DRIVE

We're all starting to do the right thing by dumping gas-chugging SUV s, but is it for all the wrong reasons? Sure, making the switch helps the environment, but these days, driving an overpowered little monster is as fashionable as it is noble. And to make sure we never forsake them again, carmakers are serving up a lineup of mighty little growlers. They've stiffened the chassis, tuned the suspension, and turbofied the little four-cylinder scamps so they're doing the quarter-mile like a supercar and we're feeling every dimple in the pavement. Here's a look at some of today's big-performing little ... MORE

You couldn't have fit more muscle on the original Yamaha V-MAX. With its massive V4 engine crammed into the frame, the V-MAX was one of the most muscular bikes on the streets back in 1985. And with the exception of a few tweaks and cosmetic touches along the way, the model remained largely unchanged until it was pulled from the Yamaha lineup last year. Now, when the first of the 2009 versions hits showrooms this fall, the MAX will be back—bigger, badder, and more boisterous than ever before. The new V-MAX doesn't back down from the original's supermacho looks or ... MORE

Steve McQueen nailed the concept of cool in the 1968 film Bullitt with his portrayal of Frank Bullitt, a San Francisco police lieutenant who floors a souped-up Ford Mustang through one of the most exciting cinematic chase scenes in history (and makes turtlenecks with sport coats cool in the process). The 2008 Bullitt, a special-edition version of the latest-generation Ford Mustang, does everything right in recreating the lean looks and overt aggression of both McQueen and his legendary wheels. It also repairs the damage done to the car’s rep by the lame 2001 Bullitt edition. Just 7,700 of these ’08 ... MORE

The most prolific era of the American muscle car started in 1970, when growling engines, screeching tires, and acrid blue smoke were lit in the night by the glow of a thousand red taillights. 1970 was also the year the original Dodge Challenger was introduced. And while its place in muscle car history could be argued ad nauseam over a sea of Pabst Blue Ribbon cans, the Dodge Challenger made its rep exactly as its name suggests—by bullying its way through a pack dominated by Mustang, GTO, Camaro, Chevelle SS, and even its own big brother, the Dodge Charger. Now, ... MORE

One surefire way to start a fight: tell a gearhead that the newest generation of Chevrolet Corvette might challenge the sports car supremacy of the Porsche. It’s the type of argument that will probably end with a tire iron to the head. It’s also true. The new generation of Chevrolet Corvettes have ushered in a whole new approach to building the American sports car. The best time of the year to experience the new Corvette is the summer, when you can drop the top and feel the wind at an eyelid-peeling 150-plus mph. Corvette offers three topless options: The Coupe ... MORE

The Corvette Sting Ray and the Aston Martin DB5 were unquestionably cool. Over the years, Toyotas were affordable and reliable, but never quite cool. Then, at the 2002 New York Auto Show, the auto giant introduced the Scion, a vehicle so boxy and weird it had to be cool. The Scion models are indeed unlikely darlings of the twolane blacktop fashion runway. The vehicle’s designers went out of their way to add odd angles and create the unusual, boxy profile. The counterintuitive, default-to-the-weird aesthetic worked, and suddenly Scion was the go-to vehicle for hip buyers attracted by base prices as ... MORE

In 1926, when the Ducati family formed its company with a group of investors in Bologna, Italy, they were seeking to cash in on the burgeoning radio transmissions industry. Less than a hundred years later, Ducati has revolutionized motorcycle design and made sexy sport bikes the ride of choice for a new generation of bikers. Since rejoining the MotoGP series in 2003, after a 30-year hiatus, Ducati has reinforced its impressive street cred by consistently being the fastest bike on the track, whatever the MotoGP rule changes. And the newest lineup from Ducati continues to garner enthusiastic endorsements and strong ... MORE

The Toyota Prius hybrid might do it for Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz in Hollywood, but it's not going to fly with the wide array of Americans, from NFL players to PTA members, looking for something bigger and badder. And that's the riddle of the alternative-fuel auto marketplace: we are not a onesize- fits-all culture—as the tattoo community knows quite well. Getting into the game early with passion and innovation—and two generations of the Synergy Drive gas-electric power plant system—Toyota has seized the lion's share of publicity and sales in the now mercilessly fashionable hybrid movement. In the early part ... MORE

No brand is more American nor, over the long haul, more successful than Harley-Davidson. So it's not surprising that the massive passion for big noisy bikes and wild open spaces has been translated into a prolific all-American palette of tattoo art. And while the most popular Harley ink incorporates traditional themes like swooping eagles and shields of stars and stripes, a survey of the newest Harley-Davidson lineup makes it clear that the next thing to turn up in Harley-inspired tats should be flowing lines, flexing contours, and the color black. Obviously, image is not Harley-Davidson's problem. But staying relevant and ... MORE