Christian Gulliksen

Just imagine yourself in your new BMW or Porsche racing around the autobahn before jetting home to meet your automobile stateside. It’s an available option that even comes with an array of VIP perks such as significant discounts from a car’s list price and special-access factory tours. Here is what you can expect from some […]

The phrase “driving school” might conjure memories of long Saturdays spent in windowless classrooms as penance for speeding tickets. But there’s another type of driving school—the kind you actually want to attend. These teach car enthusiasts how to get the most out of their particular car, whether on the racetrack or the off-road trail. An […]

Only a few years ago, a Plymouth Hemi ’Cuda convertible—1 of 11 built in 1971—caused a furor when it sold for $2 million. Even in a heated automotive market driven by nostalgic baby boomers, no one had ever paid that much for a muscle car. The record-breaking sale firmly established the handsome Hemi ’Cuda as […]

A Toe in the Water For many enthusiasts, an automotive purchase isn’t complete until an aftermarket shop — known by the catchall term tuner — has installed a set of custom wheels, added a body kit, or upgraded the engine. But do you really need to customize your car? Consider these cars you can purchase […]

The first BMW X5 (www.bmwusa.com) introduced drivers to the concept of an SUV that behaved like a sports sedan. (BMW calls the X5 an SAV—for Sport Activity Vehicle.) Redesigned for 2007, the X5 remains true to BMW’s driver-oriented ethos. It offers ample power, precise handling, and a controlled ride. The $54,500 X5 4.8i, fitted with […]

Porsche Cayenne The original porsche Cayenne was an astonishingly good car. It possessed solid SUV bona fides, and it established the class benchmark for on-road performance with its searing acceleration and exceptional handling. Following a light mechanical and aesthetic makeover, the Cayenne retains its status as the standard-bearer for performance-oriented SUVs. Porsche has dropped the […]

A few years ago, when Elizabeth Segerstrom first met the man who is now her husband, Henry Segerstrom, she knew nothing about Orange County, the sun-kissed region between Los Angeles and San Diego that is his home. “I lived in New York and thought he was talking about Orange in New Jersey,” recalls Elizabeth, a […]

Henry Segerstrom initiated fund-raising efforts for the $200 million Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall with a $50 million gift, the largest charitable cash donation in Orange County’s history. The building—designed by Cesar Pelli and housing the 2,000-seat concert hall as well as the 500-seat Samueli Theater—is a novel interpretation of midcentury International Style architecture. […]

Long viewed as the less flashy alternative to Mercedes-Benz and BMW, Audi nevertheless delivers plenty of sex appeal beneath deceptively conservative sheet metal. The company adheres to this ethos even at its high-performance S division, as evidenced by its latest offering, the S6. Lurking beneath the S6’s understated hood is a 5.2-liter V-10, a version […]

It used to be that Mercedes-Benz built highly capable sedans wrapped in utterly conservative bodywork. Even when the German manufacturer ventured into the realm of high performance—say, the 300 SEL 6.3 and the 450 SEL 6.9 in the 1960s and ’70s—it did so with little stylistic fanfare. This be­­gan to change in the late 1990s, […]