On this episode of Head 2 Head, Jonny Lieberman looks at a type of car that Germany does better than anyone else: the Super Sedan. The Porsche Panamera Turbo has long been one of Motor Trend’s favorites. Massive, ferocious, surprisingly nimble, and if your checkbook’s got the overhead, totally luxurious. But don’t discount Audi. Ever since the S8 showed up, Audi has shocked the car world by making such a big car so dang fast. The only thing that could even compete was the Panamera Turbo. The RS7 comes with an even more powerful version of the familiar 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 — 560 horsepower to be exact. For 2014, Porsche’s seemingly underrated 4.8-liter twin-turbo V-8 is up 20 hp to a more-than-modest 520 hp. Faced with tough choices after the two hit the test track and a canyon road, Jonny enlists the help of resident Motor Trend Hot Shoe Randy Pobst to figure out which super sedan is best.
www.stokednews.com
Sports cars and that “wind in your face” experience have gone hand-in-hand since the days when open-top MGs ruled the twisties.
Despite Chevrolet’s best efforts, however, we’ve always had a hard time properly classifying the Corvette as a genuine sports car. Offered only as a roadster initially, it lacked the handling precision necessary to properly compete with the zippy small cars GIs were experiencing in postwar Europe. Subsequent ‘Vettes emphasized straight-line performance up until the outgoing model. But even it came up a little short in some areas – primarily interior refinement.
Fast forward to today, however, and the Corvette has … Pictures and more
www.stokednews.com
Chevrolet Cruze 2.0TD vs.Honda Civic Hybrid vs. Toyota Prius vs. Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid vs.Volkswagen Jetta TDI
Do you obsess over how much energy your car’s engine creates, and worry about the fuel being destroyed for your driving pleasure? (Why are you reading this magazine?) Actually, one of this universe’s immutable laws is that energy can never be created or destroyed. But it can change forms. Most cars lug around a tankful of potential energy disguised as gasoline (or diesel, E85, propane, etc.). Fed into a typical engine, the fuel is converted to a lot of waste heat and vibration energies, during what’s conceded in the auto biz as a hopelessly energy-inefficient but necessary-evil process. Oh, and the process produces some usable mechanical energy, too.
The gas engine is the people’s choice in the U.S., but it only goes so far … More
www.stokednews.com