$280K Fox Body packs 715 HP, R2 vs Model Y, 4.3M recall
PLUS: Bond's Aston, Titan glare, 1,600-HP Denza drag race
Releases & Reviews
2027 Rivian R2 vs. Tesla Model Y vs. Hyundai Ioniq 5 vs. Ford Mustang Mach-E: Can Rivian Beat the Best?
A road trip to Mammoth Lakes pits the $61,485, 656 horsepower (489 kW) R2 Performance AWD against Tesla's Model Y Performance, the $51,815 Ioniq 5 Limited AWD and Ford's 480 hp (358 kW) Mach-E GT. Handling, comfort, range, charging and driver assistance all get scored.
1 MAJOR FLAW! Refreshed 2027 Pacifica Review
TheStraightPipes finds Chrysler's refresh skin deep: a new front end, new badge and fresh colors over the same 287 horsepower (214 kW), 262 lb-ft (355 Nm) Pentastar V6 and nine speed automatic. Yuri and Jacob like the styling but call the update one of the laziest they have seen.
Technology, Market Data & Analysis
China Recalls 4.3M Cars Over Door Handles; Will U.S. Follow Suit?
Nearly 3 million of the recalled cars are Teslas, and the action follows a death in which bystanders could not open a burning car's doors. Fixes are mostly over the air updates that drop the windows after a crash. China will also ban flush handles outright from 2027.
Next BMW M3 EV Will Have Gears, Sort Of
M boss Frank van Meel says the Neue Klasse based, four motor electric M will not fake a gearbox, because copying one also copies its disadvantages. Instead, paddle selected performance stages and a turbine like soundtrack tied to the electric motor will supply the drama.
Car Culture
New Ford Mustang Fox Body: ‘80s Icon Reborn! | 4K
Top Gear visits Velocity Restorations, which bolts a Roadster Shop chassis beneath the original unibody and fits a 5.0 liter Coyote V8 good for 715 horsepower (533 kW) with the optional Whipple supercharger. At roughly $280,000 and 3,000 pounds (1,359 kg), the verdict is glowing.
From the Archive: 1994 Small Sedan Comparison Test
Nine sub $13,500 econosedans, ranked for Generation X buyers in June 1994. The Dodge Neon Sport takes it on the strength of a class leading 132 horsepower (98 kW) 2.0 liter four and genuine handling, beating the Nissan Sentra and Honda Civic; the Kia Sephia finishes last.
Miscellaneous
New Maserati Biopic Features an All-Star Cast and Prewar Cars
Al Pacino, Anthony Hopkins and Andy Garcia star in a period piece about brothers Alfieri, Bindo and Carlo Maserati, shot around Modena and Rome. The centerpiece is Maserati's back to back Indy 500 wins in 1939 and 1940, still the only Italian marque to manage it.
Worst Day at Work Ever: Semi-Truck Rolls Into Pipeline, Area Ruled No-Fly Zone
A parked, unoccupied rig rolled into an excavation site on Enbridge's Line 5 in northern Wisconsin, breaching the pipeline and releasing a natural gas cloud that forced evacuations. Enbridge still cannot explain how the truck got moving. The 645 mile (1,038 km) line dates to 1953.
Quick Links
The 1025 Horsepower Rivian R1S Quad Motor Is A Phenomenal Rock-Crawler, But Not For The Reason You Think
Five years after panning Rivian's Quad Motor system, David Tracy finds the real magic is elsewhere: air springs with cross linked hydraulic roll control that force a drooping wheel back down onto the rock.
Study Finds Nissan Titan Headlight Glare Is 615% Over IIHS Limit, But Still Not Breaking the Law
The second generation Titan's worst headlight variant cleared the safe limit by 615 percent, and it topped the index only because its height puts those beams closer to your eyes than the BMW X5's.
Lucid Recalls Over 27,000 Vehicles, Issues “Park Outside” Order
Faulty software governing an eFuse can let the exterior lighting circuit overheat on 2022 to 2026 Air sedans, and more than 6,000 owners still have not installed the over the air fix released in July.
2027 Lincoln Nautilus First Look: Our Former SUV of the Year Gets a Fresh Face
The 2025 SUV of the Year gets simplified geometric grilles, a skinnier full width taillight, five new wheel designs and two Black Label interior themes, while the 48 inch display carries over untouched.
So Fancy: 1964 Jeep CJ-5A Tuxedo Park on Bring a Trailer
Jeep's Tuxedo Park trim slathered chrome on the CJ in a bid to go upmarket; roughly 4,300 sold in 1964, backed by a 75 horsepower (56 kW) four and a column shifted three speed manual.
Why Does James Bond Drive An Aston Martin?
Ian Fleming's Bond was more of a Bentley man, and the novel's DB Mark III became the DB5 on screen only because Goldfinger's filmmakers wanted the company's newest car.
China’s Bugatti killer v Lambo Temerario: DRAG RACE
Mat Watson of carwow lines up a 1,156 horsepower (862 kW) Denza Z9GT against the Lamborghini Temerario, then the 1,600 horsepower (1,194 kW) Denza Z Racing, which runs the standing quarter mile in 9.5 seconds.