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While we are watching cute videos of dogs and cats on Facebook, turns out they are watching videos about Corvettes. You can browse more of our Corvette comics here! Source: JerryKing.com Related: Saturday Morning Corvette Comic: This Won’t End Well… Saturday Morning Corvette Comic: You Smell Terrific! Saturday Morning Corvette Comic: Priorities  

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Photo Credit: FVS / MidEngineCorvetteForum.com Those spy photos of the Corvette C8.R testing at Road America earlier this week are the gift that keeps on giving to Corvette enthusiasts. Not only did they give Corvette fans the best look yet at what may be the final design of the long-awaited mid-engine Corvette, but their release […]

The post [PICS] Corvette C8.R Spy Photos Inspire New Renderings of the Mid-Engine Corvette appeared first on Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle.

Grand tourers are what Aston Martin does best, and as we found out in our First Drive, no Aston Martin model does grand touring better than the new DBS Superleggera. Senior features editor Jonny Lieberman argues that car is the most beautiful Aston ever, and he may be right. But we’ll let you be the judge. Let’s take a look at the new super GT alongside its predecessor, the Aston Martin Vanquish, a car we recently called “achingly beautiful.”

The DBS’ front end is similar to that of the related DB11, but it gets unique headlights, a wider grille, more prominent lip, and large intake openings in the front valance. The hood is also more contoured and sports two large vents. Meanwhile, the Vanquish resembles the DB9 up front with its slender grille and sharp, angled-in headlights. The Vanquish S, which served as the swan song for the model, evolved the look further with a front splitter and hood vents made of carbon fiber.

From the side, both cars look sleek and sexy, but the DBS’ profile is exceptionally so. The windshield is raked at an extreme angle, giving the car an incredibly a low roofline and narrow greenhouse opening. Just like the DB11, the DBS has a vent that stretches from the front wheel well all the way to the door, but here the vent is larger and more recessed. It’s a subtle design trick, but it gives the impression that the car is barely there from the side—communicating lightness. The Vanquish’s front fender vent isn’t as in your face, but it does serve as the starting point for a character line that sweeps across the door.

The DBS Superleggera continues to look amazing from the rear. The car’s broad shoulders and bulging fenders give it an athletic stance, while ultra-slim LED taillights help the rear end stand out from other recent Astons. The rear valance is highlighted by four round tailpipes mounted flush with the edge of the rear bumper. The Vanquish, on the other hand, gets C-shaped taillights, an integrated spoiler, and quad round exhaust tips. The S model builds on that look with a carbon-fiber rear valance with integrated diffuser.

Inside, the DBS Superleggera shows off Aston’s vastly improved interior game with its generous use of quilted leather, high-quality trim materials, and Mercedes-based infotainment system. The  Vanquish’s cabin is almost as snazzy, but the design looks a bit dated in comparison.

So, what do you think? Is the DBS Superleggera truly the most beautiful Aston Martin of all time? Tell us in the comments on Facebook!

The post Refreshing or Revolting: 2019 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera appeared first on Motor Trend.

We heard from our friends at Saint Bernard Catholic Church in Rockport, IN., this week telling us that 30th Annual Classic Corvette Raffle will soon be coming to an end, and there are still some tickets available! So if you want a chance to win a 1967 Corvette Sting Ray Sport Coupe, this is your […]

The post Last Call for Tickets to Win a 1967 Corvette in the St. Bernard’s Classic Corvette Raffle appeared first on Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle.

Despite promising a diesel variant of the CX-5 crossover for the U.S. market way back in late 2016, Mazda hasn’t had much to say about the oil-burning engine option in the time since. Though we don’t know when it goes on sale, we at least know how efficient the diesel version will be, as the EPA recently posted the model’s official fuel economy figures.

A 2018 Mazda CX-5 equipped with the new 2.2-liter turbodiesel I-4, a six-speed automatic transmission, and two-wheel drive is rated at 28/31/29 mpg city/highway/combined. With all-wheel drive, that rating drops to 27/30/28 mpg. Those numbers seem suspiciously low for a diesel, especially since they’re not much better than the gas-powered model. A two-wheel-drive 2018 CX-5 equipped with the 2.5-liter gasoline I-4 is rated at 25/31/28 mpg, while the all-wheel-drive version comes in at 24/30/26 mpg.

The numbers look even less impressive when you look at the diesel-powered versions of the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain, which are rated 28/39/32 mpg in front-drive trim and 28/38/32 mpg with all-wheel drive. Those models both pack smaller 1.6-liter turbodiesel engines rated at 137 hp and 240 lb-ft of torque, however, and are likely less powerful than Mazda’s offering will be. In other markets, the 2.2-liter diesel makes 148 hp and 280 lb-ft or 173 hp and 310 lb-ft, depending on trim. And since Mazda is believed to position the diesel as the range-topping model in the U.S.-market CX-5 lineup, we expect output to be closer to the more powerful version available abroad.

A Mazda spokesperson confirmed the EPA figures are accurate, but couldn’t say when the diesel would go on sale or how much power it will make.

With the diesel getting only marginally better fuel economy than the gas engine, hopefully a more rousing driving experience will set it apart when it finally arrives.

Gas-powered 2018 Mazda CX-5 pictured.

Source: fueleconomy.gov

The post 2018 Mazda CX-5 Diesel EPA-Rated up to 28/31 MPG appeared first on Motor Trend.

Photo Credit: Patrick Thomas | abc3340.com Some Corvette owners worry about getting the first scratch on their “baby”. Sadly, that’s the least of the worries for the owner of this once-beautiful Torch Red C7 Corvette coupe. An armed carjacker took off with the woman’s Stingray Thursday afternoon, then wound up leading police on a chase […]

The post [STOLEN] Teenage Carjacker in a Stolen Corvette Crashes Into Multiple Vehicles During Police Chase appeared first on Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle.

Previously we always shared the current rebates and incentives in our monthly GM Sales Reports but that format has changed now that GM shifted their Corvette sales reporting from monthly to quarterly. To keep potential Corvette buyers up on the latest rebates and incentives, we turned to our friends at Kerbeck Corvette for the latest. […]

The post Corvette Incentives and Rebates for August 2018 appeared first on Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle.

It has been a very busy week for Mid-Engine Corvette News, but hang on because we aren’t done yet! A post over at the MidEngineCorvetteForum.com has clued us in on something special that may be happening today at the Corvette assembly plant in Bowling Green. When the Bowling Green Assembly Plant added the new paint […]

The post The Corvette Assembly Plant May Be Building Some Mid-Engine Corvettes Today appeared first on Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle.

Amid a complete redesign for the 2017 model year, the Porsche Panamera lost its signature bulbous rear end to more closely resemble the sporty sedan it has always tried to embody. A year later, the Panamera gains that rump back on the new Sport Turismo wagon variant. Despite the extra bulk, the model is just as competent as its traditional-looking counterpart.

Practically speaking, there is little difference between the regular Panamera and the wagon version. They feature the same exterior dimensions in terms of length, width, and wheelbase, but the wagon is 0.2 inch taller. It has just 1.7 cubic feet of extra space in the back with the seats folded, or 0.7 inch with the seats up. In terms of curb weight, Porsche lists a standard Panamera 4 Sport Turismo as 65 pounds heavier than a traditional Panamera. Both come with a standard 3.0-liter turbocharged V-6 engine making 330 hp and 331 lb-ft of torque.

So how did our wagon perform in our battery of tests? It’s not the quickest car we’ve tested, but we certainly weren’t left wanting for more power. The 0–60 run took 4.6 seconds, matching the time of a rear-drive Kia Stinger GT we tested.

“As always, Porsche’s launch control is solid, easy, and great to use. Definitely got better results compared to doing it on my own,” associate road test editor Erick Ayapana said of our tester. But those who really want to hustle will need the S version or the Turbo, which hits 60 mph in 3.0 seconds with its 550-hp twin-turbo V-8. But the drive experience is more than just speed.

Just like the previous-gen Panamera, our tester features a well-tuned suspension that protects riders from the indignity of road imperfections. Of course, Sport Plus mode is noticeably firmer, and the throttle is also more responsive than in Normal mode. Road and wind noise is kept to a minimum, just as you’d expect from such a saloon. The greatest praise belongs to the eight-speed twin-clutch transmission that quickly and seamlessly switches gears.

That, and the car’s steering. You need to make only small inputs to achieve the desired effect, and you won’t get tired making constant corrections. Grippy tires help make cornering a real thrill. After driving the Panamera, you realize this is what a passenger car is supposed to feel like: translating a driver’s best intentions into reality.

This skill is never more important than while braking. And the wagon performed very well in this test, as well. Our 4,410-pound Panamera managed to brake from 60 mph to a complete standstill in just 101 feet, on par with a 2017 718 Cayman we tested at 100 feet. During testing, Ayapana noted he experienced “minimal dive or unwanted body movements” in the wagon Panamera, and that the brakes refused to fade.

In the figure eight, testing director Kim Reynolds noted, “Pretty easy to drive (thank goodness). With S+ on and PSM [Porsche Stability Management] off, it’s still very controlled while exiting (that’s its all-wheel drive talking).”

One point of contention: Big side pillars hamper visibility when checking your blind spots through the driver’s side windows. And although our model had many nice amenities such as a competent 12.0-inch touchscreen, it lacked a number of important features you’d expect on a six-figure car.

A base Panamera Sport Turismo will cost you $96,200, but our model rang out to $109,260 since it had a number of options. Yes, we had to pay extra for seat heating and front seat ventilation, $550 and $840, respectively. Not a big deal, although other cars offer it standard on high trim levels. Our model came with partial leather seats; upgrading to full leather will cost north of $3,700. Unfortunately, it also didn’t have keyless entry, which is a $1,100 option. It’s a little strange fumbling around in your purse for the key to your $100,000 Porsche when the person parked next to you has already opened their $25,000 Kia with the click of a button on the door handle. I know, first-world problems. But it’s the attention to detail that makes me love this car so much.

It’s larger than a 911, and it has somewhat ungainly proportions. But the Panamera Sport Turismo is no less Porsche, engineered for poise and precision. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The post 2018 Porsche Panamera 4 Sport Turismo First Test: Poise and Precision appeared first on Motor Trend.

Quick Stats: Dave “Heavy D” Sparks, Discovery’s Diesel Brothers
Daily Driver: 2017 Ford F-250 (Heavy D’s rating: 10 on a scale of 1 to 10)
Other cars: See below
Favorite road trip: U.S. 89 Beaver, Utah, to Lake Powell, Utah
Car he learned to drive in: a backhoe
First car bought: 1988 Chevrolet K5 Blazer

The guys on Discovery’s popular Diesel Brothers need reliable trucks that won’t let them down, and their go-to trucks have been Ford F-Series models. Last year, Dave “Heavy D” Sparks had a Ford F-450, and now his daily truck is a 2017 Ford F-250.

“The new Ford F-250 has to be one of the most comfortable, reliable vehicles I’ve ever owned,” Heavy D says. “I need a strong truck like this for long road trips, heavy hauls, or the crazy antics we get into. At the end of the day, this vehicle does everything I need and so much more.”

Heavy D has always been a truck guy. “I don’t enjoy driving cars unless they’re muscle cars or foreign sports cars,” he says. “I can’t stand driving the regular run-of-the-mill vehicles that most of the population drives—the Honda Accords, the minivans. Those vehicles do nothing for me.”

Heavy D’s love for trucks began early. He grew up working with his truck on the farm, repairing tractors and hauling hay, even doing some construction. Trucks have always been part of his life.

“You actually used your truck, and in using your truck, you build this relationship with it,” he says. “Any guy who works for a living and drives a truck, his truck is part of the family. That’s his livelihood, that’s how he makes his living, that’s how he gets to and from work. You’d be shocked at how many people across this country have a family-type relationship with their truck.”

Rating: 8.5

Heavy D also has a Jeep that he relies on heavily. “I love the fact that it’s not a truck, and I come from the truck world,” he says. “For me it’s a total change of pace because it’s sporty. It’s the Overland package, which has the Air Suspension, so it’s very smooth riding.”

Heavy D uses his Jeep to drive around town and finds it easy to get in and out of tight parking spots. “The turning radius is awesome. Fuel economy is amazing—it gets an average of 25 miles a gallon. And it’s super peppy; it gets up and goes. It’s much faster than old Jeep models,” he says.

He gives it an 8.5 on a scale of 10 because he feels Jeep could have done a better job with it. “As far as the transmission, it needs a little bit of help with the way it shifts sometimes,” he says. “The back seat is really tight, so that makes it not fun for when there are kids back there.”

Heavy D originally bought the Jeep new for his wife. “We’re in the business of diesel vehicles, and I wanted to try to support the diesel market, so when Jeep came out with the Grand Cherokee, it was a natural fit for us because there weren’t very many diesel SUVs on the market, especially in 2015,” he says.

The Grand Cherokee was comfortable when they had two kids, but now that they have a third, the back seat is too tight for three car seats. So they switched to a Chevrolet Tahoe, and Heavy D started driving the Jeep himself.

“Originally I planned on selling it, but after driving it for a couple of weeks, I fell in love with it,” he says.

Rating: 9

Heavy D drives this street-legal three-wheeled two-seater anytime he can. “That thing is awesome to drive back and forth to the office. It’s not something that I’d take on a long road trip or lug my family in,” he says. “They’re super cool.”

Even though it drives like a car, he doesn’t give it a 10. He says it needs a little more top-end performance and could use a factory-installed turbo.

“I love the Slingshot because I love motorcycles,” he says. “I alternate between my Harley and the Slingshot, but I like the Slingshot because it’s more of a hybrid between a car and a motorcycle.”

He gets that feeling of riding a motorcycle, but the Polaris has more of a windshield and cockpit. “If I’m going to a meeting, I don’t want my clothes blown all over the place, so it protects me from that. But it gives me the chance to catch some sun and it’s really sporty and super nimble, so I can get in and out of traffic really easily in tight places,” he says.

Although the Slingshot is his commuting vehicle, Heavy D takes the Jeep in the winter or anytime it’s overcast. “In Utah we only get three or four months’ worth of decent weather, so that’s the only time I can drive the Slingshot. I’m not going to take it out in the snow,” he says.

The Slingshot always turns heads. “I’ve got some pretty amazing vehicles, but strangely enough, the vehicle that gets the most attention, the most looks by far, is the Polaris Slingshot. People look at it like it’s a spaceship, because it looks like a spaceship,” he says. “It’s crazy.”

One time, Heavy D and a friend in a Lamborghini drove to a fast food place and everybody went straight to the Slingshot. “They’d never seen it before—they didn’t know what it was. People definitely love them,” he says.

Rating: 10

Heavy D drives this Polaris to work once or twice a month. “Most of the time, I leave it parked at home. We live on a mountain, so we can drive straight from our house, go up to the top of the mountain, go for a little drive up on the trail, and then come back. We also have a cabin 15 miles up the mountain from our house. And that’s our number-one mode of transportation to get the family back and forth.”

He originally bought the RZR Turbo to take it off-road in the mountains and for tight spots where trucks can’t go. “But now that they’ve made them street legal in Utah, we can literally drive it from the house all the way to the mountain, and we don’t have to trailer it anymore, which is awesome,” he says.

This short list is the extent of Heavy D’s personal drivers. “I’ve made my cars my business. I used to have a garage full of cars that were mine that I just drove,” he says. “Now I have a dealership so that I can buy and sell them and just drive whatever I want.”

Heavy D’s grandfather taught him the concept of driving when he was eight years old, in a backhoe. “The backhoe has a steering wheel, gas, a brake, forward, reverse, everything like a car,” he says. “I was very ambitious to learn how to drive. I always bugged my dad when I was little to take me out to the desert and let me drive his truck.”

After he learned the basics, anytime he got a chance to drive tractors, or if the family went camping in the desert, Heavy D would drive anything he could.

He got his learner’s permit and license on his first car, a 1988 Chevrolet K5 Blazer, in Utah. “My birthday is in January, and in Utah there’s a lot of snow, so I got my driver’s license when there was a couple feet of snow on the ground. I had to adapt and learn really early on how to drive in the snow,” he recalls.

His parents made him save up money to buy his first car, and he thought they would chip in, as well. “But they wanted me to have the full experience of the responsibility of buying a car,” Heavy D says. “To be able to finish paying for it, they taught me how to get a loan from the credit union. So I got a small loan and learned how to make payments on time. It was cool because I was the only 16-year-old that had any credit. … Looking back, I’m super grateful for it because it taught me how money works.”

Heavy D’s favorite road trip is a family summer trip he’s done since he was a kid. He takes I-15 to U.S. Route 89, and his favorite stretch is from Beaver to Lake Powell on U.S. 89.

“It goes through Bryce Canyon and all those beautiful southern Utah places—a city called Panguitch, Kanab, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, and then it goes to Lake Powell. It goes from high forest to high desert, to red rocks and desert. All within a couple hundred miles,” he recounts.

Heavy D takes that drive once or twice a summer. From his house to Lake Powell, the drive on the winding two-lane highway is a six-hour trip. “We go to Lake Powell, and we tug a boat down there. We spend a week there and then drive home,” he says.

Many people loathe going back to work on Mondays, but what Heavy D does for a living doesn’t feel like a job.

“Unlike other people, I count down the minutes until Sundays are over because I can’t stand sitting around. I love being at the office and the shop, looking for that next deal, or working on a unique vehicle,” says Heavy D.

The day we spoke, Heavy D was in the shop waiting for a helicopter to be painted. “To me, they’re like unique vehicles. I’ve literally been pacing back and forth, waiting for my helicopter to be done, so that I could just look at it. It’s the same way with all the vehicles I have,” he says. “I can’t wait to see when that set of wheels and tires gets mounted, or to see what it’s going to look like when it gets this paint job on it. I love what I do—it’s play as much as work.”

Heavy D has loved cars his whole life and has always worked on them. He wanted to try everything, so he started a used car dealership, allowing him to live out that dream.

“I found out I could make money at that,” he says. Although he didn’t set out to have a show, Heavy D’s photos and videos on social media got noticed by Jay Leno and Discovery.

“People started to go crazy over them,” he says. “That blew up and became really big, and we had a video once where my friend Dave and I did a stunt with a truck. We hooked the tailpipe into a bathroom, and a buddy of ours was in the bathroom and it blew smoke on him. It was funny, and Jay Leno saw that on YouTube, so he had us on his show on a little segment called ‘Prank You Very Much.’ He just thought it was the funniest prank in the world because it had to do with a truck. And then Discovery saw that little clip on Jay.”

Heavy D offers tips to others on following their passion. For him, it wasn’t about the money, although making a living was also a necessity.

“I didn’t get into the car business to make money on selling cars. I got into the car business so I could justify my hobby of wanting to try every vehicle in the book. I treated every car as if it were my own. I would only buy things that I wanted. My thought process when I go buy a car has always been, ‘If I get stuck with it and I can’t sell it, I’ve got to be OK with it.’ That helps me avoid buying vehicles that I wouldn’t necessarily be passionate about.”

Heavy D says his customers are like-minded people. “They see the passion in the car and the passion that we put into repairing or modifying or selling it,” he says. “That’s made our business successful, because we’re dealing with enthusiasts.”

When he started his business, Heavy D also didn’t worry what others thought of him, that he was a used car salesman. “I could care less. Call me what you want to call me, I’m doing what I want to do for a living. I’m enjoying it,” he says.

His passion, and this show, took him from an 800-square-foot storage unit, where he was selling cars, to a new 30,000-square-foot warehouse.

“The show obviously wouldn’t have happened if we didn’t have our original business,” Heavy D says.

He tries to stay away from too many client builds. “I found that it really restricts my artistic freedom. When somebody comes in and says, ‘Paint me the picture just like this,’ it’s not as much fun. But if you get to say, ‘Look at this beautiful picture I’ve painted, and I love it, I’m so passionate about it, it’s exactly what I wanted.’ And then if somebody wants to buy that from you, that’s a totally different feeling than just following someone else’s marching orders.”

Heavy D sums up his life as living the American dream. “We’re building a business, we’re making a living doing things that we love. I always tell people, if I wasn’t doing this for a living, I would pay to do this,” he says with a laugh.

There are 100 cars on the lot that Heavy D can now enjoy, with up to 20 vehicles under construction at any point.

“It’s very untraditional. I’m not loyal to any brand. I love them all, like having a bunch of children and not trying to pick a favorite,” Heavy D says. “Our overall M.O. and what we always try to do, especially on the truck side, is to show what trucks are capable of.”

He says lots of guys build show trucks and park them at a big show, or they’ll just sit and gather dust. “We would rather build a beautiful big show truck and then take it to Moab and go hit all the four-wheel-drive trails and go really use it like crazy,” he says.

Diesel Brothers has also inspired many fans to go after their own passion projects, such as dusting off an old car sitting in the garage, or even just buying their first diesel pickup. Heavy D’s advice to people about cars can easily be translated to how he took chances on his own life.

“When people ask me, ‘How do you do it?’ I tell them, ‘Screw risk! Forget failure. What’s your worst-case scenario? Your worst-case scenario is never that bad.’ If you want to build your project car, go do it. Obviously, be smart about it, but if you want to finish your truck or build your dream truck or go buy your dream vehicle, do it,” he says. “Don’t wait for somebody else to do it.”

People used to ask Heavy D how he knows he’ll make money on a vehicle he buys, and his reply was always, “‘I don’t. I don’t even think about it. I don’t consider the risk,’” he says. “To me, it’s not an option. I just know that I’m doing what I love. As long as I’m doing what I love, I’m going to find an exit strategy and find a way to make it work.”

Heavy D says this all started after he dropped out of college and began buying and selling tractors, which led to trucks and modifying trucks.

“Every little thing happens because it’s one step closer to where you’re trying to get,” he says. “I’ve always said, ‘Roll with the punches.’ Whatever happens, whatever comes, just take it in stride and move onto the next thing. Don’t get hung up on the little issues, the little failures. We’ve had massive failures, but they just don’t matter to us. We don’t really care about them because we’re so ready to move on to the next thing.”

Watch Diesel Brothers on Discovery or right here on Motor Trend Premium.

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• Poison Lead Singer Bret Michaels
• Fox Sports Analyst and Former NFL Tight End Tony Gonzalez

The post Celebrity Drive: Dave “Heavy D” Sparks of Discovery’s ‘Diesel Brothers’ appeared first on Motor Trend.