Kurt Ernst, Contributor
Articles
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Just days after news that Italian automaker DeTomaso had filed for bankruptcy comes word that its chairman, Gian Mario Rossignolo, was arrested on allegations that some $9.2 million in public funds... -
Jaguar Runs The F-Type At Goodwood: VideoJaguar has been very savvy in building interest for it’s upcoming F-Type roadster. Images and video footage of the under-development sports car have been leaked on a fairly consistent basis, but few people outside of the development team had seen Jaguar’s newest cat stretch its legs in...
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Mercedes Shows Off The 2013 CLS63 AMG Shooting Brake: VideoIf you’re looking for a fast family hauler, there are plenty of sedans and crossovers that serve up a surprising amount of performance with their versatility. If your tastes run towards wagons, particularly large wagons, your choices are a bit limited. For those of us on this side of the...
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Next Nissan Z May Rely On Less For MoreAs automakers grow more concerned with tightening fuel economy and emission regulations, dedicated and limited-demand sports cars like the Nissan 370Z get increasingly hard to justify for mainstream car makers. A new version of the venerable sport coupe is due to hit the market for the 2015 model...
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Lexus Teases The First (And Only) Black Amethyst LFAOne of the advantages to ordering a $375,000 automobile is the amount of personalization you can request. While Lexus may not offer up the same number of bespoke options that Rolls-Royce does, there’s still an impressive amount of factory customization available to LFA buyers. For exterior...
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Did German Government Aid Give Porsche An Unfair Advantage?To help Porsche develop its new Macan SUV, the German state of Saxony (where Porsche’s Leipzig factory is located) has pledged to contribute 43.7 million euros ($53.7 million) to the project. In addition, Saxony has agreed to further-but-unspecified aid, likely tied to the expansion of the...
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Don’t worry, we’re not going to show you Saudi-drifting-dismemberment videos, since they get plenty of coverage on other internet sites. Instead, we bring you this security cam footage... -
Four Historically Significant Race Cars Hit The Block In MontereyWhen it comes to collector cars, those with documented racing histories are generally among the most valuable. If the cars are all original yet immaculately preserved, the value can rise exponentially. That’s the case with four “magnificent motorsport legends” that will be up for...
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New Cartoon Stars Lewis Hamilton And Jenson Button: VideoFormula One drivers have a reputation for being cold and calculating, and the media has long wished that many were more animated. As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for. McLaren Animation, part of the giant family of McLaren companies, has partnered with Oscar-winning animation studio...
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Want To See A Chase Between A Nissan Juke Nismo And The Juke-R?While all of us would love to climb behind the wheel of the utterly insane, 545-horsepower Nissan Juke-R, few will ever get that chance. Although Nissan has announced a limited-production build of the Godzilla-infused grocery-getter, each built-to-order copy is expected to cost in the neighborhood...
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Tommy Kendall Drives The SLS AMG GT3: VideoSign up for most driving schools, and the course will consist of a few hours of classroom time, followed by paced laps around a track to learn the line, followed by instructor ride-alongs, followed by semi-unrestricted lapping, interspersed with more classroom instruction. It’s a tried and...
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What It's Like To Work At MINI USA: VideoThe secret to a healthy work environment is getting along with your co-workers, since nothing hampers productivity quite like office discord. One way to ensure on-the-job tranquility is to unite employees with a common goal, no matter how daunting the task may be. At MINI USA, that task may be as...
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Despite coming from a shared design, the Scion FR-S and the Subaru BRZ came to market in the United States with completely different sales philosophies, aimed at slightly different demographics.
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Bentley Shows Off The EXP 9 F With Its First Driving Footage: VideoWhen Bentley revealed its EXP 9 F SUV concept at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, we’d be kind to say that it met with “mixed reviews.” Most in attendance panned the go-anywhere Bentley as being too plain, while some were downright critical of the concept’s controversial...
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2013 Scion tC Release Series 8.0 PricedScion has release pricing and details on its 2013 tC Release Series 8.0 model.
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2013 BMW ActiveHybrid 3 Pricing Starts At $50,195If you prefer your sport sedans with an emphasis on environmental friendliness, BMW’s ActiveHybrid 3 may be just the car you’ve been waiting for. Blending a TwinPower Turbo 3.0-liter in-line six and a lithium-ion battery powered electric motor, the ActiveHybrid 3 puts out some 335...
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Chrysler Launching High Fuel Efficiency (HFE) LineJust days after announcing an upcoming line of clean diesel products dubbed “EcoDiesel,” Chrysler has filed paperwork with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to claim the “HFE High Fuel Efficiency” name as its own. As Car and Driver reports, the automaker had previously...
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Man Recovers Stolen Austin-Healey, 42 Years LaterIn 1970, Bob Russell was a cash-strapped graduate student at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His primary transportation was a 1967 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk III, which Russell had purchased from a friend for $3,000 for in 1968. As a starving student, Russell couldn’t afford to...
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Swedish magazine Teknikens Värld (Technology World) has hit the new Jeep Grand Cherokee with some serious allegations: in performing an evasive maneuver test that’s become known as the...
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BMW 235i To Debut M Performance Line In U.S.When it comes to M Performance vehicles from BMW, so far U.S. customers have gotten the short end of the stick. While buyers in Europe can snap up all the M550d xDrive sedans, or X5 M50d crossovers, or X6 M50d crossovers they want, these models are not-for-U.S.-consumption. Worse, we’re...
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Ken Block Visits San Francisco, Films Gymkhana Five: VideoVacations for Ken Block take a bit more planning than vacations for the rest of us. Not only does Block have to factor in the logistics of shipping his Hybrid-Function-Hoon-Vehicle (HFHV) to San Francisco, there’s the whole matter of getting streets blocked off for filming during daylight...
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Lamborghini Crash Takes Out BMW Motorcycle DealershipAs much as we love cars, many of us have a thing for motorcycles, too. As you’d guess, we’re not exactly the put-along-below-the-speed-limit-on-a-cruiser type, and many of our fondest two-wheeled memories have been racked up behind the bars of BMW motorcycles. While BMWs may not be as...
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NJ ACLU Releases 'Police Tape' App To Document Encounters: VideoIf you own an Android phone, the New Jersey chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has just released an app called “Police Tape” that allows users to document, via video, an encounter with police. The function of the app is simple: get stopped by the police, and it allows you to...
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Here's What 200 MPH Looks Like In A Mk II VW Golf: VideoVolkswagen built it’s second-generation Golf hatchback from 1983 though 1992, in variants as mild as 54 horsepower and as wild as 207 horsepower (in rare Golf Limited trim). At no time, however, did the designers of the Mark II Golf ponder the question, “I wonder if we can make this car...
Kurt Ernst