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This article discusses the finalists for Motor Trend's Car of the Year award, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each contender. The 2023 BMW 7 Series is praised for its luxurious features, although some judges had reservations about its grille. The BMW M2 is lauded as the best sports car BMW produces, with excellent driving dynamics and a manual transmission option. The Hyundai Ioniq 6 is commended for its interior tech, quick charging capabilities, and engaging dynamics, making it a strong competitor in the electric sedan segment. The Lucid Air Pure/Touring is praised for its range and engineering excellence, but still has some areas for improvement. The Tesla Model 3 receives positive feedback for its improved build quality, refined cabin, and quietness, although its range is criticized. Despite this, the article suggests that the improved Model 3 is worth considering in the category of long-range electric vehicles priced around $40,000. Additionally, there are two documents available for library patrons conducting research on electric and hybrid vehicles. One document provides technical specifications for various models, including engine/motor type, power, transmission, dimensions, and seating capacity. The other document offers test data and specifications for different vehicles, including performance metrics, pricing, warranties, and fuel recommendations. Both documents serve as valuable resources for those seeking information on specific car models and their characteristics. [Extracted from the article]

24 This Years Combatants Acura RDX Audi A7 Audi A8 Audi RS 5 BMW M2 Competition BMW M5 Chevrolet ZR1 Ferrari 812 Superfast Genesis G70 Hyundai Veloster N infiniti GX50 [...]

LUCERNE, Switzerland IT'S CHILLY AND gray, and reasonably hard rain is coming down, casting a pall over the otherwise lush, rugged beauty of this German-flavored slice of Switzerland. A terrible [...]

It's a day seared into my memory. We were let loose on Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with three Four Seasons cars: the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, Mazda MX-5 Miata, and [...]

Then & Now 2016 Rolls-Royce Dawn 1953 Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn Drophead Driving a piece of history isn't always easy. I'm reminded of this from the moment I slide behind the [...]

Some editors found it made the car more fun and engaging, but the majority thought the manual car handled worse than the DCT version we also had on hand and that the pedal spacing wasn't great. The front diff lets you just hammer on the car through corners, staying on throttle where other front-wheel-drive cars would wash out." 2022 Audi RS 3 PROS Rambunctious handling • Unique engine • Fun torque-split modes CONS Lake of brake pedal feel • Laughable pricing • Tight cabin The characterful RS 3 is one Audis of the you most can buy today, right up there with the V-10 R8 supercar. "Looking for the most fun lap, I was just driving it sideways, rotating it, working on car control, and it's absolutely beautiful, this car.". [Extracted from the article]

The DBX707 is sublime as far as performance SUVs go, and most of us were having too much fun to care about body type, but in the end, it's still "just" an SUV. Other performance cars delivered more overtly spicy experiences, so although the M240i didn't make our finalist cut, it's far from a bad car. Therein lies the rub with the Genesis G80 - this is a luxury car first and a sport sedan second, and no amount of Sport Prestige (the car's trim level) can change that, not even an electronically controlled suspension with sport tuning and rear-wheel steering (part of a $6,300 package). The judges also took issue with the Michelin Primacy tires, which often squealed for mercy and lacked the grip a performance SUV should deliver. [Extracted from the article]

PARMA, ITALY Our convoy of gleaming, new Maserati Levante SUVs was bombing northbound along Italy's A26 highway when we casually blew past a BMW X5 M. The Bimmer's driver, perhaps [...]

Snowflakes danced in our headlights' path as we wound our way up the dark mountain. By morning, the Taos Ski Valley was frosted white--the type of day that skiers and [...]

* Carroll Shelby's story is quintessentially American. He was a rural Texan, a World War II pilot and flight instructor, an oil-field laborer, and a chicken farmer in bib overalls [...]

BY ITS VERY NATURE, the convertible offers an altogether different automotive experience, a visceral connection to the sun, wind, and world whizzing by when the top goes down. The all-new [...]

EVERY SO OFTEN, a car comes along that has people scrambling for their cameras to snag a shot of it; drivers slowing down to steal a longer look; and kids [...]

WE'RE TWISTING and turning along a spectacular stretch of canyon road when suddenly we clamp down hard on the excellent vented discs that stop BMW's new 6 Series: We've got [...]

HYUNDAI SONATA HYBRID * WHAT'S NEW The Sonata Hybrid is the first gas-electric vehicle Hyundai will sell in the U.S. Aimed squarely at today's mainstream players--Altima Hybrid, Camry Hybrid, and [...]

BASED NEAR AMSTERDAM, Ruben Ooms is a noted Dutch illustrator and concept and storyboard artist who studied at the Amsterdam Graphic School and Estor Studio School.Ooms spends the bulk of [...]

JUDGES/TESTERS ERICK AYAPANA Associate Road Test Editor SCOTT EVANS Features Editor MIKE FLOYD Editorial Operations Director ALAN LAU Road Test Analyst JONNY LIEBERMAN Senior Features Editor ED LOH Head of Editorial MAC MORRISON Executive Editor CHRISTIAN SEABAUGH Features Editor ALEXANDER STOKLOSA Deputy Editor CHRIS WALTON Road Test Editor PHOTOGRAPH: RENZ DIMAANDAL ACURA TLX TYPE S • AUDI RS Q8 • BMW ALPINA B8 GRAN COUPE • BMW ALPINA XB7 BMW M3 COMPETITION • BMW M4 • BMW M5 CS • CADILLAC CT4-V BLACKWING CADILLAC CT5-V BLACKWING • FORD MUSTANG MACH 1 • FORD MUSTANG MACH-E GT HONDA CIVIC SI • HYUNDAI VELOSTER N • LAMBORGHINI HURACÁN STO MERCEDES-AMG GT BLACK SERIES • PORSCHE 718 BOXSTER GTS 4.0 PORSCHE 911 GT3 • PORSCHE CAYENNE TURBO GT • PORSCHE TAYCAN TURBO S SUBARU BRZ • TOYOTA GR86 • VOLKSWAGEN GOLF R WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY MOTORTREND STAFF PERFORMANCE VEHICLE OF THE YEAR | Behind the Scenes BEST DRIVER'S CAR IS DEAD. After all, we previously evaluated both it and the new GTI as part of the 2022 MotorTrend Car of the Year contest, and despite the car generating some enthusiasm among our judges, we uncovered a few major issues. Despite knowing the Type S carries 59 percent of its hefty 4,100 or so pounds on its front wheels - and as such needs to be driven like a FWD car - and despite knowing the torque-vectoring AWD system won't kick in until power is applied, judges couldn't provoke consistent responses from the car. "If smooth is fast, then this is the opposite", senior features editor Jonny Lieberman said. BMW's xDrive sends so much engine torque to the rear wheels that you'd swear the car is rear drive. Slotting in above the Cayenne Turbo S, the Turbo GT gets a reworked 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8, a quicker-shifting eight-speed auto, a water-cooled AWD system to aid more aggressive torque vectoring, a retuned four-wheel steering system, stiffer air springs, and massive carbon-ceramic brakes. [Extracted from the article]

GLANCING AT the squiggly blue line emerging on the slick, seven-inch navigation screen, a smile crosses our face. Yep, now we're going to have some fun. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] […]

IT SITS alone in the cold, darkened one-car garage, tires slowly flat spotting. The interior has developed that fragrant eau de mildew aroma. It's been close to a decade since [...]

SCOTT KEOGH IS no stranger to the Volkswagen Group. As the former president of Audi of America, Keogh oversaw the expansion of a marque that has since become a force [...]

THE WIND IS starting to make my eyes water. A car whizzes by on the left to pass me, and a shower of pebbles peppers my face as it does, [...]

THERE IT IS. A perfect stretch. It's flat, straight, and long. I bury the pedal, the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 roars with approval, and its furious sonic detonations burrow into the [...]

WHERE HAVE ALL the great American cars gone? It was a question we pondered at length as we were finalizing our list of vehicles to ask along to our annual [...]

IT'S MARCH, and you're sick and tired of winter. You need something to shake you out of your slushy, gray doldrums. Perhaps a trip to sunny and warm Florida will [...]

I SPIN AROUND, and suddenly there it is behind me--a red Lexus LC 500.'Go ahead and take a look inside,' says a voice somewhere in the ether. I hesitate for [...]

I'D OBSERVED THEM many times over the years: khaki-clad packs roaming concours grounds with their clipboards--ducking heads into engine bays, getting on hands and knees to examine undercarriages, looking for [...]

'WE CANNOT COMMENT on future product.' It's a line probably uttered a billion times by automaker reps in response to badgering questions from annoying auto scribes, including yours truly. Sometimes [...]

Departments & Features Hyundai recently had us out to Santa Fe, New Mexico, to get our first in-depth look at its all-new big, brawny, and boxy 2024 Santa Fe. While its major suspension hardware largely carries over from the present Santa Fe, the changes should make for a slightly better-handling vehicle. Beyond the blindingly obvious location to launch its potentially game-changing new SUV, Santa Fe and its environs actually made a lot of sense as a backdrop given the model's redefined mission as a glampy outdoor lifestyle machine. [Extracted from the article]

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, NATIVE Laura Schwab had no idea she would launch herself into a successful career in the automotive industry when she quit working as a lawyer to join a [...]

It doesn't really matter who I talk with--CEOs, friends, colleagues, random people I'm introduced to--when the subject turns to the future of the automobile, specifically autonomous vehicles, the conversation starts [...]

I'M WALKING THE convention floor when I see the big-time boast in giant tan script against a stark black wall: The Most Powerful Hypercar in the World, 1,800 hp. There's [...]

THERE'S A HECK of a lot of hand-wringing and head-scratching going on these days in the boardrooms, engineering pods, and product planning departments of the world's largest automakers. The decisions [...]

MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE it's a nice round number. Or because it's the dawn of a new decade. Or the time of the next summer Olympics. Heck, maybe everyone just threw [...]

IT WAS AN event straight out of the auto show playbook. Car beneath sheet? Check. Execs talking (and talking) about the state of the automaker and everything we wanted to [...]

IT'S A simple question, one I get often when people find out what I do for a living. But it continues to be one of the hardest for me to [...]

WHENEVER I TELL someone how far away I live from Automobile HQ in Los Angeles (29 miles door to door), the reaction usually ranges from expressions of pity to abject [...]

KLAUS ZELLMER has held several positions outside of the U.S. during his 20-year career with Porsche, but he has had a soft spot for America ever since a seminal visit [...]

TODAY'S AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY moves rapidly, and if you don't relentlessly adapt and grow in a bid to attract new buyers while continuing to delight existing customers, you won't survive. This [...]

WHEN WE SIT DOWN TO DECIDE WHICH vehicles we will invite to compete for our annual All-Stars awards, we have one goal: Bring only the best. We chose 23 vehicles [...]

Reid Bigland became head of Alfa Romeo and Maserati in May 2016. He is also in charge of U.S. sales and serves as chairman, president, and CEO of Fiat Chrysler [...]

EVERY MONTH, HECK, EVERY DAY, THERE'S another story (like this one) about the coming Brave New Autonomous World. Automakers have been breathlessly announcing self-driving cars they claim are five years [...]