Tag Archives: Motor Trend

New Scirocco vs. Old Scirocco – Motor Trend Head 2 Head

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It looks like Motor Trend did a little multi-tasking when they flew Jason Cammisa out to Germany. Besides comparing DTM legends, he also took the not-sold-in-the-US Volkswagen Scirocco for a spin. The original concept for the Scirocco was to make a sport coupe with running gear from the GTI. Whoever came up with that idea should get a gold star because it worked for the original car and this new one. The fact that the new car looks awesome doesn’t hurt, either. We ultimately didn’t get the current Scirocco here in the States because VW America thought that a wider/lower/sportier/better looking version of the GTI would poach sales from the best seller that they have in the regular GTI. Somebody also probably cited the constant “Stupid fat Americans don’t like hot hatches, fast wagons and things that are rad.” that usually denies us all the cool cars of the world. Check out the video to see what we missed:


Source: Motor Trend on YouTube

Motor Trend’s 2012 Best Driver Car

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You’re going to want to set aside a solid 45 minutes to watch these videos. We continue to reap the benefits of YouTube paying good money to car magazines for original content to rival traditional TV shows. Motor Trend’s latest installment is their 2012 Best Driver’s Car compilation. I like the way they do this annual comparison because a lot of people tend to misuse the term “driver’s car,” but Motor Trend has got it right and they stick to their guns. What makes a good driver’s car goes way beyond the numbers of the performance statistics. The 0-60 time doesn’t say anything about the car’s balance, feedback, fun or driver engagement. Those things are much harder to describe, but thankfully we have Johnny Lieberman, Carlos Lagos and Randy Pobst here working together to convey the driving experiences of this dream car lineup. This year they rounded up the Jaguar XKR-S, Subaru BRZ, Lamborghini Aventador, Porsche 911 Carrera S, Ford Shelby GT500, Nissan GT-R Black Edition, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series and McLaren MP4-12C. The boys start out by doing winding road introductions of each car and then they turn them over to Randy for hot laps around Laguna Seca. They finish up by choosing a top 3 and then driving them some more to pick an overall winner.


Keeping with Motor Trend tradition, tall of the cars get lined up for a massive drag race once all of the testing is done:
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Lexus LFA vs. Acura NSX – Motor Trend Head 2 Head

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I was pretty surprised to see the title of this comparison pop up on the Motor Trend YouTube channel. I consider the Acura NSX and the Lexus LFA to be the only 2 supercars to come out of Japan due to their unique and exotic construction methods. Johnny Lieberman thinks there are four. I’m assuming the other two are the Toyota Supra and the Nissan GT-R’s. I think the Supra and GT-R toe, but don’t cross, the line between well executed performance cars and true supercars. What do YOU think? Join the discussion over on our Facebook Page. Either way, Lieberman does a good job breaking down why each car is significant to their time periods, how they drive and why you should like them based on his supercar philosophy. Very fascinating comparison.


Source: Motor Trend on YouTube

BMW E30 M3 vs. Mercedes-Benz 190E-16 – Motor Trend Head 2 Head

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The guys over at Motor Trend are doing a great job with coming up with interesting comparisons for this Head 2 Head series on YouTube. This time they look at the two cars that built the Golden Years of DTM, the German Touring Car Championship. Another signature characteristic of the Head 2 Head series is the excellent review of the details of each car. The reviewers always describe what it’s like to drive the cars for those who will never have the opportunity. This video is no exception.


Source: Motor Trend on YouTube

Ford Shelby GT500 vs. Chevrolet Camaro ZL1: Motor Trend Head 2 Head

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Motor Trend is maintaining a very high level of excellence with their YouTube shows. Editor in Chief Angus Mackenzie and professional driver Randy Pobst weigh in here on this battle to see who has made the best modern muscle car, Ford or Chevrolet. You could even go as far as to say that these two cars represent the state of the muscle car genre. They no longer settle for only going in a straight line well. In fact, they test the Laguna Seca lap time before the drag race for this video and Motor Trend loves to do drag races. Besides the testing, Mackenzie and Pobst do a phenomenal job describing the details and nuances of each car so you can understand their natures even if you never get to drive one in real life.


Source: Motor Trend on YouTube