Rides Test Drive: 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid

If you haven’t noticed, Ford’s been on quite the roll lately. After turning down government aid, the Ford Motor Company managed to turn a profit in the last quarter. And it’s not hard to see why. Their all new line up boasts some of the best cars on the market—they’ve got something for everyone. Want a muscle car? They got you with the Mustang; you want a pick up truck worthy enough to participate in the Baja 1000? They got that too with the maddeningly dope F-150 SVT Raptor. Then we learned today that Motor Trend named the Ford Fusion their 2010 Car of the Year for its “impressive bandwidth as a model range.” Yeah, the range of models within the Fusion line is impressive, but our favorite was the Fusion Hybrid. Read on to find out why…

Rides Complex Expert Guide: Ken Block On How To Drift

Illustration by Marcin Kuligowski; Step Illustrations by Sonia Chang

No matter how nice you believe your wheel game to be, we’re pretty sure it’s not as nice as Ken Block’s. A love of all things motor led the co-founder of DC Shoes to train as a rally driver so he could compete in the Rally America series. He was so nice behind the wheel of his Vermont SportsCar prepared Subaru WRX STi that he won Rally America’s Rookie of the Year award. To further show off his skill, he put together two videos of him in his Subaru ripping and sliding through a Gymhana course, both of which became instant hits on the ‘Net.

Yeah, dude knows a thing or two about car control. So who better to teach us how to do a drift? We got Ken to give us a basic run through on how to initiate a slide through a hairpin turn. Keep in mind: These four steps are basic instructions and won’t make you an expert, so please be careful. So buckle up and read on to learn how to get (safely) sideways, and then peep Ken’s second Gymkhana to see how it’s really done…

Rides Two Wheel Motion: 5 Bikes For Any Speed (Style & Design 2009)

Alas, NOT one of the bikes reviewed in our round-up.

In case you hadn’t heard, there’s been this little global financial meltdown going on, so you’re not getting another Hummer for your birthday this year. It’s a good thing, then, that self-propelled locomotion is the move in ’09. From high-end hipster stylings (Freeman Transport’s collapsible fixies) to commuter revolutions (bike-sharing programs in D.C., Denver, Tucson, and elsewhere), America is figuring out what the world’s known for years: Bicycles are a great way to get around when polar bears are doing the backstroke and wars for oil aren’t as fun as they used to be. See below for 5 Great New Bikes For Any Style…

Rides Test Drive: 2010 Cadillac CTS-V

Just because General Motors went bankrupt and is now partially owned by us, the American people, that doesn’t mean, they’ve given up all hope of making cool cars. Yeah, we know, it’s kinda hard to say without cracking up, but we’re serious. It seems right as they faced the worst year in their 101 year history, they started making cars people actually cared about. Like the now gone Pontiac G8. And the all-new Cadillac CTS-V.

Test on the famed Nürburgring in Germany, the CTS-V was built to be the best production performance sedan on the market, and we’ll be damned if it isn’t at least in the top 3. To really test it out, we got a chance to take the CTS-V around the track at the Monticello Race Way in Monticello, New York. Read our full review and watch track day video below…

Rides VIDEO: Test Driving The 2010 Camaro SS

The Chevrolet Camaro is an historic American icon, and the newest iteration, the 2010, stays true to the muscle car lineage. We got a chance to take it for a test drive, and the new edition has everything a car like this should: strong, fast lines; a beefy shape; and a powerful engine that is fast as hell.

The 2010 Camaro just hit the first set of pre-books this month, and the car will continue to deliver into the Fall, so it’s officially time to get excited (and to get your Long Island/New Jersey on). Hit the jump to watch Lifestyle Editor Bradley Carbone’s video test drive of the 2010 Camaro SS, one of the most anticipated cars this year…

Rides Great Moments in Hummer History

After announcing last August that they were looking for a prospective buyer for their Hummer brand, General Motors has finally found a suitor for their failed sport utility brand. So who was the genius that purchased the brand which become synonymous with the destruction of our planet and was hemorrhaging cash faster than Gucci Mane at Magic City? We’re not sure, GM won’t tell us.

All we know is that they’d have an easier time convincing the public to buy the new AfroMan album than they would convincing them to buy a Hummer. Maybe they could highlight all the good times the public has shared with the car. Don’t remember any? Don’t worry, we’ve compiled a couple of our favorite Hummer moments to jog your memory…

Rides Test Drive: Nissan’s EV-02 Concept

Despite all the new earth-friendly regulations recently imposed on automakers, no one has any idea what we’ll be driving 15 or 20 years from now. But with the Obama administration’s new emission requirements and their decision to axe over half of the government hydrogen fuel cell funding from ’09s budget, a number of car companies are looking to put most of their marbles in the electric vehicle (EV) game.

One of those companies is Nissan. Even though they don’t plan to drop their EV until late 2010, they’ve already got a test mule up and running for journalists to put through the paces. They brought their EV-02 (the only one in existence) through New York and we got a chance to push it around a little bit. Read on for our full review below…

Rides Test Drive: Audi Q5

We’ve test-driven quite a few Audis over the last few years, but—word to Goldilocks—something about the Audi Q5 feels just right. Or is it just a sign of age that we’re fawning over a compact CUV? Either way, the car that Audi calls “segment-redefining” is out to take over the Lexus RX/BMW X3/Mercedes-Benz GLK market, and judging from Audi’s recession-defying 2008 sales numbers, we wouldn’t bet against it. Read on for our review of the Audi Q5…

Rides The 5 Greatest Pontiacs of All Time

After 83 years, General Motors announced today that they were going to shut down the Pontiac brand by 2010 in order to get their money right. Even though we saw this coming, it still saddens us. Sure, they were going through a rough patch for a couple… decades, but they finally seemed to be getting their minds in the right place. Instead of giving us new Sunfires and Azteks, they were starting import cars from GM’s Holden brand that were actually fun to drive. Which is exactly what they were created to do: be GM’s performance brand.

But with the General hedging all his bets on the Volt and Washington forcing them to trim the fat or declare bankruptcy, they had little choice (we’re not sure how Buick survived, but whatever). So, in remembrance of the failed brand, we’re pouring a little liquor out and reminiscing about their best cars…

Rides Test Drive: 2009 Mazda6

When your company’s tag line is “Zoom-Zoom” all your cars better damn well go zoom-zoom. And, for the most part, Mazda stands by it’s creedo, producing a lineup that has two of the most fun cars on the market to drive: the hoonage-inducing MazdaSpeed3 and the Chris Paul nimble MX-5 (formerly the Miata). But by injecting the “soul of a sports car” into more mainstream models like their Toyota Camry and Honda Accord fighter, the Mazda6 is a bit trickier. Read on for our full review…