Etc : Car News And Reviews

It’s clear that there’s a difference between vehicles that can send power to just two wheels or all four of them, but the terms “all-wheel drive” and “4-wheel drive” actually mean different things. In a nutshell, an all-wheel drive vehicle can variably send power between the front and rear wheels, dynamically distributing power via a central differential.

Much of the recent news in the auto industry has been about electrification, autonomy, technology, and the changing face of mobility. That got me wondering what all of this might mean for the future of motorsports.

The Nissan GT-R is one of the best cars I’ve ever driven, and it continues to be a favorite among gearheads around the world. To celebrate the illustrious history of the GT-R brand, Nissan and LEGO will soon release a model based on the modern day GT-R NISMO.

This crazy, graffiti-covered, custom overhauled Suzuki Wagon R is a vehicle that likely causes everyone to stare, including my happy ass. It’s a car that’s just too wild not to photograph. As I hastily took pics, a million questions rushed through my head.

When I first came across the images of this customized 1976 GMC Motorhome, I was reminded of the EM-50 Urban Assault Vehicle in Stripes. Perhaps, that’s because it shares the same bubbly body as the RV in the movie.

When it comes to cars, there’s fast, then there’s FAST… and then there’s REALLY REALLY FAST. While cars with regular internal combustion engines or electric motors have only recently knocked on the door of 300mph, jet- and rocket-powered vehicles can go quite a bit faster.

You’d think that car companies had been crash testing vehicles since the dawn of cars. But the idea didn’t come along until the 1930s, when General Motors conducted the first known crash tests. Other automakers would gradually follow.

A massive typhoon had just blanketed the majority of Japan in torrential rain, and shortly after letting-up, my wife tells me that we were going shopping. Unsure as to whether anything would be open I opted to tag along, secretly hoping to discover another interesting Japanese automobile.

While most of us associate the short-lived DeLorean DMC-12 with Back to the Future, there was a time when the DeLorean Motor Company thought the car would be a huge success with sports car enthusiasts. Here’s a look at how DMC pitched the car to its prospective dealers back in 1981, including its innovative design, construction and lofty safety and fuel economy ambitions.

Not every vehicle needs to be a six-figure supercar to be amazing. Take, for instance this custom built Star Trek shuttlecraft on wheels that was photographed by Redditor Kalvious. Trekkies will immediately recognize this as the shuttlecraft Goddard from Star Trek: The Next Generation. 

Sure, we’re all about real cars here on 95Octane, but we occasionally enjoy playing with toy cars too. So sit back and enjoy for the next five minutes or so, and watch and hear what it would be like to sit behind the driver’s seat of a scale electric slot car.

Until airless tires become a regular occurrence, most of us are stuck having to keep our tires filled with good old compressed air (or nitrogen). If we want our vehicles to be safe, perform well, and to maximize fuel economy, they need to have the right amount of air pressure in them as well.

During a recent outing to the Bundy Hill Off-Road Park park in Jerome, Michigan, I spotted a vehicle I’ve never seen in person before. Among the Wranglers and Raptors, between the ATVs and the dirt bikes was this incredibly strange and wonderful sight – a Sherp.

Thanks to their custom-tuned and custom-built engines, Hennessey Performance makes some seriously badass vehicles. Now, the Sealy, Texas tuner is showing off one of the most powerful V8 engines we’ve seen this side of a top fuel dragster.

Hot on the heels of my tiny Italian carspotting in Japan a couple of weeks back, comes a far more modern, mid-engine approach to automotive engineering. Commonly referred to as “the new NSX’s baby brother,” the Honda S660 is a Japan-exclusive two-seat roadster that fits neatly within the Japanese kei car category, so it has to have less than a 1.0-liter engine.