Well, 2020 has been different, that’s for sure. As a result, the MotorTrend Best Driver’s Car is a bit different, as well.
Having to work around a pandemic, we had to shrink our field of contenders and the number of judges. That said, those cars we cut likely wouldn’t have cracked the upper echelon of vehicles we kept. And those cars (and one SUV) that remained were such a closely knit group that picking a winner might have actually been more difficult than it would have been otherwise.
So here you have them, the 2020 MotorTrend Best Driver’s Car contenders, with this page updated with a fresh batch of links to each one until we announce the winner on December 30. Be sure to click through, as every story features video of that car’s hot lap put down by our on-call racing driver, Randy Pobst, the maestro of Laguna Seca.
MotorTrend Best Driver’s Car 2020 [...]2020 hasn’t been totally terrible—among other things, it marked the 100th anniversary of founding of the Toyo Cork Kogyo Company, which we now know as Mazda.
Jujiro Matsuda was an engineer in Osaka, and in 1920 he came home to Hiroshima to open a new company that manufactured cork. His first logo was a red circle with a broken horizontal line, which Matsuda intended to indicate his desire to contribute to the world.
Toyo Kyogo transitioned to manufacture of heavy machinery in 1927, and in 1931 they produced their first vehicle, the Mazda-Go three-wheel truck. The vehicle was named for Ahura Mazda, a Zoroastrian deity whose name literally translates to “god of wisdom,” and whose name had a happy similarity to Matsuda’s own. In 1934, Toyo Kyogo developed a new Mazda logo, though the company did not officially change its name until 1984.
It is a simple formula really: Take a common American pickup truck, stuff in more power than it deserves, and have fun. Between the Roadkill and Roadkill Garage shows, we have assembled a triple play of fast haulers, appropriately identified as the original (Chevy) “Muscle Truck” the “Mopar Muscle Truck” (MMT) and the “Ford Muscle Truck” (FMT).
These trucks quickly became fan favorites as a group and individually, and continue to appear in Roadkill related content and at Roadkill events. The common thread is that all are short-bed stepsides from the late 60’s to early 1970s, built for street performance and all-around vehicular mayhem. Aside of their similarities, each of these muscle trucks has its own personality with distinct differences. Each has a different story to tell, and here they are.
The Original “Muscle Truck”
Starting it all is the 1974 [...]
Despite the myopia of popular car culture, the Countach wasn’t the only Lamborghini produced in the 1980s. Even with the public’s overwhelming fixation on Lambo’s superstar V-12 wedge, a small number of V-8–powered mid-engine sports cars were sold alongside the bigger, badder, and significantly more expensive Countach. They don’t get nearly as much attention then, either, but compared to the rarer and even lesser-known Urraco and Silhouette, the Lamborghini Jalpa, produced between 1981 and 1988, was the most popular entry-level Lamborghini until the Gallardo’s arrival in the early 2000s.
Stylistically, the Bertone-designed Jalpa is very much an evolution of the earlier Silhouette, incorporating the Silhouette’s transverse mid-engine design and its ultra-angular profile. Additionally, Lamborghini offered the Jalpa exclusively as a targa-roofed model, unlike the Countach, which never officially had its roof chopped from the factory.
Power comes from a carbureted 3.5-liter DOHC V-8, capable of 255 horsepower and 225 pound-feet of [...]
The Chevy LS V-8 engine has become the de facto engine swap suggestion for anyone seeking to add power to their existing platform, regardless of where the original vehicle might have been built or how many cylinders it left the factory with. It’s easy enough to understand why: the LS V-8 is relatively compact thanks to its OHV design, aluminum construction helps keep the weight down, and so many people have done this swap that a vast wealth of experience is available to draw from when planning your own engine surgery.
Still, the LS doesn’t have to be the go-to drop-in whenever you’re looking for more power. There are a number of other very popular swaps out there that have consistently crossed company lines to deliver reliable and fairly affordable horses, each with their own unique advantages and unusual quirks. Really, why not put a Honda B-series in your Mini?
We looked for some popular [...]
