aka a Rockford) is one of the coolest tricks you can pull in a car. Notice how I specify a car? Yeah. Don’t try this in a Range Rover up a curb. Watch this Rangie driver find that out the hard way.
Read MoreCan you set cruise control during a burnout to make your car the ultimate burnout machine? YouTube hoon Cleetus McFarland had the same question, so he went to the home of Hoonigan in a rental van to find out.
Read MorePerhaps it’s lack of discipline, or lack of taste, or lack of culture, or lack of understanding, or even lack of respect, but out of a field of over a hundred cars, the best damn thing about my Saturday afternoon at the fifth Pinehurst Concours d’Elegance was an E30 M3.
Read MoreThe Mercedes CLS was one of the earliest known tragedies of the four-door coupe trend, and we never really forgave it. However, many years later, these four-door coupes don’t look too, too bad anymore, and a camouflaged peek at what may be the next CLS doesn’t seem like it will be completely terrible.
Read MoreToo nice-looking. Too friendly. Goofy, said critics of the Nissan Leaf’s headlights. WELL, NO MORE.
Read MoreI have driven the Bentley Bentayga. It is good and fast and expensive, covered in acres of leather and crystals. But when I drove it, one very key factor was missing from the experience. I wondered, what the hell am I supposed to do with my falcon?
Read MoreTesla, which is now your God, is considered by Wall Street to be worth an insane valuation that gives it a market cap on par with General Motors—you know, the automaker that has been around forever. Tesla’s founder Elon Musk doesn’t understand why.
Read MoreNothing is a crueler feeling than seeing your car engineless, forlorn. No wait, there is a crueler feeling: having all of your coworkers torment you about it.
Read MoreDivorces are unpleasant, messy things, something that seems true for both people and car companies. When Fiat and Spanish carmaker SEAT parted ways back in 1983, it got messy. One of the results of that messiness is the car you see above, one of the rare cars that became an important part of a legal battle. There’s a reason why it’s painted so funny.
Read MoreA man has been taken into custody Thursday after police say a vehicle struck a crowd of pedestrians in Times Square, leaving one person dead and at least 22 injured. Authorities said it didn’t appear to be an act of terrorism.
Read MoreHave you wondered lately if Fiat Chrysler has any new idea(s) up its sleeve? Here’s something to stew over: what you see above is a widebody Chrysler 300 SRT carrying rims and tires from an earlier Dodge Demon mule. There’s also a strong possibility this is packing a Hellcat V8 engine. Dope.
Read MoreKLM Royal Dutch Airlines has officially earned its name, because a literal Dutch royal—namely, King Willem-Alexander—has secretly been working as a pilot for the airline for the past 21 years. That’s quite a side hustle.
Read MoreIf I’m completely honest with myself, I have to come to terms that my next vehicle will more than likely be a convertible sports car. This doesn’t mean I’m actually getting a convertible anytime soon, but the want is strong and I need to know which is the best sooner than later.
Read MoreWe all know about the wild and wacky adventures of Florida Man, but somehow, we all forgot that Florida Man may have a child. Police confronted this “Florida Child,” an eight year old in Palm Bay, Florida, at her elementary school, and eventually arrested her, Florida Today reports.
Read MoreNothing says ‘sweet summer innocence’ like getting a cool treat from a stranger driving a van. However, such snacks might be harmful to kids, and we’re not talking about just the refined sugar here. Reporters from The Daily Mail in England took a bunch of emissions readings from ice cream trucks in England, and found that some produced staggeringly high amounts of black carbon, a pollutant known to cause respiratory and cardiovascular health problems, particularly in children.
Read MoreAll JDM Motors, a Japanese tuner and import car parts store in North Charleston, SC, was accused of smuggling illegal cars into the United States after authorities discovered a 1996 Nissan R33 GT-R hidden in a shipping container.
Read MoreThe Ferrari 312 B3 Spazzaneve (snowplow) from 1972 was “so ugly that it never raced,” as we described it a few years ago. F1 fans never got to see its wedge concept race, but now we can hear its flat-12 wail and my god does it sound good.
Read MoreIf you think about it, parking your car anywhere besides at your own house is kind of a scary thing. Cars are valuable, and, weirdly, it’s totally normal for us to just leave them on the sides of streets, sometimes for hours. Most of the time, the cars sit, unmolested. During those other times, especially when the city workers of St. Louis gets involved, uh, stuff happens.
Read MoreWhile you might be ready to sell your soul for a chance to buy a 840 horsepower, drag-strip dominating Dodge SRT Challenger Demon, you shouldn’t be plunking down a deposit at your local dealership just yet.
Read MoreThe W124 (technically S124) was the best looking Mercedes wagon. You can disagree all you want, but you’re wrong.
Read MoreTom Cruise is hard at work filming the sixth (sixth!) Mission: Impossible movie in Paris right now, and videos from the set show him doing his own stunts—which sadly involve badly damaging a fleet of puke-green E28 5 Series BMWs.
Read MoreLast weekend, I took a trip to the Pontiac Silverdome, the abandoned Michigan stadium parking lot housing thousands of cheating Volkswagen diesels. As I filmed the sea of disgraced automobiles, a Dodge Challenger decided to rip some smoky burnouts.
Read MoreToyota wants you to stop calling it boring, and dang it, Toyota is going to give some hipster kids money to build a flying car in order to prove its coolness. The goal is to get a prototype in the air by next year, with four rotors helping lift it off of the ground. But wait, no, this actually sounds like a drone.
Read MoreThere’s no doubt that the United States of America is a treasure trove of awesome and amazing natural beauty. You know what else America is a treasure trove of? Long-ass roads with absolutely nothing on them. You want to get off of those as quickly as possible.
Read MoreWhat do you get when you fill the trunk of a classic Beetle with a modern Audi 1.8-liter turbocharged engine that’s been tuned up to 389 horsepower? Donuts. You get donuts.
Read MoreMan. Supercar shopping. What a drag. Walking yourself between the rows and rows of exotic car on display. Exhausting. And for the plebs.
Read MoreNearly 40 years after Jayne Mansfield got her top taken off crashing into the back of a tractor trailer, the feds have required semis to have underride guards at the rear. What’s not required are underride guards on the sides. This video might convince you that this should change.
Read MoreThe seats I currently have in my car are of the brace-against-the-door-while-cornering variety, and this has put me on a hunt for cool old vintage racing seats as replacements. This search has brought me to the rarer-than-rare ‘Paddy Hopkirk Carrera Recliners,’ possibly the best seats that can be put in a car.
Read MoreA Ford Mustang was unbelievably split in half after being t-boned by a Mercedes-Benz at an intersection in Palmdale, California, reports Fox 11. According to witnesses, the silver Mustang that sustained the worst damage appeared to be racing a white Mustang before the accident when it couldn’t stop for a red light.
Read MoreIf you got a ticket from a New York State Trooper recently in New York City and thought that traffic tickets from the state are on the rise in this area, then you’d be right: they totally are. By a massive percentage, too.
Read MoreAfter a lawsuit and six months in court trying to get phone records of a driver involved in a collision that killed his teenage son, the Associated Press reports that grieving father Ben Lieberman is working on a device—and legislation to allow cops to use it—that can examine drivers’ cellphones.
Read MoreThe relationship between U.S. automakers and Donald Trump has been weird from the outset of his presidency. Particularly, auto execs have cozied up to this administration, notching a minor victory in relaunching a review of the CAFE standards mandated by Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama. Now, they’re asking Trump to pump the brakes.
Read MoreI used to be all for buying teenagers total crap-heaps as their first cars. It builds character, after all. But then I watched this video of a 1998 Toyota Corolla crashing into a 2015 model, and now I think I’ve changed my mind.
Read MoreAre you bored? Is there a wheeled vehicle within your grasp, like a Honda Gyro delivery scooter? You should probably grab a friend and do some racing—because you can.
Read MorePolice said an explosion at a Schaeffler factory in the German state of Bavaria Monday morning left 13 people injured, according to ABC News. Four of those people had to be flown by helicopter to a hospital due to serious wounds.
Read MoreMy love for driving began at an early age, and I’d drive anything with wheels—the problem was, it began at an age too early for me to drive legally. But at 14 years old, I had a boyfriend with a manual ‘63 (or some model year near that one) Volkswagen Beetle and a legal driver’s license.
Read MoreThe NIO EP9 electric supercar already set the set the record as the fastest purely electric car around the Nürburgring Nordschleife with a 7 minute, 5.12 second lap, but the weather wasn’t just right. So, NIO says they went back to set a sub-seven-minute ‘ring time just because they could, setting a new record in the process.
Read More“Hey! Can’t you see I’m fappin’ here?” A New Jersey man was arrested Thursday evening after parking his Dodge minivan in the middle of the Lincoln Tunnel to masturbate, reports New York. His PCP-fueled van fapstravaganza held up rush hour traffic in what is one of the nation’s busiest tunnels.
Read MoreFrench auto giant Renault became the first major French company to report being affected by Friday’s ransomware attack that affected tens of thousands of computers in almost 100 countries across the world, reports Automotive News. An English plant of Renault’s alliance partner Nissan was also hit by the attack.
Read MoreA Discovery Channel reality show star ended up behind bars at this year’s “Cash Days,” an illegal street racing competition held in Dallas Fort Worth. And it was all caught on video.
Read MoreYou know how BMW is, in almost certainty, developing its next sporty roadster alongside development of the new Supra with Toyota, right? In all of that will they, won’t they—wait, are they?—commotion, the BMW somehow started being labeled the ‘Z5' as an assumed progression from the previous Z4. Well that’d made too much sense.
Read MoreOn Friday, a new addition to Detroit’s downtown landscape arrives: a 3.3-mile streetcar line along its main artery, the first to service the city in more than a half-century. To Detroit boosters, it’s the potential first step in solving the city’s notoriously bad public transit. But it’s nothing more than a publicity stunt that’ll boost the artificial narrative that Detroit is “back.”
Read MoreThe number of new cars you can buy with a manual in the United States dwindles by the year, but, thankfully, Honda has kept a manual-only option in the new 2017 Honda Civic Si models. And they are very reasonably priced, too. Fun doesn’t always have to be expensive, friends.
Read MoreThe Alpine A310 is one of my favorite cars, what with its spectacular ‘70s French design, rear-mounted engine and surprisingly light weight. It is one of the great little-known sports cars, so little known that even I didn’t realize that its windshield wipers are from another planet.
Read MoreIn the United States, automation is feared because it could result in job losses. In car manufacturing plants in China, robots are also becoming more and more prevalent. But because the demand for cars is currently so high there, the automation isn’t seen as a threat but more as a supplement.
Read MoreAs if Uber wasn’t already having a bad enough week, the ride-hailing giant is reportedly set to lose a bevy of self-driving car engineers, as its high-stakes litigation with Google’s self-driving car project Waymo continues to play out in court.
Read MoreIf you just hotted up your Civic with a giant turbo and intercooler, you’re going to be tempted to take the little VTEC monster to the dyno to see what you’ve gained. Before you do that, though, for god’s sake: don’t forget to tighten your damn lug nuts.
Read MoreUp front, I’m not a proponent of Elon Musk’s idea that extra super-fast tunnels will solve insane traffic congestion. In a nutshell, it won’t actually reduce traffic—and if you want a detailed explanation as to why, Wired has a good explainer here. But this new video of the tunnel project released on Friday by Musk is fun.
Read MoreOne of the things that the very serious community of Porsche 911 enthusiasts concerned themselves with is the idea of a hybrid 911. From an evolutionary standpoint, it seemed to make sense. The 918 Spyder is a hybrid, after all. But the hybrid 911 is apparently dead now, so you can shelve all of your heated debates.
Read MoreBMW is finally getting serious about this electric car thing. Now it looks like the automaker has a legit Tesla Model 3 fighter coming soon, and there’s a reason why this car could spell trouble for Elon Musk.
Read MoreA lot of people are going to compare the all-new 2017 Ford GT to the Ferrari 488 or the McLaren 675LT. This is reasonable: all are similarly-priced, turbocharged mid-engined supercars with distinct racing pedigrees. Except our friends at Carfection say the new GT has one key difference: it’s far more of a track car than its compatriots.
Read MoreWhat is more luxurious than killing an animal and then processing its skin to use on furniture, bags, coats, shoes and car interiors? It’s a complete apex predator power move and it’s what makes them animals and us people.
Read MoreThis just in: according to Variety, Ambi Media Group has cast Antonio Banderas and Alec Baldwin as Ferruccio Lamborghini and Enzo Ferrari, respectively, in the upcoming but unnamed Lamborghini biopic. I’m okay with Banderas, it’s Baldwin as Ferrari that I take issue with.
Read MoreAh, ze Germans. They’re a strict people, with rules that cannot be broken and customs that can’t possibly under any circumstance be challenged. Some of those rules and customs deal with auto safety regs, which a number of American soldiers are realizing, are very strict.
Read MoreWe’re all familiar with ICON’s Derelict series of cars, right? They take ratty old vintage cars and modernize the crap out of them while leaving the charming archaic look. They’ve done it again, this time with an old ‘73 Volkswagen Type 181, which was evocatively called the Thing here in the U.S. They’ve converted this Thing to all-electric power, among many other modifications. They call it the Wild Thing, which sounds way better than Wild Type 181.
Read MoreABC News—helmed by Brian Ross, who has an incredibly weak track record when it comes to covering cars—has a big new investigation out about how a few dozen BMW vehicles have randomly burst into flames while parked and turned off. Strange? Sure. Too bad it’s more of a non-story than anything.
Read MoreConrad Hilton, the 23-year-old younger brother of professional skinny person Paris Hilton, was charged with felony auto theft today after allegedly stealing a Bentley over the weekend, driving it to an ex-girlfriend’s house and violating a restraining order.
Read MoreWith lower fares and fewer problems, the airline industry has, somehow, been on an upward trend in recent years. Customer satisfaction has been up five years running, and it continued to increase between 2016 and 2017. March 2017, that is—before major airliners started going berserk on their customers.
Read MoreSeveral weeks ago, we mentioned how investors are getting nervous because the number of “deep-subprime” loans—that is, those given to consumers with credit scores below the 550 FICO range—are rapidly increasing. Well, here’s another potential point of concern: borrower fraud in U.S. auto loans is also surging, according to Bloomberg, to a rate last seen with mortgages during the mid-2000s housing bubble.
Read MoreThe 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing is one of my favorite cars. These days, you can’t really get one for less than an obscene amount of money. Matt Farah at The Smoking Tire got to drive one, that bastard. And then I realized that I have more in common with him than I thought.
Read MoreMost Americans remember the Honda Civic Del Sol as a dinky little Honda Civic coupe with a sweet, sweet Targa top. Which you had to remove by hand. Like a peasant. But in Japan and Europe, it came with this neat automatic mechanism called the TransTop. And it’s as close to a robot butler as you’re going to get on a car.
Read MoreIt’s been a whack month for the airline industry, and now Spirit Airlines is joining the muck. The we’re-proud-to-give-you-a-base-fare-that-gets-you-a-seat-and-only-a-seat airliner has had quite a jacked up week, beginning with a brawl in Florida that erupted over some flight cancellations. So what’s been going on?
Read MoreAir: that pain in the ass but life-giving stuff that keeps cars from going fast. Okay, so air is necessary for an internal combustion engine to, you know, run, but other than that, it’s a real drag. LOL. ROFL. GET IT. Thankfully the 2018 Lamborghini Huracán Performante has a way to game the system.
Read MoreIf you took a lovely Alfa Romeo Giulia and stretched it out vertically, you’d basically get the 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio. It’s Alfa Romeo’s first foray into the dark and corrupt world of SUVs, and now we know how much blood money Alfa wants for it.
Read MoreTwo Canadian brothers, aged 6 and 8, really, really wanted some breakfast, and they wanted it from the holiest of Canadian holy sites: Tim Hortons. So, why wait for Mom and Dad? They stole their parents’ truck and went anyway, per the CBC, only to lose control in the drive-thru and crash in a field.
Read MoreThe engineer who was operating the speeding Amtrak train that derailed and killed eight people in Philadelphia in 2015 won’t face criminal charges.
Read MoreHere’s a headline guaranteed to grab The Clicks: “Florida Man Arrested After 180 MPH Hellcat Test Drive.” And while this wouldn’t really be out of character for Florida Man, America’s last hero, this story is just some made up internet bullshit.
Read MoreA massive hail storm, flogging hunks the size of baseballs, hit the middle of Colorado yesterday. Pray, dear friends, because today we wake up to a world with many fewer windshields in it.
Read MoreThe declining market for sedans and economy cars isn’t just being felt across dealerships, it’s also giving rental car companies like Hertz a lot of trouble.
Read MoreRemember when Mercedes and McLaren were friends? Jalopnik remembers. We’re still in love with the deep rumble of the SLR McLaren’s supercharged V8 and more importantly, its penchant for nuking tires.
Read MoreSquint, and have your finger hovering over the “pause” button, for this Mercedes is fast and will streak by you before you even know it.
Read MoreI don’t care if you darken your screen all the way. I don’t care if you unplug your monitor and chuck it out a 30-story window. This one is all about that sweet, sweet sound, coming out of the incredible Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR.
Read MoreWhen some yahoo in a gorgeous Nissan 300ZX decided to park his car over the line, another yahoo in a jacked-up Jeep Wrangler tried showing him who’s boss, but failed miserably. Because he forgot to account for JDM.
Read MoreIn April, we wrote about a Kansan known as “The CR-V Lady,” whose driving is so poor, there’s actually a Facebook page called “CRV Lady Awareness Of Topeka” to warn citizens of her whereabouts. Now “The CRV-Lady” just lost her license, according to KSNT, but that hasn’t kept her off the road, or from getting into a spat with a police officer.
Read MoreA class-action lawsuit alleges the state of Michigan traps its poorest citizens in poverty by suspending their licenses when they can’t pay traffic fines or fees. And it’s a perfect example as to why the law stipulating regressive fees should be reconsidered.
Read MoreIt’s about the time of year that most of us get our winter tires swapped off for the summer ones. We’ve always heard that we have to do this because winter tires just don’t perform as well in warm weather as summer tires do and now there is empirical evidence of that fact.
Read MoreThe BMW M2 is one of the most capable road cars on sale today, with solid handling and a powerful turbo straight six. Here’s what happens when you take all that out and turn it into an all-kevlar-and-carbon drift car with a high-revving Chevy small block.
Read MoreOn Amelia Island, Florida, there is a small neighborhood where the sunny streets all ring of some distant past. It’s a nostalgic echo that brings us back to the dreamy days of First Car ownership.
Read MoreIt’s called Hupkonzert, and we have no English equivalent. The meaning is fantastic, and it’s perfect for the summer.
Read More“Okay, sure,” I thought, as I clicked on this video of a Nissan GT-R. “How loud could it be?”
Read MoreI know that at any given moment, a substantial chunk of our readers are in the process of purchasing Bugatti Veyrons. If you’re part of this substantial group, read on, because there’s a Veyron for sale in Slovakia that appears to have some sort of enchanted odometer! I say this because the car is listed as having 17,680 km, when back in 2013 it had 26,117 km! Astounding!
Read MoreThese days, almost every Chevrolet ad you see starts with a screen that says “Real people. Not actors.” and continues with a cringe-worthy dumbing down of the human race that makes you question everything. And in case you didn’t dislike those ads enough already, Chevy said they’re here to stay.
Read MoreEverybody knows how much Ferrari loves to brand itself with things like shoes, backpacks, jackets, and yeah, even damn fanny packs. We’ve even had a lot fun making fun of Bugatti’s catalog of rich people shit. But what about us normies?
Read MoreTesla’s acquisition of German engineering group Grohmann hasn’t gone entirely smooth, evident by the dust-up between Elon Musk and the former head of Grohmann. Reports emerged last month that Grohmann was ordered to drop all clients to focus entirely on Model 3. Now, it seems those other legacy clients—namely BMW, Bosch and Daimler—weren’t made aware of that decision ahead of time. And they’re still expecting work to be completed by Grohmann.
Read MoreThe Texas senate just voted to get rid of the state’s mandatory vehicle safety inspection, The Houston Chronicle reports. This means all noble Texans should get ready to head to a scrapyard, buy whatever clapped out piece of crap their heart has been yearning for all these years, and enjoy the open road. The shoulder of the open road, if we’re honest.
Read MoreI was supposed to go cover the Shanghai Auto Show, as a guest of automaker Geely/Lynk & Co. For reasons that may or may not have to do with China denying me a visa—it’s all very hush-hush, you see, although they may have deemed the Chinese people aren’t ready for my ideas—I was unable to attend. In a lovely gesture to help quell the pain of my rejection, my favorite contact at Geely, Ash, sent me a lovely packet of Chinese stick-on-your-car crap.
Read MoreIf you’ve driven anywhere in the United States, then you’re aware of how bad our roads are. Potholes, cracks and structurally deficient bridges all increase our travel times and cause extra wear on our vehicles. Part of the reason for this lies in the materials used in our infrastructure—but scientists have some new ideas on how to improve them.
Read MoreTesla was green lit to open a gallery store in ultra-posh Greenwich, Connecticut a little over a year ago with the stipulation that the company didn’t actually sell cars out of it. It works that way in many states where Tesla is barred from directly selling cars, rather than going through franchised dealers. Now Connecticut is moving to shut down Tesla’s gallery, and the automaker says other dealers went to extreme lengths to make that happen.
Read MoreSweepstakes! Gotta love ‘em. Sure, in signing up for a contest, you’re giving the green light to receive reams of junk mail in the future, but so what! Prizes are cool and fun! And in 1990, as Donald Trump opened one of his later-bankrupted Atlantic City casinos, customers had a chance to enter the “Raja’s Riches” contest. The prize? A 1990 Rolls Royce Silver Spur. Nice! Maybe.
Read MoreThe Jaguar Pirana Concept was what happened when you let the guy who designed the Miura and Countach get his hands on an E-Type.
Read MoreMy friend recently gave me a ride in his Chrysler 200S (yes, someone actually bought one), and showed me a little “easter egg” that Chrysler included to throw some shade at the folks down the street in Detroit.
Read MoreMore than anything else, this video is maddeningly frustrating, in a deeply Kafkaesque manner. It shows a system where slavish adherence to literal rules has destroyed reason and decency, and the result is bad for everyone— the passengers directly involved, Delta, the other passengers on the plane, and probably you and I for even having to watch this. Delta kicked a family with two toddlers off a plane and threatened them with jail for no good reason.
Read MoreMaybe it seems like New York City hates cars so much because it tickets the shit out of them. Over half of the revenue raised by fines last year were because of parking tickets. I guess the city is trying to tell me not to drive here.
Read MoreSo today is May 4th, which is Star Wars Day, which is nice because Star Wars doesn’t get much attention. So, in honor of this important day, I want to address something that’s been gnawing at me for years. A strange detail, an obvious mistake hidden in plain sight for years and years, mocking me. Something that makes no sense. Something within that famous picture you see above.
Read MoreRide-hailing startups are looking into everything from autonomous cars to flying cars these days, but here’s one thing they haven’t thought of yet (at least publicly): a pay car service that runs escaped prisoners to hotels and fine eateries.
Read MoreIt’s not really clear why, but for some reason Mercedes-Benz of Japan decided that what they really needed was a Star Wars-themed edition of their CLA small sedan. Then, to really seal the deal, what they came up with looks a lot like a regular CLA with about $100 of crap from ThinkGeek thrown in. Bang up job, fellas.
Read MoreDo you like utes? That’s an absurd question! Of course you like utes. Do you want to see a ute towing a ute that’s doing a burnout on the trailer? Yes! Duh! Why do I keep asking stupid questions?! Let me show you a good ute burnout.
Read MoreThe one thing that helped me combat my irritation at being at an airport was the knowledge that airports are the great social equalizer: generally, it doesn’t matter who you are—rich, poor, famous, normal, whatever—you still have to check-in, go through security and get on the moving sidewalks to your gate. It sucks equally for everyone. Not anymore, if LAX has anything to say about it.
Read MoreI have nothing to say about the 1990s Fiat Coupé, except that I think I tried it once on a Gran Turismo game and didn’t care for it and that its design is perplexing but not without its charms.
Read MoreGloriously wedge-shaped and with a starring role in Back to the Future, the DMC-12 is one of the most iconic cars there is. But perhaps what isn’t as well-known is the story behind the company’s founder, the late John DeLorean. Fear not, though: there’s a movie about him called Driven in the works.
Read MoreThe Colorado state legislature has finally passed a bill explicitly banning the practice of “rolling coal” in diesel vehicles, but only after a silly debate over the bill’s language.
Read MoreElon Musk dropped the hint that the upcoming Tesla ‘Model Y’ crossover will not be built on the same platform as the upcoming Model 3, suddenly countering months of speculation and common sense.
Read MoreI think I love everything about this little video. It’s like one of those ‘80s comedies about the underdog winning against all the mean rich kids, just told with a handful of cars and a very tricky hairpin turn. Watch to the end and you’ll see what I mean.
Read MoreLaw enforcement authorities say that drug dealers in the Bronx and Manhattan disguised themselves as Uber drivers to avoid detection while waiting for customers, according to the New York Post.
Read MoreThings haven’t been well lately for nascent three-wheeler startup Elio Motors: It needs $376 million to start production and a Louisiana lawmaker wants to launch an investigation into the deal for a shuttered General Motors Plant in the City of Shreveport where Elio set up shop. Now, commissioners in the Louisiana parish that backed the land deal want to hear directly from the Elio boss about “what he’s doing” and what might happen at the plant.
Read MoreThe only things colder than Michigan in January are the heartless police officers who have been ticketing people for warming up cars in their own damn driveways. But now the Michigan House of Representatives is trying to put a stop to this nonsense, the Detroit Free Press reports. Thank god.
Read MoreYou may recall that back in mid-March, mechanic-host Edd China announced that he was leaving the popular car-flipping show Wheeler Dealers because of his fear that the network in charge, Velocity, wanted to dumb the show down to the shitty level that defines too many car shows. Edd’s former co-host, Mike Brewer, is dealing with all this by calling Edd a “traitor.” Drama!
Read MoreIs the R129 Mercedes SL starting to look better with age, or is my eyesight just getting worse? Perhaps both are true.
Read MoreThe Bugatti Veyron was a world-beater when it debuted in 2006, representing the very best automotive engineering the world had ever seen. Developing a sequel—the Chiron—that could best such a giant was a staggeringly difficult task; here’s how Bugatti did it.
Read MoreI’ll admit it, I cried when my dad sold his red Saab. I loved riding in that thing. It was the car that brought me home from the hospital and the one that took him to and from work each day. So when I saw this little girl’s reaction when her dad sold his car that she loved, I totally felt her pain.
Read MoreI know, generally, it’s a bad idea to let your toddler be locked in a car. In hot weather, kids can even die when trapped in a hot car. Even so, 14-month-old Brandon Green here thinks being locked in a car is a pretty good time. Which is good, because this little kook managed to do this all on his own.
Read MoreDutter Racing built one of the most wicked Audi 90s I’ve ever seen for Speed Race Fehring 2017. It was so fast that it added additional lightness on its drag run. Wow! Colin Chapman would be so proud.
Read MoreSevere storms producing powerful tornadoes ripped through the town of Canton, Texas, on Saturday and a local Fiat-Chrysler dealer took the full brunt of the twister. The devastation to vehicles and property is frightening, but luckily all of the employees made it out safely.
Read MoreI felt like I’d been mostly thinking of American cars for these Meh Car Mondays, so this time I wanted to find something not produced here in our proud meh-motorworks. And I think I found a good candidate today: a car with a good history that managed to end its career not with a bang, not with a whimper, but with the sort of sigh you emit when you realize you have slightly less toothpaste than you thought. The ninth-generation Mitsubishi Galant.
Read MoreA Toyota Corolla owned by the accountant of a Russian scrapyard was completely crushed after yard workers forgot they were pumping a 6,000-pound tire with air, causing it to explode and land on her car. Nobody was injured, but it scared the shit out of a dog.
Read MoreAcura believes that awkward looks—not drivetrain, features or anything else—were what kept buyers from flocking to the TLX reports Automotive News. So, for their refreshed TLX, ditching the giant silver jaw-thing was priority number one. Thank goodness.
Read MoreHere’s something surprising: the big and nasty Ferrari V12 isn’t too good for the environment.
Read MoreWhen a Ferrari goes up in flames, it’s just another day in the office. But when that Ferrari is one of eight F40 prototypes, tears come streaming down our faces. Sadly, it looks like one of those rare F40s—one allegedly owned by insane YouTube stunt crew Tax The Rich—is gone from the face of the earth, Motor1 reports.
Read More“Man, where did the cool Nissans go?” I remember wondering aloud to myself a few weeks ago.
Read MoreA Toyota Wish taxi was involved in a wreck yesterday near the Buona Vista MRT station in Singapore yesterday, and that otherwise minor crash seems to have triggered a fire that led to an alarmingly massive explosion of the taxi. Four people were injured, including the taxi driver and a firefighter, but thankfully no one was killed.
Read MoreSweeping glass windows for scenic views, specially designed nickel silver cutlery, cypress bathtubs. Japan has a new ultra-luxurious sleeper train in service starting today, and man, it’s unbelievable.
Read MoreYou might remember that a couple of years back we told you about the world’s only two giant robotic human-controlled fighting machines, MegaBot Mark III of America and Kuratas from Japan, and how they’re going to have a big, loud, brutal robot-fight. That fight is scheduled for August of this year, but it just got even more interesting, because player three has just dropped its quarter in the slot: Monkey King from China.
Read MoreI have always loved the original Honda Insight, mostly because assumed these cars were more fun to drive than their economy spec suggested. It’s a manual, aluminum two-seater from Honda. It has to be a driver’s car, right? Oh no.
Read MoreI have taken too many rides in cars with drivers who don’t check their blind spots when changing lanes. On the highway. At 80 miles an hour. Maybe the problem is the term “blind spot” isn’t serious enough.
Read MoreRemember when Jaguar design chief Ian Callum said they were no longer going to focus on wagons because everyone wants SUVs? Callum knows his stuff, but I’m glad he was wrong about this one. Not only is the new XF Sportbrake happening, it is coming to America.
Read MoreToday’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Corvair may have once been unfairly dunned as being “unsafe at any speed” but seeing as its not presently running, it doesn’t seem all that dangerous. Let’s see if its price makea bringing it back up to speed a worthwhile task.
Read MoreAccording to Wikipedia, the Maned Wolf is Brazil’s largest canid. I take issue with that as today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe VW Fox comes from Brazil and it’s much bigger. Let’s see if its price proves equally questionable.
Read MoreToday’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Celica represents a model that was once a stalwart combatant in the pony car wars. Let’s see if its price makes this pony ready to do battle once again.
Read MoreThe 996 is presently the least desirable 911 edition extant. The ad for today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Carrera claims that one of the primary valuation suppressing issues has been fixed. Let’s see if that makes this Porsche’s price pleasantly palatable.
Read MoreIt’s been said that it’s not the cough that carries you off, but the coffin they carry you off in. You might get carried off with today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe custom Vee-Dub, but will its price still bury its chances?
Read MoreThe seller of today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Seville calls it a “no hit car” indicating an accident-free existence. It’s got low miles and high class, but will its price prove a hit with you?
Read MoreYou’ve heard of Quattroportes and Monopostos but how about a monoporte? Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Bremen Sebring lets you pop its top to get inside. Let’s see if this rare component car should have buyers popping for its price.
Read MoreToday’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe C4 ‘Vette is described as having ONE MILE on a set of rebuilt heads. It has a LOT more than that in total, and a kind of sketchy history, but will its price make it all worthwhile?
Read MoreTrucks are too fancy these days. In contrast, our Nice Price or Crack Pipe Ford F-250 is as simple as a pimple. Will that fact, and its Cummins diesel, make buyers come around?
Read MoreI know what you’re thinking—two Subies in the same week—what a bold and confident statement that assuredly makes. Well, while today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Justy may share parentage with Tuesday’s SVX, its price and presentation are something else.
Read MoreThe interior on today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Trans Am seemingly took its cue from the texture of an elephant’s hide, or somebody named “rumpled sackskin.” We’ll have to judge if its price makes it something you’d let inside at all.
Read MoreOne of the most unique features of today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Subaru SVX is its windows within its windows. The question is: will its price make it something you could see yourself in?
Read MoreYou‘ll need some literal insight to see just what’s so special about today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Honda Insight, but will its price prove that particular perspicacity to be all for naught?
Read MoreToday’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Triumph was once touted as the shape of things to come. That was a long time ago, but we’ll now have to see if this TR8’s price has it coming or going.
Read MoreThe seller of today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe 325XiT say’s it’s the only Dakar Yellow wagon in existence. We’ll just have to see if its price has you seeing red.
Read MoreI like wagons. Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Saab 9-5 is a wagon, so, obviously I like it. Maybe its price will be something we can all like.
Read MoreSubarus supposedly have the most loyal owners in the world. Let’s see if this Nice Price or Crack Pipe elder Brat has you saying, I got your back, bro.
Read MoreToday’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Tatra 613 is claimed to be ex-KGB and to feature all the bells and whistles that implies. Let’s see if the price of this rare Commie cruiser has you asking for your papers, please.
Read MoreModeration in all things is obviously not the motto of today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe H1 homage. Let’s see if this six-door, Suburban-based beast comes with a price that’s just as excessive.
Read MoreToday’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Durango is claimed to have been once owned by Twisted Sister’s lead singer. Let’s see if that fact makes this custom sport utility’s price rock your world.
Read MoreToday’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe SP2 is a rare Brazilian sports car that at present still happens to be in Brazil. Let’s see if you’d pay its not-insubstantial asking to bring it out.
Read MoreToday’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe R5 will be woefully slow and will handle like a Weebles Wobble—but those are only two of its charms! Let’s see if this tidy super-mini is worth its asking in Gallic bread.
Read MoreToday’s Nice Price of Crack Pipe BRZ has seemingly had some bad luck over the course of its short life. Maybe its turbo motor and price tag will mean things are finally looking up for it and a new owner.
Read MoreLet’s have a bit of fun and compare my bathroom to the one on a Boeing Business Jet, which the company has been showing off at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition, or EBACE, in Geneva to make us all feel bad about ourselves.
Read MoreThe 2017 Porsche 911 GTS is pure: you can run its 450 horsepower turbocharged flat six with rear-wheel drive and a manual transmission. Tomorrow I’ll be terrorizing the streets of Tahoe in a few of these and also spending some time with the people who put them together. What do you want me to ask them about?
Read MoreIt’s a 2017 Porsche 911 Carrera S, painted in Irish Green and designed to mirror some details from the very first 911 from 1963. And when it rolled off the assembly line in Zuffenhausen today, it became the one-millionth Porsche 911.
Read MoreNow that Porsche has switched over to turbo-four motors for the 718/Cayman, this left the purists wondering what will become of the next Cayman GT4. According to some clues dropped by Porsche GT development boss, a naturally aspirated flat-six and a three-pedal setup is here to stay.
Read MoreJust after Porsche director of GT cars Andreas Preuninger said that setting fast Nürburgring lap times wasn’t a priority, Porsche announced that they set a time with their new 2018 911 GT3 that’s 12.3 seconds quicker than the previous 911 GT3: a 7:12.7. There’s not a lot of consistency in what comes out of Preuninger’s mouth, and I don’t care. That lap time rules.
Read MoreSpare wheels are bulky, dirty things. That’s part of why they’re becoming less and less common in cars, replaced with tire inflation kits and printed notes from the manufacturer to “deal with it.” Usually, the spare is stashed in a car’s trunk, but not always. Today I want to know how you feel about the controversial practice of jamming it in with the engine.
Read MoreIt’s Mother’s Day, the perfect time for me to recount the time my mom made me look like a total wrenching amateur.
Read MoreAt first, the fact that there’s nothing here except farmland with a near absence of topographical features is sort of beautiful. It’s surreal. You pass through miles and miles of nothing but cornstalks waving in the wind. But then you pass through more miles of it, get bored and slowly devolve into madness.
Read MoreOne of the coolest track toys you can buy—no joke—is an old NASCAR racer. Not only are they built like tanks and sound glorious, but they also make for hilarious situations like this, where a Toyota Tundra race truck chases down a Ferrari 458.
Read MoreIn a week when Andretti Autosport and Japanese-born driver Takuma Sato should be celebrating their Indianapolis 500 win, they’re instead busy deleting and reporting all of the derogatory and profane comments being posted on their social media. That’s not the reaction you expect after your first Indy 500 win.
Read More“The BajaLite is a good entry-level race truck,” they said. “You’ll have fun,” they said. Then somebody went and signed us, the website you are currently reading, Jalopnik, into the 2017 Baja 500 in the same class as Honda and Toyota’s freaking factory teams. So, you know, hope they’re ready to be run down by a few goofballs in a four-cylinder.
Read MoreBefore the 2017 race season, the powers that be in NASCAR decided to overhaul the sport’s rules—like, seismic levels of change here. But they couldn’t leave it alone for more than 11 races, changing the race format for the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday. And now, they’re considering more rule changes for 2018.
Read MoreFans leave behind all sorts of things at major race weekends—tents, coolers, old couches, and in the case of this weekend’s Coke 600, even one of their own.
Read More“Can’t believe, after the miserable suckstorm we went through in ’15–” CLANK “you wanted to come–” CRUNCH “racing again,” Baja driver Ron Stobaugh said between thwacks to his Jeep’s undercarriage. We were crawling and clawing through our Baja 500 pre-run, where we learned one thing: we’re forked.
Read MoreTwo-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso didn’t miss racing in the F1 Monaco Grand Prix he skipped for the Indianapolis 500, and it doesn’t sound like people from his home country did either. The reported Spanish television audience for the Indy 500 was more than double that of Monaco on Sunday.
Read MoreOne of the greatest traditions of the Indianapolis 500 isn’t on track at all. Take the vast cross-section of racing ultra-fans and loopy midwesterners, add enough alcohol to drown the entire German state of Bavaria, and you’ve got yourself the best people-watching on the planet.
Read MoreWhen Takuma Sato made a late-race pass to win Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, it was worth enough in purse money to pay off your student loans and have cash left over to buy a Ferrari LaFerrari in full. The winner’s earnings were nearly $2.5 million this year, a whopping $1.7 million more than second place got.
Read MoreFormer Formula One tyrant-in-chief Bernie Ecclestone was pivotal to its growth in the 1970s, but his later years as CEO got wacky, ruthless and all kinds of bad. F1’s new owners knocked him into a lower role in January and Ecclestone is already making it known that he hates the way they’re running things.
Read MoreThis is Bill Petrow in his Nissan 240SX recording the fastest rear-wheel drive run of ‘America’s Best’ rally stage at last weekend’s Southern Ohio Forest Rally. The speed is good. The flames are better.
Read MoreIt would be too easy to ask this question of any era, with oddities like the Chaparral 2J “sucker car” in the mix. So, I’ll ask it of today’s race cars: what’s the most incredible, ridiculous race car currently in use?
Read MoreNASCAR driver Kyle Busch was disappointed in his second place finish at this weekend’s Coke 600, and wasn’t in the mood to answer questions. So, he gave a brief answer to the one he was asked in the media pit, and to signify he done once and for all, he threw the microphone down.
Read MoreJapanese IndyCar driver Takuma Sato shocked the world when he won this weekend’s Indianapolis 500 by only .2011 of a second. Few expected Sato, who had one other IndyCar win to his name in 2013, to win IndyCar’s biggest show. Perhaps the most shocked of all, though, was the Japanese commentary team.
Read MoreThe Silver State Classic is a simple event: the Nevada Department of Transportation shuts down 90 miles of State Route 318 every year for a bunch of gearheads to do top speed runs. Among the entrants are various hot rods, muscle cars and something like this 2006 Dodge NASCAR stock car running to a trap speed of 243 MPH.
Read MoreAustin Dillon wanted to celebrate his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series win after tonight’s Coke 600, but he won by stretching his fuel out over the race’s final laps. Sadly, fuel mileage gambles just don’t leave enough in the tank for a proper burnout. Behold: the happiest driver doing the saddest burnout.
Read MoreIf there’s anybody who earned a conciliatory carton of milk at the Indianapolis 500, it was two-time Formula One champ and Indianapolis 500 rookie Fernando Alonso. Despite not taking the checkered flag, Alonso told reporters that he still didn’t miss taking part in the F1 Monaco Grand Prix.
Read MoreWith a several late-race passes over leader Max Chilton and a fierce battle for the win with Helio Castroneves, Takuma Sato won the 2017 Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His car was the Andretti Honda engine that could... actually survive the race.
Read MoreFernando Alonso’s engine abruptly failed on lap 179 of 200 during today’s Indianapolis 500, taking him out of the race. Alonso, who opted to race in the Indy 500 instead of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix because his Honda-powered F1 car was so unreliable, had the third Honda engine failure of the day.
Read MoreThis is not Honda’s year to build a reliable engine in open-wheel, single-seater race cars. Ryan Hunter Reay, one of Fernando Alonso’s Andretti teammates, just had his engine fail with a huge THUNK. Hunter-Reay has the first Honda engine to go kaput during today’s Indianapolis 500 race.
Read MoreI’m really not the biggest Fernando Alonso fan out there, but that didn’t matter when the Spanish Formula One driver walked past me at the Indianapolis 500. I was no match for his dreamy aura.
Read MoreThe 1996 Indianapolis 500 winner and oldest entrant in today’s Indianapolis 500, Buddy Lazier, just crashed out of the race. Sadly, his shoestring-budget, family supported run has come to the end this year in a big spin into the wall. Lazier has been taken to IU Health Methodist Hospital, as he complained of chest pain following the incident.
Read MoreFernando Alonso, painstakingly subject to his McLaren-Honda team’s awful car every week, can’t escape the back of the Formula One field. But by hopping into a car he’s never raced before for the Indianapolis 500 and running at the top of the field, Alonso’s reminding us just how amazing of a driver he is.
Read MoreIndianapolis 500 pole sitter Scott Dixon sadly got caught in the path of Jay Howard’s out of control car during today’s race, sending Dixon airborne and temporarily halting the race for clean-up.
Read MoreWhat’s the deal with the race Fernando Alonso opted to do over the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix this year? It’s the 101st running of the “greatest spectacle in racing,” the Indianapolis 500, and it’s perhaps the most prestigious oval race on earth. Here’s the basic rundown in case you’re new to this show.
Read MoreThree-time Formula One champion and world’s fastest Instagram model Lewis Hamilton doesn’t have a high opinion of the Indianapolis 500 field, who F1 driver Fernando Alonso is competing against this weekend. Naturally, Hamilton opened his mouth to say just that.
Read MoreThough he sat on pole position for the first time in nine years at the Monaco Grand Prix and looked about as thrilled as Kimi Raikkonen can, it was his Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel who got the big win Sunday. A less dominant force than usual, Lewis Hamilton finished seventh after a disastrous qualifying run.
Read MoreMcLaren stand-in Jenson Button, sadly, isn’t taking very good care of Fernando Alonso’s car at the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix. Button was frustrated being stuck behind Sauber driver Pascal Wehrlein, so he stuck a wheel inside Wehrlein’s car before Monaco’s tunnel, flipping Wehrlein in the process.
Read MoreFernando Alonso is off to try winning the Indianapolis 500 this weekend, so mostly-retired McLaren teammate Jenson Button is standing in for him at the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix. McLaren got Alonso on the team radio to give Button some words of good luck. In return, Button said he’ll pee in the seat.
Read MoreHonda, the power unit supplier to blame for the McLaren Formula One team’s miserable lack of reliability lately, admitted that their MGU-H design—a key component of their engine’s hybrid system—can only last two races, reports Motorsport.com. MGU-H stands for “motor generator unit-heat,” as it recaptures heat energy from the exhaust to use to power the car.
Read MoreFor the first time since the Great Recession, Ferrari driver and everyone’s favorite mumbler, Kimi Raikkonen, will be on pole position for a Formula One race. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton will start 14th after a disastrous—well, by his standards—qualifying session in which he didn’t make it to the final round.
Read MoreI can’t remember the last time both McLarens out-qualified Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes on pace in Formula One, but that’s exactly what happened at Monaco. Hamilton struggled to find speed during Saturday’s qualifying session, and got knocked out in the second qualifying session for running too slow.
Read MoreWelcome to the Jalopnik Weekend Motorsports Roundup, where we let you know what’s going on in the world of racing, where you can see it, and where you can talk about it all in one convenient place. Where else would you want to spend your weekend?
Read MoreIndyCar driver Sébastien Bourdais, who sustained a fractured right hip and multiple pelvic fractures in an enormous Indianapolis 500 qualifying crash, was released from the hospital Wednesday, per IndyCar. Bourdais now starts his recovery at a local Indianapolis rehab facility.
Read MoreThe grandest tradition in all of racing is, of course, pouring copious amounts of cool, frothy milk atop ones’ own head. It just makes sense. To that end, the Indiana Dairy Association releases a list of each drivers’ milk preference should the nearly impossible happen, and they win the Indianapolis 500. Here’s that list.
Read MoreToday’s top race cars are so fast that they routinely hit more than five gs in high speed corners. So top race car drivers have had to train their necks to be unbelievably strong to physically hold their heads in place. How strong? Double F1 world champion and Indy 500 rookie Fernando Alonso can crack a walnut on his shoulder.
Read MoreHere are the concept images for the car IndyCar intends to use in 2018 and onwards, and I have to admit: they look bad ass. Gone are the blocky pieces behind the rear wheels and in is a full length of beautifully curved, flowing shapes.
Read MoreFrom what we’ve seen in trailers, Cars 3 is all about the future of racing. The new kids are fast, Lightning McQueen doesn’t understand their “digital racing simulations,” and he’s got a big wreck to recover from. But the movie will also have a token to the past, with Lightning visiting an abandoned ghost track.
Read MoreIt’s always felt weird that NASCAR has a couple road courses on their schedule, but none in their championship-deciding playoffs. They included a restrictor-plate track—Talladega—but no road course. That is, until next year. Charlotte Motor Speedway’s road course is coming to the playoffs.
Read MoreOne of the biggest travesties of the Volkswagen World Rally Championship team shutting down was that it left its very last rally winner, Andreas Mikkelsen, without a ride for 2017. His more experienced teammates Sébastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala easily landed on other teams, but Mikkelsen was out of top-level work.
Read MoreIn a sport known for cars that top out over 230 mph, it’s hard to catch one on a modern smartphone camera without it being a blur. But one photographer lugs a seven-pound camera that’s over 100 years old around Formula One circuits, all to shoot with its two “‘slow’ and ‘kind of slow’ shutter speeds.”
Read MoreThe Dakar Rally is famous for its obscene length, dangerous routes and off-road cargo trucks racing each other across ridiculous terrain. We usually see these things leaping majestically in slow-motion, but not here. This seven-second clip feels like a much more realistic version of what big truck racing’s really like.
Read MoreIf there’s any greater pain than crashing out of a race, it’s crashing when you’re so close to finishing that you can see the finish line.
Read MoreMuch of the hype surrounding this year’s Indianapolis 500 is thanks to Stefan Wilson. Wilson gave up his seat in order for two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso to have a go in the car he was originally going to run. So, why wasn’t Wilson first on the list to fill in for injured racer Sébastien Bourdais?
Read MoreSkip Barber Racing School owes over $10 million to creditors, including $1.2 million to Lime Rock Park, and has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to documents provided to The Drive.
Read MoreJust hours after qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, pole sitter Scott Dixon and retired three-time Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti were robbed at gunpoint at an Indianapolis Taco Bell, local stations report. What two of the world’s top drivers were doing at a Taco Bell is unclear.
Read MoreScott Dixon will start on pole for Sunday’s 101st running of the Indianapolis 500, ahead of Ed Carpenter and 2016 race winner Alexander Rossi. Formula One superstar Fernando Alonso, who will skip the F1 Monaco Grand Prix to run the Verizon IndyCar Series’ biggest race, will start fifth in his rookie outing.
Read MoreIt’s the ultimate Volkswagen teammate grudge match: mano a mano, car versus car. Ex-teammates Sébastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala battled it out side by side on the first super special stage of Rally Portugal.
Read MoreIn June, things are going to get pretty weird in NASCAR broadcasting. For the first time, the entire broadcast team will be active drivers—the booth, the pit-road reporters and everyone else. Fox Sports, the broadcaster for that race, said they have free rein “as long as no one sets fire” to the booth. Uh, yikes?
Read MoreNASCAR introduced multiple tire compounds for tonight’s All-Star race with the stipulation that all four new stickier green “option” tires must go on at the same time. But they didn’t say that all four had to be left on or pulled off at the same time, as Clint Bowyer’s No. 14 team pointed out during tonight’s race.
Read MoreTwo-time Formula One champion and Indianapolis 500 rookie Fernando Alonso made it into the top Fast Nine in today’s qualifying session for the 101st Indy 500. Qualifying points are assigned by starting position, so no matter where Alonso lands in the top nine qualifiers tomorrow, he’ll score more points in an orange car than he has all year with the McLaren F1 team.
Read MoreDale Coyne Racing IndyCar driver Sébastien Bourdais had been one of the fastest drivers in practice, setting the fastest time of Fast Friday. He was on track to set the fastest Indy 500 qualifying run of Saturday, but crashed hard into the wall after completing only two of his four qualifying laps, flipping in the air. [UPDATE: Bourdais has a fractured hip and multiple fractures to his pelvis.]
Read MoreIf you’re just now following the Indianapolis 500 thanks to the appearance of a two-time Formula One champ on the grid, the Indy 500's qualifying system may look completely foreign to you. But it’s okay! We’re here to help you figure it all out, and it’s not as hard to follow from home as it may appear.
Read MoreOf all the things I didn’t think were possible, getting locked inside your own bus is pretty high on the list. Aren’t door locks usually controllable from the inside? Is there no escape handle somewhere like there is in a car trunk? Regardless, IndyCar driver Josef Newgarden was briefly trapped inside his own bus.
Read MoreYesterday was Fast Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway—the last practice day before qualifying for the Indianapolis 500. Honda’s engines thankfully work in this series, with four Hondas setting the four fastest times. Pippa Mann wasn’t in the top four, but she did set a new record: Indy’s fastest ever woman.
Read MoreWelcome to the Jalopnik Weekend Motorsports Roundup, where we let you know what’s going on in the world of racing, where you can see it, and where you can talk about it all in one convenient place. Where else would you want to spend your weekend?
Read MoreThe way we think about Formula 1 as a pinnacle of motor racing is largely thanks to the work of its last boss, bemused hobgoblin Bernie Ecclestone. In Bernie’s later years, however, it looked more and more like he was stifling the sport he helped bring into the mainstream. Now that he’s out it’s increasingly clear that, yeah, Bernie and friends were bad news.
Read MoreHere’s an embarrassing personal detail: despite being an automotive writer, until very recently, I had never watched a race live. I know, that’s like a penguin saying they’ve never been to Antarctica. I’ve done a few track events with some spirited driving on display, but it’s not quite the same as full-on racing. But as firsts go, experiencing Japan’s Super GT race at Fuji Speedway wasn’t a bad place to start.
Read MoreWe in America are not particularly familiar with tarmac rallies—traditional rallies run flat out on closed public roads—but in Europe they are some of the toughest (and most dangerous) races you can find. The very toughest is the legendary Druidale stage, and here’s why it keeps this reputation.
Read MoreIf you’ve ever wondered what happens to NASCAR engines after they blow up on the track, it’s your lucky day. Here is the seriously nerdy failure analysis that goes into making sure those engines don’t fail again.
Read MoreIf a report by British tabloid The Sun is to be believed, Formula One has a bit more to worry about at Silverstone Circuit in July than Mercedes’ continued attempts at rule bending. The report, though scant on details, said both F1 and circuit bosses fear an attack by ISIS bomber drones at the race.
Read MorePerhaps you remember the start of the 2017 season, when NASCAR furthered its transition into a ball sport by breaking races into three stages. Three months in, NASCAR’s already altering that. The Coke 600 will be a full four quarters, which is another example of NASCAR changing rules just because it wants to.
Read MoreFormula One’s decision to require teams to have larger, more visible numbers in their cars was rooted in good. We’ve all had trouble telling these cars apart sometimes! But fining poor Force India for failing the new numbers rules after telling them they were OK is everything wrong with F1 in a nutshell.
Read MoreThings just never seem to get better for McLaren-Honda’s Formula One team. There’s virtually no reliability, its own drivers complain about how bad the car is, and there’s even a website to track its failures. To add to the pain, McLaren-Honda is the only F1 team that hasn’t scored a single point yet in 2017.
Read MoreAric Almirola had to be cut out of his car after being collected by a fiery wreck between Joey Logano and Danica Patrick during Saturday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway, and he left a local hospital Sunday with a compression fracture in his back. His driving status is to be determined.
Read MoreWhen everybody’s favorite mumbler, Kimi Raikkonen, wrecked out on the first lap of the Spanish Grand Prix Sunday, a young Ferrari fan in the crowd showed more emotion than Raikkonen probably has, total, in his lifetime. The kid looked like someone stole his new puppy. But Raikkonen turned that all around.
Read MoreChase Elliott didn’t quite see Michael McDowell’s No. 95 car swoop in for a pit stop in Kansas Speedway’s pit lane, turning McDowell around and damaging both cars in the process. Well, that’s the pits.
Read MoreThe bird is the word at Indianapolis Motor Speedway today. Canadian IndyCar racer James Hinchcliffe seems kind of unhappy with the fact that Spencer Pigot passed him, eh?
Read MoreToday, Formula E went to the narrow, windy streets of Monaco on a shortened version of its iconic course, where passing is still as tough as it gets. I’m not sure I can think of any alternate universe where this crazy red mist pass attempt around the outside would actually work.
Read MoreThere’s no doubt that two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso is the best driver in the worst car, with a McLaren that failed him on his out-lap in Free Practice 1. Bizarrely, that McLaren F1 car held it together long enough to make into the final Qualifying 3 session and nab a seventh place start.
Read MoreSorry, anyone who dreams of puff-puff-passing the competition on a banked oval thanks to some help from the legal weed industry. NASCAR just said no to Carl Long running with a hemp vape shop as a sponsor, reports ESPN. Long is racing in the top-level Cup Series for the first time in eight years after receiving NASCAR’s largest ever fine in 2009.
Read MoreWelcome to the Jalopnik Weekend Motorsports Roundup, where we let you know what’s going on in the world of racing, where you can see it, and where you can talk about it all in one convenient place. Where else would you want to spend your weekend?
Read MoreFernando Alonso’s beleaguered McLaren-Honda Formula One car didn’t even make it through its own out-lap during Free Practice 1 for the Spanish Grand Prix. So, Alonso left his home race weekend at the track entirely to go play some paddle. Why not? It’s not like it’s going to be fixed soon.
Read MoreYou already spend 24 hours watching the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race, now prepare to spend another entire day binge watching Amazon Prime’s new series going over the history and behind the scenes of one of the biggest races ever.
Read MoreThis is one of those stories I can’t believe I’ve never heard before. It’s a story that has everything– a Hudson, racing, rule-breaking, and a freaked-out Rhesus monkey going nuts on a man’s face. That’s every element you need to make a timeless, compelling tale. So, sit back and enjoy the saga of Jocko Flocko, the fastest monkey to ever race in NASCAR.
Read MoreCarl Long was suspended from NASCAR’s top-level Cup Series and fined an absurd $200,000—the series’ largest fine to-date—at the 2009 All-Star Race. Long’s engine was 0.17 cubic inches over the regulation displacement for the series, and NASCAR threw the book at him. Now he’s finally making a comeback in the Cup Series at Kansas Speedway this weekend.
Read MoreBritish Formula 4 racer Billy Monger has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support he received after a crash into a stationary car at Donington Park caused him to lose both legs. He’s spent the past three weeks including his 18th birthday recovering in the hospital, per ESPN. Now he vows to race again.
Read MorePack it up, overbearing sports dads of the world. You’ve just been outdone. You will never achieve this level of Sports Dad. And no, it’s not the officials’ fault this time (or most of the time, come to think of it). Y’all lack even half the dedication of Sports Dad of the Century Ricky Stenhouse Sr.
Read MoreThe Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series field at Talladega Superspeedway was eerily clean for almost 170 laps on Sunday, which was odd for a restrictor-plate track. But the drivers managed to right that odd feeling with 20 laps to go, with A.J. Allmendinger starting a giant wreck that put him on his roof.
Read MoreRobert Boston, the father of former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Justin Boston, faces federal charges of fraud after his son’s messy departure from NASCAR’s top levels in 2015, according to ESPN. An indictment alleges that he was involved in a $25 million scheme that helped fund his son’s career.
Read MoreEuropean Rally Championship driver Tomasz Kasperczyk may be the guardrail’s biggest fan after one kept his car from flying down a steep hill at the Rally Islas Canarias.
Read MoreWayne Taylor Racing continued their streak of IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship domination with another overall win today at Circuit of the Americas. That we sort of expected. Sadly, the surprise of the day was the No. 2 Tequila Patrón ESM car going out in flames with less than 10 minutes left in the race.
Read MoreCould this be Toyota’s year to win Le Ma—wait. No. Stop there. Nope. We don’t want to accidentally jinx those guys. Toyota won their second World Endurance Championship race of the year with an eat-it-Porsche 1-2 win at Spa, and the last lap where the the No. 7 tried so hard to get around the No. 8 was incredible.
Read MoreFor many fans, GTLM is our favorite class in the IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, with all the major factory teams. Hopefully you’re not a Ford or Ferrari fan today, as both Fords, the lone Ferrari, one Porsche and one Corvette were all involved in a first turn pileup that forced them back in for repairs.
Read MoreYou never really know how how much race cars depend on their aerodynamics until they suddenly snap off at high speed.
Read MoreKenny Habul hit one of the bumps inside the esses on Circuit of the Americas a little too hard during qualifying for Saturday’s IMSA WeatherTech Sports Car Championship race, knocking his radio loose from inside the car. Habul held it together like a champ, despite his car throwing its own parts at him.
Read MoreIf you were glued to your computer earlier this week watching a single orange car run around Indianapolis Motor Speedway, never fear: you weren’t alone. The live stream of Fernando Alonso’s first IndyCar test has been viewed over 2 million times, per Autoweek—and continues to be watched on-demand.
Read MoreWelcome to the Jalopnik Weekend Motorsports Roundup, where we let you know what’s going on in the world of racing, where you can see it, and where you can talk about it all in one convenient place. Where else would you want to spend your weekend?
Read MoreThe Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge is no stranger to insanely close battles, with fairly evenly matched front-runners and only two hours to get yourself in front of the other teams. Today was no different, but one Cayman-up-Cayman-bumper battle for the lead went up to the very last corner.
Read MoreThe same car that’s won all of the past three WeatherTech Sports Car Championship races this year is at it again. Here in Austin, Ricky Taylor just took the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R to a pole-grabbing lap of 1:54.809, 1.59 seconds faster than the next top Prototype-class car. That’s quick.
Read MoreThe new Camaro ZL1 1LE-based GT4.R already looks pretty amazing, with the addition of big aerodynamic bits and that 6.2-liter LT1 V8. Paint it black and red with a big ‘Murican eagle down the side and it’s just scary good. Here’s the Camaro GT4.R the Stevenson Motorsports team is debuting this weekend in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series.
Read MoreFew racing drivers amuse us quite as much as Wayne Taylor Racing driver Jordan Taylor. Not only has his team been dominating this year’s WeatherTech Sports Car Championship season, but he’s known for hilarious pranks, one very good dog and he’s LIVE with us now to answer any questions you have for him!
Read MoreNASCAR Cup Series racer Joey Logano’s win at Richmond no longer counts towards making the playoffs that determine the season championship, NASCAR announced today. Logano’s car failed post-race inspection, so he was given the series’ first “encumbered win”—as in, keep the trophy, but your win is sort of meaningless now.
Read MoreThis weekend, America’s big endurance series descend upon Circuit of the Americas for a mega-event full of fantastic sports cars. The WeatherTech Sports Car Championship, Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, Lamborghini Super Trofeo and Porsche GT3 Cup USA are all here, and Jalopnik is here to soak it all in.
Read MoreIt’s finally happening. The prophecy has been fulfilled. Time is a flat circle. The great words spoken by the Monster Bros have become our reality. NASCAR, the hockey of motorsports, is hosting a sanctioned Bellator MMA fight during its upcoming race weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Praise be to the bro.
Read MoreYou didn’t think world’s best unlucky racer Fernando Alonso would have a perfect run of good car luck during today’s Indianapolis 500 test, did you? Au contraire, mi amigos: Alonso just mulched up two birds with his shiny new very orange Andretti Autosport IndyCar.
Read MoreI don’t think there’s anything more satisfying than watching one of the world’s greatest drivers prove his worth by hopping into a completely new car and doing well in it right away. Two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso’s first IndyCar test went fantastically this morning—and thank goodness for that.
Read MoreYes, I’m excited about talented but beleaguered Formula One star Fernando Alonso racing in the 2017 Indy 500. No, I don’t think it’s dumb. Yes, I think it’s good for both series, and after the trash run Alonso has had in his McLaren Honda F1 car, I’d love for the guy to do well. If nothing else, his IndyCar racer should look familiar.
Read MoreSprint Car racer Brenna Johnson gave perhaps the best angry interview of all time after getting torpedoed out of a race. Her post-race interview with Speed Sport is proof that racers should use fewer words and more sound effects, for sure.
Read MoreIt’s here! It’s finally here! The moment of truth. The moment that all hot take artists have been waiting for. Two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso is finally going to go drive an IndyCar, and you can watch Alonso’s first IndyCar test online tomorrow.
Read MoreRacing is full of wealthy weirdos, but a good many of them are well-pedigreed offspring out to blow the last of their family’s money in an attempt to stave off boredom. That wasn’t Preston Henn, who used his self-made fortune to win the 24 Hours of Daytona—twice. Henn died Sunday at 86, and leaves behind one of American racing’s more interesting legacies.
Read MoreThere’s no such thing as too much power, just not a strong enough car.
Read MoreOne of the most fascinating stories in racing is Preston Henn—the outspoken Florida man who built up the successful Swap Shop flea market empire and then went racing. Henn, a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona, passed away Sunday from natural causes, reports Racer. He was 86.
Read MoreWould you like to pay respects to Formula One legend Ayrton Senna with your mustard? Products branded with Senna’s name and likeness can be found in a lot of places in Brazil, and as is fitting with his life of charitable giving, they still fund educational programs for Brazilian kids. Senna’s name is still so popular that it’s made its way onto everything from shirts and action figures all the way to more unexpected items, like foodstuffs.
Read MoreHonda, a provider of current-spec Formula One power units so bad, that they made once-respectable McLaren a painful spectacle of technical woes, has now signed up to ruin Sauber in the same way starting in 2018, reports Racer. Run away while you still can, Sauber. It’s a trap!
Read MoreLearning about the return of the BMW 8 Series was a good day. Seeing a few leaked photos of the concept made it an even better day. Finally clapping eyes upon the official concept today? I don’t even know what to do with myself.
Read MoreThere’s “Heaven View” (weird), “Greyball” (strange), “Hell” (great idea), and probably an entire laundry list of strange Uber codenames we still haven’t learned about. Here’s a new one, courtesy of an excellent report today from BuzzFeed’s Priya Anand: The company used to refer to the first passenger in an UberPool ride is called “a master,” while extra riders picked were known as “minions.” Even better!
Read MoreUber’s laundry list of problems aren’t just confined to the ride-hailing start-up’s operations—its driverless truck unit, formerly known as Otto, is now set to be investigated by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. It’s trying to determine, as Forbes reports, if Uber violated state regulations by understating the capabilities of its trucks to drive themselves.
Read MoreUber on Tuesday fired the self-driving engineer at the center of its high-profile litigation with Google’s driverless car project, according to the New York Times. The move comes nearly two weeks after Uber urged the engineer, Anthony Levandowski, to comply with a federal judge’s order to turn over allegedly stolen autonomous tech files or else be terminated from the company.
Read MoreUp front, it’s probably necessary to say that I haven’t considered the financial viability of this for either party, or whether their business plans are even sound. But I think it could benefit both of them: Faraday Future and Uber, two troubled companies facing an uncertain future in different ways. should strike a deal to work on autonomous vehicles together.
Read MoreA company called Blippar is in the computer vision business, which allows your phone to take the matrices of pixels it gets from its camera and identify and understand what it’s ‘seeing.’ Now, Blippar’s app can ‘see’ cars, and can identify them with 97.7% accuracy. That’s incredibly impressive, but there’s a catch.
Read MoreIt’s been a shit week for Faraday Future. The autonomous vehicle start up learned its main financier, LeEco, planned to significantly scale back its U.S. operations, signaling a potential death knell for Faraday’s car ambitions. And now Bloomberg is reporting that Faraday is looking to raise a cool $1 billion to keep the dream alive. Woof.
Read MoreAt this moment, the idea that we’re on the brink of electric cars becoming cheaper to build than combustion cars is getting a lot of traction, along with the idea that EVs will be as cheap to own as the loud kind of car even sooner. These are important developments, and while it’s potentially good news for consumers, it’s not enough. The ideal model for electric vehicles should be similar to what happened to computers in the 1990s.
Read MoreOver at InsideEVs, new specs on the Tesla Model 3 have emerged in the form of what appears to be a retail comparison chart for the Model S and the automaker’s new, more affordable sedan. The newest insight? The Model 3 will move 0-60 in 5.6 seconds, a time Tesla confirmed today to Jalopnik.
Read MoreWorkplace conditions at Tesla’s California factory have been scrutinized for months, after an employee in February publicly aired extensive concerns over compensation and injuries, sparking a renewed effort to unionize the Fremont facility by the United Auto Workers. And a new report released on Wednesday claims the automaker’s own internal data shows that injury rates at Fremont exceed what’s found across the industry.
Read MoreOn Tuesday, electric car startup Faraday Future’s main financier—the Chinese tech conglomerate LeEco—announced a significant round of layoffs at its US operations. While that doesn’t seem to bode well for Faraday, the startup’s chief financial officer told staff that LeEco’s cuts won’t affect it, according to Forbes. Nonetheless, scores of more employees have reportedly left FF in recent weeks.
Read MoreUber, in the latest blemish of a never ending firestorm that began months ago, announced Tuesday that it has underpaid New York City drivers since late 2014. In what the company reportedly described as an effort to win regain trust of drivers, it’s planning to dole out an average of $900 per driver in restitution.
Read MoreThe more I think about autonomous cars, the more questions I have. And sometimes these questions can get pretty surreal. For example, the latest question I had sounds, on the surface, like a paradox: how should an autonomous car let us get around without completely limiting our freedom to wander and find new places?
Read MoreBack in November, Tesla announced it would no longer offer free access to its global Supercharger network, an obvious bummer to Tesla owners everywhere. But now, the automaker’s bringing back the consumer benefit—but only under limited circumstances.
Read MoreCNBC is reporting that Faraday Future’s main financier, Chinese tech conglomerate LeEco, is expected to lay off as much as 80 percent of its U.S. staff and, citing anonymous sources, “may” continue its investment in the electric autonomous vehicle start-up. That isn’t encouraging.
Read MoreIf you’ve followed the story of Faraday Future, you know the electric autonomous vehicle start-up has dealt with an endless string of financial problems. FF’s main financier, the Chinese tech giant LeEco, has issues of its own, with its CEO Jia Yuenting consistently being questioned over his leadership and financial acumen. Now, Jia—the main face and quasi-CEO of FF—is stepping down from the top slot at LeEco, announcing this weekend that he’s resigning as CEO but will stay with the company as c
Read MoreYour run-of-the-mill corporate CEO couldn’t get away with this shit. In a series of tweets on Sunday, Tesla founder Elon Musk revealed that a new Autopilot software update should be ready for next month, and then went on to say that, Autopilot—of which the latest version is designed by Tesla, which, so you’re clear, is his company—is “safe, but unpleasant.” Hm.
Read MoreUber has threatened to fire the executive at the center of its litigation with Google if he refuses to turn over any files he allegedly stole from the tech giant.
Read MoreBack in December, Ford announced that all 2017 models will include both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity through its SYNC 3 infotainment system. Now, Ford has some decent news for 2016 model year owners: CarPlay and Android Auto is now available by way of a free update via Wi-Fi, a USB drive, or by visiting a dealership.
Read MoreLiDAR—a laser-based radar that essentially allows an autonomous car to “see”—is crucial for making self-driving vehicles work. But just like your windshield, a LiDAR dome is going to run into Mother Nature. Waymo, the self-driving car project of Google, has a solution: tiny wipers for the LiDAR dome. Brilliant!
Read MoreA federal judge has ordered Uber to remove a key engineer at the center of its high-stakes litigation with Google’s self-driving car project from participating in the development of a key piece of autonomous driving technology. But the judge, William Alsup, allowed Uber’s self-driving research to continue while the case proceeds to trial, a significant relief for the ride-hailing giant.
Read MoreThis is rich. On Sunday, Waymo announced it inked a deal with Uber’s arch-rival Lyft to collaborate on autonomous vehicle technology. Oof. Google’s self-driving car project could potentially scuttle Uber’s autonomous driving ambitions for months. If Waymo prevails in that effort, it could be the coup de grâce for Uber.
Read MoreRecently, if you’re in Silicon Valley, it’s not that unlikely that at some point you’ll encounter some boring SUV wearing a car-hat covered in sensors and LIDAR and all the other cybernetic crap needed to make a car autonomous. What is genuinely weird to see is all this stuff stuck onto a Chinese-market MG that is definitely not something you’ll see otherwise on American roads.
Read MoreThe lawsuit between Google’s self-driving car project Waymo and Uber is proceeding to trial, after a judge late Thursday denied Uber’s request to move the case to arbitration and out of the public eye. The judge, William Alsup, also referred the case for a criminal investigation over possible trade secrets theft.
Read MoreEveryone knows Silicon Valley is completely immersed in the race to develop autonomous cars, but the above map illustrates just how extensive that effort has become. Developed by venture capital firm Comet Labs, the map lays out a whopping 263 companies intertwined with the robot car dream.
Read MoreThis is neat. For several years, Google heavily invested in efforts to build driverless cars, with a separate subsidiary named Waymo now entirely focused on it. Turns out, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin lured a high-profile autonomous car expert to the company at a driverless car race way back in 2005. The catch? He showed up in disguise.
Read MoreNew York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced today that the state is accepting applications from companies to test autonomous cars on public roads.
Read MoreThe average new car in the U.S. is sold for over $32,000. That’s a hefty chunk of change, and with electrification and autonomous vehicle tech, that figure could get even higher. The question is: how high? How much, for example, are people willing to pay extra for self-driving technology? According to a new study by a professor at Cornell, the answer is about five grand.
Read MoreIn discussions about autonomous driving, it’s easy to fall into a trap of defining the technology with a broad brushstroke. But there are explicit differences between something as simple as “semi-autonomous” (what we have on the road toady) and “autonomous” (what carmakers want on the road by next decade). This video from BMW helps explain the important distinctions.
Read MoreWe’re nearly halfway through 2017, and as far as we know, Faraday Future still believes it’s going to restart production on its Nevada factory this year. The company’s dealing with lawsuits about its name, its website, and its alleged inability to pay contractors on time. But it has a production vehicle, the FF 91, and there’s a new video of it here.
Read MoreIn recent days, Tesla has rolled out a new Autopilot update along with a revamped data sharing policy, which asks drivers for access to “short video clips” from external cameras.
Read MoreUber’s currently ensnared in a legal battle with Google’s parent company Alphabet over its self-driving car designs, but the ride-hailing behemoth doesn’t seem to be slowing down just yet. The company’s CEO, Travis Kalanick, posted a photo over the weekend of a large semi that appears to be the first look at its long-hauling truck effort, Uber Freight.
Read MoreTesla slows down charging rates on its Superchargers for vehicles that use a DC fast-connect charge too many times, according to Electrek, which highlighted the situation after a Tesla owner posted on a forum about a recent road trip.
Read MoreAn internal investigation into Uber’s workplace, sparked by a former engineer’s widespread essay about what she described as a culture of sexual harassment, is expected to wrap in the coming days. But a thorough report from The Intercept highlights one component that’ll be missing from the review: Uber’s drivers, as they aren’t considered full-time employees, just contractors.
Read MoreTime and again in recent months, Tesla founder Elon Musk has reiterated the automaker’s production goals for the coming years: a half-million cars annually by 2018, a million by 2020. But now it seems like he’s taking a defensive crouch to deflect any potential outrage, were that goal not to be achieved.
Read MoreHere’s Elaine Chao, the new U.S. Transportation Secretary who is concerned about the comfort level citizens have toward autonomous cars, talking about self-driving cars this week: “We have now self-driving cars. We have level-two self-driving cars. They can drive on the highway, follow the white lines on the highway, and there’s really no need for any person to be seated and controlling any of the instruments.” Come again?
Read MoreBack in March, we highlighted an issue that could plague Tesla as it approached the production of its Model 3 sedan: A backlog of body shop repairs. The company said today that it’s planning to address the issue, in part, by opening the first Tesla-owned repair shops.
Read MoreA long-awaited hearing in the court battle between Uber and Waymo over allegedly stolen self-driving tech began today with a bang: Attorneys for Waymo, the name for Google’s self-driving car project, alleged that its former employee, Anthony Levandowski, launched autonomous truck start-up Otto as a ruse to help Uber steal its intellectual property.
Read MoreTesla’s recent announcements of a few additional Gigafactories and a significant expansion of its Supercharger network show the company hopes to invest heavily in infrastructure to supports its ambitions. And a new filing uncovered by the CB Insights database suggests Tesla’s linked to a project to create an advanced materials recycling initiative.
Read MoreIn the era of All Things Mobility, where both carmakers and tech startups are clamoring for a piece of the ride-hailing pie, it seems like everyone is convinced that fetching a car on demand is the future of the car itself. But in a scenario with rising gas prices, and a crowded field, can all of these companies co-exist?
Read MoreElio Motors filed its latest reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the three-wheeled auto start-up’s future looks even bleaker than before: according to its latest 1-K form, filed today, Elio says it wants production to begin in 2018, but it needs $376 million to make that happen, up from the previous estimated funding requirement of $312 million.
Read MoreTesla’s Model 3 might be the make-or-break vehicle for the automaker, but founder Elon Musk is continuing to push a future vision of the company anyway. That means an emphasis on investing heavily in electric vehicle infrastructure. And while it’s probably overly-optimistic for now, Musk said last week that Tesla will announce “probably four” new Gigafactory sites in 2017.
Read MoreGood morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the important stories to read in your fallout shelter as the whole world burns down.
Read MoreGood morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the important stories you need to know.
Read MoreGood morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the important stories you need to know about this crazy little thing we call life.
Read MoreGood morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the important stories you need to know about resurrecting the nearly-dead.
Read MoreGood morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the important stories you need to know, or at least the ones that are fun to read if you want an inside look into the big ego auto industry.
Read MoreGood morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the important stories you need to know.
Read More1st Gear: We Now Have An Approximate Timeline For America’s NAFTA Negotiations
Read More1st Gear: FCA: But Suing Us Would Be, Like, Totally Counterproductive
Read More1st Gear: Well, That’s Not So Bad, But Still Very Bad
Read More1st Gear: I Mean, We’ve Peaked ... Right?
Read MoreGood morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the important stories you need to know, particularly if you have business secrets from inside the car industry. There’s some whistleblower stuff going on today.
Read MoreGood morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the important stories you need to know before I start searching for Porsche Cayenne Diesels again. (Mahogany Metallic, please. Also, I need the tow package.)
Read MoreGood morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the important automotive stories that will surely fill the empty, gaping hole in your life since Sarah left.
Read MoreGood morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the important stories you need to know to develop a rounded worldview of the auto industry today and help you scream at people over Twitter more effectively.
Read MoreGood morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the important stories you need to know to help soothe the night terrors that come a-knocking when the moon is full and the crickets have ceased their humming and the air is still.
Read MoreGood morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the important stories you need to know so you can one-up the insufferable know-it-alls at dinner.
Read MoreGood morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the important stories you need to know so you can seem important and informed on Twitter. Just kidding, no one is good on Twitter.
Read MoreGood morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the important stories you need to know about the coming people’s uprising.
Read More1st Gear: Entry-Level Sports Cars Are Hanging On In A Gloomy Car Market
Read MoreGood morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the stories you need to know for your next dinner party.
Read MoreGood morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. If you don’t read it, you won’t be interesting at parties. I can guarantee you that.
Read MoreHi there! I’m Helen, Kristen Lee’s mom. Here is a photo of me with my 1983 Toyota Celica. It was the first car I bought.
Read MoreIt takes until the end of this wonderful, wonderful 30-second video to realize the greatness you just witnessed. When it came time for this Chevy Silverado to turn its 500,000th mile, its owners wanted to make things special. They just had one shot, one opportunity to get this right, and that they did.
Read MoreAre you so ‘Murican that you bleed red, white, blue and Donkey Sauce? Do you need a truck that magically emits pure bald eagle tears out of its tailpipe? Well, then, what you need is the true blue 2017 Shelby F-150 Super Snake, because it’s the only time these colors DO run—very fast quarter-mile times.
Read MoreVolvo has had a busy year on the autonomous vehicle front, in particular rolling out a limited pilot project to allow 100 motorists in Gothenburg to test out an self-driving XC90 SUV. The Swedish automaker also has this: a self-driving garbage truck. Trevlig!
Read MoreThey say you can’t put a price on style, but you can put a price on a Volvo, which is pretty much the same thing.
Read MoreAn overzealous off-roader at the Jersey Shore apparently posed his Land Rover close to the tide to get what might have been an excellent picture of his truck. Things started to go south as soon as he rolled onto the wet sand.
Read MoreOne of the most anticipated vehicles of the year is the next-generation Jeep Wrangler, but a big question mark is what engines it will have. A tip sent to Jalopnik from an anonymous source appears to confirm the full range of motors, including two versions of the planned diesel.
Read MoreThe 2017 Chevy Colorado ZR2 is a fun truck, and I think Chevy’s first to come with an “off-road mode.” But unlocking the truck’s real wild side takes a few more steps than just pushing one button. We’ll walk you through the procedure.
Read MoreThe 2017 Chevy Colorado ZR2 took its sweet time working up to 45 mph, so I wasn’t about to scrub my hard-earned speed for a cute little tabletop jump. The GM engineer riding shotgun was too far from the brake pedal to stop me, so we hit the lip at a canter, asscheeks puckered and 4,963 pounds of truck sailed into the sky.
Read MoreThe beautiful unobtanium Porsche Cayenne S Diesel birthed of magical unicorn tears and luxurious fancy-torques that of course America doesn’t get just set a new Guinness World Record. The Cayenne just towed the heaviest aircraft ever towed by a production vehicle: a 314-ton Airbus A380.
Read MoreBetween sessions of throwing dirt and hitting jumps at the 2017 Chevy Colorado ZR2 launch, I overheard a lot of people asking GM engineers the same question: “So can you still lift it with these fancy shocks?” Technically, yes, you can. But you really shouldn’t.
Read MoreThe Rubicon Trail is one of the best-known and most technical rock crawling truck trails in the United States. That’s why Jeep’s most extreme off-road Wrangler is named after it. Well, I’m sure a few Jeeps were surprised to see a group of Chevy ZR2 pickups in their mirrors out there last year.
Read MoreIn the first installment of a new series called Cool Tech In Boring Cars, let’s look at all the wacky front suspension designs that made their way into U.S.-spec Ford Rangers from the start of production in 1982 until the truck’s death in 2011.
Read MoreHey, shocking news: the all-new 2018 Jeep Wrangler is going to look like... a Jeep Wrangler. Despite being a completely new rock-crawler that makes use of aluminum to cut weight, the Wrangler’s looks won’t change much, because why would it need to? Fortunately, one place that seems to be hugely improved over the old Wrangler is the inside, as these new spy shots show.
Read MoreThe Ford F-150 Raptor is a giant compromise that people buy almost solely because of its “image.” But if that giant off-roader’s image still isn’t enough to quell your deepest, darkest insecurities, F250R—a company based out of Tucson, Arizona—outfits F-250s with Ford Raptor-esque front fascias and enormous tires. Go ahead and fire your therapist; a big Raptor is all you need.
Read MoreYesterday, as I drove down the highway at 75 mph in my 1992 Jeep Cherokee, my left tire hit a pothole and triggered the most violent, frightening, uncontrollable shaking I’ve ever experienced—in both me and the Jeep.
Read MoreAt the end of 2014, Chevrolet dropped an aggressive and enticing off-road performance concept of its then-new Colorado pickup. “Sure be cool if Chevy had the balls to build it,” we mused. Well, the ZR2 is here. And soon, I can tell you what it’s like to drive. So now’s the time to get your questions in.
Read MoreLast year Toyota started making noise about setting a land speed record for SUVs in a Land Cruiser... a solid-axle elephant of a vehicle that weighs close to three tons. It only took a few minor tweaks, like dialing the engine up to 2,000 horsepower, but Toyota snatched a new speed record with a 230.2 mph pass.
Read MoreIf I had to pick the one country that most consistently built cars that interest me, I think I’d have to say Brazil. The peculiar nature of the Brazilian economy for many decades coupled with what seems to be a fearless, creative approach to car design has managed to produce so many fascinating things. Like these Ford trucks—the F-1000 series.
Read MoreThe Volkswagen Up! is one of the greatest cars in the world today. It is almost as perfect as its more proletarian twin, the Škoda Citigo. But to truly vaunt that last hurdle into the pantheon of legends, it could probably use slightly more power. And now it will happen, in the form of the Volkswagen Up! GTI.
Read MoreIt may be hard to believe, but most mechanical engineers designing your cars have no clue how to fix them. That’s because engineering and automotive repair are two very separate entities. Here’s the difference.
Read MoreI’ve got to drive more than 300 miles to Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday to go watch some auto race that’s apparently happening, but at this moment, I have no vehicle to get me there. Once again, all of my cars have crapped out simultaneously. And I’ve got three days to come up with a solution.
Read MoreI’ve always heard that anyone off the street can go to police auctions and bid on hilariously inexpensive cars. But it wasn’t until last week that I actually attended one of these bidding wars and learned how true that is. Let me tell you, friend: it was amazing.
Read MoreI haven’t even thought about my 1985 Jeep J10 since I wrote the last article on the old Jeep truck back in November, 2015. Yes, that’s 18 months ago, and yes, I feel horribly guilty. So, to stop feeling disgust every time I look in the mirror, it’s time for me to to give the old Wagoneer With A Bed some love.
Read MoreThis summer, I’m going to help put the hybrid powertrain from a hybrid Mitsubishi Outlander into an ancient 1917 Mitsubishi Model A. And by “help,” I mean stand in a corner and try not to hurt myself while the craftsmen at West Coast Customs cut and weld and create, and Mitsubishi writes checks to make it all happen.
Read MoreOne thing I didn’t mention in my writeup of the wacky Gambler 500 road rally was that my Jeep overheated, and it was all my fault. When I returned from the rally, I frantically shipped off an oil sample to a lab to have it tested. That decision may have saved my engine’s life.
Read MoreThe three-pointed star hood ornament is one of my favorite features on my car. New Mercedes models did away with them, so they’re kind of a neat thing you don’t see much anymore. And so when mine got knocked off, a piece of my heart went with it. I had to get it fixed.
Read MoreAs a junky old VW owner, I have about the easiest time of anybody in the car world when it comes to dropping an engine. There are four bolts to undo, a handful of wires and lines to unplug and the whole thing can come out. The rest of you have a tougher time, but it can be made easier.
Read MoreI like fixing my car. I like driving my car. But I have never liked cleaning my car. This week, though, I took the seats out of my old VW and the cleaning was so good it sent me into a frenzy.
Read MoreA year ago, I had the urge to buy an old four-wheel drive Toyota Pickup. The boxiness of the body, the square stance of the off-road suspension, the no-frills interior, and the perceived reliability of an old Toyota—it all came together to create an irresistible combination. But is the craving to own one just the result of shallow nostalgic emotions, or can it hold up to your expectations?
Read MoreI don’t know how long I’ve had this stupid fascination with putting a wood deck into the back of my clunky old Volkswagen, like some enclosed truck, or the world’s smallest ‘70s van. Finally, my car now has one, and I’m surprised at how easy it was to build.
Read MoreWhen you stall a 1974 Volkswagen at an intersection, any intersection, even ones on the far side of Memphis in the middle of the night, somebody always materializes to help push it to safety. This time it was a volunteer firefighter about to leave a nearby drug store, and a disheveled guy hanging out by the lotto store at the gas station mini mart across the street. The firefighter gave me a jumpstart, the other guy asked for some change.
Read MoreThere’s nothing more satisfying than experiencing something that feels like it was engineered with a distinct, desired purpose. Naturally, you want as much of that feeling as possible with your car, and installing racing seats is a decently inexpensive and super effective way to improve safety and driving experience in any sort of car.
Read MoreAs smoke billows from your hood, you look down at your gauges to see the needle pegged in the red. Your engine is overheating because something in your cooling system has failed. In the final episode of David Dissects, I take apart and dive into an entire engine cooling system out of a junkyard Jeep Cherokee.
Read MoreI get messages all the time from readers reminiscing on their glorious wrenching days. As much as I enjoy reading these, they’ve got me deeply worried. Will I someday have to give up the wrench? Will I be too old and infirm to complete even the simplest repair? Or can my current habits continue into infinity?
Read MoreIf you were disappointed that the all-new Civic Si makes the same power as the previous generation car, your best bet might be to get the cheaper Civic Turbo and slap on a Hondata tune. Here comes the 214 horsepower and 220 lb-ft of torque you deserve.
Read MoreMy head was pounding. It felt like it was being crushed in a vice. I could barely breathe. “Do you mind if I take my helmet off, officer?” I asked.
Read MoreOh god. This is going to be bad. After my “budget build” 1948 Willys Jeep, dubbed Project Slow Devil, turned from a project into an all-consuming obsession, I basically handed over my credit card and wept in the corner. Here’s the damage.
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