Mike McNessor

United States

Hemmings Motor News editor and writer. Author of ¡Carrera!, the hottest selling book ever written by a guy named McNessor.

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Articles

How Much Horsepower Is Just Enough?

5 days ago | hemmings.com | Mike McNessor

I know. Dumb question. But like all of my other stupid reflections, I’m going to write this one out loud too: Does anyone really need a passenger car with more than 1,000 horsepower? Every time I look at the 2025 Corvette ZR1 that’s all I can come up with. Really? Unless you’re Warren Johnson going rounds in Pro Stock at the Winter Nationals circa ’85, do you really need that much horsepower? Again. I know. Even my car references are pitifully out of touch.
Dodge Ram SRT-10: Is This Future Classic Worth Investing In?

2 weeks ago | hemmings.com | Mike McNessor

Factory hot-rodded light trucks (not car-based haulers) weren’t really a thing until Dodge kicked down the door with its 1978 Li’l Red Truck. The trend evolved, spawning performance pickups like the Dodge Shelby Dakota, Chevrolet 454 SS, GMC Syclone and Ford SVT Lightning. By 2004, the two-wheel-drive factory sport-truck trend was drawing to a close, and Dodge delivered a show-ending mic drop with its outrageous Viper-powered hauler, the SRT-10.
Sometimes Eight Isn't Enough: A Dozen of Our Favorite V-12 and V-10 Powered Vehicles

3 weeks ago | hemmings.com | David Lachance |Mike McNessor

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Putting the Spare Engine Before the Car

1 month ago | hemmings.com | Mike McNessor

The two most dangerous words any car, truck, motorcycle, tractor, etc., enthusiast can hear are not: “high triglycerides,” “kitchen remodel,” or “make offer”. They are “spare engine.” A spare engine is like a sinkhole filled with quicksand inside a black hole, sucking away your time and your retirement savings. Or what might’ve been retirement savings except… spare engine. The thing about a spare engine is that it seems so practical and rational to have around.
A Buyer's Guide to the 1968-’76 BMW 2002 - The Online Automotive Marketplace - Hemmings, The World's Largest Collector Car Marketplace

1 month ago | hemmings.com | Mike McNessor

Cookie SettingsIf you are a consumer in certain U.S. states you may have the right to opt out of targeted advertising and our “sale” (as that term is defined under applicable law) of your personal information. If you do not see an ability to opt out below, your detected location is outside of a region with an applicable privacy law. For more information on our privacy practices, read our Privacy Policy. To manage your email preferences, please visit Your Account.
Truths From The Toolbox (So You Can Skip Learning The Hard Way)

2 months ago | hemmings.com | Mike McNessor

I switched on the lights and shuddered a little. The inside of my garage looked like an improvised explosive device made of used tools and parts had detonated in the center of it. Full stop. Every other stupid project went on hold until I could get reorganized. Or at least slightly less disorganized. Soon, faithful old tools were being returned to their drawers. Benches and tool carts, groaning beneath the weight of spray oils and greasy parts, were unloaded.
The Original 1970s Superbike: One-Owner 1973 Kawasaki Z-1 Offered on Hemmings Auctions

2 months ago | hemmings.com | Mike McNessor

Kawasaki’s Z-1 rocked the motorcycling world when it was first unveiled in late 1972. The bike’s burly, 903-cc four-cylinder bested the wildly popular Honda CB750 by 150-plus ccs, and helped point the way to the modern superbike era. Z-1s were hot when new and they’re hot with collectors today. Finding one-owner examples is getting tougher all the time, but there’s one currently listed on Hemmings Auctions: this Z1, located in West Bloomfield, Michigan.
The Ford F-150 SVT Raptor: A Modern 4x4 Classic - The Online Automotive Marketplace - Hemmings, The World's Largest Collector Car Marketplace

2 months ago | hemmings.com | Mike McNessor

Did anyone need a street-legal replica of a SCORE Trophy Truck? Well, no. But in 2010, Ford’s in-house tuner division, SVT, built one anyway: the Raptor. A new performance icon and a modern collectible 4×4 was born. The SVT Raptor wasn’t the first F-150 to emphasize play over work. Back in the sport-truck-crazy 1990s, the two-wheel-drive, 351-powered F-150 Lightning made its debut. Then, in 1999, for the truck’s second act, SVT upped the ante with a supercharged 5.4-liter overhead cam Triton V-8.
Inside The 3.2-Liter Six in BMW’s 2001-’06 E46 M3

2 months ago | hemmings.com | Mike McNessor

The 2001-’06 BMW E46-series M3 is an easy modern classic to fall in love with. The car’s muscular styling has aged well — ditto for its athletic chassis and powerful brakes. And at the heart of it all: a silky smooth and powerful 3.2-liter inline six-cylinder engine that can sing out more than 100-hp per liter without factory power adders. BMW S54 Engine specs: Power, Torque and Technical DetailsIn its day, the E46 M3 had a way of making its contemporaries seem less refined by comparison.
Why You Should Consider a Used Dodge Durango R/T

Mar 9, 2025 | hemmings.com | Mike McNessor

The high-performance SUV is a peculiar four-wheel drive (or all-wheel drive) animal. You could probably blame, or credit, the 1992-’93 GMC Typhoon for first blowing wind into this trend’s sails, but it really took off in the 2000s. Today these luxury, performance all-wheel-drive/four-wheel-drive mutants are part of the mainstream. Well-heeled buyers have come to expect sports-car handling in a vehicle with three-row seating that will also pull a trailer.