American

In times as tumultuous as these, we’d be shocked, to say the very least, if the majority of statisticians didn’t report a noticable uptick in bank heist attempts over the past couple years. And while we obviously don’t endorse criminal activity of any variety, we can’t help wondering if there is such a thing as the perfect getaway car for such a task. Thankfully, it turns out we aren’t the only ones suffering from this perverse curiousity. In fact, the German hoons at GRIP were very, very interested in answering this question.

How do we know this? Well, for starters it appears they commendeered a disused military base complete with town-like sections of buildings and streets to test a vehicle’s agility, plus some long, wide runways for high speed running. Secondly, they’ve assembled a superstar collection of getaway vehicles (tuned models from Audi, Dodge and Porsche), plus one very special police car with which to play the game of cops & robbers about which young gearheads can only dream. So grab some poppin’ corn and make the jump for the video and an explanation of what’s going on, since all the dialogue is auf Deutsch. (Our friends who took Spanish instead in high school are totally jealous right now...maybe.)

In the past the idea of having a track comparison between a BMW M3 and a Ford Mustang GT was about as logical and fair as asking "The Rock" to compete against Jet Li on the Ninja Warrior course. The Rock may be strong, but his agility is lacking. Since its birth the BMW M3 has been known for its handling. It came standard with neautral balance and execellent turn in, with oversteer optional. The Mustang built its name on acceleration. If the muscle car Hall of Fame existed, Ford's pony car would get early admission. But with its live axle, big V8 motor and American upbringing teaching it success lies at the end of a drag strip, it was never seen as a competitor to the Bavarian acrobat. Recently the 2012 Mustang Boss 302 was suggested as a worthy competitor for the M3, but that's a special model that's meant for the track. Surely the plain Jane Mustang GT wouldn't stand a chance.

The good people at Motor Trend beg to differ. They think the 2011 Ford Mustang GT is a very good car. So good, it may have the skills and tools necessary to venture into the ring with a competitor that no one would expect: the 2011 BMW M3. This is a fight that has never happened. Some called MT crazy for even suggesting the Mustang even good enough to park next to an M3. Is the new Mustang that good, or was Motor Trend just trying to sell some paper? Make the jump to watch the video, and see who is left standing.

The phrase, "I'm going to get the new Boss 302 next year." hasn't been said since 1969. 1970 was the last year the Ford Mustang Boss 302 was sold. It was a lightweight, high-powered car made to compete in Trans Am racing. It was built to take on the Camaro, which had won the series for two years running. The Boss 302 changed that, winning the championship in 1970.

And now it's back. Ford has announced the 2012 Mustang Boss 302. 40 years ago the Boss had its sites trained on the Camaro and the Trans-Am Championship and it conquered both. This time its sights are set a little higher than the latest Camaro. Make the jump to check out the specs, and watch teaser videos.

A few weeks ago the greatest show on television, Top Gear, let us down. Richard Hammond was testing the new 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS, and not in some podunk, patriotic, Southern-cliche town in America, but on the TG test track. Rarely do we see a car from our country driven by the automotive authority that is TG, let alone one that costs 30 grand. It was all fun and games until Richard called up a car to compare it to, a "German muscle car", which turned out to be the 2010 Mercedes E63 AMG. One of our budget-priced powerhouses was about to go up against an athletic specimen built in a laboratory using the best materials money can buy. And it lost. (Watch it here.)

We don't think this was a fair fight, so we want to even things out. If you're fighting a German-built super-sedan, you should use a German-built super Camaro, specifically the Geiger Cars Camaro SS Kompressor. Today we bring you a rematch of Chevrolet Camaro SS vs Mercedes E63 AMG, and this time the Camaro should get to use the same "supplements" as the Mercedes.

Growing up I wanted to be an automotive designer. I thought, "What would be cooler than making your own car?" I now realize I get more satisfaction out of driving a variety of cars (and sitting in judgement of them) and putting my thoughts into words, than I would have from spending hundreds of hours massaging a block of clay or becoming a master of Auto-CAD.

But I still have a great appreciation and respect for those that design cars. It's not an easy job, and requires a mastery of many technical and artisitic skills. And it's one thing if you're hired by Chrysler to design their instrument cluster. But taking it upon yourself to create an original idea, without any promise of financial reward requires huge amounts of self-motiviation and a pallet of coffee beans. That's just what British designer Jamie Martin did. This is his idea of what a great car is. It's called the "Cobra Venom Concept."

Winning the lottery is something that everyone has dreamt about. Even those who stand up proudly and announce "I have never bought a ticket!", as if this proclamation of financial chastity will win them a shiny bicycle that only rides to heaven, have at some point said, "If I won the lottery, I'd do/buy/go ______." One thing you never hear is an honest answer from a complete addict. Someone who buys multiple tickets, every week of every year, thinking that their ship is right around the corner of that 7-11 checkout counter. I bet if you took a survey on the reason for the secrecy, the box, "I don't want to total up how much I've wasted." would get a lot of check-marks.

To point out how much one can waste on this game of (there's-almost-no) chance, students from the R.I. School of Design created an exhibit called "Ghost of a Dream". It's a collection of sculptures constructed out of old lottery tickets (like this full-size Hummer H3) meant to depict the purchases of potential winners. It's like being scolded by your parents if they had both a master's in sarcasm and art. Ouch. Make the jump for the story.

Of all the American automotive nameplates to be scrapped within the last 10 years, most people will probably tell you the saddest loss is that of Pontiac. (We were always fond of Oldsmobile, but that’s a screed for another day.) The 'Building Excitement' brand’s execution was particularly galling as it was announced just as Chevrolet’s reborn Camaro was rolling into showrooms, nixing any chances of a corresponding fifth generation Firebird and Trans Am.

Thankfully, smaller tuning firms are willing to keep the spirits of The Bandit’s ‘stache and Jim Rockford’s J-turns alive for a new generation of muscle car buffs by outfitting Chevy’s reanimated pony car with styling cues worthy of Ye Olde Screaming Chicken. Of course, the badges and nomenclature are absent for legal reasons (We’ll leave the implications of GM’s current quasi-nationalized state on the possibilities of suing cottage industry to the imagination.), but one look at such creations and you’ll reflexively begin whistling “East Bound and Down” in no time. The newest such tribute comes out of the shops of Classic Design Concepts, and is called the FireBreather.

If you had to pick one American car introduced in the last 36 months that is truly impressive and within spitting distance of the world’s best, you could do much worse than the second generation Cadillac CTS-V. It’s definitely raised the sport sedan bar, and GM is hoping the new coupe version will do the same in the premium high-performance two-door segment. But how will we know how this flashy fastback stacks up against two of its biggest rivals from Germany, the BMW M3 and Audi RS5?

That’s where well-established enthusiast publications Motor Trend and Car and Driver come into play. Contrary to popular belief, they are quite aware of the existence of the Internet and the additional capabilities it offers over ultrathin wafers of pureed trees. How do we know this? By the two nicely-put-together HD videos after the jump, of course.