| 2014 Ford Focus ST Long-Term Logbook: Give Us a (Lower) Rake |
Jun 20th, 2014 |
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“The front seat bottoms are too aggressively angled and too high in the front—it’s not ‘sporty,’ just annoying.” – Alex Stoklosa Our long-term Ford Focus ST’s thickly bolstered Recaro front seats have garnered rants and raves from our staffers. Some find them supremely comfortable and supportive—full stop—while Stoklosa and friends find them confining and not adjustable […]
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| Volkswagen Beetle GRC: 544 hp, 0–60 in 2.1 Seconds, No Flower Vase |
Jun 20th, 2014 |
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The hottest Volkswagen Beetle on sale today is the GSR, which gets 210 horsepower from a turbocharged 2.0-liter four. Cute, right? But when prepped for Global Rallycross duty, the Beetle ditches its love bug image for one that’s a bit more . . . blood-spitting fire ant. Or is it vein-collapsing mega-squito? Either way, the […]
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| 2014 Jaguar F-Type V-8 S Long-Term Intro: Feeling Fine So Far |
Jun 20th, 2014 |
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Our initial romp in Jaguar’s new roadster led us to two separate conclusions. First, the brand’s long-held, although recently dormant, reputation for building sports cars was on good display here in the F-type. But so, too, was Jaguar’s propensity for dodgy quality; that first test car (not this one) developed three defects in as many […]
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| Tow What? GM Embraces SAE J2807 Trailer Standards for Silverado and Sierra 1500, Still Tugs Six Tons |
Jun 20th, 2014 |
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Pickup-truck makers thump their chests about how tough their trucks are and, in particular, how much they say their rigs can tow. But only recently did the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) develop a protocol, called SAE J2807, to actually standardize and validate those towing claims. We explicated the SAE J2807 testing procedures when it […]
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| Porsche Releases Le Mans Summary Video That’s Equal Parts Sad Panda and Defiance |
Jun 20th, 2014 |
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“Le Mans 2014: Day 1 on the way to Le Mans 2015.” That’s how Porsche summarizes its ultimately unsuccessful return this month to the top class of Le Mans prototype racing. Porsche is the winningest marque in the history of the 24 Hours of Le Mans with 16 overall victories, so its return to LMP1 […]
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| Is it Too Fast For Love? Harley-Davidson Announces Project LiveWire Electric Motorcycle |
Jun 20th, 2014 |
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“The Motor Company.” It’s motorcycle slang for Harley-Davidson, and the Milwaukee-based concern is lucky that “The Engine Company” didn’t wind up in the parlance, because it’d throw an identity wrench into their latest venture — an electric motorcycle. Wisconsin, land of thowmping pushrod V-Twins, is about the last place you’d expect a mainline production e-bike […]
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| 2015 Hyundai Sonata Eco Added to Lineup |
Jun 20th, 2014 |
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New engine, new transmission, and better fuel economy
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| 2013 Audi S7 Quattro Long-Term Logbook: Audi Care Can Save a Bundle in Service |
Jun 20th, 2014 |
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“You can buy Audi Care for $800 to cover the 15K-, 25K-, and 35K-mile service, and it saves you $1K on service.” – Zeb Sadiq Yep, you read that right—if you purchase Audi Care, the brand’s flat-rate scheduled maintenance package for its new cars, you can save a ton on service costs. We didn’t buy […]
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| 2015 Hyundai Sonata Eco Debuts, Packs 1.6L Turbo Four and Dual-Clutch Gearbox |
Jun 20th, 2014 |
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Hyundai has announced the addition of a third model to its 2015 Sonata lineup, the efficiency-minded Sonata Eco, which will slot in between the base Sonata and the zestier Sonata 2.0T. READ MORE ››
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| Illinois Bans Ticket Quotas, Officers Can Still Be Evaluated on “Points of Contact” |
Jun 20th, 2014 |
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Come January 1, 2015, Illinois will join the ranks of states in our great union that prohibit its state, county, and municipal law-enforcement departments from using ticket quota systems to evaluate their officers’ job performance. Ticket quotas, of course, help ensure a guaranteed revenue stream, but critics say they keep officers from doing actual police […]
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