Some cars are background noise, others are main characters, and then there’s the Subaru Baja. The Baja feels less like a vehicle and more like a deleted scene from a cult movie that somehow became canon anyway. If it were a character, it wouldn’t be the predictable hero, but the oddball everyone underestimates and then […]
Once almost as ubiquitous in America as apple pie, rock and roll, and baseball, there was a time when the nation was embroiled in a passionate love affair with the convertible. Convertibles were available from every major American auto manufacturer, and even the most seemingly practical models had convertible versions that offered the free-spirited joy […]
Most dealership lots look the same until you spot the outlier. It could be a dusty Cadillac parked between two vanilla SUVs, a coupe with yellow Brembos hiding in the back row, or a short-run Ford wearing factory 20s, each with a “for sale” tag nobody’s noticed yet. That’s the split-second enthusiasts live for, spotting […]
There’s no adrenaline rush quite like what racing provides. Whether it’s banging doors on a quarter-mile oval, hitting 180 mph on a superspeedway, or hanging onto the handlebars as your motorcycle careens through the esses, racing is a thrilling, rewarding sport. But for anyone who wants to go from the couch to the cockpit, it […]
A unique kind of magic happens when a car surprises you, when you drop the accelerator and feel something raw, mechanical, and emotional connect straight to your gut. That feeling used to belong exclusively to combustion engines: the roar of the revs, the slight vibrations in the shifter, and the tactile rush of a perfectly […]
There’s something in our soul that craves speed and competition. The Romans were racing chariots around the Colosseum in the first century BC. In 1875, horses began thundering down the track at Churchill Downs. NASCAR’s roots were planted in the 1940s among thrill seekers and moonshiners. Add in countless other examples, and it’s clear that […]
Oil becomes more than a maintenance interval for drivers who push their engines beyond the average commute. It becomes a tuning tool. Whether it’s high-revving track sessions, heavy-duty towing, or sustained highway pulls, demanding conditions place a unique strain on internal components. Factory recommendations are built around average use cases, not enthusiasts running wide-open throttle […]
Oh, the Honda Prelude, the sleeker and better-looking Honda Accord, a car made for the sole purpose of picking up dates—I’m not kidding; Honda said it themselves. Back in the day, in the year 2000, the Prelude was a relatively tame vehicle that combined front-wheel drive with a modest-revving 220 hp inline-four under the hood. […]
Learning to decode a model’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) is one of the easiest ways to learn your car, truck, or SUV inside and out. From the year it was made and the manufacturer that produced the vehicle to details on its safety systems and the factory where it originally rolled off the line, there’s […]
The Chevy Corvette is the paragon of American automotive performance, but even legends are susceptible to the ravages of old age. The eight-generation Corvette—or C8, in Chevy-speak—isn’t ready for the retirement home after only five years on the market, but it is starting to look a little overdue for a mid-cycle refresh. That refresh looks […]
Almost as long as cars have existed, people have raced them. From early point-to-point races like the 1908 New York to Paris event to modern short tracks, superspeedways, and road courses, thousands of circuits have existed in the past 150 years. Today, the National Speedway Directory and RacingIn.com estimate there are over 1,200 active race […]
Change is inevitable on the Formula One circuit. There were times when fans thought Mercedes domination would go on forever or that we’d never see a day without Lotus and Brabham on the track. Admittedly, the days are long gone of seemingly half a dozen teams springing up or folding in a calendar year and […]
Walking around your average Honda dealer, you’re more likely to describe the vehicles surrounding you as “practical” than “exciting.” But enthusiasts know that there’s more to Honda than commuter cars and family SUVs—the brand has long been making vehicles that are aimed at customers for whom driving is a lifestyle rather than a simple method […]
While the general public probably knows Toyota best for making practical commuter cars like the Corolla and Prius, auto enthusiasts know that the Japanese automaker has a fun side, too. Toyota’s history of making performance cars designed to deliver thrills stretches back much further than the official creation of the company’s Gazoo Racing division in […]
While Japan’s kei cars have been imported to the US since the late 1940s, they’re enjoying a bit of a resurgence thanks to countless social media posts and YouTube videos. A bonafide viral sensation, kei cars are tiny cars, trucks, and vans that almost resemble playthings next to larger vehicles dominating American roadways. Defined by […]
Have you ever been to a Honda dealer, seen the HPD emblem on a vehicle, and wondered what it stood for? Racing enthusiasts will likely clue you in on its meaning straight away. HPD stands for “Honda Performance Development,” and it has been the high-octane arm of the brand here in America for decades. Most […]
For more than 115 years, the Bugatti name has been associated with vehicles that offer the highest performance and luxury. Bugatti was arguably the original supercar and hypercar manufacturer, and modern rides like the EB 110, Veyron, Chiron, and Bolide have carried on the tradition. Soon, another nameplate will be joining this illustrious list. On […]
For decades, manual transmissions in American vehicles have been an endangered species. According to Motor1, less than 2% of cars sold stateside in 2023 were equipped with manual transmissions. Yet despite the proliferation of automatic transmissions, stick shifting has carved a niche with automakers like Honda still offering it in certain vehicles. Honda even trumpets […]
Since Chevy announced the impending return of the Corvette ZR1, fans have barely been able to contain their excitement. The C8 Corvette Stingray and performance variants such as the Z06 are already continuing the vehicle’s fine tradition, with the Corvette Z06 winning the 2023 MotorTrend Performance Car of the Year Award. If you didn’t think […]
Today, it seems like automotive engineering is advancing at a breakneck pace. More technology is being introduced every year, and electrification has created entirely new types of vehicles seemingly overnight. However, this isn’t anything new in the automotive world. Looking back to the early 1900s reveals an age in which engineering and design were advancing […]
