Ever since I was old enough to hold a toy car, I have been infatuated with anything that has four wheels and an engine. Alongside that was an equal obsession with LEGO bricks, which took over our entire living room floor. The intersection of car culture and LEGO sets has created a fascinating space for […]
Category: Cars
Our 12 Favorite Movie Cars
Cars and movies have always been connected. This is probably because both the film and automotive industries developed around the same time. No matter the reason, some of the greatest movies have featured some amazing cars. While many of them are fanciful contraptions that you could never find at your local dealer, such as Speed […]
Buick Performance is Back! A Look at Its Past and Future
The steady abandonment of classic sedans and performance cars by the Big Three has been widely reported. It had reached the point where the Ford Mustang, Chevy Corvette, and a pair of Cadillac sedans were all America could hang its hat on. But suddenly, this trend is starting to reverse, and an unexpected name is […]
Music and Motorsport Join Forces In Gridlife
What do you get when you combine the raw excitement of motorsport with the festival-like atmosphere of a live concert? Just call it Gridlife. The nationwide racing and concert series recently kicked off its 12th season at the Carolina Motorsports Park, with more than 60 drivers competing across the two-day event. Things only heated up […]
250th US Anniversary Packages We Need Right Now
If you haven’t done the math yet, this year marks our nation’s 250th anniversary, which calls for a big celebration. Amongst the cookouts and fireworks on July 4th, it would be nice to see some star-spangled vehicles roaming around town, but alas, we may be disappointed. In fact, only two automakers have come out with […]
The Subaru Baja: Ahead of Its Time, Ready for a Comeback
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 […]
What Happened to America’s Love Affair With the Convertible?
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 […]
Three of the Most Overlooked Used Cars of the Last Decade
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 […]
How to Get Into (Legal) Racing and What You Need to Know
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 […]
The Hyundai IONIQ 5 N: Proof That the Electric Future Still Has a Pulse
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 […]
Clone Wars: The Best One-Make Racing Series and Why They Matter
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 […]
Getting More From Your Engine Oil: A Deep-Dive for Drivers Who Live at Redline
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 […]
The “Date Car” Re…tired? The 2026 Honda Prelude
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. […]
VIN-I, VIDI, VECI: Conquering Your Vehicle’s Unique ID Number
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 […]
What Surprises Could the Refreshed C8 Corvette Have in Store?
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 […]
The Most Famous Race Tracks in the US
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 […]
Coming to the Grid: A Round-Up of New Brands in Formula One
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 […]
Seven of Honda’s Coolest Cars From Past to Present
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 […]
The History and Potential Future of the Toyota Celica
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 […]
The CarLifeNation Guide to Importing an Economical Kei Car
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 […]