Pity the poor Viper. Even with its greater performance potential, the Viper is all but doomed to be forever thought of as the “other”   American sports car. While there’s absolutely…

2014 SRT Viper Road Test Review

Pity the poor Viper. Even with its greater performance potential, the Viper is all but doomed to be forever thought of as the "other" American sports car. While there's absolutely no denying the Corvette's higher profile is what causes most people to envision it when you say "American sports car", the fact of the matter is Viper and Corvette are also as dissimilar as night and day.

Yes, both are lightweight two-seat sports cars with hugely powerful engines, but the philosophy behind each car is completely different. Corvette is sophisticated in a manner approaching Europe's finest GT cars, while the 2014 SRT Viper is…

Well, let's put it this way, if Corvette and Viper were actresses, Corvette would be Sandra Bullock and Viper would be Melissa McCarthy. Both are fun, but they have distinctly different personalities. Which, in turn, leads us to say that we admire the awesome Viper too.

Nothing looks like it; nothing sounds like it, and nothing else goes Read Full Story
Since its introduction for the 2012 model year, enthusiasts have praised Scion’s FR-S sports coupe for its direct, responsive, rear-wheel   drive handling. Now for 2015, the FR-S is getting…

2015 Scion FR-S gets suspension and appearance updates

Since its introduction for the 2012 model year, enthusiasts have praised Scion's FR-S sports coupe for its direct, responsive, rear-wheel drive handling. Now for 2015, the FR-S is getting a few appearance tweaks and some suspension upgrades that should give it even better handling than before.

The suspension changes include retuned rear shocks for less body roll, and more rigid front suspension mounts that improve steering feedback, especially near the limits of adhesion.

In terms of appearance, the 2015 FR-S will get larger, flush-mounted exhaust pipes at the back and an aerodynamically-efficient shark-fin antenna on the roof. Inside, there are new carbon-fibre motif trim panels and automatic headlights. There's even, wait for it … a restyled key.

The changes aren't huge, but they play to the car's strength, which is its dynamic character. "There is no reason that development should stop, only because the vehicle has gone on sale," said chief engineer Read Full Story
For a few years now Mini has been talking about replacing its slow-selling Coupe and Roadster models with a more aggressive   standalone sports car that can take on the popular Mazda MX-5. Now, in…

Mini reveals gorgeous Superleggera Vision Concept

For a few years now Mini has been talking about replacing its slow-selling Coupe and Roadster models with a more aggressive standalone sports car that can take on the popular Mazda MX-5. Now, in cooperation with Italian design house and coachbuilder Touring Superleggera, Mini has revealed a stunning concept that may offer a sneak peak at the new sports car.

The Mini Superleggera Vision, which will debut at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este 2014, combines classically elegant Italian lines with familiar Mini design cues to create a car with timeless aesthetic appeal.

"It elegantly perpetuates what the Classic Mini started 55 years ago: reduction to the essentials," explains Anders Warming, Head of Mini Design. "Its energetic, minimalistic design embodies the dynamic essence of an automobile."

Construction of the one-off Superleggera Vision Concept was undertaken using classic coachbuilding techniques, with large sheets of aluminum shaped by hand to create Read Full Story
Every time we come away from driving a BMW automobile, we are left marveling at their refinement and sophistication. From   the exceptionally fluid operation of its engines, to the way its suspension…

2014 BMW 435i Cabriolet Road Test Review

Every time we come away from driving a BMW automobile, we are left marveling at their refinement and sophistication. From the exceptionally fluid operation of its engines, to the way its suspension systems absorb pavement irregularities while simultaneously offering spirited handling, driving a BMW is an experience everyone with a driver's license should have at some point.

For most people, if you say BMW, they'll envision the company's highly successful 3 Series model. In the past, the 3 Series was offered in coupe, convertible, sedan, and sport wagon body styles. For the 2014 model year, the coupe and convertible were given a new nomenclature; they are now referred to as the BMW 4 Series. Thus, the subject of this review, the 2014 BMW 435i Cabriolet, replaces the 2013 BMW 335i Cabriolet.

Based on the same new design applied to the 2014 3 Series sedans, the 4 Series Coupe and Cabriolet are also larger than the 2013 models they replace. Additionally, ride comfort is Read Full Story
Thanks to U.S. federal fuel efficiency rules and California’s zero-emission vehicle mandates, auto manufacturers are building an   ever-increasing variety of electric and hybrid vehicles these…

Fiat CEO tells potential customers not to buy the 500e

Thanks to U.S. federal fuel efficiency rules and California's zero-emission vehicle mandates, auto manufacturers are building an ever-increasing variety of electric and hybrid vehicles these days. But that doesn't necessarily make all such vehicles profitable.

In the case of Fiat's electric-powered Fiat 500e, the company loses $14,000 on each car it sells, prompting company CEO Sergio Marchionne to issue a request to potential U.S. purchasers: Please don't buy it.

At a recent conference Marchionne decried the U.S. federal and state mandates that push manufacturers to build electric cars, saying that Tesla Motors was the only company making money on electric cars thanks to the higher price of its Model S sedan.

He said he hoped to sell the minimum number of 500e cars possible, and not one more. "I hope you don't buy it because every time I sell one it costs me $14,000," he told the audience at the Brookings Institution. "I'm honest enough to tell you that." Read Full Story
If the phrase “large and in charge” ever applied to any particular automobile, the Lexus LX 570 can definitely wear the T-shirt.   Interestingly though, despite its size, the largest…

2014 Lexus LX 570 Road Test Review

If the phrase "large and in charge" ever applied to any particular automobile, the Lexus LX 570 can definitely wear the T-shirt. Interestingly though, despite its size, the largest Lexus model doesn't come across as gaudy or ostentatious. While the look of the Lexus does command respect (one glance and you know it's definitely an expensive ride), the LX 570 doesn't assault your sensibilities with an overt display of bling-glitz-ity the way something like say, the Cadillac Escalade does. Instead, the size of the LX 570 implies purpose.

Given it's one of the last of the full-size body-on frame luxury SUVs, the LX 570 can rightfully challenge the best of the best in terms of its capability off-road. Of course, along with all of the robust capability comes considerable weight, and as we all know, weight is detrimental to both performance and fuel economy.

The Lexus overcomes the performance issue with a 5.7-litre V8, capable of producing 383 horsepower and 404 ft-lbs of Read Full Story
How does one make the extraordinary even more exceptional? This is a question many competing automotive manufacturers   ask every time a new BMW M5 is offered. This question is doubtlessly accompanied…

2014 BMW M5 Competition Package Road Test Review

How does one make the extraordinary even more exceptional? This is a question many competing automotive manufacturers ask every time a new BMW M5 is offered. This question is doubtlessly accompanied by a great deal of handwringing, because every M5 ever offered has been the most exciting car in its class, and every new M5 is more brilliant than the last.  

When it comes to providing Herculean performance in a Walter Mitty-esque package, BMW has the formula down pat. Once again, for the 2014 model year, BMW has taken the outstanding and transformed it into absolutely stupefying with the M5 Competition Package. Elevating the already astounding road manners of the M5 into the realm of the positively unbelievable, the 2014 BMW M5 Competition Package extracts more grunt, more grip, and more grins from the venerable model.

This is accomplished with a freer-breathing exhaust system for more speed, and special 20-inch wheels with very sticky tires to improve handling. The Read Full Story
The last time we saw seatbelt interlocks, way back in 1974, they were a much-hated regulatory requirement foisted upon the   car-buying public by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).…

Seatbelt interlocks make a comeback with GM

The last time we saw seatbelt interlocks, way back in 1974, they were a much-hated regulatory requirement foisted upon the car-buying public by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).

Those early seatbelt interlocks weren't always reliable (they'd sometimes prevent the car from starting even when all occupants were buckled up), and the outcry against them was so loud that the NHTSA was quickly forced to lift its mandate, abandoning the technology in favour of airbags.

Now GM is quietly bringing the seatbelt interlock back as an option for a select number of models. There's no government mandate this time. Instead, the system is being marketed as a "Belt Assurance System" that, in addition to increasing occupant safety, can help prevent drivers from getting violation tickets for failure to wear seatbelts.

Rather than preventing the car from starting until front-seat occupants are buckled up, as the original seatbelt interlocks did, GM's Read Full Story