It has been over 70 years since the first Jeep rolled off the assembly line. The legendary off-road machine was instrumental to the Allied victory in World War II, and it became such a big hit with servicemen that the CJ was built for civilians after the war.

More than 65 years after that first commercial CJ hit the streets, the Jeep name is still going strong. But how much different is the 1945 CJ than the current Wrangler? Motor Trend looked into the transformation of the Jeep, and it translated its findings into an informative video.

Hit the jump to watch the video for yourself. The latest Wrangler may be two feet longer, nearly twice as heavy and feature almost five times more power than the original CJ, but the functionality that makes the Jeep a big hit with off-road enthusiast remains intact.

Continue reading Motor Trend compares 2012 Jeep Wrangler with its 1945 CJ forebearer

Motor Trend compares 2012 Jeep Wrangler with its 1945 CJ forebearer originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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All day long, boys. All. Day. Long.

To what are we referring, you ask? Well, that’s how long all six muscle cars rounded up by the staff at Motor Trend will eviscerate their tires. Such is the nature of the beast, and, in fact, it’s why many automotive enthusiasts just can’t get enough horsepower at the rear wheels.

What we have here are Camaros, Challengers and Mustangs, gathered in pairs – one vintage example from the height of the muscle car’s reign of terror in 1969 and ’70 along with one 2011 model. This begs the question: Which era of American performance resulted in the better car?

Well now, that depends on just what you’re looking for…

There’s simply no arguing the fact that the 2011 Camaro SS, Challenger SRT8 392 and Shelby Mustang GT500 can accelerate (though the quarter-mile results would be closer if the old bias-ply tires were replaced with something more… modern), turn and stop better than their old-timer predecessors.

But, as the editors of Motor Trend found out, that’s not the whole story. Check out the video after the break to find out what we’re on about.

One last thing: Words cannot express how badly we want the keys to that 1970 Challenger. It’s nothing short of muscle car perfection.

Continue reading Motor Trend compares muscle cars, past and present

Motor Trend compares muscle cars, past and present originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Subaru Outback Motor Trend road trip – Click above to watch the video after the jump

Manufacturers can get pretty cocky when it comes to naming their products. We can say with near-certainty that a Chrysler Sebring never turned a tire in anger at the legendary Floridian track and that we’d be surprised if a Pontiac Le Mans ever went fender to fender in France. Motor Trend has set about putting the Subaru Outback up against its Australian namesake in a 30-minute long web special hosted by none other than Editor-in-Chief Angus MacKenzie. This isn’t your typical man-against-nature flick, though. Instead, Motor Trend has gone about creating an in-depth travel video that would be right at home on the Discovery Channel.

MacKenzie and his crew seem to trek across Australia’s wild bits with relative ease despite large mud holes and plenty of soft sand, and we’re left to enjoy the vast scenery of one of our planet’s most beautiful continents. The finished product is less about power figures and 0-60 times and more about the actual trip. It’s well worth taking some time during your lunch break for a quick watch. Hit the jump to take a look for yourself.

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Motor Trend goes to Australia, chronicles Subaru Outback road trip

Video: Motor Trend goes to Australia, chronicles Subaru Outback road trip originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 12:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We were awestruck by this car at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show and have been thinking about it ever since. We’ve wondered aloud what it would be like to drive designer Ken Okuyama’s beautiful K.O 7 Roadster, and now, thanks to Motor Trend, we have an idea. The buff book recently got to spend some time with Mr. Okuyama and the 1,740-pound topless sportscar.

The K.0 7 Roadster is powered by a 210-horsepower, 1.8-liter Toyota 2ZZ-GE engine, which has been bored out to a full 2.0 liters. In their testing, M/T recorded a 0-60 time of five seconds flat. More importantly, they also state that the butterfly-doored bantamweight is “heroic in the twisties” and is more fun to drive than a Lotus Elise R, a car with which the K.0 7 shares modified underpinnings.

The former Design Director for Pininfarina, Ken Okuyama is part of the team that brought us the Ferrari Enzo as well as the Maserati Quattroporte and Birdcage Concept. The K.0 7 Roadster is Okuyama’s vision of melding the craftsmanship and precision found in fine watches with the heart and soul of a lightweight sportscar. Okuyama is only looking to build a few of these per year, but at a price of around 0,000, the K.0 7 was never going to be a mass-production piece. Low-volume also means flexibility, however, and Okuyama admits he is looking at even more powerful engines from Cosworth, or perhaps the powertrain from the dearly departed Honda S2000.

Sign us up.

Photos copyright (C)2010 Damon Lavrinc / AOL

[Source: Motor Trend]

Motor Trend sneaks a ride in Ken Okuyama’s K.O 7 Roadster originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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