Kurt Ernst, Contributor
Articles
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If you’re a fan of the current Mustang body style who’s been saving his lunch money to buy a 2014 Boss 302, we’ve got some bad news for you: the Boss 302 won’t be back next... -
Pininfarina Details The Ferrari SP12 EC ProjectPart of Ferrari’s appeal as a supercar is that each model can be highly personalized to an individual customer’s preferences. For some, contrasting leather upholstery and a bit of carbon fiber trim is enough; for others, however, a complete redesign of an existing model is the only...
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Bentley Debuts Gift Collection In Time For Holiday GivingWhile a Bentley may not top our collective lists of aspirational automobiles, there is one absolute certainty: no motoring enthusiast, regardless of brand preference, would be disappointed if given a Bentley Continental Supersports coupe as a holiday gift. The stumbling block, for most of us...
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Investors Fear Mercedes Will Trade Profit For Increased SalesMercedes-Benz is struggling in the United States market to displace BMW from the top of the luxury auto sales pyramid. Its strategy seems to be based on introducing a dizzying array of new cars, some positioned to attract new and younger buyers into the Mercedes family. This much is clear: its...
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BMW and Local Motors Pick Urban Automotive Technology WinnersIn September, we told you that BMW was partnering with automotive crowdsourcing expert Local Motors for an urban automotive technology design contest. The idea was simple: use Local Motors’ Forge community to address challenges faced by urban drivers in the coming years. As The Forge has...
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NASCAR The Game: Inside Line Launches TodayIf you like your racing sims filled with bump drafting and fender-banging action, we’ve got good news for you: Activision is releasing NASCAR The Game: Inside Line to stores today. Developed by Eutechnyx, Inside Line gives players over 40 drivers and teams to choose from, as well as a...
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Akira Iida has competed in the Japanese Super GT Series, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring and VLN endurance races, where he has twice delivered class wins in a Lexus LFA... -
MINI Sets Off On An Expedition For The Record BooksMINI, it seems, is going to great lengths to stay in the public eye these days. YouTube is filled with videos showing MINI in increasingly-odd and vaguely-disturbing scenarios, such as its “Not Normal” series. If there’s a point in showing a guy dancing in a bear costume, or a...
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'Snake And Mongoose' Revisits The Golden Age Of The NHRA: VideoIf you grew up in the 1970s and had any interest in cars, you know the names Don “The Snake” Prudhomme and Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen. Rivals on track and (mostly) friends off-track, the pair created a marketing juggernaut that paved the way for modern motorsports marketing...
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ZF CEO Says Nine Speeds Are The 'Natural Limit'For decades, automatic transmissions had three or four speeds, which were deemed sufficient to provide reasonable acceleration and fuel economy. Then came the five speed automatic, which was standard issue on most cars until just a few years back. Then, the race for more gears in the transmission...
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Ford Explains How The Shelby GT500 Is A 200 MPH Car: VideoThere’s a lot more to building a car capable of 200 mph (under the right conditions) than stuffing in a massively-powerful engine and calling it done. While the 2013 Shelby GT500’s supercharged 5.8-liter V-8, rated at 662 horsepower and 631 pound feet of torque, can deliver the...
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Fiat Starts Custom Shop For U.S. 500 BuyersOne of the keys to MINI’s success in the United States is the vast amount of customization available on its cars. While it’s theoretically possible to spec a MINI Cooper that’s identical to a car ordered by another buyer, we’d have to rate the chances on the same level as...
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In the last season of Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson relived the Battle of Britain by once again pitting the Germans against the British. This time, it would be contested on a runway, between a German car...
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Halo Supercar On The Mind Of Caterham BossThe ink is barely dry on the deal between Renault and Caterham, which we know will yield both a new Caterham road car and a new Renault Alpine, but Tony Fernandes is already thinking a few steps ahead. In an interview with Autocar, the owner of Caterham Cars (and team principal of Caterham F1) even...
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Paul McCartney’s Aston Martin DB5 Fetches Over $490,000 At AuctionWhile it may not have drawn the same $4.1 million selling price as the heavily-modified Aston Martin DB5 used in the filming of Goldfinger, the DB5 formerly owned by former Beatle Paul McCartney commanded a respectable £307,000 ($490,463) when the hammed fell at RM Auctions’ recent...
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Tesla’s Third Quarter Results Mix Bad With GoodFor Tesla Motors fans, owners and investors, this morning’s third-quarter earnings call was a mixture of bad news and good news. First, the bad news: the start-up automaker lost $110.8 million in the third quarter, compared to losses of $65.1 million in the third quarter of 2011. While the...
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Will Lexus' Upcoming Compact Crossover Be Called The NX?In September, prior to the Paris Auto Show, we caught word that Lexus was working on an all-new compact crossover. At the time, we expected the new grocery-getter model to debut in Paris, but instead, Lexus surprised us with the LF-CC concept. That doesn’t mean that a Lexus-badged compact...
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Dodge Launches New Blacktop Special Editions: VideoGoing for a “seriously sinister” look, Dodge is expanding its “Blacktop” models to include the Avenger and Challenger R/T in addition to the already-available Blacktop Charger R/T. Meant to give buyers a custom look right off the dealer showroom floor, the Blacktop package...
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If there was any doubt about Jimmie Johnson’s ability to take this year’s Sprint Cup Championship, the Hendrick Motorsport driver erased it by taking the pole for Sunday’s AAA Texas... -
Survivor Truck: For Those Who Take Armageddon SeriouslyZombies, it seems, have turned the end of the world into a commercial opportunity for businesses ranging from auto customizers through ammunition suppliers. While many companies build products that look stout, there are no guarantees they’ll get the job done when the fertilizer really does...
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2013 Audi S7 first drive reviewFour-door coupes are all the rage these days, so it seems logical to us that Audi would opt to introduce an S version of its popular A7. Like the all-new-for 2013 Audi S6, the S7 rides on the Volkswagen group’s MLB platform and benefits from a new 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V-8 engine mated to a...
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Pirelli World Challenge Scion FR-S Race Car Debuts At SEMAWith all the attention given to the launch of the Scion FR-S and the Subaru BRZ, it was inevitable that the cars would turn up in pro racing for the 2013 season. Sure enough, the first Scion FR-S GTS racer has bowed its head at this week’s SEMA show. Built by Ken Stout Racing, the FR-S will...
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Park Your Porsche To Protect From Pot-Growing Pilferers: VideoHID headlights have always been a target for thieves, and some brands of automobiles have earned a reputation for being easy to steal from. Such is the case with Porsche, which is why a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge recently approved a class action lawsuit over Porsche’s headlight design...
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Tesla Model S Heads To Europe, First Stop The AutobahnNow that Tesla has successfully launched its Model S sedan in the United States to near-universal praise from buyers and the automotive press, the electric automaker is turning its attention to the other side of the Atlantic. Yesterday, Tesla announced a marketing push for Europe, which began with...
Kurt Ernst