When we got our turn with the new Lexus F-Sports Edition, we weren’t all that impressed with the suped up IS 350C. Lexus had basically taken their boring sedan and juiced it up just for the sheer sport of it and, as it turns out, a geek on steroids still isn’t all that cool.

Download 2011 Lexus IS 350C F Sport Special Edition

Think of James Bond and it’s likely that the only car you’ll imagine him in is an Aston Martin, but Bond aficionados may remember that the star in "For Your Eyes Only" was a Lotus Esprit.

Download 2011 Lotus Evora James Bond Edition

When we first saw Mazda's tiny 2 at the 2008 Geneva show, we were immediately intrigued. Mazda execs labeled it a global B-segment car, but "global" doesn't always translate to American-bound. Would it come to the States? If so, would it endear itself to Americans enthralled with SUVs and pickups?

Download Arrival: 2011 Mazda2 Touring

When Kia initially developed the body-on-frame Borrego, it would have made perfect sense to see it in a comparison with the Ford Explorer, Jeep Commander, and Dodge Durango, as they all were three-row, truck-based sport/utilities. But by the time the Borrego entered production in 2008 as a 2009 model, crossovers were starting to take over the SUV market, and the Borrego was too late to the party. In fact, the Explorer and Durango are now crossovers, and the Commander and Borrego have been discontinued as the market shifts away from body-on-frame SUVs.

Download Verdict: 2009 Kia Borrego EX 4x4

I'm a minivan guy. I don't own one and I don't want one, but in my prior career I helped design Chrysler's second-gen minivan, and that exercise involved a whole lot of benchmarking and voice-of-the-customer research. That experience sticks with me when I do minivan comparisons like the one we ran last December, and I still stand by our finishing order. But because this was one of those rare holiday seasons that had the families from both sides of our household visiting over two weeks, I reckoned a real-world rematch of the top-finishing Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna might be in order.

Download Minivan Rematch: 2011 Honda Odyssey vs. 2011 Toyota Sienna

Believe it or not, the Patriot has been around since model-year 2007. For its fifth year on the market, it receives a refresh with minor styling changes and new features. Part of the goal is achieving philosophical realignment (fancy talk for a crossover, huh?) by updating the styling on the company's two crossovers. This makes the new Compass look more like the Grand Cherokee, and the Patriot similar to the Liberty and Wrangler.

Download First Drive: 2011 Jeep Patriot

Project Kahn is just cranking out tuning projects. We just reported on the Panamera RS600 upgrade kit, now the British tuner has revealed the Silver Jeep Wrangler package, a sportier and aggressively smoother version of the package unveiled at the beginning of 2011.

Download 2011 Jeep Wrangler Silver by Project Kahn

When Renault said that it was going to take a stab at running Pikes Peak in 2011 AND use a Dacia Duster to run the competition, a lot of people, shall we say, scoffed at that idea.

Download 2011 Dacia Duster Pikes Peak Racer

Let's begin with history. The U.S. automotive landscape of 1990 was a far different one than it is today. Volvo and Saab were still fiercely independent and scrappy. Chrysler executives didn't answer to guys named Gunther and Dieter. Oldsmobile, while clearly on life support, was showing signs that it might pull through. And that same year, sales of SUVs accounted for a mere 6.6 percent of the vehicle population.

Download Full Test: 2006 Ford Explorer Limited

Dig through any sales literature on the 2006 Mercury Milan and one point becomes glaringly obvious: Mercury wants its new sedan to stand out as upscale and valuable in one of the market's most aggressive and important segments. This only makes sense. After all, American carmakers have lacked a genuinely competitive midsize sedan for years.

Download Full Test: 2006 Mercury Milan

Brabus has been building the world’s fastest street-legal vehicles for some time now, which, as you may remember, includes the mighty Brabus Rocket. Based on the prior Mercedes-Benz CLS platform, the Brabus Rocket has a top speed of 227.24 mph, and can accelerate from 0-60 mph in a mere 4.0 seconds. Now, with the release of the 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class, Brabus has again turned their attention to Mercedes’ four-door coupe range, although it will likely be some time before we see another 200+ mph variant.


Download 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class Tuner by BRABUS

The Forgotten Gullwing. Back in 1970, this car was a hero, breaking all the records with its revolutionary Wankel diesel engine. A few prototypes where built, but never came out as a production model.

Download Ciento Once Prototype by GWA Is One of a Kind

As part of the Offroad Challenge 2010 organised by German magazine ‘auto motor und sport’ in cooperation with Mercedes-Benz and tire manufacturer Continental, Peter Beyerlein from Plochingen in Baden-Württemberg clinched top spot. The Swabian won the tough final in the USA, claiming the title of Germany’s best off-road driver. His prize is the chance to participate in a

Download Mercedes-Benz USA Reports 13.3 Percent Sales Increase for November 2010

with seven airbags, Mitsubishi's Fuse hands-free communication system with Bluetooth streaming audio and USB input and the same mechanics we see throughout the line. Up the ante to the SE 2WD and you shell out $21,695 but end up with FAST-key passive entry and one-touch start/stop, 18-inch wheels and auto on/off HID headlights. The final step in the Outlander Sport family is the SE AWC (there it is again), which adds heated front seats, an available (and giant) transparent panorama roof and Mitsubishi's All Wheel Control all-wheel-drive system.

Download 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport SE AWC Long-Term Test

First, What to Do if Your Car (Not Just a Toyota) Starts to Accelerate Uncontrollably
If your car starts accelerating unexpectedly, hit the brake (it's the one to the left of the gas) and shift into neutral. After you do this, the engine may race loudly but the car won't accelerate. Pull off the road, brake to a stop, shift to park, and shut off the car. This is a simple solution we guarantee will save your life in any car that suffers from unintended acceleration. For more, read our story “How To Deal With Unintended Acceleration,” which is based on our own instrumented testing.


Download Toyota Recall: Scandal, Media Circus, and Stupid Drivers - Editorial