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SEMA Show 2008 Special

10 Nov 2008

The Driving Sports Team survives yet another SEMA Show in Las Vegas. This new episode features clips from the show floor as well as the after-hours action.

Audi's Conservation Cannonball

28 Oct 2008

What is it about a long road trip that makes people's eyes light up? Surely it's not the prospect of roadside food, long hours struggling to find a decent radio station, or the inevitable stiff back - at least not for those of us who have attained a certain age.

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Tanner's Flyin' Finish

22 Oct 2008

One of the oldest traditions in racing and road-tripping is Targa competition. Invented in Italy in 1906 as the Targa Florio, a Targa is an extended road trip with speed competition sections mixed with transit and endurance sections. The "Targa" name comes from the Italian word for a crest, or plate -- the emblem traditionally bestowed on the winner. After the Targa Florio became famous, other nations took up the practice of high-speed races over public roads. Thus, the event was imitated in Britain, Mexico, Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, and on the Canadian island of Newfoundland.

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Who is the best 'car guy' candidate?

22 Oct 2008

Speed Center contributor Jeff Zurschmeide weighs in on who he thinks would be the best presidential choice come the November 4 elections. Do we need someone that will continue to push fossil fuels, keeping the lifeblood of our enthusiast economy flowing? Or do we need someone to look to the future? What does automotive history tell us?

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E85 vs. Methanol Injection

21 Oct 2008

All across the United States, the cost of premium unleaded gasoline, the lifeblood of our high-performance engines, is approaching the $5 mark. Even the most resolved performance enthusiasts now at least consider for a moment the costs of fuel when the total tab for a fill-up approaches $60.

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Leno Talks Japanese Classics in Irvine

16 Oct 2008

Speed Center Photographer Yujiro Otsuki made the trek to Irvine, Calif., for the 4th annual Japanese Classics Car Show. There, he hooked up with Jay Leno, who was standing in front of a 1964 Honda SM600 from his personal collection (blue convertible in the gallery) for a brief interview.

Continue reading Leno Talks Japanese Classics in Irvine.

Prodrive UK Proving Grounds

14 Oct 2008

On a recent visit to the Prodrive Proving grounds, in Warwickshire, UK, I had a chance to drive a Subaru Type UK 2007 STI and a Group-N WRC car on the high-speed course (my first time in a right-hand drive), plus I had a little fun on the ice simulator. Prodrive has one of only two such simulators in the UK. Enjoy the video.

Mazda Kiyora: Future Perfect?

8 Oct 2008

At the 2008 Paris Auto Show Mazda took the wraps off yet another vision of its future. This concept, latest in a long string of such contraptions, is small enough to be a Mazda2 replacement for the next decade.

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Cheap Thrills: 1990 Miata Goes Turbo

6 Oct 2008

Just installed a turbo kit onto our 1990 Miata Time Attack Project. This kit, the BEGi-S, is made by Bell Experimental Group and is an easy bolt-on for any first or second-gen Miata. The price is great, less than $2000 fully equipped. Ours came with the Garrett "Disco Potato" turbo and is managed by an AEM plug-n-play stand-alone ECU. Installation and tuning were handled by CarbConn in Kirkland, Wash.,

2009 Subaru WRX Reviewed

29 Aug 2008

Fixed. If you needed one word to sum up the changes made to the 2009 WRX, that would be it. Subaru of America has done a fantastic job of distilling the needs and wants of the US-buyer and convincing their Japanese counterparts that America wants a real performance car and not a more "mature," economical performance car, whatever that is. The 2009 WRX: proof that if you cry loud and hard enough, someone just might listen and give you what you want. You wanted more power? Done. You wanted more aggressive looks? You got it. You wanted better handling and better tires? Your wish is a command. At least the internet is good for something.

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