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If you've ever fantasized about blasting down the interstate in a CART FedEx Champ Car, the Alex Zanardi Edition Acura NSX is as close as you can get without fear […]

I heard an F-117 pilot asked if the Nighthawk was a fun airplane to fly. The pilot responded, "The 117 is workload intensive in the target area." That's a nice […]

GTS YOUR INVITATION TO MR. MAC'S WILD RIDE When we bring a Dodge Viper GTS to the test track, a long line of thrill riders magically materializes. Suddenly, I'm Chief […]

HOW I AVERAGED 204.7 MPH IN MOTOR TREND'S OWN INDY CAR Inches behind my head, the 730-horsepower Infiniti Indy V-8 sang a 9500-rpm alcohol-fed opera Texas Motor Speedway's three-story-tall banking […]

JEFF BARTLETT GROWING AFFECTION WITH TIME Our fondness for the Mercury Mountaineer grew over time as the luxury-oriented sport/ute proved a trusted daily steed and capable weekend escape vehicle. Far […]

A colleague often asserted, 'The only thing that stickier tires do is allow people to hit the guardrail harder.' He's probably right. Studies imply that few people will use more [...]

What does it mean when a tire sidewall says 'Extra Load,' or 'XL?' As with pretty much every tire-related question, the answer is: 'It depends.' Humor me with this example [...]

How many times have you heard this question: 'Why do I have to pay extra for a Z-rated tire when I never drive over 70?' (We'll ignore the fact that [...]

I claim expertise in many areas, including high-performance driving, tire safety, vehicle dynamics, diaper changing and calling in wild turkeys. Mounting tires on wheels is not on that list. My [...]

As a child, I often watched and listened at the hardware store, Sears or the like as people cornered my father and asked him endless questions. My Dad was a [...]

Two of the best tires I've driven on a wet test track are the Goodyear Eagle Fl GS D3 and the Toyo Proxes T1R. During assertive cornering in the dry, [...]

Pick a car tire size, any auto tire dimension. Then choose a couple of different performance categories (ultra-high performance and touring work nicely for my example) from three or four [...]

Swapping UHP summer (or, better said, 'three-season') tires for all-season UHP rubber is trading something you want for something you will probably never need. Consumers - and a shockingly high [...]

Compared to professional road racing in America, the situation in the former Soviet Union seems simple, stable, non-politicized, and full of hope for the future. (We refer to fendered, aka […]

With 800 (or more!) horsepower in chassis weighing 1400 pounds (or less!), sprint cars are among the most awesome beasts to roam the planet since that asteroid smacked into the […]

While many sport/utility vehicles offer the benefit of four driven wheels, there can be big differences in the way this is achieved. For instance, all of the vehicles in our […]

Forget everything you know about go-karts. Even if you understand that virtually every Formula One and Indy car driver first tasted speed in the miniature-but-mean race cars called karts, your […]

The chefs at Cadillac have whipped up some very different fare from a new and wholly different cookbook. In an effort to capture younger buyers who previously have owned imports, […]

With a nip here, a tuck there, and a few ROAD strategic augmentations, automotive cosmetic surgeon Steve Saleen has transformed the Ford Mustang GT's already attractive body into a ravishing […]

Since its introduction more than a decade ago, the GMC Safari (and its fraternal twin, the Chevrolet Astro) has been the answer to a modern Goldilocks dilemma: When the interior […]

Here's a prediction with a money-back guarantee: Either Oldsmobile or Infiniti will win the '97 Indianapolis 500. We're confident in our prognostication because the Aurora and Infiniti V-8s are the […]

The announcement that NASCAR Winston Cup stars, led by Dale Earnhardt, would stage an exhibition race November 30 at Suzuka Circuit in Japan prompted a deluge of angry letters to […]

Sheetmetal sentries and engine examiners will underestimate radically the changes made to the '96 Cadillac Seville Touring Sedan. Those who judge a car's newness by fresh fender creases and horsepower […]

Advocates of battery-powered electric cars tout them as 'zero-emissions vehicles.' Yet, unless charging energy comes from nuclear or hydro-electric powerplants that's not fully accurate. And what's more important to consumers: [...]

For more than a year, Chrysler loyalists have been excited by news leaks reporting that Dodge might build a full-size sport/utility based on its Ram pickup, carrying a historic Dodge […]

The difference between a modified Pontiac Firebird and the SLP Firehawk can be boiled down to the cryptic notation of "R6V." And that's good, because while we're infatuated with the […]

Welcome to the Far East edition of Hot Rod magazine. For this month's project car, we're going to shoehorn a 2.7-liter SOHC V-6 from a '90 Acura Legend into a […]

Their steel-skinned doors, head-lights, and windshield wipers are fully functional. They boast airbags, traction control, anti-lock breakes, and catalytic converters. But German Touring Car Championship entries are no closer to […]

The "Race Cars For Sale" classified sections in racing papers are well salted with $11,000 offerings. However, few of these are fully capable of winning; many lack engines and transmissions; […]

Roger Penske shocked the racing world when he announced that the engines for Marlboro Team Penske's entries in the '94 Indianapolis 500 would exploit an intentionally opened rules loophole. This […]

A year ago, we ran sneak race test of NASCAR's engine of the future: the low-compression-ratio 358-cubic-inch V-8 with a small carburetor. (At the time, we thought it was just […]

When designing its all-new Windstar, Ford took direct aim at the flourishing extended minivan segment, placing its crosshairs squarely on the class champion, Dodge's Grand Caravan. Even after our limited […]

The most important fact first: The hard plastic boot covering the '94 Camaro Convertible's folded top will comfortably support both an average high-school quarterback and a typical homecoming queen, though […]

It's a Ferrari. To the faithful, that's ample justification to crave this limited-edition, performance-enhanced 348. If you're not a tifoso (in Italian, "to have firm plans for a large inheritance"), […]

One of the fastest-moving trends in racing is the driver-search program, where competitors pay a fee for a chance to try out for a racing team. It's much like an […]

JUMPING BACK INTO THE MAINSTREAM ON ALL FOURS The way car companies are falling off the map today, when an automotive manufacturer enters its 25th year of production, there's reason […]

No self-propelled, manned vehicle - not a Formula One car, not an F-15E on full 'burner, not the Space Shuttle - accelerates from rest faster than the ones total novices […]

Not long ago, those who wanted to become racing mechanics simply hung around a race shop and begged for the opportunity to sweep floors or chase parts (job title: gofer). […]

Race drivers, especially those with more talent than funding, often express jealousy over the open tryout camps held by pro ball sports teams. Regardless of experience, a ball player who […]

Most high-performance driving and racing schools proudly proclaim their tuition includes school-supplied cars: pure-bred racers at some, lightly modified street machines at others. But equally proudly, Bobby Rahal's TrackTime Performance […]

Before noon of the school's second day, we were running laps averaging more than 150 mph. Nose-to-tail, not quite flat out, drafting through Atlanta Motor Speedway's three-story-high banked turns in […]

The Suburban's 454-cube OHV V-8 can trace its lineage back to the 396-cubic-inch carbureted powerplant, which first appeared in the '65 Impala and Corvette. Today, computer-controlled fuel delivery is a […]

THE LEAST EXPENSIVE 4X4 SUV Behind the wheel of this full-size Tonka Toy, almost-adults can become either George S. Patton, George Page of PBS "Nature," or the Marlboro Man (whose […]

THE KING OF TOWING If the big-block-equipped Chevrolet Suburban K2500 LT can't pull your trailer or tote your load, it's God's way of saying, "Leave some of this stuff home!" […]

BRAIN-FREEZE IN A PRO STOCK TRUCK Ever go to a Pony League baseball game and bear a dad yell, "Sean, tag the runner and get the force at second! Sean!" […]

LIKE COMMUTING IN A B-52 410 lb/ft @ 2650 rpm Pound for pound, inch for inch, capability for capability, the Ford F-350 Super Duty Crew Cab V-10 is the best […]