An alternative to the usual Japanese car brands
The best way to spend an F1 break? With history lessons, of course...
This you probably know already: Max Verstappen claimed his first Formula 1 world title over the weekend, but Mercedes successfully defended its constructors' championship. What you might not know yet: Sir Jackie Stewart, a triple world champion himself, can take some pride
by Adam Waddell
The upcoming new model has a lot to live up to
Well, technically one American. And even more technically, he was born in Austria. But let's not worry about incessant details when we have this very broad brush with which to paint colorful strokes.The fact is that Max E. Hoffman was
It was a literal barn find in 2004
This, according to Lamborghini, is the oldest surviving Countach, and it's a medium-green beauty wearing an LP400 badge. It was on display last weekend at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, alongside many other rather delectable Lamborghini Countach models.So,
by Vijay Pattni
This Italian-sounding French marque was at one point German. Cue confusion
Bugatti is the car company that even non-car people have heard of. That's what happens when you've built the world's fastest, most expensive cars for the best part of two decades. Car people, on the other hand, will
It’s come a long way from its wartime origins
Jeep is an American manufacturer of 4x4s and SUVs, as well as a source of subtly branded clothing to illustrate your affinity for all things off-road and 'Murican. Or at least your affinity for cut-price clothing bins.Jeep's start
Still a badge that commands respect on the road
Welcome to Maserati, the car company never content with just doing one thing. Race-car supremos? Maserati has done that. Ultra-luxe touring cars for people who are as rich as Croesus? Done that, too. Tech-heavy supercars? Yup. Pieces of wantonly
There’s more to it than being Toyota’s luxury brand
Lexus is a luxury car brand owned by Toyota. It was founded in the '80s, around the same time rivals Honda and Nissan were launching their Acura and Infiniti brands, respectively, in an attempt to make inroads into the premium-car sector.
by Joe Holding
It’s the industry’s Jack of all trades
Suzuki is a car manufacturer, except when it isn't. It actually makes a lot of things: motorbikes, ATVs, outboard engines for boats...it's the industry's Jack of all trades, so to speak.It began life as far away from
by Joe Holding
One of the most popular Japanese brands out there
Honda is the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer. But it does cars too, obviously. Also quad-bikes, lawnmowers, outboard motors, power tools, generators, humanoid robots, and jet aircraft among many other things.Founded as the 'Honda Technical Research Institute' by Soichiro Honda
by Tom Harrison
If you’re a Mazda loyalist, you should know these things by now
Mazda is a carmaker that hails from Hiroshima, Japan. It started life in 1920 as Toyo Cork Kogyo, manufacturing cork as a substitute sealing material. When demand dwindled, it dropped 'cork' from its name in 1927 and began building machinery instead.Its
by Joe Holding
A look back at the life of the man behind the iconic Italian supercar brand
This year, Italian giant Lamborghini is celebrating the 105th birth anniversary of its founder, Ferruccio Lamborghini. And as such, the supercar marque is taking us on a trip down memory lane to look back on the life of the man who built
The performance nameplate is making its comeback this year
As many of you may already know by now, Acura is resurrecting its famed Type S badge. As a matter of fact, we've already gotten a glimpse of a new high-performance sedan bearing the Type S moniker in the new
From the brand’s beginnings until the present
Kia started out inauspiciously in 1944 as Kyungsung Precision Industry, making steel tubing and bicycle parts. It changed its name to Kia Industries in 1952 (the firm says that its name comes from two Korean characters that roughly translate as 'rising from
by Sam Burnett
Beyond its safety innovations, the brand has a fun side, too
Volvo started building cars in 1927-company founders Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson saw that foreign cars weren't able to cope with the snowy climes of their native Sweden, and wanted to build something safe enough to stay on the road.
by Sam Burnett
Trivia time
McLaren is named after Bruce McLaren, the New Zealand racer who never won the Formula 1 championship, but set up a team that has managed exactly that 12 times so far. As well as a driver, he was a gifted engineer, which
Did you know Merc could have gone with a four-pointed star?
Audi, DKW, Horch, and Wanderer merged to form the Auto Union in 1932, the circles representing each of the four manufacturers coming together. There's a great story behind the Audi name-August Horch founded his eponymous car company in 1899, quitting
by Sam Burnett
Some styling cues are seen on modern production cars
The story goes that back in the late '90s, Volkswagen boss Ferdinand Piech decided his empire was going to build the world's fastest, most powerful supercar. Only he didn't know what badge it was going to have. The Big Man
by Tom Harrison
“You’re steeped in the process, not the product”
The start. That's what this is. The germ, the seed, the Big Bang moment of the passenger car. The heat and light of the expanding universe of the modern vehicle can be traced back to this point. The (Karl) Benz Patent-
by Tom Ford
Its jeepneys are still chugging along
It's difficult to come by any solid numbers on just how many jeepneys there are in the Philippines. According to an NPR article from 2018, estimates vary from 180,000 to 270,000. About 75,000 of those are crammed in
Did you know about these secret Ford cars?
Over the years, Ford has unsurprisingly designed hundreds of cars you never even saw. In a new book called Secret Fords, former Ford product designer Steve Saxty delves into the unseen world of prototypes, one-offs, and canceled cars.Here are just
by TopGear.com
