Kurt Ernst, Contributor
Articles
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Acura has sunk a considerable amount of time, money and effort into the 2013 ZDX crossover, trying to make the oddly-styled Jack-of-all-trades vehicle more appealing to the general public.
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Update: Lexus LFA Beats Eclipse 500 Jet, Pilot Gives Us His Take
Update: Marc Arnold, the pilot for Rocky Mountain Jet who flew the Eclipse 500 against the Lexus LFA, was kind enough to give us detailed information on the race. Rather than leaving his insight as a comment, we thought it more relevant to include it in the body of the original story. Thanks go to...
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Cadillac Hires Lobbyist As New Global Boss, Ponders New Models
Robert E. Ferguson, GM’s vice president for global public policy and a former AT&T executive, has been appointed to the newly-created position of vice president, Cadillac global. Ferguson will report directly to GM’s chairman and CEO, Dan Akerson. As he transitions into the role...
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Porsche Motorsport Launches Young Driver Academy In North America
Becoming a professional race car driver is a lot like becoming a rock star: talent can only get you so far, and then you need to be discovered. For every Michael Schumacher, Jimmie Johnson or Sebastian Loeb, there are probably dozens of equally-skilled but anonymous racers taking to tracks around...
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Ford Developing Cost-Effective Methods Of Carbon Fiber Production
Shaving pounds and even ounces off new vehicles helps to improve performance while simultaneously boosting fuel economy. While materials like aluminum, titanium and carbon fiber are both strong and light, their inherently high cost has generally excluded or limited their use in mainstream vehicles...
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In Five Years, 25 Percent Of Cars Sold In The U.S. Will Be Turbocharged
Last year, Americans purchased some 12.8 million new vehicles. Of that number, 1.3 million vehicles, or roughly 10 percent, came with turbocharged engines. In just five years, however, turbo supplier Honeywell expects that total to climb to four million turbocharged vehicles, representing...
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Only 11 Plymouth Hemi ‘Cuda convertibles were ever built, making them among the rarest and most desirable of Mopar muscle cars. Among Hemi ‘Cuda convertibles, it doesn’t get any...
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Porsche’s 962C, The Ultimate Street Car: Video
There’s a reason that race cars go fast on the track, and that street cars (generally) don’t. Cars built for racing are constructed without regard to ride comfort, with the primary focus being on weight savings, handling and driver safety. Cars built for the road are generally focused...
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Jay Leno Drives The 2013 Ford Mustang Boss 302: Video
The story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears applies equally well to the Ford Mustang. To those of us who use our cars for track days, the Mustang GT is a bit too soft (although it’s still very good with the optional Track Package), while the 662-horsepower Shelby GT500 is a bit too hard for...
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Lincoln Hoping To Lure 'Cultural Progressives' With The 2013 MKZ
At a time when most automakers are going to extraordinary lengths to target Millennial buyers, luxury brand Lincoln is betting its fortunes on an entirely different demographic, one it’s calling “cultural progressives.” Per Lincoln’s own research, cultural progressives are...
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Ermini And ATS Brands Set For Revival
In the years after World War II, Pasquale Ermini rose to fame building small, lightweight race cars (called “Barchettas,” Italian for “little boats”) with engines around one liter in displacement. Ermini’s cars were successful, frequently besting competitors from...
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Radeberger Pilsner Wants To Give You A Vintage Mercedes
We always believed ourselves to be well-schooled in German beer available to U.S. consumers. From Stuttgart’s Dinkelacker CD Pils to our perennial favorite, Munich’s Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest, we thought we’d tried about every Reiheitsgebot-governed beer available on this side of...
Kurt Ernst -
If the Porsche 918 Spyder were a celebrity, it would likely be Lindsay Lohan or Lady Gaga. That’s not commentary on the Porsche’s behavior, dress or after-hours habits, but instead...
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Forbidden Fruit: Honda CR-Z Mugen RZ
Ever since Honda launched its CR-Z “Sports Hybrid,” fans of the car and of the brand have wished for one thing: more power. Even in early 2011, less than a year after the car’s launch, there was talk about a new, more powerful version in the works. That car made its debut at this...
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Nissan Builds Its Own Leaf-Based Autonomous Car
While Google and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) may be the two names most closely associated with autonomous vehicles, they’re hardly the only organizations working on self-driving cars. Ceatec Japan is an annual conference highlighting the latest advances in...
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NASCAR Recap: Matt Kenseth Escapes The Big One To Win In Talladega: Video
For a race that drew only a handful of yellow flags throughout much of its 188-lap scheduled distance, Sunday’s Good Sam Roadside Assistance Sprint Cup race at Talladega served up plenty of drama, much of it condensed into the final green and white flag lap. As the laps wound down, it looked...
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NASCAR Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 Preview: Off To Talladega
When it comes to racetracks visited by NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series, some have achieved near-mythic status. While Daytona may top the list of sacred temples of speed, the 2.66 mile tri-oval in Talladega, Alabama, finishes a close second. Perhaps its the sheer size of the place, since its 2.66...
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Volvo S60, S80 Refresh Coming, Followed By New XC90: Report
While most automakers are reporting robust sales in 2012 (so far, anyway), Volvo is longing for the good old days of 2011. In September, Volvo sold just 4,977 vehicles in the United States, a 1.3-percent decline from last September’s sales. Year-to-date, Volvo’s sales are down one...
Kurt Ernst -
Calling the new Jaguar F-Type convertible a milestone for the storied automaker is no exaggeration, as it’s the first no-compromise sports car from the brand in decades. It’s clear that...
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Volkswagen Touareg Edition X Marks A Decade Of Production
It’s hard to imagine, but the Volkswagen Touareg SUV, cousin to the Porsche Cayenne, has been in production for ten years now. While tradition calls for a celebratory gift of tin or aluminum for the tenth anniversary, Volkswagen is marking the occasion with a special Touareg Edition X for its...
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Neil Armstrong's Corvette To Be Preserved, Not Restored
Last May we brought you the news that a 1967 Corvette Coupe once owned by astronaut Neil Armstrong had surfaced on eBay, in worn but restorable condition. Essentially intact, the only bit of bad news was that the second owner had added flared fenders to the car during his four-plus decades of...
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Tesla To Be Cash Flow Positive By The End Of November
Just last week, Tesla revised its 2012 revenue projections downward from some $600 million to between $400 and $440 million, blaming production startup problems with the Model S sedan for the decline in revenue. In the same filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Tesla stated its...
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Scion FR-S, Subaru BRZ Owners Report Stalling Issue
Common wisdom tells us to never buy the first production year of any automobile, since that’s when all the bugs not found in pre-production testing tend to surface. In the case of a car as anticipated as the Scion FR-S (or Subaru BRZ), sometimes emotion wins out over common sense. As early...
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John Hennessey Tests A 700 Horsepower Camaro ZL1: Video
If you’re looking for a seriously fast muscle car, the 2013 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is one of two outstanding options you have these days (the other, of course, is the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500). From the showroom floor, the ZL1 makes some 580 horsepower at the crank, which is good enough to get...
Kurt Ernst