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And Car Reviews

Back in 1964, an aspiring car builder named Carroll Shelby decided to shoehorn a 427ci Ford big block into a Miata-sized British roadster called the AC Ace/Shelby Cobra. His psychotically overpowered little monster then annihilated the almighty Ferrari GTO at the 12-Hours of Sebring. The Shelby Cobra was a “man’s car”, and it was ridiculously fast, even by today’s standards. And to celebrate their founder’s brilliant lack of sound judgement, Shelby American is offering a very special 50th Anniversary Shelby Cobra 427. Make no mistake, this isn’t one of those knockoff replicars, it’s a real Shelby Cobra, straight from the Shelby factory. Enzo Ferrari is probably spinning in his grave…

The BMW 7-Series has always competed with the Mercedes S-Class. It’s roughly the same size, same price, and it has all the presence of a two-ton middle finger. Unfortunately for the guys in Munich, the new Mercedes S-Class is now the equivalent of an iPhone 6 to BMW’s tin-can-and-a-string. But BMW hath redrawn their motorized lewd gesture, and some spy photographer has caught one completely undressed... months before its scheduled reveal.

There is a special kind of sound that the human brain creates when it is instantly overwhelmed with a concussive force so loud and intense that the entire skull is hammered by it rather than just the eardrum.

Back in the day, Hondas came in three flavors: DX, LX & EX. DX got you vinyl seats and steel wheels, LX-trimmed cars recieved body-colored bumpers and nicer upholstery, while the top-rung EX models got the big engine, fancy velour upholstery, and a digital clock! But times have changed, and now there’s a Honda trim level/option bundle for every price point. The new-for 2015 Honda Pilot SE adds yet another choice to this Value Menu, and it’s even got a cubby for your coupon binder!

We have reached the end of another year, and that in itself is a victory. Every day that I wake up is a good one, and when I string together another 365 of them, I have to be grateful.

It was an interesting year in the automotive world, and we shared some very cool stories on this blog.

As a traditionalist, I like to keep tried-and-true customs alive. In this spirit, we will do that "Best of 2014" thing involving three of the most intriguing car stories of the year.

Never buy a car at night. Never buy a car in the rain. Never bring thousands of dollars in cash to a nearby-yet-unfamiliar-to-you city to a transaction site set up by a person you’ve never met—and who, of course, has an out-of-state phone number—to purchase a car about which you know nothing but what you’ve read and seen in a generic-looking Craigslist ad.

Any idiot knows how batcrap-crazy you’d have to be to buy a pack of gum this way, let alone something as expensive—both to initially buy and then to fix once all its warts reveal themselves in the harsh light of day—as a luxury SUV.

Well, I am proud to say I am certainly not just any idiot. That’s right, folks. I am THE idiot. And welcome to the tale of how I got a better vehicle that I could’ve hoped for despite doing everything I possibly could to get myself cheated, robbed or worse in the process.

Since cars are for driving, your writer will usually review only cars he has driven, and not driven on a sanitized manufacturer-prescribed route, but on roads and in a context of his own choosing. In talking about the Superformance GT40, this habit is broken, simply because this is such a remarkable car.  Although boasting a 200mph+ top speed and a sub-4-second 0-60 time, this is not a modern supercar. Rather, it is an accurate replica of a near-half-century-old racing car.  But it is fully road legal, California smog compliant, and cheaper to buy than a BMW i8. Sounds like the best sixties psychedelic trip ever, right ?

With its official debut at the 2015 Tokyo Auto Salon only a month away, Mitsubishi has released preliminary specs regarding the Lancer Evolution X Final Concept. This sneak preview shows what could be the last special edition of the iconic sport sedan before it is retired from production in 2015, capping an impressive and unforgettable chapter in the Japanese firm’s history.

Every car company that can is making serious hay out of every anniversary they can find. Problem is, in a lot of cases, there have to be some asterisks slipped in due to, say, Chevy never producing a 1983 model Corvette, yet claiming an unbroken chain of manufacture since its introduction in 1953.

With the Mirai concept providing a compelling glimpse of what a hydrogen future would look like at Toyota, it appears that the Japanese firm is planning to adopt some of the Mirai's innovations in an upcoming Lexus LS variant. The hope is that it could serve as the perfect platform to debut the technology when it eventually makes its way to mass production in Toyota-badged models (like some of the other innovations that first got their start in the Lexus LS).

In a move that many saw as inevitable, Takata president Stefan Stocker has officially stepped down as president, handing the posisition back to the grandson of company founder and current chairman Shigehisa Takada.