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Your broker calls with exceptionally good news. And you just happen to have a vacant stall in your four-car garage. Friend, you deserve a new car, something exceptional. But what […]

Big, comfortable, stylish, affordable sedans are as strong an American tradition as major league baseball and special prosecutors. When the current-generation Pontiac Bonneville debuted in '92, that list of traditional […]

Be careful what you pray for, you just might get it. Often I've pleaded--usually while going backward at a rapid pace--for divine installation of a thousand feet of runoff room […]

Shortly after Chrysler's initial minivan success, now almost 15 years ago, virtually every manufacturer rushed in with their own interpretation of the genre. There were aggressively styled minivans, minivans with […]

FIRST DRIVE Release the dry-ice fog, hit the spotlights, cue the orchestra. (May we suggest Mozart's "Eine Keine Nachtmusik"?) The '99 911 Carrera is deserving of ceremony normally reserved for […]

The spirit of the Acura Legend GS lives in the new Honda Accord V-6. It feels as if that sport-flavored, $42,000 edition from three seasons back has been reincarnated as […]

To some, the Neon is merely a low-buck commuter, but to others it's a mini-mini-Viper. During its year in residence at Motor Trend, our long-term Playmouth Neon Sport Coupe begged […]

After gaining popularity in the spin-filled NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the "smokey spinout" has become fashionable among race drivers everywhere. The showy technique was key to Jeff Gordon's Winston Cup […]

Though we happily live in a dreamland of tire-smoking Vipers, outrageous Porsche 911 Turbos, and Ferrari trunks filled with matching leather luggage, we enjoy occasional visits to reality. For this […]

* Ford Escort ZX2 Sport * Honda Civic EX * Hyundai Tiburon FX * Mitsubishi Mirage LS * Nissan 200SX SE-R * Plymouth Neon Highline * Toyota Paseo For the […]

DOES BIGGER REALLY MEAN BETTER? People who live by a "bigger is better" philosophy, seeking absolute overkill in every pursuit, from chainsaw Bonsai sculpting to Hemi-powered lawn mowers, are drawn […]

Let's clear up something right away: It doesn't feel like a truck. This Spec Truck Series Chevrolet S-10 drives so much like a conventional stock car that first-timer' conversations are […]

Contrary to all appearances, we didn't put this event together in the high-minded pursuit of automotive evaluation. Our motive for staging this "High-Speed Gamble" was far more basic: We thought […]

The lone windshield wiper vainly slapped at the rain being flung horizontally by a howling, 150-mph, man-made hurricane; a staggering 650 full-throttle horsepower used up every ounce of grip offered […]

Or grease, or tomato sauce or chocolate syrup...Tuff Stuff[R] is the perfect all-around cleaner to use on just about any mess. Take it outside to use on your car or […]

Like a 7.3-magnitude earthquake centered on Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive, the original Lexus LS 400 uprooted the foundations and toppled longstanding icons of the high-end luxury car segment when it […]

Parity. It's the Holy Grail sought by the National Football League, NASCAR, and the socialist Peace and Freedom Party. But parity is rarely in the minds of auto executives (or […]

Although it was below freezing, I had worked up a sweat. I was losing a wrestling match with a serpentine course whose surface was what terminally optimistic ski-area operators call […]

For most of this automotive century sports cars were fast and handled well, but proved impractical and cramped. Four-door sedans, on the other hand, were practical and comfortable but carried […]

Perhaps we're easily confused, but we've always thought of the Honda Prelude as a hot-performing, high-tech sporty car. It featured among the first appearances of anti-lock brakes variable valve timing, […]

It's the fall of '88. Michael Dukakis is test-driving tanks. Fuzz-faced 17-year-old Jeff Gordon is racing USAC sprint cars. The Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 prepares to seize the weighty crown of […]

Jay Signore is gun-shy about loaning out his cars. He's earned the right. Since 1973, the worlds best drivers regularly have wrecked the hell out of his International Race of […]

Into Turn Three on the last lap and Jarrett makes a blocking move, dropping his Ford Thunderbird to the bottom of the banking. Earnhardt is gonna try the high side […]

Here's how Oldsmobile should introduce its new '97 Cutlass to the rest of the automative press: Stage a unique surprise party. First, have former KBG agents - there has to […]

In a single week, it isn't unusual for a Motor Trend editor to drive home five different hot, new vehicles, often months before they're in showrooms. To us, it's an […]

So you've finally made the semi-big time, and at long last, that near-luxury lifestyle is firmly within your grasp. Gone are the days of trolling for econo-cars and scoping out […]

Despite the old adage, clothes don't make the man (or woman, as the case may be). Nor do we put much faith in the maxim that says, "You are what […]

The plan was simple in concept, if not in execution. We'd gathered the cream of the sport/utility crop--the premium models that tread the rarefied air of the segment's luxury stratosphere. […]

Where were you 32 years ago? In the service? In grade school? Yet to be conceived? Carroll Shelby was racing. And building cars--Cobras and GT350 Mustangs, to be exact. In […]

"Fake wood or no fake wood?" When our parents pondered the purchase of a family mover, this was among their toughest choices, ranking up there with the agonizing debate over […]

From behind the wheel, all but the puniest race cars accelerate ferociously. Yet from the spectator seats, many race cars look not much faster than street cars. Yeah, right. Not […]

Somewhere, Sir David Brown is smiling. But it hasn't always been that way. Just after World War II, the wealthy industrialist rescued Aston Martin from the brink of oblivion--akin to […]

Except for their pickup-replica skins, the vehicles of the NASCAR SuperTruck Series by Craftsman are virtually identical to Winston Cup stock cars. Yet a handful of small differences combine to […]

An auto manufacturer's ambition can be measured by the quality of competition it targets. Its confidence in meeting those goals is shown by the competitive cars it brings to its […]

The attribute Goodyear previously found was most sought by tire shoppers--long tread life--is now equaled on consumers' wish lists by "safety." According to he government, wet road conditions contribute to […]

With the booming popularity of all-season tires in general and all-season "ultrahigh-performance" tires in particular, many enthusiasts are wondering what they would get--and what they'd have to give up--by swapping […]

ROAD TEST The '87 Pontiac Trans Am was, in its time, considered a hard-charging, tire-smoking bad boy. As reported in the April '86 issue of Motor Trend, with 210 horsepower […]

IMAGINE you're the president of a car company. Your bread-and-butter model was totally redesigned for the '92 model year and sold a record-breaking 267,000 units in '94 in the United […]

You've seen these things, no doubt: There you are driving along minding your own business, and a police radar trailer pops up. These unnamed sentinels can't inflict any damage on […]

Ford believes the folks in Peoria, Plano, Pine Bluff, and Provo are ready for some automotive excitement. The residents of Middle America--what the self-proclaimed elite term "fly-over country"--want some of […]

We were less concerned with where we were going, than with where we weren't going. Desolation was the real destination. From Los Angeles, the most accessible slice of nowhere is […]

Is the All-New Chrysler Minivan As Good As Promised? ROAD TEST Like a couple of million other Americans, we've anxiously awaited the debut of Chrysler Corporation's '96 lineup of all-new […]

We didn't quite know what to expect when Infiniti, Nissan's luxury division, burst onto the scene a little over five years ago with a megadollar ad campaign spewing Zen philosophy […]

To determine a winner between the Dodge Neon Sport Coupe and Nissan 200SX SE-R, you could, as we did, grind their tires into the skidpad and slalom courses, repeatedly whip […]

The first autobahn overpass carried a banner: REISEN NICHT RASEN (which I interpreted as "reason not racing") it said in meter-tall letters. They must have known I was coming! For […]

Today, focus groups determine everything from a prosecutors' hemline to foreign policy. Automakers, especially domestic companies, put great faith in these market-research sessions. Also called consumer clinics, they're good at […]

Adjusting air pressure will, without question, change how a vehicle rides and handles. However, journalistic ethics (yes, there is - or was - such a thing) and my own moral [...]

With ultra-high perforance OE tires surpassing $300, $400 or even $500 each, how do you keep 'em on OE once they've seen lower prices? A good way to start is [...]

What do the following have in common? * Chlorine bleach with ammonia or vinegar. * Beer, wine or liquor with acetaminophen, barbituates, Vicodin or Valium. * Fuel oil with fertilizer [...]

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. That's certainly the case with Motor Trend's Top 10 special section. After a one-year hiatus, it's back again by popular demand. If you're looking […]