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    Basem Wasef

    Basem Wasef

  • Hot Wheels 'id' | First Play Review

    This is not your father's Hot Wheels toy (and it certainly wasn't mine), but this techy Hot Wheels 'id' toy that debuted at Apple Stores today just might redefine the way children play with toy vehicles in the future. "Kids are now learning to swipe before they wipe," Mattel Director of Product Management and Global Marketing Ron Friedman tells me in the "War Room" of the company's Southern California headquarters.

  • 2020 Lamborghini Huracan EVO Track Test Review | The limits of performance

    Our first drive of the Lamborghini Huracan EVO in Bahrain earlier this year revealed that its dramatically reworked new tech makes it far more than simply an evolution ­– hence the EVO name – of its LP 610-4 predecessor. While our first drive left us impressed with the EVO's responsiveness, forward-thinking performance enhancements, and (finally) modernized multimedia interface, we did have some lingering questions about its at-limit dynamics on the track. With all-wheel steering altering its responsiveness at higher speeds, it begged the question: Is something getting sacrificed on the road to supercar perfection?

  • 2019 Ducati Hypermotard 950 SP First Ride Review | Embrace your inner badass

    The Hypermotard was introduced in 2005, and the latest "Hyper" introduces several key improvements including friendlier ergonomics with wider handlebars, and trimmed mass thanks to a new variable diameter frame, new wheels and new suspension hardware. Weight is an especially critical factor in motorcycle design. Also aiding performance is where the weight is lost: right where it counts, on unsprung elements that help the bike change direction more easily.

  • 2019 Porsche 911 Speedster First Drive Review | More than a droptop GT3

    SARDINIA, Italy — As 21st-century Porsche 911s go, few hit peak analog quite so completely as the GT3 Touring. Free-breathing, naturally aspirated 4.0-liter flat-six? Check. Six-speed manual? Mandatory.

  • 2019 Volkswagen Arteon Review | Sharp looks, more room and fewer cylinders

    According to Volkswagen, the new 2019 Arteon is the spiritual, not literal successor to the swoopy CC sedan. One VW rep said sales would be closer to the outgoing, niche Beetle than the volume-selling Tiguan or Atlas. Listen up as we unravel the mystery of the 2019 Volkswagen Arteon.

  • 2019 Jaguar F-Pace SVR First Drive Review | Magnificent beast

    The hot-rod SUV genre has been endlessly expanding, pioneered by the likes of the Porsche Cayenne. Power is routed to all four wheels, naturally, but the SVR is also the first F-Pace to get torque vectoring thanks to an electronically controlled rear differential. Also aiding the F-Pace through the corners are stiffer springs, reprogrammed adaptive Bilstein dampers, 12-inch forged aluminum wheels and a brake-based torque vectoring system.

  • 2020 Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 First Drive Review | A sophisticated evolution

    The Mercedes-Benz CLA was a bold move for the big German luxury brand when it launched six years ago with a shockingly low starting price of just under $30,000. Back then, Mercedes was more about spendy sleds like the S-Class than youth-friendly offerings, which led purists to grouse that an affordable entry model could squander the brand's hard-earned cachet. The argument wasn't helped by early concerns about interior build quality: was the cheap starter Benz destined to cheapen the brand?

  • 2020 Jaguar XE First Drive Review | The outlier's unusual charms

    Jaguar resorted to a big-winged, bestial XE Project 8 that toppled a Nürburbring record to try and gain some attention, but the regular 2020 Jaguar XE will have to attain relevance on its unwinged charms against stiff German competition. For 2020, the XE receives a few subtle but effective styling tweaks — a resculpted front bumper, a wider and more purposeful grille, and a rear bumper with slimmer LED tail lamps that make the backend appear wider and more aggressive. While higher-quality materials lend the XE a distinctly more luxurious feel, also welcome is a 12.3-inch driver display screen, Jag's familiar InControl Touch Pro Duo infotainment system (optional), and modern features like a wireless phone charging pad and a new steering wheel with updated illuminated controls.

  • 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT R Pro First Drive Review | The most AMG of AMGs

    With the long-delayed, F1-derived Project One hypercar still in the wings, the AMG GT R is on top of the Mercedes-AMG food chain and the de facto beneficiary of Benz's latest learnings from the racetrack. Enter the 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT Pro, the most AMG of AMGs — at least until the inevitable Black Series version bows.

  • 2019 Jaguar XE SV Project 8 First Drive Review | Cat track fever

    At stoplights, street corners, and parking lots, the 2019 Jaguar XE SV Project 8's swollen bodywork and park bench-sized tail attract the fanboys like iron to a magnet. If you're not up to speed, the Project 8 is Jaguar's surprise salvo into sedan madness. Think Aston Martin V12 Vantage, AC Cobra 427, et al. Aiding downforce is a wing that delivers 269 pounds of downforce at 186 mph, so much that Jaguar had to reinforce the trunklid to prevent it from denting at high speeds.

  • 2019 Honda Super Cub First Ride Review | The nicest people love this little bike

    Long before Honda Civics and CR-Vs dotted American roads, Soichiro Honda was hatching a plan to seduce U.S. consumers with a gotta-have-it ride. "Old man" Honda dreamed of an affordable two-wheeler that could meet a few simple but critical guidelines: produce at least 4 horsepower from a quiet, efficient motor, be rugged enough to handle almost any road, and welcome any and all riders with an ergonomically friendly package. After a research trip to Europe, Soichiro and his team rolled up their sleeves and developed the Honda C100 "Super Cub," which made its way to the United States in 1959.

  • 2020 Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S Sedan First Drive Review | Bridging the gap

    Gotta hand it to AMG. Though the vast majority of the carmaker's clientele are likelier to eat glass than track their high-powered sedans, we sampled the 2019 AMG GT sedan at the epic 3.4-mile Circuit of the Americas course.

  • 2020 Lamborghini Huracan EVO First Drive Review | Sant'Agata's killer app

    Lamborghini is, and always has been, all about the drama. The last special Huracán, the Performante, was no exception — a track-focused special with trick active aero. For the latest Huracán, Lamborghini is taking a different tack: the 2020 Huracán EVO, short for evolution, embraces a ton of tech in the interest of building a quicker, more versatile car.

  • 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera S and 4S First Drive Review | Whatever it takes

    VALENCIA, Spain — Every new 911 presents a potential existential threat to Porsche purists, and the eighth-generation Porsche 911 is no exception. Has the 2020 model lost the quirks that define its inherent 911-ness? Is the legendary sports car evolving into anonymity? Those questions loom large, and despite its familiar shape I'm intensely curious about the answers I'll discover.

  • 2019 Chevy Camaro SS 10-Speed First Drive Review | Shifting perceptions automatically

    The updated 2019 Camaro SS might be the third-best-selling muscle car, behind the Dodge Challenger and the Ford Mustang, but it makes a mighty bid for relevance. "Here are a few pics of my garage," he gushed, sharing cellphone snaps of his multi-generational stash of Camaros, which include the crown jewel, a lovingly restored and gorgeous 1968 SS convertible.

  • 2019 BMW M850i xDrive First Drive Review | Daddy shark

    It's been nearly two decades since the BMW 8-Series filled driveways with its grandiosity and elegantly oversized persona. Flash forward to present day, and the new 2019 BMW M850i xDrive offers a future-forward translation of the shark-nosed 2+2 from yesteryear, but little else carries over. Sure, it's still got a curb weight in excess of two tons (4,478 pounds, to be precise), but it also benefits from a considerably stiffer chassis and the thrust of a twin-turbo 4.4-liter producing 523 horsepower and a wheel-spinning 553 lb-ft of torque.

  • VW Atlas Tanoak Pickup Concept First Drive Review | Rooted in reality

    Could Volkswagen be on the verge of bringing the Tanoak pickup truck to production? The hotly contested truck segment has been haunting Volkswagen's dreams, so much that it has inspired the German carmaker to seriously explore the feasibility of mass producing the unibody Tanoak at their Chattanooga facility. The pickup segment is a strong one, with 2.8 million pickup trucks finding new owners in 2017 — though most of those trucks feature frame-on-body, not unibody, construction.