Quick Spins

Mild-Mannered Fun At 45 mpg The world doesn't need another automaker claiming to have cracked the code for a fun-to-drive hybrid. The concept hasn't worked particularly well in any application. Just ask Lexus. And Honda. Twice. Granted, we don't know how Volkswagen plans to pitch the 2013 Jetta ...

Getting Deliciously Dirty With Clean Diesel Back in July, our man Bowman got his first chance to drive the new Mercedes M-Class in the wilds of Montana, and he came away particularly impressed by the ML350 BlueTEC 4Matic. It's great news that this updated diesel powertrain finally got to the ...

The 1,104-HP Supercar You Can Drive To The Mall The soundtrack of existence is mostly thrum and clatter, the day's small deeds and smaller conversations usually having no more affect on you than the burbling of a refrigerator. And then there's a noise that makes an impact and catches your ...

An Off-Road Supercar That Prefers Anything But Pavement I had just passed the point of no return. Actually, that's not entirely true – I hadn't just passed it, I had hurled mud, gravel and everything else that got in my way as I transitioned from a sweeping arc of pavement onto a much ...

Resurrecting Ford's Iconic 4x4 With Style "The watch industry is a very interesting parallel in that none of us need watches anymore," Jonathon Ward, founder of Icon 4x4, offers as a metaphor for his latest project. "The secret to them succeeding and prospering and furthering their design ...

Point. Shoot. Grin. Wedging myself into the cockpit of Keith Tanner's 1994 Mazda MX-5 Miata turned Targa Newfoundland podium finisher, I'm struck with the realization that most race cars are the automotive equivalent of a pet electric eel. They look fantastic lounging around, and you may even be ...

Driving Audi's Futurethink Diesel-Electric Roadster At last September's Paris Motor Show, we were thrilled to see this very concept car, the Audi e-tron Spyder. The crisp lines of its carbon composite exterior, its tapering side windows, its airflow vents cut in the hood, its almost impossibly ...

A Chinese EV From California's Newest Automaker "Simple." The word floated around the room and landed gently on our notepad during the morning press conference. Initially, it seemed like a perfect fit. But the more we learned about the new all-electric 2012 Coda sedan, the more we realized that ...

Drift On Sunday, Sell On Monday At the 2009 SEMA Show, Vaughn Gittin Jr. wowed us with his RTR-C Ford Mustang. With a full carbon fiber body, supercharged V8 producing 550 horsepower and a custom interior, it was easily one of the coolest modern pony cars we had ever seen. The only problem was ...

At One With The Wind Gods In Munich's Ultimate Wedgie We had ventured out to California for a BMW event tied to the huge Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, and there it sat, unapologetically sassy. It was there and then that we decided it was time to finally drive one of BMW's ultimate curio ...