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Articles by Brian Brantley
2018 Kia Stinger GT Review - Long-Term Arrival
It’s one thing to take aim at a target from the shooting line. It’s quite another to take aim from clear across the field—and still land on the paper. That’s what Kia appeared to do with the Stinger at our 2018 Car of the Year program, where we named it a finalist in one of the most competitive COTY fields to date. Seemingly out of nowhere, there’s now another option to the swoopy liftback four-doors from BMW and Audi.
Ford F-150 is the 2018 Motor Trend Truck of the Year - Motor Trend
Ford gambled more than $1 billion and abandoned seven decades of steel bodywork to create a 2015 F-150 with an aluminum body. Dropping a claimed 700 pounds would improve fuel economy, increase towing capacity, improve power-to-weight ratios, and create a truck with fewer parts subject to rust. The move was bold and expensive. Two truck plants closed for 13 weeks each to gut the body shop. Months of downtime meant the lost sale of 60,000 trucks valued at $40,000 or higher, followed by a slow rollout.
2017 Honda Civic Si Sedan First Test Review - Motor Trend
Although Honda is finally blessing the American market with the hardcore Civic Type R hatchback, the Japanese automaker hasn’t forgotten about the Civic Si that has represented the pinnacle of Civic performance in the U.S. since the mid-1980s. The 10th-generation Honda Civic was introduced in 2016, but Honda waited until 2017 to release the Honda Civic Si sedan and Si coupe. With the 2017 model year marking the 10-year anniversary of the Si sedan, we tested a 2017 model to see how it’s progressed.
2016 Honda Civic Touring Review - Long-Term Update 2
Although we’ve enjoyed our 2016 Honda Civic Touring during our daily commute and various road trips (look for more on that in a future update), we also get to take care of our long-term loaners as if they are our own. With nearly 18,000 miles on the clock, our Civic Touring has had two scheduled service visits and one surprise visit to the dealer. After scouring our owner’s manual and the automaker’s website, we determined that Honda doesn’t have a recommended mileage oil change interval.
The 2017 Tesla Model S P100D and the 0-100-0 Test - Motor Trend
My smart friend Doug Milliken sent me an email the other day to ask, “Whatever happened to 0–100–0 testing?” The 0–60 wars between Tesla, Faraday Future, and Lucid has got Milliken thinking that these all-wheel-drive electric cars must be accelerating nearly as hard (in g forces) as they can brake—at the limits of their tires in both directions of driving force.
2017 BMW M6 Gran Coupe vs. 2016 BMW Alpina B6 xDrive Gran Coupe
Every car is defined by a series of compromises, tradeoffs, and decisions that achieve one goal at the expense of others. The performance derivatives of the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe define compromise—whether to emphasize style over function. We just can’t decide which set we like better. There are two Gran Coupes fighting for the top spot: the M6 and the Alpina B6, both of which you can buy from a BMW dealership with a full factory warranty. Both wear the same sexy body.
2015 Tesla Model S
Stop what you’re doing right now. Stop texting. Get off YouTube, close Facebook, and pause for a moment so you can truly appreciate the times we’re living in, a world where if you have the means you can go out and buy an American-made, 762-hp, all-wheel-drive electric car that’s as capable of driving itself as it is smoking supercars off the line. That car is the new Ludicrous-enhanced 2015 Tesla Model S P90D.
2016 Honda Civic Touring Review - Long-Term Update 1
Honda introduced an all-new 1.5-liter turbocharged DOHC I-4 engine for the completely redesigned 10th-generation Civic. The new engine is rated 174 hp and 162 lb-ft of torque when backed by a CVT, as is the case in our loaner. We introduced our Rallye Red 2016 Honda Civic Touring sedan in our arrival story, and now we have performance numbers. At the drag strip, the sedan reached 60 mph in 6.8 seconds and finished the quarter mile in 15.3 seconds at 93.0 mph.
Chevrolet Bolt EV is the 2017 Motor Trend Car of the Year - Motor Trend
That sound? It’s almost imperceptible, but it’s there. The soft rustle of air over steel and glass, the muted hum of rubber on tarmac, the faint whirr of spinning metals. It’s the sound of electrons at work, the sound of electrical energy being converted into motion, the sound of the automotive world shifting on its axis. It’s the sound of the 2017 Motor Trend Car of the Year, the Chevrolet Bolt EV. The Bolt EV is not GM’s first pure electric car.
2016 Honda Civic Touring Review - Long-Term Arrival
After more than four decades and 10 generations of existence, the Honda Civic has become a default purchase for many young people or those who are young at heart. It carries a legacy of inexpensive transportation that doesn’t feel cheap, and of flattering its owner with elegant driving manners and interior fitments. Although the Civic has spent most of its existence near the top of the compact segment, there have been missteps.
Chevrolet Bolt EV is the 2017 Motor Trend Car of the Year - Motor Trend
That sound? It’s almost imperceptible, but it’s there. The soft rustle of air over steel and glass, the muted hum of rubber on tarmac, the faint whirr of spinning metals. It’s the sound of electrons at work, the sound of electrical energy being converted into motion, the sound of the automotive world shifting on its axis. It’s the sound of the 2017 Motor Trend Car of the Year, the Chevrolet Bolt EV. The Bolt EV is not GM’s first pure electric car.
2017 Toyota Corolla First Drive Review - This Boring Compact Will Thrill
At the price point, it’s incredible. The 2017 Toyota Corolla L base model’s impressive standard equipment includes LED headlights, a rearview camera on a 6.1-inch touchscreen, a CVT instead of a manual transmission or four-speed auto, and a suite of active safety tech that competitors don’t yet offer across their lines. For just $19,365, you’d think there might be something missing from this picture to make that price doable, and, well, that’s partially true.
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