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AUDI
No Matter How Big Audi SUVs Get, Don’t Ever Expect a Diesel
Audi’s European introduction of the beastly SQ7 SUV caused no shortage of speculation last year. Even as Volkswagen Group’s emissions scandal raged, many hoped the raw power of the SQ7’s cutting-edge diesel engine would be enough to compel Audi to bring the model...
2017 Audi TTS Review – Still More Style Than Substance, But What Style
As an automobile journalist, I’m supposed to qualify certain statements. This car is gorgeous, I might say, but only with an asterisk that denotes beauty being in the eye of the beholder. This car is gorgeous, I might say, but not as gorgeous as its predecessors,...
Maybe Quattro Isn’t Everything After All – Audi Considers Rear-Wheel-Drive RS Models
Whether A3 and Q5 and Allroad drivers in 2017 know it or not, much of Audi’s modern reputation is built upon a foundation cemented by the Audi Quattro rally car in the 1980s. In the capable hands of drivers such as Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist, and Walter Röhrl,...
ASTON MARTIN
Motorcars, Manhattan and Money
Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse, $2.4 million It’s impossible to visit Manhattan without noticing wealth and privilege. Though I’m loathe to use the P word as it’s been corrupted by politics, how else can you describe someone driving a S Class...
RUMOR: Aston Martin Tipped For Deal With Mercedes-Powered Red Bull Racing
The latest rumor to involve Formula 1 also involves a former Nissan executive and one of Britain’s most recognized marques. A report from Autocar sees former world champion team Red Bull ditching their troublesome Renault power units and switching to Mercedes...
Aston Martin CEO Throws Rocks at Glass House, From Glass House
Gearing up to sell its own four-door, all-electric sedan in a couple years, Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer told well-heeled listeners in Monterey, California that Tesla’s “Ludicrous Speed” was plain ol’ dumb, Automotive News reported. “We don’t do Ludicrous because...
BMW
BMW Roadster Concept Suggests Next Z4 Will Be a Stunner, but Will Anybody Buy It?
This is not the next BMW Z4. But it’s very likely an accurate portrayal of what the production version of BMW’s third-generation Z4 (and successor to the Z3) will look like when it goes on sale next year. Love it or hate it, the BMW Roadster Concept that BMW will...
Stop the Presses: BMW Car Sales Rise, SAV Sales Fall in August
BMW’s North American CEO, Bernhard Kuhnt, blames inventory issues for the brand’s sharp utility vehicle sales decline in August 2017. BMW reported only 8,847 utility vehicle sales in August, a harsh 21-percent year-over-year drop for the five-model lineup. Sales of...
BMW’s X7 iPerformance Concept Looks Like Three Rows of Stunningly Luxurious Dog Crap
BMW spent a good portion of this week ensuring the public that it is an aggressively forward-thinking brand with a clear plan for mobility and electrification. However, it took things a step further by letting the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show patrons know it’s...
BENTLEY
Bentley Continental GT Review
Once upon a time, a car's identity was buried deep in its DNA. In these days of multinational parts and platform sharing, brands are born in a marketing memo, then programmed onto a computer chip. Even the most discerning car hack struggles to tell where a Mercedes...
Bentley Continental Flying Spur Review
If you want a lesson in engineering excellence, drive the new Bentley Continental Flying Spur slowly. At 35mph, with just 1500rpms on the tachometer, the go-pedal responds to the slightest pressure with a perfectly measured amount of additional momentum. Reverse ditto...
2009 Bentley Continental GTC Review
"OMG! It's Paris Hilton's car!" The bikini-clad blond with waiting-for-a-nuclear-blast sized sunglasses was impressed by the big black Bentley. "How much does it cost?" "How fast does it go?" "How did you get one?" An Abercrombie of bathing suits gathered around the...
FIAT
Apparently, Müller Wasn’t As Interested In FCA Partnership As We Thought
To say that there was some speculation surrounding Volkswagen CEO Matthias Müller’s response to a potential partnership with Fiat Chrysler Automotive would be a severe understatement. Müller said there had been no contact between he and FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne,...
It’s Raining Fiats … on Dealers That Already Can’t Move Them: Report
Say you’re a dealer with a backlog of slow-selling models. What’s the last thing you would want? The correct answer would be a springtime deluge of more of the same, whether you asked for it or not. That’s what some angry retailers across the Atlantic are facing after...
Junkyard Find: 1979 Fiat 124 Sport Spider
For as long as I have been poking around in American automobile graveyards (35 years), the presence of the occasional Fiat 124 Sport Spider has been a constant. Even while Pininfarina-badged, Malcolm Bricklin-imported 124 Sport Spiders were still available as new cars...
LAND ROVER
Land Rover Defender Will Return to North America in New Iteration
Details have come to light regarding the return of Land Rover’s long-running Defender model to the North American market. This time around, things will be a little different. After a solid 67-year run (dating back to 1948 as the “Series” models), perhaps some changes...
Land Rover Will Stick an SUV in Whatever Part of Its Lineup It Wants and Price It Based on “Personality”
It’s 2017. If this isn’t The Year Of The Luxury SUV, then surely we’re fast approaching The Year Of The Luxury SUV. Therefore, Land Rover can pretty well do whatever it wants. “A brand like ours,” says Land Rover’s chief design officer Gerry McGovern, “has this...
QOTD: Land Rover Defender vs. Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon – Pick Your Poison
Let’s say you had around $50,000 to spend on a vehicle purely as an indulgence. In this indulgence, you desire a somewhat rare SUV that’s basic, yet carries substantial prestige. In the same way, your SUV of choice would be very capable off-road, but you’d never...
Mclaren
Supercars To Go, First Place: McLaren 12C
When it comes to junior “supercars”, the Ferrari 458 is as good as it gets. So why is it in second place, with this significantly less well-rounded and well-realized McLaren on top of the podium? Mostly, it’s focus, and preference. The focus is courtesy of McLaren;...
Geneva 2015: McLaren 675LT Arrives
Bowing at the 2015 Geneva Auto Show, the McLaren 675LT aims to help the automaker re-establish its “Longtail” heritage, begun with the 1997 F1 GTR. Five hundred copies of the 675LT will leave Woking for the world, each one boasting a weight of 2,711 lbs through the...
McLaren Will Not Go Further Down Market From the 540S
The new McLaren 570S It sounds funny to say a car that costs almost $185,000 is a move downmarket, but the new McLaren 570S introduced at the recent New York Auto Show, and the detuned 540S version of the same “Sport Series” chassis (~$150K), are exactly that. The...
Mercedes-Benz
QOTD: Fly or Flop? New Wagons Brave Rough North American Shores
Two new models are entering the not hot wagon market in North America. While one wagon entry is aimed squarely at the near-luxury market, the other aims higher and challenges established luxury wagons. Our question today is this: Will either of the models work? The...
2019 Mercedes-Benz CLS450: Put On An Unhappy Face
What is it about the new crop of vehicles? It’s great that the”cheerful” phase in automotive styling is over (the demented visage of those old Mazda 3s still haunt my nightmares), but what we’re left with, at least in the passenger car segment, is enormous, angry...
Buy/Drive/Burn: Three Luxury Coupes to Deplete the Wallet
Last week we introduced a new series to TTAC called Buy/Drive/Burn. A rather comprehensive set of instructions (and an example) was given in order to prepare you for the upcoming entries into our new game. If you haven’t read that primer, go do so now. This week is...
Porsche
Everything You Loved and More: The 2019 Porsche Cayenne
The Macan may be Porsche’s best-selling vehicle, but it owes all of its success to the Cayenne. When the SUV began production in 2002, we all scoffed and claimed it would never work. But the vehicle’s success has had us feasting on crow for the last 15 years....
Rare Rides: The 1990 BMW Z1, a Little Bimmer Time Forgot
Though not the first BMW-powered vehicle in our Rare Rides series, and not the first with two doors, it is the first BMW convertible we’ve seen here. And the two aforementioned doors on this little convertible have One Simple Trick up their sleeve — disappearing...
QOTD: What Characteristics Make for a True Sports Car?
Back in August, Tim Cain reported on some rather strong statements made by McLaren. The company’s chief engineer proclaimed that McLaren stood alone among true sports car offerings — quite a stance to take, indeed. Don’t worry, the statement was not without very...
Volkswagon
Caterpillar to Crossover: Volkswagen Unveils I.D. Crozz Mark II at Frankfurt Motor Show
Volkswagen debuted a more realistic version of its I.D. Crozz concept vehicle at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week. While still a fantasy model, the physical representation that appeared at the trade event (and VW’s latest round of stylized images) hint at what the...
2017 Volkswagen Golf R Review – Performance at a Price
Not long ago, I wrote glowingly about the new Honda Civic Type R. Part of my praise was based on the fact that the Type R is bargain-priced compared to its competition. Yeah, I liked the Type R. A lot. Even took a little crap in the comments for it (fair enough). But...
Recalled Diesel Volkswagens and Audis Stolen from Silverdome Storage
Dozens of recalled Volkswagen diesels have vanished from the Silverdome parking lot in Pontiac, Michigan, over past last week. The stadium was once home to the Detroit Lions and monster truck rallies. Now defunct, it has been converted into a makeshift...