Blog Posts by: Sam Smith  

Who said concept cars had to be exciting to look at? Oh, wait… Mitsubishi has been on something of a roll of late. The storied Japanese marque spent most of the past decade flirting with stateside irrelevance, offering little to American customers save the much-lauded Lancer Evolution sedan. With the ...    Read more

Because everyone needs to haul stuff. Even Oompa Loompas. We know what you’re thinking: It’s little, it’s tiny, it’s dinky, it’s miniscule, it’s compact, it’s even -- we busted out the thesaurus for this one, so pay attention -- bijou. What on Earth, you ask, ...    Read more

Fast is the new black.God bless Lotus Cars. If there’s one car company that we can get behind, one marque that remains gloriously true to its heritage, then Lotus is it. And while the car you see here may be the umpty-bajillionth Elise/Exige variant to hit the streets in the ...    Read more

Coming soon to a gardening shed -- er, Japanese city -- near you. Poor Daihatsu. If the Japanese minicar specialist ever decides to bring a road-legal vehicle to the United States, it’s going to be screwed. Daihatsu has long produced efficient microcars for the Japanese K-car (kei jidosha) market, and ...    Read more

When the going gets weird, the weird go to Tokyo. Just not to the auto show.Big-time auto shows are rarely normal places. Even the most mundane national motor show is a strange combination of pomp, sheet metal, and massive egos; the sensory overload is akin to what you might get ...    Read more

Gullwing doors, a hybrid powertrain, and a surprising amount of elegance. Half a century ago, when Mercedes-Benz unveiled its iconic 300 SL -- the arched-door monster otherwise known as the Gullwing -- the world gasped in shock. Never before had form met function in such a striking manner; the ...    Read more