Car and Driver 2010-03

www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.
com
www.storemags.com & www.fantamag.com
March 2010, vol. 55, no. 9
Table of ConTenTs
p. 37
special section
Best of the U.S.
feaTures
58
c o m pa r i s o n t e s t
Stimulus Packages
BMW 750i, Maserati Quattroporte
Sport GT S, Porsche Panamera S.
74
toys
Cash, Love, and Tiny Cars
Inside the obsessive-compulsive
world of Hot Wheels collectors.
Who says the domestic car is dead?
Not us. Here’s our A-list of vehicles by K . c . c o lw e l l by b r e t t b e r K
that do the auto industry proud. sport
38 2011 Cadillac CTS/-V Coupe

80 NASCAR Pans for
Foreign Gold
42 2011 Ford Mustang If Marcos Ambrose is any indication,
45 2012 Ford Focus NASCAR’s good ol’ boys may get
47 2011 Buick Regal s p e c i a lt y f i l e more imported competition.
49 Oshkosh M-ATV 70 Blast Off! by s t e v e n c o l e s m i t h
Jason Heffner makes the l o n g -t e r m t e s t
o n t h e c o v e r : the ford
mustang gt and the cadill ac
Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4
an even faster rocket.
86 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI
cts-v coupe, captured in gm’s At last, a VW diesel proves it can be a
paint-inspection booth. by m i c h a e l a u s t i n big player on Main-Street America.
p h o t o g r a p h y by j i m f e t s
by t o n y Q u i r o g a
CA R A NDDR I V ER .COM M A RCh 2 010 3

CONTENTS MarCh 2010, vOl. 55, NO. 9
p. 92
auto ShowS
Chicago
We head to the show February 10;
preview coverage is posted now.
CARandDRIVER.com/Chicago
l o n g -t e r m t e S t
2010 Mitsubishi Lancer
Ralliart Sportback
Kicking off 40,000 miles with
columns drivelines an Evo Lite hatchback.
9 Eddie Alterman preview
CARandDRIVER.com/Ralliart
Behold the new Lexus WTF. 92 2011 Rolls-Royce Ghost wa g o n o v e r l o a d
20 John Phillips
Scary good. As it should be,
for the price.
2010 Audi A4 Avant Tested
Putting the entry-level Audi
For Mark Donohue, 1100 hp by e d d i e a lt e r m a n carryall through its paces.
was ‘far from too much.’ CARandDRIVER.com/A4Avant
24 David E. Davis Jr. 94
preview
2011 Porsche Cayenne 2010 Audi RS 6 Avant
The Texas 1000: Seeing the Hill Turning a nose tackle into Driven
Country from a Porsche Panamera. a linebacker. Taking a crack at the 580-hp,
by J u e r g e n z o e l lt e r twin-turbo V-10 gonzo wagon.
upfront Short take
CARandDRIVER.com/RS6Avant
96 BMW 550i GT teSted

Think of it as the fastest 2010 Land Rover Range
living room you’ll ever drive. Rover HSE
by t o n y S wa n Answer the call of the wild or
27 Batteries Included Short take
head to the mall with your child.
Do short-haul, $200,000 electric
supercars make any sense?
97 Bentley Continental
CARandDRIVER.com/RangeRover
Supersports 2009 Ford Fusion Sport

There’s a reason the seats feel like Power and all-wheel drive
they came out of Apollo 11. do not a sporty car make.
by a a r o n r o b i n S o n CARandDRIVER.com/FusionSport
31 Nürburgring Secrets
10 things you (probably) didn’t
know about the real German
Disneyland. Short take etc.
32 Te Biggest Loser 98 Toyota 4Runner Trail 16 Backfires
A four-cylinder Audi sheds 500 Still the backward-looking, A $495 orange, J.Lo’s Porsche is
pounds and smokes the V-6. body-on-frame adventurer. here, good clunker/bad clunker.
t e c h d e p t.
by a a r o n r o b i n S o n
100 Gearbox
34 Short take Ratcheting wrenches.
Runaway Toyotas
Dealing with unintended 99 Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid
102 Gearbox DIY
acceleration. The cheapest of the high-luxe
greenies and, oh, that La-Z-Boy feel. Run your diesel on vegetable oil.
35
how to:
Adjust Your Mirrors
by d av e va n d e r w e r p 112 What I’d Do Differently
Ron Dennis.
to Avoid Blind Spots
Less obvious than it sounds.
6 M a rch 2 010 ca r a NDDr I V Er .cOM

TREND’S

,
editor s
by e d d i e a lt e r m a n
Letter
Behold the new Lexus WTF.
B
y almost every empirical meas to what a Lexus is. As executive editor Mark merely prerequisites to selling cars.
ure, Lexus’s first two decades Gillies reported in our December 2009 The real answer to the question of Lex
have been a spectacularly suc issue, the LFA is indeed an incredible us’s product convictions is that it has none.
cessful experiment. Even machine. (One representative of a compet It’s a fine mimic, but there’s no dynamic
though it’s only 20 years old, ing automaker quipped, “It better be—it was cohesion among its cars. However blasphe
Toyota’s Lexus is the No. 1–selling luxury in development for a decade!”) mous this may sound to the car enthusiast,
marque in the U.S., firmly set in the pan This commitment to getting the car right those great performance Lexuses represent
theon of high-end brands. And not just car is nobly Toyota-like, but the whole exercise the problem. They are elaborate ways of con
brands—all brands. strikes me as less an expression of automo fusing the brand’s message and scattering
How do I know this? Because when strip tive purity than one of pure opportunism. its resources. What’s really killing Lexus is
pers are fake-naming themselves after a car, The LFA exists because the Ferrari 599GTB waywardness.
it means it is practically synonymous with exists, and it’s so good because the Italian The Lexus that has sustained the brand
class. Lexus vaulted itself to its current posi car is. The IS F lives because there’s a BMW is the RX, the leader of a category that Lexus
tion by giving the customer exactly what he M3 and a Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, and its perhaps unwittingly invented. It is the most
or she wants: an aggres
sively priced, lapidary
smooth, eerily reliable prod
uct delivered via a stress- However blasphemous
free buying experience.
The Toyota research jug
this may sound, the great
gernaut made this so. The performance Lexuses
Toyota Way is to wade cau
tiously into segments, after represent the problem.
other carmakers have made
the big, expensive mistakes.
By the time it enters a vehi
cle category, Toyota will have amassed more first-generation excellence nearly achieves successful Lexus not only because it’s a fine
and better data on consumer impulses than parity with those two. (But not quite. Some vehicle but because it was Lexus’s own idea.
anyone, and it will methodically, dispassion thing intangible is missing.) It has caused the segment to imitate it.
ately go about fulfilling those desires. Next time you’re near a Lexus dealer A business, especially a luxury-car busi
But now Lexus’s position as the No. 1 lux ship, attempt the same experiment. Walk in ness, should stand for something more than
ury seller in the U.S. is being challenged by and grab yourself a double soy mocha latte, just best practices and profit taking. A great
BMW, a staunchly iconoclastic brand bur then try to figure out what an IS F could pos car company needs its own animating idea,
dened by a bad exchange rate and its own sibly be doing next to an HS250h hybrid. Or expressed through the entire product line—
perverse styling. This is ironic, since Lexus why the LFA, a bona fide super-premium a spirit that holds the enterprise together.
started going after BMW almost a decade super-GT, looks like somebody’s old Supra Even the BMW X6 has a little 2002 in it.
ago with its IS sedan. By virtue of the Toyota that crashed into a JC Whitney parts ware Such robust longevity requires a clear
Way, you’d think Lexus would have devas house. You’ll probably need a refill. You’ll heading. But Lexus’s compass is being
tated the Germans by now. What’s going on? certainly leave wondering what it is that driven berserk by the magnetism of other
Lexus believes in. people’s concepts. The very principle that
PH otograP H by ti m andrew
I stood at the Lexus booth at the Los

Angeles auto show in December and tried to Reliability and customer satisfaction— made Lexus a household name now looks, to
figure that out. Lexus’s latest offering, the that’s the rote answer. But these are no me, like its undoing.
2012 LFA supercoupe, was displayed on a longer enough, especially as claims of unin If Lexus wants to keep that No. 1 spot,
huge wall. Lexus will tell you that this tended acceleration—whether they’re beating back BMW and Infiniti and Audi and
$350,000 confection of spun carbon fiber founded or not [see page 34]—are tarnish Hyundai and whatever else gets in line, it
and unicorn shavings is its love letter to the ing Lexus’s sterling reputation. Everyone’s needs more RXs and fewer LFAs. It better
automobile; that it proves, along with the focused on reliability and customer satisfac stop trying to be all things to all people. It
IS F, that passion is now somehow integral tion these days, even Jaguar. These are better figure out what it wants to be.

PR ESI DEN T a N D C EO, J u m PSTa RT auTOmOTI v E GROu P Dillon McDonald
SEN IOR v P/C H I EF BR a N D OFFIC ER John C. Driscoll Jr.
EDITOR-I N-CH I EF Eddie Alterman

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backfires
I f I w e r e t w o - fa c e d , w o u l d I b e w e a r I n g t h I s o n e ? — Abraham Lincoln
Sic your dogs on us at: editors@CARandDRIVER.com
tasteful mud-splash graphics C/D cover to the December

are an extra $1075—Ed. issue of Bidet and Squatter?
ChrIs sMIth
The first SVT vehicle since WhitmOre lake, michigan
2006 is an irrelevant, off-road,
full-size truck! Stupid. Interesting that the E63 AMG
Jonathan leBlanC Benz topped the Cadillac and
chicagO, illinOis the Jaguar given that the
Yeah, but you can get it CTS-V lacks the “high-speed
in an orange that looks skittishness” of the two
red!—Ed. others, “gives the driver
supreme comfort and
SUPERFAST SEDANS confidence,” beats the others
I’m writing about the “Rabids in every single acceleration
at Rest” comparison test and speed category (automatic
[December 2009] of the version not used in test), and
Cadillac CTS-V, the Jaguar lacks the Benz’s punishing
In case anyone was wondering where XFR, and the Mercedes E63 ride, etc.
the design blueprints went for AMG. No doubt you will want to
Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion, the Why do you guys
continually use a manual CTS-
validate your results with test
runs of the same-spec Benz
Panamera provides the answer. V? You know the automatic is (and the XFR, if you wish) on
toM Ferrara POund ridge, neW YOrk faster, yet you always post the the Nordschleife course,
times of the manual. where the CTS-V automatic
HOOLIGANS Mark nyItray still holds the lap record for
Great mag, but c’mon with hooliganism is the priority, the internet Waiting rOOm sedans. To paraphrase C/D
that comparison test where Speed 3 is still the champ.”—Ed. Fact is, the German over the years, performance is
the VW GTI beat the supplier of press vehicles the No. 1 priority.
Mazdaspeed 3 [December IT’S THE NEW RED had one CTS-V, and European Other than better map
2009]. If you searched for the Is your entire staff colorblind? automotive writers don’t know lights and a more comfy back
“king of cheap speed,” then That truck [Ford F-150 SVT how to drive automatics—Ed. seat, I wonder about the
how come the GTI cost the Raptor, December 2009] was nonsense statement: “. . . the
most and lost every speed test red, not orange, as your article Mr. Austin commits an CTS-V is rapidly catching up to
you threw at it, yet it won the declared a half-dozen times. I atrocity in the opening ze Germans.” Already a done
comparison? Tell whomever almost wrote a letter but paragraph [of the Cadillac deal. Get used to it.
was doing the searching to turn figured you’d get enough section] when he says that “if J. FInIgan
their map the right way up! letters. the CTS-V had been equipped PhOenix, arizOna
IaIn Charlton noah Daoust with an automatic This just in: The
OrlandO, FlOrida internet cOsmOs transmission like the two Porsche Panamera
A cheap-speed winner The truck comes other cars here, it might have Turbo recently bettered the
needn’t be a case of standard in Blue-Flame tied the Benz in overall V’s Nordschleife lap time (7:56
having the cheapest speed. Metallic, Tuxedo Black, and points.” So, the CTS-V lost versus the V’s 7:59)—Ed.
We found we could live best Oxford White. The Molten because it was the only car
with the GTI, and Swan must Orange Tri-Coat seen on our with a manual transmission? I loved the praise you heaped
have had you in mind when he test vehicle is $495. Yeah, looks Am I actually reading Car and on the CTS-V but was
added, “But if smoky-burnout red to us, too. Oh, and the Driver, or did someone staple a surprised to see the steering
16 M A RCH 2 010 CA R A NDDR I V ER .COM

BACKFIRES
wheel described as “fake-suede What a difference a year makes. curvaceous cash cow. You have And why should we pay for not
covered.” I was really miffed For the latter half of 2008, got to be kidding. only the car, but the repairs,
when I read another piece in every test of the Nissan GT-R DavID FleItes shipping, etc., to make it
the same issue, about the Lexus brought questions about the miami, FlOrida happen? The Cash for Clunkers
LFA, in which the exact same cars being tested. “Ringer” was program is over. It was not
material was referred to as the word of the year, as Nissan I very much enjoyed the high- perfect, but it was better than
“Alcantara.” So in a Lexus or a somehow made a car that performance ugly-car issue. nothing.
Ferrari it gets a classy name, ignored physics. With 480 Apparently, the clear winner is ChrIs Janssen
but in a Cadillac it’s “fake horsepower and weighing in at the Panamera Turbo, with internet ether
suede”? 3900 pounds, it was able to superior performance to the
ColIn howe smack around cars of greater Lexus LFA at less than half the OK, TO SUM UP . . .
internet shVitz power and much less weight. price. But then, perhaps 1. How can you review the
That’s not Alcantara in Outraged by Nissan’s someone looking for ugly might BMW 535i GT or the Porsche
the Caddy. That’s why Nürburgring lap-time claims, also be seeking less value. Who Panamera without the
we called it “fake suede,” no Porsche got a GT-R and knows? Personally, I’d lean adjective “hideous” boiling up
slight intended—Ed. couldn’t get within 20 seconds toward the Porsche. At least it out of the thesaurus? Nice job
of the Nissan factory’s heroic looks good while you’re inside. on pages 82 and 83, though,
PANAMERA POWER lap at the “Green Hell.” Now, a Just don’t look back when you where we can squeeze the
Please recheck the 0-to-60 year later, Porsche makes a exit and walk away. pages together and shorten
time you recorded for the four-door sedan with 500 harry vIener that hideous Porsche to see
Porsche Panamera Turbo [“24 horsepower that weighs 4400 burke, Virginia what it should have looked like.
Hours of Dayton,” December pounds and matches C/D’s best 2. C’mon, c’mon, the
2009]. It’s hard to believe a GT-R 0-to-60 time (and cLUNKERS ’R’ US blazing-sedans comparo
4400-pound car with 500 handily beats the ZR1’s 3.6 I don’t know if Mr. Davis got to without an M5? Your fervor to
horsepower can clock a seconds) and runs shockingly peruse dealerships looking for prove that your magazine is not
3.3-second time while a 2800- close to the ZR1 up to 120 mph, “perfectly good cars with years in BMW’s pocket is worse than
pound McLaren with 627 when the Corvette’s 138-hp and of usefulness” [“Don’t Junk the a born-again Catholic’s love of
horses clocks 3.4 and a 3200- 1000-pound advantages finally Clunks,” December 2009] or if confession.
pound Enzo Ferrari with 650 take over. Physics, schmysics. he’s going by stories heard in 3. DED suggesting junkers
horsepower clocks 3.3. The JIMMy Bookout the office, but they [good to the Third World? Send him
Panamera even beats the 530- charlOtte, nOrth carOlina clunkers] were truly few and off to Mexico City or Havana.
hp Porsche GT2, which weighs far between. I’m the parts- For a couple of years. Leave his
3300 pounds. I understand J.LO’S PORScHE department manager for a meds and the respirator behind.
launch mode, but is it that Your line about the Lexus LFA new-car dealer in the 4. No rear-end photo of the
important? [December 2009] being a Milwaukee area, and it was my restyled 5-series [Upfront], the
toM kanes bargain is ridiculous. Lexus job to oversee the C4C process. most controversial 5 view from
charlOtte, nOrth carOlina executives who approved this From ordering the sodium flame-styling inception? Like
business case should get shot silicate to being behind the Lombardi would say, “What
Strap the Panamera Turbo to a or thrown into a dumpster. wheel of most of our 60-plus the hell is going on out there?”
dyno and find out how much Anyone who is rich enough to cars as their engines ground to 5. A $350,000 car [Lexus
power it’s really making. I’d pick a Ferrari or a Lexus will a halt, I never once felt bad LFA] is a bargain? Dudes, wake
certainly welcome an know what the outcome is: You about taking those cars off the up! People who buy these
explanation as to how it can either choose a pure-bred road. Yes, there were some that rarified toys don’t use the word
obliterate all three cars in your sports car or opt for a “real” needed little attention to be “bargain.” They don’t have
comparo while weighing expensive Toyota. Mostly, perfect cars, but none were recessions in their lives, ever.
more—and making less people who buy a Lexus are perfect. The ’93 SHO? Rust They are different. They don’t
power—than any of them. I’m illogical anyway. They want to holes everywhere, and it barely read your magazine, so don’t
betting it’s putting 500 come to the party in an ran. The ’02 Discovery? Front write for them.
horsepower to the wheels and expensive Toyota. Conversely, end threatened to fall off, and 6. John Phillips is no
making north of 550 at the those who drive Toyota want to half the interior was missing. Hemingway. But he’s your
crank. be seen as driving a cheap The ’87 Mark VII LSC? A little Hemingway. Don’t let him get
Mark santIago Lexus. rusty . . . okay, so there was one near any shotguns. You lose
lancaster, sOuth carOlina Charles Chang nice car. The others that were him, you will lose your soul.
Okay, we checked, and WOOdbridge, neW JerseY in decent shape were nothing lInDa hagen
it’s still 3.3 seconds to 60. worthy of a Concours dOusman, WiscOnsin
It’s the explosive launch control: So let me get this straight: d’Anything (mostly minivans, Something—oh, just
One of us called it “vertigo After all the hype and 10 years Blazers, Explorers), and sure, a wild guess—tells
inducing,” and the traction of of development, the Lexus LFA we can ship them overseas to us Linda’s husband, Keith,
four-wheel drive helps, too. We “supercar” can’t outaccelerate the needy, but who are we to say wrote this. Only he would have
agree: It’s hard to believe—Ed. Porsche’s J.Lo-esque, how a country should develop? confession on his mind—Ed.

phillips
John
For Mark Donohue, 1100 horsepower was ‘far from too much.’
O
n Wednesday morning, August mph. “The Ferrari lived up to none of Mark’s marriage,” says Argetsinger. “Mark felt he
20, 1975, the phone rang in my calculations, and he was devastated,” Bedard had to devote all his time to the team. He
dingy beige apartment in Bur- recalls. “So they fiddled with it in non-mean- was sleeping at the shop, and he couldn’t say
lington, Ontario. I had just ingful ways, then Mark went back out.” He no to Roger—couldn’t decline more devel-
put in 30 consecutive hours of gained 11.5 seconds—the quickest Ferrari in opment, more cars, more projects.”
writing, editing, and laying out race reports the field and fourth overall. “He did it Weary and still recuperating from leg
for CAR Weekly, which we sometimes spelled through sheer force of will. Mark told me, injuries sustained in an awful crash at Road
“Weakly” because there were only five of us ‘Sometimes you just have to get it done.’ ” Atlanta—which briefly left him allegedly
and we possessed merely the slimmest “That was my take, too,” says Michael abusing alcohol—Donohue announced his
notion of what we were doing. On the phone, Argetsinger, who has just written a riveting retirement at the end of ’73. “Except I knew
the editor said, “You gotta come back in. biography called Mark Donohue: Technical it wouldn’t last,” recalls Penske Racing’s
Mark Donohue died last night. We need an Excellence at Speed (David Bull Publishing, timer/scorer Judy Stropus. “Mark returned
obit.” $39.95). “It is core to the myth of Mark that [a year later] because he realized he wasn’t
Warming up for the Austrian Grand Prix, he was just an okay driver but a genius engi- good at anything else. He tried to get a car
my hero, Donohue, 38, had spun his March neer. Not true. In everything he drove— dealership; that didn’t work. He tried to be a
at 150 mph and struck his head on a metal bar even an Elva Courier and a Cobra, cars he team manager; that didn’t work. He needed
supporting a sign. He died two days later.
It was hard to believe because Donohue
and team owner Roger Penske were then the
cleverest guys in racing. Donohue, equipped A friend once described riding in
with a mechanical-engineering degree from
Brown University, approached car setup not
Donohue’s Porsche 911 as a ‘Wall of
with pet theories or traditional wisdom but Death thing most of the time.’
with a slide rule, an overarching grasp of
how physics strives to thwart a race car’s
mission, and 300 push-ups daily. When
Penske Racing took delivery of a Ferrari didn’t develop—he still won. In fact, Mark something he could do well.”
512M, for instance, they immediately fabri- often wasn’t the engineer at all. The real Alas, Penske Racing’s first F1 car, the
cated a bigger rear wing. Ferrari’s chief engi- engineers were Don Cox [from GM] and PC1, was so mediocre that Donohue per-
neer Mauro Forghieri glared at it and said, Helmut Flegl [from Porsche].” It was largely suaded Penske to replace it with a custom-
“They’ll never let you run that wing at Le Flegl who created the Porsche 917-30, whose er’s March 751, a curious crack in the myth
Mans.” Mark replied, “Well, I wouldn’t want 1100 horsepower, the SCCA bitched, was that was Mark. His son, David, told me: “The
to run this wing at Le Mans, would I?” killing the Can-Am series. Donohue dis- legend was that my dad and Roger conquered
“Partly because we were both engineers, agreed. “We’re far from having too much all. Truth is, they often didn’t know if some-
Mark and I hit it off,” recalls Patrick Bedard. horsepower,” he asserted. “My definition of thing would work.”
“He had one religion: testing. If he didn’t test too much horsepower is when all four wheels Thirty-three years after the big crash,
a car before a race, he didn’t have his Peanuts are spinning in every gear.” Penske told Argetsinger: “Mark was my best
security blanket and would fret that his edge Burge Hulett, Donohue’s lifelong friend, friend [this, despite Donohue once spearing
was lost.” told Bedard: “Mark was actually a bit of a his boss with an AMC Javelin in the pits,
But his edge was rarely lost. In his career, doofus, awkward everywhere except behind tossing Penske 15 feet]. What I realize now is
Donohue started 311 races and won 119 of the wheel. There, he was God—that was his that I wouldn’t have succeeded in my other
them, a winning average of 38 percent. Of 55 way of distinguishing himself.” His divine businesses if Mark hadn’t completely taken
Trans-Ams he entered, he won 29. touch extended to his street cars; a friend over the race team.”
“I think I was the first guy to assert that once described riding in Donohue’s Porsche In the Penske garage at Indy in ’71, some-
Mark was a better driver than an engineer,” 911 as “a Wall of Death thing most of the one—certainly not Donohue or Penske—
says Bedard. When Donohue took the Ferrari time.” erected a sign that said: “Those of you who
to Le Mans, the car attained only 205 mph The relentless pursuit of perfection think you know it all are particularly annoy-
on the straight versus the Porsche 917’s 235 eventually took its toll. “First to go was his ing to those of us who do.”

davis jr.
DaviD E.
The Texas 1000: Seeing the Hill Country from a Porsche Panamera.
I
have no gift for time-speed-distance someone whose interests parallel my own. hills that I had never driven before. The sec-
(TSD) rallying. I can do the New York Larry was doing an admirable job of guiding ondary roads are almost empty, and the
Times Sunday crossword puzzle in us and keeping us on track, but I was driving police give them only cursory attention.
pen, but I cannot successfully esti- him nuts with my steady stream of automo- Once, an oncoming state trooper flashed his
mate when I’m supposed to be at a tive gossip, automotive history, and current light bar at us, but it seemed more like a
particular destination after a drive over automotive events—not to mention my friendly greeting than a warning. To the best
unknown roads. My co-driver, Larry Crane, comments on the beautiful roads, the beau- of my knowledge, none of our fellow rallyists
on the other hand, is very good at this sort of tiful Texas Hill Country, and the beautiful was ticketed.
thing. Larry Crane is good at a number of cars that shared the roads with us most of Rich and Jean Taylor have run several
things. He was the art director who brought the time. I say “most of the time” because events like the Texas 1000 in various parts
my idea for Automobile Magazine to life. He there were periods of time spent on roads of the country. These events aren’t inexpen-
created a much-loved but short-lived maga- that had nothing whatever to do with the sive, but they are truly first-class. The inns
zine called Auto Aficionado. His knowledge Texas 1000, largely due to my incessant and hotels are comfortable, the meals are
of Italian cars is encyclopedic, and his lust
for them is insatiable.
When impresario Rich Taylor called and
invited me to join the 12th-annual running
I’m a little
of his Texas 1000 rally in November, I leaped surprised that
at the chance. When he told me that I’d be
able to drive the new Porsche Panamera, my Larry never
enthusiasm became a little embarrassing.
When he suggested that the four-day expe-
threatened to
rience might be grist for this column and for kill me.
the book I have been struggling to write with
Mr. Bud Lyon, I about crawled up the tele-
phone line to shake his hand. Bud Lyon, a
dedicated collector of great cars and a man chatter. I’m a little surprised that Larry outstanding, and the entrants and their cars
who has excelled in at least three careers, never threatened to kill me. are exactly who and what you’d like to have
has had a difficult summer fraught with We drove the new Porsche Panamera for along when you set out on a driving adven-
health problems, and the news that he all of the first day. Ours was not a Turbo, but ture. This year’s entry list was shortened by
intended to join his friend Don Weber in it was fast enough to separate your retinas, our nation’s failing economy, but the survi-
Don’s Porsche Carrera S provided a perfect all the same. My fellow automotive journal- vors came to drive hard and enjoy them-
opportunity for me to share a great drive ists seem to have agreed that the Panamera selves to the fullest, and so they did.
with him and perhaps energize myself for is not beautiful, but they have no complaint There’ve been several times over the last
the exquisite drudgery of writing about a car regarding its performance. The Panamera is 25 years when I’ve been thundering along in
enthusiast I truly admire. We call it “Bud’s a swift, competent, German luxury car in one of the vintage-cars-only events, wishing
Book,” and it will be a biography combined the manner of the top-of-the-heap S-class fruitlessly that I could have been driving a
with a broad portfolio of art and photogra- Mercedes and BMW 7-series, but its DNA modern sports car. The Taylor rallies wel-
phy that showcases Bud Lyon’s astonishing flows more from the Porsche Cayenne SUV come modern sports cars, and I found the
PH otograPH by Larry crane
array of talents and capabilities. Fabulous than the Porsche 911. This is understandable chance to drive a contemporary Porsche
cars will be as important to the book as because the Panamera sedan and the Cay- among the vintage cars great fun. Once,
they’ve been to Bud’s life. enne SUV share some hardware, but we while daydreaming, I got passed by a thor-
My heart sank when I read the official missed the agile athleticism of the Porsche oughly likable British gent at the wheel of his
Texas 1000 route book and learned that sports cars. The Carrera cabriolet that we 1936 Delahaye 135S racing car. Again, dron-
there would be checkpoints where arrival drove whenever we weren’t driving the ing along at 80 or so, I was passed by a Fer-
and departure times would be logged. I must Panamera sedan never failed to delight us. rari 456 doing something in excess of 100
now confess to another shortcoming. I talk We saw a lot of the beautiful Texas Hill and making a brilliant noise. This is the stuff
too much, especially when driving with Country, including ranges of mountain-like of dreams.

Edited by t o n y q u i r o g a / r a y h u t t o n (England) / j u e r g e n z o e l lt e r (Germany)
pag e 3 1 > German Disney pag e 3 4 > Da Do Run Run pag e 3 5 > Mirror, Mirror Audi and
upfront
the joys of
The real happiest place on What to do and what happens A simple way to remove weight loss.
earth (at least in Germany). when your car runs away. pesky blind spots forever. Page 32
MAR / 10
Batteries Included
> do shorT-hAul, $200,000 elecTric supercArs mAke Any sense?.
I
n two years, both Mercedes-Benz are outfitted with powerful electric motors. mph for the electric e-tron. Not quite a
and Audi will put electric super- Audi’s e-tron makes 313 horsepower and 502 supercaresque top speed.
cars into production. Shown as pound-feet of torque from its four electric Over at Mercedes, the SLS eDrive also
concepts at last year’s Frankfurt motors, which also provide four-wheel drive has four electric motors that provide all-
show, the Audi e-tron and the (one motor powers each wheel). By con- wheel drive, but the Benz trumps the Audi
Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG eDrive trast, the V-8 in the Audi R8 supercar makes in power output. The SLS’s electric motors
each slot an electric powertrain into an 420 horsepower, 525 horses with the V-10. add up to 526 horsepower and 649 pound-
existing platform. Both promise green Not surprisingly, the electric Audi can’t feet of torque. The goal of the company’s
cred, but the big question is this: Will match the acceleration of its gas-fed coun- performance division, AMG, was for the
either be any good as a supercar? terparts. Audi claims a zero-to-62-mph electric SLS to match the acceleration of
To be credible as such, both concepts time of 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 124 the gas-powered 563-hp version. If the SLS
I L L U S T R A T I O N by F R A N K S T O C K T O N CA R A NDDR I V ER .COM M A RCh 2 010 27

UPFRONT
eDrive actually hits its claimed zero-to-60 time of less than

four seconds, it will be a close match for its V-8 sibling. How-
ever, the top speed, although said to be in excess of 125 mph,
is still a far cry from the near 200 mph of the gas SLS.
Owners wishing to tap into this performance—why else DRIV EN: AUDI E-TRON
would you spend all that money on a supercar?—will find that From behind the wheel, the e-tron concept feels quite agile despite
the batteries just don’t have the energy density to cope with being a one-of-a-kind, hand-built car. Acceleration from zero to 62
the power demands. Audi claims the 53-kilowatt-hour battery mph feels quicker than the claimed 4.8 seconds, thanks to the
pack powering the e-tron is good for a 154-mile drive. How- immediately available 502 pound-feet of torque and the traction from
ever, the car uses only 42.4 kWh of its total output for propul- the all-wheel-drive system. Out of respect for the likely multimillion-
sion, in order to lengthen the life expectancy of the battery. dollar show car, we didn’t explore the 124-mph top speed.
That total usable capacity of the battery pack, which weighs Despite its electric propulsion system, the e-tron manages to
more than 1000 pounds, contains the same amount of energy retain the amazing straight-line stability, the precise steering, and
as about 1.2 gallons, or eight pounds, of gas. In the Benz, three the tremendous braking performance of the gas R8. But it’s still
16-kWh lithium-ion battery packs add up to 48 kWh, the slower than a V-8 R8, and the nearly silent whir of the electric motor
energy equivalent of about 1.3 gallons of gas. So Mercedes is no match for the song of an engine.
doesn’t expect its electric SLS to travel more than 100 miles High-speed cornering is alarmingly spooky, though the e-tron is
on a charge even when driven slowly. not a finished car. Also, the 4000-plus-pound curb weight conspires
Recharging is problematic as well as time-consuming. against directional changes. Audi says it plans to get the production
Using a high-voltage charger, depleted batteries would take version closer to 3500 pounds. Even if the target weight is achieved,
about three hours to reenergize; a 220-volt home-charger it will still be slower than either gas R8. Driven hard, its range may be
would mean 6 to 10 hours, and a household 120-volt plug under 60 miles. Not much fun for the $200,000 price. And there’s
would require more than 30 hours. also the wait to recharge the battery pack. —jz
In addition to being prohibitively expensive—every kWh
of battery storage currently costs roughly $1000—the bat-
teries are also very heavy. As noted, the Audi’s pack weighs
about 1040 pounds, and the SLS’s batteries likely weigh
roughly the same. Fortunately, both supercars have light-
weight aluminum structures to offset that bulk, but curb
weights are still expected to top 4000 pounds, a gain of about
400 pounds over the current gasoline versions. And like the
batteries, using aluminum in cars isn’t exactly cheap technol-
ogy; both cars are likely to cost more than $200,000.
Lengthy charging times, restricted range, expensive, and
heavy—it all adds up to a not very appealing or practical com-
bination. We asked Dr. Thomas Weber, Mercedes-Benz board TESLA ROADSTER (driven for reference’s sake)
member and chief of car development, about the SLS eDrive’s We’ve driven the Tesla Roadster before [“Circuit Soleil,” May 2009],
prospective customers. Weber believes the car will be pur- but that test was limited to the roads of Southern California. This
chased as a green status symbol and probably won’t be cross- time we drove the American electric on the autobahn between
shopped by anyone interested in the gas SLS. We take that to Munich, Germany, and Salzburg, Austria.
mean the eDrive is definitely not for car enthusiasts. With Munich behind us and about 90 miles ahead of us, the traffic
These two supercars make sense only as learning tools. was moving fluidly between speeds of 80 and 105 mph, and the
Neither automaker believes these vehicles will be popular, so single-gear Tesla had no problem keeping up. The Tesla’s
they’ll be built in tiny numbers. Both brands are using the regenerative-braking system, which recharges the batteries, is
cars as a high-profile and public-relations-friendly proving aggressive enough that lifting off the throttle feels like light
ground for battery and electric-drive technology. Further- braking—in fact, the Tesla shows brake lights whenever the driver
more, these projects will help engineers develop the know- lifts off the throttle.
how to build a mass-market electric car. Lessons learned in On the autobahn, most drivers were oblivious to the Tesla, with
battery technology, battery cooling, and control systems will the exception of a particular Porsche 911 driver. From time to time, he
make their way into mass-produced cars such as Mercedes’ would speed up in an attempt to leave us behind. But the Tesla
next-gen A-class minicar, the next Smart Fortwo, and the accelerated in an eerily quiet and effortless manner all the way to
upcoming Audi A2: All will have electric variants within the 124 mph. After several miles, the 911 driver let us take the lead, and
next five years. Current battery technology is advanced that is when we noticed the Tesla’s range indicator had just 68 miles
enough to power these cars, provided they are used as noth- remaining. It had been about 45 minutes since leaving Munich with a
ing more than errand runners. fully charged 53-kWh battery pack. So we were faced with exiting the
What this push toward electrification shows is that the autobahn and heading back to Munich or finding a facility to recharge
German car industry hopes to lead in electric technology. the Tesla, not to mention finding something to occupy ourselves for
After falling behind the Japanese with hybrids, the Germans the eight to 10 hours it would take. Not much of a choice, we thought,
are being careful to stay ahead of the electric-car curve. as we turned the electric toy around. —jz
—tony quiroga and juergen zoellter
28 M A RCh 2 010 CA R A NDDR I V ER .COM

UPFRONT
10 Tings
You (Probably)
Didn’t Know
About the
Nürburgring
1. The Nürburgring was built 2. The man who spearheaded the job,
to alleviate unemployment Dr. Otto Creuz, a politician in the Eifel region,
in the Eifel region of was later suspected by the Nazis of diverting
northwest Germany. From funds; he eventually committed suicide.
1925 to 1927, some 25,000
persons were hired to
construct the racetrack. 3. The track cost 14.1
4. It originally consisted of the
million reichsmarks to
14.2-mile Nordschleife and the build, about $40 million
4.8-mile Südschleife. The in today’s money.
Nordschleife has since been
shortened to 12.9 miles. Parts of
the Südschleife became the 5. The Nordschleife is a toll road open to the
so-called Neue Nürburging F1 public. It’s closed only during testing events
track in the early 1980s. and races. A lap costs 23 euros (about $35).
What you really didn’t know:
6. The record for the fastest lap on the German road regulations
12.9-mile track belongs to Stefan Bellof, apply—there are some posted
who in 1983 drove a Porsche 956 around speed limits, and you can’t
it in 6 minutes and 11.13 seconds, pass on the right.
averaging 125.6 mph. In 1975, on the
14.2-mile track, F1 champ Niki Lauda
lapped a Ferrari 312T in 6 minutes and 7. Nearly 1000
58.6 seconds, averaging 122 mph. feet separate
8. The lap record for a production car belongs to the highest and
Michael Vergers, who turned a 6:48 lap in a lowest points
Radical SR8LM, a machine that pushes the term
“production car” to comical extremes.
on the course.
9. According to the 10. The number of fatalities in its 83-year
PH otograPH by m ark bram l ey
official website, there are history is a source of contention. One source

33 left-hand bends, 40 to puts the toll at 73; others say that between
the right. Looking at a two and 12 persons die every year. If you
video of Jim Mero’s 7:26 have an accident and damage the Armco
lap in a Corvette ZR1, barriers, you (or a non-dead relative of
we count 87. Others yours) will end up paying. And if your
count 100 turns. accident closes the track for an extended
period, that’ll cost your estate, too.

UPFRONT
Te Biggest Loser
> A four-cylinder Audi sheds 500 pounds And smokes its V-6 stAblemAte.
T
aking weight out of a modern car A5 coupe that, according to Audi, tips the ran from zero to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds, so
can be tricky: Crash regulations scales at a svelte 2888 pounds despite retain- we expect the lightweight concept to hit 60
have necessitated heavier struc- ing the 2.0-liter’s heavy iron block. mph in 5.5 seconds, a 0.7-second improve-
tures, emissions laws have Audi let us compare a stock A5 3.2 FSI, ment over a standard A5 2.0T.
forced additional complexity equipped with the 265-hp V-6, against the Audi originally intended the concept to
into vehicles, and amenities have added doz- lightweight concept with the 2.0-liter emulate the performance of the V-8–pow-
ens of electronic control units and untold engine dialed back from 258 pound-feet of ered, 354-hp S5, but, despite the weight loss,
miles of cable. Many automakers, however, torque to deliver the same 243 as the V-6. We the concept still can’t match the S5’s accel-
are now experimenting with shedding can attest to the fact that a 500-plus-pound eration. We understand that a second con-
pounds as a means to maintain performance reduction makes for a stunning dynamic cept is currently being built—and we
despite the current trend toward engine improvement. Turn-in becomes more agile, wouldn’t be surprised if this one was
downsizing. To illustrate the potential of the car can be tossed around with ease, and equipped with the 265-hp, 2.0-liter turbo
this approach, Audi engineers set out to cre- the 211-hp engine feels far stronger than its four from the TTS. With that much power,
ate an A5 2.0T that weighs 500 pounds less numbers suggest. the four-cylinder lightweight just might be
than a 3400-pound Euro-spec A5 V-6 model A regular A5 3.2 FSI seems downright able to trounce the S5’s V-8.
(U.S. versions weigh roughly 200 to 300 clumsy in comparison. Audi claims the light- Most “efficiency” concepts make us
pounds more due to options and higher lev- weight concept is 0.3 second quicker to 60 dread the future; this one gives us hope.
els of standard equipment). The result is an mph than the V-6. In our testing, the A5 V-6 —jens meiners
A speaker amplifies
sou n d eng i n eer i ng > The numbers
the engine to man things up.
V EH IC L E TY PE >
front-engine, 4-wheel-drive,
The only structural
st eel t i m e >
4-passenger, 2-door coupe
ENGI N E TY PE >turbocharged and intercooled
steel in the concept is in the f r esh l i d > An aluminum dohc 16-valve inline-4, iron block and
B-pillars and the underfloor beam aluminum head, direct fuel injection
hood replaces the steel one DIsPL aCEm EN T > 121 cu in, 1984cc
connecting them. and employs a carbon-fiber- Pow Er (sa E N ET) > 211 bhp @ 4300 rpm
Torqu E (sa E N ET) > 243 lb-ft @ 1500 rpm
composite support structure. Tr a Nsm IssIoN > 6-speed manual
DI m ENsIoNs:
w H EEL basE > 108.3 in L ENGTH > 182.1 in
w I DTH > 73.0 in H EIGH T > 54.0 in
C u r b w EIGH T > 2900 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST):
ZERO TO 60 M Ph > 5.5 sec
STAN diNg 1/4-M ilE > 14.3 sec
PROJECTEd FUEl ECONOMY (C/D EST):
EPA CiTY/h ighwAY dRiviNg > 26/34 mpg
A 2.0-liter
h au ls m ass >
turbo engine gets the car
from zero to 60 in 5.5
seconds, 0.7 second quicker
than a regular A5 2.0T.
econom ic i n dic ator > Fuel economy

stop t h at > Since the car weighs
improves from the V-6’s 26 mpg
less, smaller brakes borrowed
to 38 mpg on the European
from the A3 save weight and
combined cycle.
An aluminum
su pport i ng c ast > provide the same braking
unibody structure replaces performance, according to Audi.
the stock steel unibody for a
body snatc h er >The concept
weight savings of 249 pounds.
sheds its steel body panels for r ig h t rou n d > New wheels each weigh roughly
lighter aluminum (stock A5 has five pounds less and have tacked-on carbon-
aluminum front fenders only). fiber-composite aerodynamic aids.
32 M A RCH 2 010 CA R A NDDR I V ER .COM I L L U S T R A T I O N by B R Y A N C H R I S T I E D E S I G N

UPFRONT
Runaway Toyotas
> dealing with unintended acceleration.
L we found no major
exus and Toyota models were
stung recently by claims that
faulty floor mats had jammed
throttle pedals and were causing deficiencies in the camry,
wide-open acceleration. Toyota but toyota could learn
from the competition.
has agreed to a largest-ever recall of 4.3 mil-
lion vehicles (which could cost $250 million
or more) to modify the gas pedals and
remove unsecured or incompatible driver’s
floor mats. Not since Audi was decimated by
accusations of unintended acceleration in speeds, as the ES350 incident happened on but the car still slowed enthusiastically
the late 1980s has the topic of runaway cars an expressway, and in the lowest possible enough to impart a feeling of confidence.
received so much media attention. gear, as that’s the worst-case scenario. Here We also tried one go-for-broke run at 120
The furor began when an off-duty Cali- is how to deal with a runaway car: mph, and, even then, the car quickly decel-
fornia Highway Patrolman crashed a loaner erated to about 10 mph before the brakes
Lexus ES350 at high speed, killing himself, Hit tHe Br akes got excessively hot and the car refused to
his wife and their daughter, and his brother- Certainly the most natural reaction to a decelerate any further. So even in the most
in-law. It was reported that someone, either stuck-throttle emergency is to stomp on the extreme case, it should be possible to get a
the officer or his brother-in-law, called 9-1-1 brake pedal, possibly with both feet. And car’s speed down to a point where a result-
moments before the crash, saying that the despite dramatic horsepower increases ing accident should be a low-speed event.
“accelerator is stuck . . . there’s no brake.” since C/D’s 1987 unintended-acceleration But Toyota could do better. Since the
Our focus here is not to question the test of an Audi 5000, brakes by and large can advent of electronic throttle control, many
validity of the “floor-mat” claims (some still overpower and rein in an engine roar- automakers have added software to pro-
investigators have suggested that a faulty ing under full throttle. With the Camry’s gram the throttle to close—and therefore
drive-by-wire system is to blame) but to throttle pinned while going 70 mph, the cut power—when the brakes are applied.
present methods for coping with this heart- brakes easily overcame all 268 horsepower Cars from BMW, Chrysler, Nissan/Infiniti,
stopping situation and to investigate a straining against them and stopped the car Porsche, and Volkswagen/Audi have this
Toyota’s relative performance during such in 190 feet—that’s a foot shorter than the feature, and that’s precisely why the G37
an event. For our tests, we rounded up a dis- performance of a Ford Taurus without any aced this test. Even with the throttle
parate bunch: a V-6 Camry (a recalled vehi- gas-pedal problems and just 16 feet longer floored and the vehicle accelerating briskly,
cle), an Infiniti G37 convertible, and a hugely than with the Camry’s throttle closed. stabbing the brakes causes the engine’s
powerful 540-hp Roush Stage 3 Mustang. From 100 mph, the stopping-distance dif- power to fade almost immediately, and as a
Our tests were conducted at highway ferential was 88 feet—noticeable to be sure, result, the Infiniti stops in a hurry. From
speeds of 70 or even 100 mph, the differ-
ence in braking results between having a
BR A K I NG R E S U LT S
pinned throttle or not was fewer than 10
Toyota Camry V-6 feet, which isn’t discernible to the average
70-0 mph, Closed ThroTTle > 174 ft
70-0 mph, full ThroTTle > 190 ft driver. As a result of the unintended-accel-
100-0 mph, Closed ThroTTle > 347 ft eration investigation, Toyota is adding this
100-0 mph, full ThroTTle > 435 ft feature posthaste.
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
infiniti g37 convertible We included the powerful Roush Mus-
70-0 mph, Closed ThroTTle > 161 ft tang to test—in the extreme—the theory
70-0 mph, full ThroTTle > 170 ft
that “brakes are stronger than the engine.”
100-0 mph, full ThroTTle > 326 ft From 70 mph, the Roush’s brakes were still
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 resolutely king even though a pinned throt-
roush stage 3 mustang
70-0 mph, Closed ThroTTle > 166 ft tle added 80 feet to its stopping distance.
70-0 mph, full ThroTTle > 246 ft However, from 100 mph, it wasn’t clear from
100-0 mph, full ThroTTle > 903 ft behind the wheel that the Mustang was
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
going to stop. But after 903 feet—almost
three times longer than normal—the 540-hp
Time required To hold The sTarT/sTop buTTon before engine Turns off supercharged Roush finally did succumb,
ToyoTa Camry V-6 > 3.3 sec InfInITI G37 ConVerTIble > 2.5 sec roush sTaGe 3 musTanG > N/A chugging to a stop in a puff of brake smoke.

T E C H D E P T.
How to: AvOId blINd spOTs

For the past few years, various carmakers have been offering blind-spot
detection systems for their cars’ side mirrors. Often complex, these systems
employ cameras or radar to scan the adjoining lanes for vehicles that may
have disappeared from view.
sHift to Neutr al or Park The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) published a paper in 1995
This is your best option in an emergency. suggesting how outside mirrors could be adjusted to eliminate blind spots. The
Neither the Camry’s nor the Infiniti’s auto- paper advocates adjusting the mirrors so far outward that the viewing angle of
matic transmission showed any hesitancy to the side mirrors just overlaps that of the cabin’s rearview mirror. This can be
shift into neutral or park when accelerating disorienting for drivers used to seeing the flanks of their own car in the side
at full tilt. (Automatics have a piece of hard- mirrors. But when correctly positioned, the mirrors negate a car’s blind spots.
ware called a park pawl, which prevents the This obviates the need to glance over your shoulder to safely change lanes as
transmission from engaging in park and well as the need for an expensive blind-spot warning system.
locking the wheels at speed—it creates a dis- The only problem is getting used to the SAE-recommended mirror
turbing grinding sound, but the car essen- positions. The cabin’s rearview mirror is used to keep an eye on what is coming
tially coasts freely.) The Roush had a manual, up from behind, while the outside mirrors reflect the area outside the view of
so you’d simply depress the clutch. In either the inside rearview mirror.
case, power is kept from the wheels and the Those who have switched to the SAE’s approach swear by it, however, some
car will be able to brake with its usual undi- drivers can’t adjust to not using the outside mirrors to see directly behind the
minished vigor, engine racing or not. car and miss being able to see their own car in the side mirrors. To them we
say, “Have fun filling out those accident reports.” —TONY QUIROGA
turN it off
Switching off the ignition is a sure way to
silence an engine, but it’s probably the least
desirable action because it will also make the
car more difficult to maneuver. It causes a
loss of power-steering assist, plus it will cut fig. 1 fig. 3 fig. 4
off vacuum boost for the brakes. The new
wrinkle here: the keyless, push-button start-
and-stop systems in many vehicles. Owners
need to be aware that these systems require
a long press of the button to shut off power
when the car is moving (so that an inadver-
tent touch of the button by the driver doesn’t fig. 2 fig. 5
kill the engine). Here, too, the Toyota was
slightly behind the curve; the Infiniti’s
engine shut down after a 2.5-second press of
the button versus 3.3 seconds for the Camry.
In an emergency, that would probably feel
like an eternity. For some perspective, if a
V-6 Camry’s throttle became stuck at 60
mph, the car would accelerate to nearly 80 Blinders Off Visible World
mph before the engine would surrender. When adjusted When pointed toward
Furthermore, short, frantic pressing of the to show what’s in the blind spot
Toyota’s start/stop button—the probable the blind spot (fig. 4), the outside
response in an emergency—does nothing, (fig. 1), the outside mirror shows the
whereas the Infiniti kills the engine after mirror no longer green car as soon
three rapid-fire presses. shows the driver’s as it leaves the
car (blue). inside mirror
coNclusioN Adjusted in the (fig. 3). In the
In the end, though, we found no major defi- traditional manner traditional
ciencies with the Camry’s ability to defuse (fig. 2), the mirror adjustment (fig.
an unintended-acceleration situation. But clearly shows the 5), the outside
the No. 1 automaker could learn a few les- driver’s car while mirror reflects
sons from the competition here—namely a the red car some of what is
throttle cutoff and a more responsive push- disappears. also in the inside
button ignition. —dave vanderwerp mirror (fig. 3).
I L L U S T r a T I O N by c h r I S P h I L P O T ca r a NDDr I V Er .cOM M a rch 2 010 35

“ BEST OF THE
”
listen to the blaring media din in america today,
and you’d assume that the domestic car industry is as good as gone, a corpse that
somehow manages to stagger into the next business quarter propelled by its own dust.
This is simply false, and we are going to spend the next 14 pages proving it.
Despite the fact that many of the featured cars are still in the development stage and
we haven’t taken their full measure yet, we have gotten close enough to see how fiercely
competitive they are. BEST OF THE U.S.? damn RigHT. These are the cars that
make us proudest of the American car industry, a country-creating enterprise
that still has plenty of passion, skill, ingenuity, and life left in it.
cadillac FORd FORd BUick OSHkOSH

cTS cOUPE mUSTang FOcUS REgal m-aTv
best eURO best best small- best bRand best
FIGHteR IcOn caR HOpe RevIval lIFesaveR
The full details A new engine For years, You might have You can’t drive
on Caddy’s with a classic the best version wondered why it unless you
diamond-cut name reenergizes of this compact Buick survived. enlist. We put the
two-door. And we the Mustang GT. stayed in Europe. We’ve driven U.S.’s new mine-
didn’t forget the The base V-6 Well, not the Regal, and we resistant vehicle
556-hp V-series. grows up, too. anymore. understand. to the test.
page 38 page 42 page 45 page 47 page 49

“ ”
by J o h n p h i l l i p s p h o T o G R A p h Y by J i m f e T s
2011 CadillaC
CTS/CTS-v Coupe
BEST EURO FIGHTER
two fewer doors, infinitely

more turned heads.
Disregarding the tony black chief engineer for the CTS—the sedan, the track by two inches. Consequences ensued.
slacks he’s wearing and the wet wagon, and now the coupe, arguably one of To get the stance he longed for, Leone
garage floor, Dave Leone is on the most striking GM cars ever to choke its had to persuade GM to bless the coupe with
his knees. “Look at this,” he wheel wells. more rubber at the rear than at the front.
says, shoving his hand between the top of a Every panel from the base of the coupe’s The FE3 suspension on the V-6 coupe, for
Cadillac CTS Coupe’s rear tire and the upper A-pillars forward is identical to the CTS instance, features 245/45R-19s up front,
fender lip. “I call this the ‘Leone Finger Test.’ sedan’s. Every panel aft of the A-pillars is 275/40R-19s at the tail. But then the handling
If three fingers fit, the gap’s too big. What I unique. “We had zero interest in creating a didn’t suit Leone, so rack after rack of
got here is two and three-quarters, max.” CTS sedan minus two doors,” Leone says. experimental anti-roll bars were trotted out.
He’s not done yet. He lovingly sweeps a hand over the wind- Coincidentally, both the CTS Coupe and the
Leone next positions a ruler flat against shield and roof. “The front glass is laid back CTS-V Coupe felt most neutral with a 29mm
the side of the flared rear fender and flat an extra two degrees,” he notes, “and the front bar (versus the sedan’s 31) and a
against the tire’s sidewall. “See that?” he roof is two inches lower, blending back into 25.4mm rear bar (versus the regular sedan’s
asks, beaming. The ruler is perfectly vertical. this radically raked backlight. We really 20 and the V’s 24). Leone then firmed up the
“The wells on this car are completely filled, hunkered her down.” So much, in fact, that damping at all four corners, obtaining, he
and the wheels line up flush with the body. the seats had to be mounted 14 millimeters says, “0.88 g [of grip] for the V-6 car and
Makes it look squat, purposeful. If you’ve lower than the sedan’s. 0.9-something for the CTS-V.” He jacked up
got wheels just floatin’ around in there, well, But Leone’s proudest achievement may the final-drive ratio to 3.73:1 from 3.42:1 for
to me that looks like a fat lady on skates.” be those flared rear fenders—“tautly swol- most models, dialed out every remaining
Leone has spent 30 of his 52 years toiling len,” he says of them—which were made iota of on-center steering slop, then blasted
exclusively for Cadillac. He is the global possible only by widening the coupe’s rear ’round the “Lutz Ring” (GM’s road course at
38 M A RcH 2 010 cA R A NDDR I V ER .cOM

cA R A NDDR I V ER .cOM M A RcH 2 010 39

“ ”
its proving ground in Milford, Michigan), roadworthy, but we were granted a brief
pronouncing both coupes “more planted, drive in a preproduction V-6 with the FE3
easier to place, harder to disrupt, and suspension. We reserve the right to alter
sharper on turn-in.” our opinions, but we can report with confi-
“I did not want a two-door sedan,” he dence that the coupe is even more gratify-
repeats. “I wanted a luxury sports car.” ing and engaging than the sedan. The steer-
The CTS Coupe will be fitted with only ing’s on-center feel is superb, with zero
the 304-hp, 3.6-liter V-6, familiar as the kickback and a sense of straight ahead that
Camaro’s base powerplant. The CTS-V will is peerless. The brake pedal is quite firm but
inherit its forebear’s drivetrain verbatim, easy to modulate. The damping is clearly
notably the thunderous 556-hp, 6.2-liter V-8. tighter—big displacements induce one com-
Leone expects the V to wreak havoc on sev- pression and one rebound, no encores—but
eral Euro all-stars, notably the Audi S5, the if ride quality has degraded, we didn’t notice
BMW M3, the Jaguar XKR, and the forth- it. Even at 80 mph, the cockpit remains
coming Mercedes-Benz E63 coupe. hushed, marred only by a slight whooshing
Curiously, the CTS Coupe’s center- of air over the A-pillars. Step-off is predict-
mounted rear stop light is shaped like a deck- able, and the V-6 feels certain to knock out
lid spoiler, but the CTS-V’s blatantly pokes sub-six-second sprints to 60 mph, doing so
skyward an inch higher, generating extra with an exhaust note that very nearly mim-
downforce. Both coupes will be offered with ics a V-8’s.
six-speed automatics or six-speed manuals, The fat C-pillars, the dagger-like rear
“although I think we sold about 200 manu- side windows, and the towering bustle
als last year,” Leone confesses. All-wheel obscure sightlines astern, but at least front
drive is available on the V-6 car—a 200- passengers suffer no sense of claustropho-
pound penalty—while the CTS-V adheres to bia. The same cannot be said of rear-seat
rear-drive only. riders. Volume behind the front seats is 36
Neither coupe emerged as svelte as cubic feet versus the sedan’s 42. There’s
Leone had hoped. The entry-level car, at just plenty of kneeroom back there, but the slop-
less than two tons, is only 22 pounds lighter ing roof rudely rubbed the balding pate of
than its sedan counterpart. The CTS-V is 37 your five-foot-nine-inch author. Note also
pounds slimmer. Approaching from behind, that there are only two rear buckets. “We
you can differentiate the two by their never intended this to be a five-passenger
chrome exhaust tips: centrally mounted anything,” Leone asserts. At least gymnas-
twin trapezoids for the V-6 and virtual tics aren’t necessary to fold yourself within,
sewer pipes for the CTS-V—twin cannons thanks to the vast doors, each an alarming
almost 4.5 inches in diameter. The coupes 58.5 inches long.
are devoid of any exterior locks, door han- What the CTS Coupe feels like is a more
dles, or trunk handles, opting for automatic focused CTS sedan—more willing in every
touch-pad openers, à la Corvette’s. Speaking direction, more telepathic, a titch more in
of the trunk, it’s small: 11 cubic feet versus sync with the driver’s commands. And once
the sedan’s 14. you’ve parked the coupe, you find yourself
The CTS-V we examined wasn’t yet dreamily gazing at it—especially the tail—
for an extra beat or two.
When you amble into showrooms in
The numbers June, expect something like a $3000 pre-
V EH IC L E TY PE >
front-engine, rear- or mium over the sedan. If you’re holding out
4-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door coupe for a convertible, don’t. “From day one,”
ESTI M ATED BASE PR IC E > $48,000–$65,000
ENGI N ES > DoHC 24-valve 3.6-liter V-6,
asserts Leone, “I knew the extra mass we’d
304 hp, 273 lb-ft; supercharged and need to create a solid roofless platform was
intercooled pushrod 16-valve 6.2-liter V-8, more than I could abide.” The marketing
556 hp, 551 lb-ft
TR A NSM ISSIONS > 6-speed automatic with guys predict that less than 20 percent of all
manumatic shifting, 6-speed manual CTS buyers will be couped up.
DI M ENSIONS:
W H EEL BASE > 113.4 in L ENGTH > 188.5 in It’s astonishing, really, that such a stun-
W I DTH > 74.1 in H EIGH T > 56.0 in
Cu R B W EIGHT > 3950–4250 lb
ning, conscientiously rendered automobile
PER FOR M A NC E (C/D EST): could have emerged against a backdrop of
Z ERO TO 60 M PH > 3.9–5.9 sec
STA N DI NG 1/4-M I L E > 12.2–14.6 sec
fiscal earthquakes, massacre-quality layoffs,
TOP SPEED > 144–191 mph and—at last count—three CEOs. Advice to
PROJ ECTED F u EL ECONOM Y (C/D EST):
EPA CITY/HIGHWAY DRIVING > 12–18/18–27 mpg
Mr. Whitacre: Hang around long enough to
claim this one as your own.

“i did not
want a
two-door
sedan.
i wanted
a luxury
sports
car.”
— DaVe Leone, cts
GLoBaL cHIeF enGIneer

42

“ ”
P H O T O G R A P H by R O Y R I T C H I E by M I C H A E l A u s T I n
2011 FORD MUSTANG

BEST ICON
Five-Point-oh-Yeah: the 5.0-liter

Mustang returns, and the v-6 goes
over the 300-hP Mark.
Wait, isn’t it still 2010? Ford has ment timeline. Early alternatives—a variant exhaust valve was added, so there are now
barely granted adequate time of the forthcoming 6.2-liter truck engine four valves per cylinder.
for its updated 2010 Mustang to and even the 5.0-liter Jaguar V-8—were con- Plus, there is variable valve timing on
shine in its own model year sidered before Ford chose the Coyote in May both the intake- and exhaust-valve cams.
before launching a new 2011 model this 2007. To meet the production deadline of Ford uses a cam-torque-actuated system,
spring. Then again, you’re probably reading January, Mike Harrison, the V-8 program and each of the cam adjusters, located within
this March issue well before the month has manager, had to cut 12 months from the nor- the cam sprocket, has three lobes sur-
arrived. Your head hurt yet? mal development schedule, which meant rounded by oil. Solenoids control the flow of
Model-year tomfoolery aside, the latest eliminating an entire prototype phase. oil into the adjusters, and the size of the oil
Mustang GT signals the return of the “5.0” Harrison tells us that aside from a few pocket on either side of each lobe is pumped
badge. And nitpickers and Mercedes-Benz common nuts and bolts, nothing from the up or reduced by using the energy from the
AMG “6.3” owners both should take note: 4.6-liter carries over to the new 5.0. The natural fluctuations in cam torque as the
This time it’s a legitimate 5.0 liters under the larger displacement was achieved by increas- valves open and close. This makes the cams
hood, rounded up from 4951 cubic centime- ing bore and stroke to 92.2 by 92.7 millime- move relative to the motion from the timing
ters, unlike the old Windsor V-8 (used inter- ters, up from 90.2 by 90.0mm. The compres- chain. Compared with systems where oil
mittently from 1968 to 1995), which was in sion ratio has leaped to 11.0:1, from 9.8. Most pressure is the motive force, Ford says this
fact a 4.9-liter (4942cc) engine. More impor- of the design work on the Coyote focused on arrangement is faster and more efficient,
tantly, the output figures of 412 horsepower airflow. It was such a priority that cylinder and it doesn’t require a bigger pump.
and 390 pound-feet of torque represent heads from the Shelby GT500 that might The output of 412 horsepower at 6500
gains of 97 and 65, respectively, versus the have been used were rejected because they rpm and 390 pound-feet of torque at 4250
2010 model, enough to instantly erase the didn’t flow well enough. The Coyote design rpm (that’s with premium fuel; regular
power deficit that the GT formerly ceded to moves the intake camshafts as far to the out- unleaded drops the figures to 402 horses and
its resurrected rivals, the 426-hp Chevrolet side of the vee as possible to make room for 377 pound-feet) is slightly less than the 426
Camaro SS and the Dodge Challenger (in a straight, smooth passage from the intake horsepower in the Camaro SS and the Chal-
both 376-hp R/T and 425-hp SRT8 trim). manifold. The intake valve’s diameter has lenger SRT8’s 425. The Mustang GT wins in
Ford heaped a lot of attention on the base been increased by 3.2mm, and a second specific output, though, at 83 horsepower
Mustang, too, which at long last has ditched per liter compared with 64 and 70 horses per
its ancient iron-block, 4.0-liter V-6 for a new liter for the Chevy and the Dodge, respec-
The numbers
version of Ford’s thoroughly modern DOHC, tively. The higher-tech and more expensive
3.7-liter V-6. With 305 horsepower, only 10 V EH ICL E TY PE >
front-engine, V-8 in the Lexus IS F manages only one bet-
less than last year’s GT, this more affordable rear-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 2-door coupe ter than the Coyote on this scale. And we
ESTI M ATED BASE PR ICE > $23,000;
Mustang is no longer a car for poseurs and GT, $29,500 remind you that the last Mustang GT we
tanning-salon employees. ENGI N ES > DOHC 24-valve 3.7-liter V-6, tested was 300 pounds lighter than the
But back to the GT engine, which is offi- 305 hp, 280 lb-ft; DOHC 32-valve 5.0-liter Camaro SS. Ford claims the new engine is
V-8, 412 hp, 390 lb-ft
cially labeled the 5.0-liter Ti-VCT DOHC TR A NSM ISSIONS > 6-speed manual, 6-speed only about 15 pounds heavier than the 4.6, so
V-8, though we prefer its unofficial code automatic with manumatic shifting the GT’s power-to-weight ratio should be
DI M ENSIONS:
name, Coyote. It’s all-new, if you don’t count W H EEL BASE > 107.1 in L ENGTH > 188.1 in best in class.
W I DTH > 73.9 in H EIGH T > 55.6–55.8 in
the bore-center spacing shared with the C u R B W EIGHT > 3500–3700 lb
Should the need for more power arise,
“modular” 4.6-liter V-8 that powers the PER FOR M A NCE (C/D EST, 6-SP M A N): Ford has future-proofed the Coyote engine
2010 Mustang GT. The reason for that is STA N DI NG 1/4-M I L E > 12.8–13.6 sec
for applications such as supercharging and
twofold: It allowed Ford to use its existing TOP SPEED (GOVERNOR LIMITED) > 115–149 mph direct injection. There are four-bolt mains
PROJ ECTED Fu EL ECONOM Y (M FR’S EST):
manufacturing infrastructure, and it made EPA CITY/HIGHWAY DRIVING > 16–19/24–30 mpg
with side bolts through the block, and the
it easier to stick to a compressed develop- bolt sizes have been increased one millime-

Riding Shotgun
We weren’t allowed to drive the 2011
mustangs yet, but we did get some
passenger-seat time. Driving us around
the Dearborn proving ground in a gt,
vehicle dynamics manager mark
rushbrook said Ford’s goal was to
replicate the feel of the 2010 track
pack–equipped gt throughout the
mustang lineup.
so the suspension of the 2011
mustangs got as much care and feeding
as the engines. across the lineup (V-6
and V-8, coupe and convertible), Ford
revised the spring-and-shock rates,
replaced bushings, and increased the
size of the front and rear anti-roll bars.
the front crossmember has been
reinforced, and the electric power
steering features new mounts for the
rack. a performance package for the
V-6 co-opts the suspension from the
ter here as well as on the cylinder head. The aerodynamic spats in front of the rear gt and uses a 3.31 final drive in the
main-bearing bulkhead width increases wheels, and a new seal at the leading edge of manual transmission in lieu of the
two millimeters. the rear decklid. The last bit of efficiency was stock 2.73:1 ratio. and gt models with
As with the V-8, attention to the V-6 achieved via electric power-assisted steer- brembo brakes get their own, more
engine focuses on airflow. This is essentially ing, which also ties in with the new suspen- aggressive suspension profile as well
the same 3.7-liter found in the Lincoln MKS sion settings [see sidebar]. as sticky Pirelli rubber.
and MKT, with a few key changes. A rede- Visually, the car remains the same, aside the electrically assisted steering
signed cylinder head increases compression from the unmistakable 5.0 badge on the allows for different boost profiles
to 10.5:1, from 10.3. Variable valve timing, front fenders of the GT and a blacked-out across the model range, impossible
which is now on the exhaust valves, uses the pony logo in the grille. California Special with the old hydraulic system. since
cam-torque system as in the V-8, and intake- models, like the one in our photos, lose the boost is no longer dependent on the
valve lift is increased. A new exhaust mani- 5.0 badge but get a rear wing that should speed of the steering pump, the
fold completes the list of airflow improve- function as the perfect perch for your case of system gets high assist for parking
ments. To adapt the engine to a rear-wheel- Natural Light at the next Nickelback concert maneuvers without making the
drive layout, Ford engineers had to design a tailgate. Sharp eyes might not notice the steering too light at faster speeds.
tube molded into the lower intake that larger front brakes (13.2 inches, an 0.8-inch With a hydraulic system,
moves the coolant plumbing from the ther- increase) on the GT, but optional 14.0-inch rushbrook pegged turnaround time
mostat housing at the rear of the engine to a Brembos with red calipers and unique on a steering-boost-profile change
new water-pump location up front. 19-inch wheels will be hard to miss. at about four weeks. With the new
The result is 305 horsepower at 6500 rpm If you’re looking for Ford to make further electric system, character can be
and 280 pound-feet of torque at 4250 rpm improvements on the Mustang, well, you’re changed almost immediately, which
(when using regular unleaded)—30 more going to have to wait. There are no plans to allowed the dynamics engineers to
horsepower than the premium-fuel number launch the 2012 model early next year. For- fine-tune the steering to the point
for the MKS. More importantly, it’s a jump tunately, the 2011 model should keep us where they now feel it is better than
of 95 horsepower and 40 pound-feet from entertained during the 21 months it will take the hydraulic system. —MA
the old 4.0-liter, with fuel-efficiency for the calendar to catch up.
increases to boot. Ford predicts ratings of 18
to 19 mpg city and 29 to 30 mpg highway,
depending on transmission choice, up from Don’t Call It a ComebaCk
16 to 18 city and 24 to 26 highway. 2010 marks the 40th anniversary of Parnelli Jones’s
The improved EPA numbers are helped Boss 302 Mustang Trans-Am championship. In
by the new Ford-built six-speed transmis- tribute, Ford is lending the name and the paint
sions, which are identical in both Mustang scheme to its 2010 turnkey race car, the Boss 302R.
and Mustang GT whether manual or auto- Based on the FR500C, the Boss gets the new Coyote engine
matic. Also, the 2011 model has three per- from the 2011 GT. Interested? Get thee to the parts counter of your local Ford
cent less drag than the 2010 through the use dealer—the Boss 302R is literally a part number. Only 50 will be built this year. It
of better sealing around the radiator, a new comes as a $79,000 base model or with a Grand-Am-ready package for $129,000.
front air dam, new covers on the underbody,
44 M A RcH 2 010 cA R A NDDR I V ER .cOM M u s T A N G P H O T O G R A P H Y by J I M F E T s

“ ”
by M A R K G I L L I E S
2012 FORD FOCUS

BEST Small-car hopE
DumbeD Down no more.
One of Alan Mulally’s objectives North America and Europe will be the same lower (at 58.1 inches tall) and 3.0 inches
since becoming CEO at Ford in vehicle. This is to be applauded because there longer (178.0 inches overall), and it has a
2006 has been to develop prod- was a big gap between the European Focus 1.3-inch-longer wheelbase (104.2 inches).
ucts on a worldwide basis. This and the machine sold here. The European car The 2012 model’s dimensions are close to
sounds familiar, if only because another improved on the basic goodness of the origi- the current Euro car’s, save for a wider track
Ford CEO, Alex Trotman, did the same thing nal, with better interior quality and driving and lower stance.
back in the 1990s. This approach resulted in dynamics. The U.S. car essentially stayed A new body in white employs high-
products such as the Contour (not a rip- put: The original Focus was good enough to strength steel for 55 percent of the structure,
roaring success) and the original Focus be a C/D 10Best winner, but the competition the highest of any U.S. Ford. Torsional rigid-
(which was). moved on, leaving the current version dead ity is up by 25 percent over that of the cur-
In between the Focus going on sale in the last in a recent small-car comparo. rent Focus. Under the skin, the layout of the
U.S. as a 2000 model and Mulally taking The 2012 Focus certainly looks terrific, strut front and multilink rear suspension
over, product development in Europe and especially in five-door form. The engineers stands pat, but many pieces are revised.
North America took off in different direc- and designers felt able to make the Focus According to Gunnar Herrmann, the vehicle
tions. Hence, Europe was rewarded with a sportier (by lowering its seating position line director for global C-segment: “The
heavily reworked second-generation Focus and overall height) due to the upcoming carry-over on the platform is effectively only
in 2004. The next year, North America got a C-Max—a tall-roof, five- or seven-seat seven percent. We have changed almost
warmed-over version of the first-gen Focus derivative off this platform—that fulfills everything.”
sedan and the hatchback disappeared. the family-car mission. Compared with the At launch, the Focus will get a new 2.0-
Starting in early 2011, the Focus in both current U.S. Focus, the new car is 0.5 inch liter, direct-injection four-cylinder that has

variable intake- and exhaust-valve timing. anti-lock brakes to approximate a limited- trying to maintain the base price, we think
Ford says the engine will put out 155 horse- slip differential. there will be pull from people coming down
power and 145 pound-feet of torque. Later The interior looks like a winner, but from C/D-segment cars [think Honda
on, expect a sportier engine. Jim Hughes, there’s a caveat: The styling mockup we Accord, Ford Fusion] to C-class cars—peo-
the chief nameplate engineer for the Focus examined had hard surfaces, even if Ford ple are downsizing vehicles but not their
in North America, adds, “We’ll eventually assures us everything will be soft-touch in expectations.”
get an EcoBoost [turbocharged DI] engine the production version. The mockup had That’s a prevailing view at Ford these
in the Focus.” We’re thinking a 1.6-liter cool piano-black and aluminum finishes and days. But it’s also one fraught with difficulty.
making more than 200 horsepower in a a stitched dashboard. This upscale trim is People will pay $18,000 or more for a Mazda
sporty ST model. called “Titanium” in Europe, and it’s hard to 3 or a VW Golf or a Honda Civic, but that’s
The Focus will go on sale with two avail- imagine that the base U.S. model, which because those cars carry so much brand
able transmissions: a base six-speed manual should still retail around the current car’s equity. The average transaction price of a
and a very fancy six-speed dual-clutch gear- $16,690 price, will look as stylish. Toyota Corolla is less, and a Focus’s is way
box co-developed with Getrag. Derrick With options such as a rearview camera, lower. No matter how good the car is—and
Kuzak, the global product-development a blind-spot warning system, keyless igni- Mark Fields, president of Ford of the Ameri-
chief, says: “There will be no conventional tion, a nav system with an eight-inch screen, cas, says, “We won’t dumb this one down for
automatic on this car.” Electric power and an upgraded version of the Sync info- the U.S.”—will American consumers pay
steering is a new feature, along with “torque tainment system (dubbed MyFord), we can more money for this latest Focus? If a
vectoring,” which, similar to the systems see a Focus stickering well into the domestic small car has a chance at challeng-
of many other automakers, uses the $20,000s. Hughes clarifies: “Although we’re ing the Mazda 3 and the Golf, it’s this one.
“ ”
BEST of ThE U.S. NEar-fUTUrE carS
CadillaC Converj rear- and all-wheel-drive horses to generate power for given up. The seven-seater will
This slick coupe is based on underpinnings, but it’s got them when the batteries run hit the U.S. in 2011.
the same architecture as the sleek new sheetmetal and down—good, Fisker says, for
Chevy Volt range-extending more powerful V-6 and V-8 zero to 60 mph in 5.8 jeep grand Cherokee
plug-in hybrid. If style sells, engines—reputedly up to 400 seconds. The first customers Jeep calls the Grand Cherokee
Cadillac will have a big hit on horses for the 300C and the will see theirs this fall. the first premium SUV.
its hands—and GM will make Charger R/T. Expect them in (Surprised, Range Rover?)
more money off this two-door showrooms late this year. Ford C-max Still, when the next gen arrives
than it can off the Volt. It’s a Another European transplant, this spring, it should raise the
good bet to go on sale in 2012 Fisker karma the C-Max is a newcomer to bar for four-wheel drive and
or our name is not Eddie No, we’re not joking. The the mini-minivan niche, chassis sophistication. Jeep
Whitacre. $90,000 Karma is the first current occupants, two—the also claims huge structural-
hybrid whose poster we’d put Mazda 5 and the Kia Rondo. rigidity gains for the Mercedes
Chrysler 300/ on our bedroom wall. It has Based on the upcoming ML–based architecture as well
dodge Charger intriguing specifications, with Focus’s platform, it’s good- as increased size, roominess,
The next version of one of two electric motors making looking and space-efficient, and refinement. Chrysler
Chrysler’s few sales hits uses 960 pound-feet of torque and and unlike most vans, it needs a hit, and the Jeep
the same aging Mercedes a gas engine making 260 doesn’t scream that you’ve should provide it.

“ ”
P H O T O G R A P H Y by J O H N R O E by M A R K G I L L I E S
2011 BUICK REGAL

BEST BraND rEVIVal
The snoozer Division lifTs iTself up

by The booTsTraps, manually.
Out in cyberspace, the bloggers will come from Europe; thereafter, it will be
are all atwitter. The Buick Regal built in Canada.) The numbers
is going to be offered with a The Regal will be launched with a 2.4- V EH IC L E TY PE > front-engine, front-wheel-
manual transmission, the first liter, direct-injection four-cylinder making drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
ESTI M ATED BASE PR ICE > $26,750
time for the brand since the 1989 Skyhawk! 182 horsepower, followed a few months later ENGI N ES > DOHC 16-valve 2.4-liter inline-4,
This incredulity ignores two simple and by a 2.0-liter, DI turbo four that produces 182 hp, 172 lb-ft; turbocharged and
self-evident truths. First, if Buick is to have 220 horses. Initially, both engines will be intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4,
220 hp, 258 lb-ft
any future, it must compete with such offered with six-speed automatics, with a TR A NSM ISSIONS > 6-speed manual, 6-speed
imports as Acura, Audi, and Volvo and can’t manual coming onstream for the turbo automatic with manumatic shifting
DI M ENSIONS:
simply cater to an aging demographic. Sec- model slightly later. GM execs have no idea W H EEL BASE > 107.8 in L ENGTH > 190.2 in
ond, reviving the manual was easily done. how many manuals the company will sell, Cu R B W EIGH T > 3600–3700 lb
And that’s because the Regal is a rebadged but we predict they will be as rare as Chupa- PER FOR M A NCE (C/D EST):
Opel Insignia built, like the Opel, at a plant cabras. In time, there’s a very good chance STA N DI NG 1/4-M I L E > 15.5–16.6 sec
in Rüsselsheim, Germany, which equips the that a high-performance GS variant will be TOP SPEED (GOVERNOR LIMITED) > 112–130 mph
PROJECTED FuEL ECONOMY (MFR’S EST):
cars with either automatic or manual trans- added. A concept car at the Detroit auto EPA CITY/HIGHWAY DRIVING > 18–20/29–30 mpg
missions. (The first year’s supply of Regals show previewed this all-wheel-drive ver-

sion, powered by a 255-hp turbo four. the Acura TSX. The interior, too, is nicely quiet, and it gives admirable performance:
Save for badging, a Buick grille, and dif- done, with high-quality materials, elegant We predict a run from zero to 60 mph in the
ferent front and rear lights, the Regal is a finishes, and plenty of space for rear-seat low-seven-second range. The manual is Audi
dead ringer for an Insignia. Mechanically, it riders. Initially, Regals will be offered only direct rather than Acura slick, but the Aisin-
offers the same multilink rear and strut-type in well-equipped CXL trim, with leather, sourced automatic is a honey. And the
front suspension, with some minor tuning heated front seats, Bluetooth, and XM satel- handling is predictable, anchored by nicely
changes made to accommodate all-season lite radio as standard. linear steering.
tires. Base Regals have 18-inch wheels and We recently sampled turbo Regals with The ride is composed, the brakes are pow-
tires, but there is a 19-inch wheel-and-tire the standard suspension, in both manual erful, and it’s a very competent all-around
option on the turbo model that’s packaged and automatic varieties. They’re good cars, package. The Regal goes on sale in late spring,
with adaptive dampers (“interactive drive way more interesting to drive than the pre- likely priced in the high-$26,000 bracket for
control system” in the marketing vernacu- vious Regal, which might sound a bit like the 2.4, rising to about $30,000 for the turbo.
lar) and a variable-ratio steering rack. saying Lindsay Lohan’s acting is way better That’s competitive with the TSX, as is the
The Regal is a handsome car, especially than her singing. But this is no backhanded whole car. And that’s a lot more surprising
when viewed alongside Buick’s main target, compliment. The turbo engine is refined and than Buick offering it with a manual.
“ ”
BEST of ThE U.S. cUrrENT carS
Chevrolet Camaro success story, and we’ve styling, the traits that driving fun, a trait hitherto
Its styling quickens boomer called it a “world-class sports separate the alpha-male conspicuous only by its
pulse rates, but the Camaro car” for 30-plus years. This pickup from the herd are high absence in this class.
isn’t as slavishly retro-penned leaves us a little short of chassis rigidity and a boss V-8
as its rivals. It gets high marks, superlatives for a Vette that engine option. The Ram’s Ford F-150 svt raptor
too, for the stiff chassis, slick raises the ante beyond foundations are bridge-girder Okay, the Raptor looks a little
interior, and optional V-8. But $100,000 and 200 mph. stout, and the Hemi V-8 ridiculous in places like
it’s the standard 304-hp V-6 World-class supercar? True. speaks for itself: Whooma! Westchester County and San
that sets the Camaro apart. And that may be an Francisco. But it’s right at
Most pony cars roll out with understatement. No one has Ford Fusion hybrid home in trackless wastes,
V-6 engines, and the Camaro’s built a car this accomplished Ford didn’t invent the particularly arid ones. Ford’s
is tops. So much so that Ford at this price. automobile, but its Model T Special Vehicle Team has
just answered its call with a changed the world. Ford didn’t created a thoroughly
305-hp base Mustang for 2011. dodge ram invent the modern hybrid, engineered desert truck that’s
Big pickups are still an either, but the Fusion is a ready for the rough. Just add
Chevrolet Corvette Zr1 American stronghold, and the revelation. It’s the first of its gas, and you’re ready for the
The evolution of the Corvette Ram rules the garrison. Aside kind to combine hybrid old Barstow-to-Vegas off-road
has been a long-running GM from brightwork and butch efficiency with a modicum of race course.

“ ”
P H O T O G R A P H Y by m A R k u R b A n O by e R i c T e G l e R
OSHKOSH M-atv ( mine resistant ambush protected aLL-terrain VehicLe )
BEST LIFESAVER
A wAr truck thAt cAn four-wheel

into hArm’s wAy . . . And, hopefully,
come bAck out AgAin.
Ten minutes ago the sound of resistant ambush protected) All-Terrain turns, jagged rock, and stream crossings
live ordnance echoed in the dis- Vehicle, which shortens up nicely to M-ATV. present a stiff challenge to the cumbersome
tance. Now the soundtrack has It’s the sorely needed replacement for the Cougar and Caiman truck-based MRAPs in
changed to a mix of humming ubiquitous Humvee (M1114), and by the time use. Humvees handle the off-road terrain
turbo-diesel, minor rattling, and shouted you read this, about 2000 of them will have well but not the space dust. It cloaks IEDs.
expletives of amazement. We’re at the been airlifted to Afghanistan. Why? As of last spring, roadside bombs were
Aberdeen Test Center (ATC), located on the The unarmored Humvee has served responsible for 75 percent of coalition casu-
73,000-acre Aberdeen Proving Ground admirably but has also proven vulnerable. alties in Afghanistan. Each time a Marine or
Army base in northeastern Maryland. The U.S. Marines and Army soldiers found that Army unit leaves its base on a motorized
sounds are from 25,000 pounds of tactical out in Iraq, where roadside bombs, known as patrol, it is in peril. Mission success, in large
vehicle hurtling across ATC’s Perryman IEDs (improvised explosive devices) measure, is when all troops RTB (return to
No. 3 off-road course, a half-mile-long super- accounted for 60 percent of American casu- base) unharmed. That is what the more nim-
whoops section that would make Finland’s alties in 2006 and 2007. The situation was ble M-ATV has been built to do.
World Rally organizers jealous. We launch so dire that units were fabricating and bolt- The one we’re hammering at ATC reveals
off an eight-foot-high mogul at about 30 ing steel plates to their Hummers for protec- just 116.3 miles on the odometer. When the
mph, landing hard enough to break anything tion. America responded quickly, producing government issued an urgent request for
we’ve ever driven. But the truck just brushes MRAP armored trucks, 40,000 pounds and proposal for an off-road-capable MRAP in
it off and charges toward the next berm. up. Along with better tactics and intelli- November 2008, none existed. Seven
“It’s so easy to go fast in this thing,” C/D gence, they dramatically reduced IED casu- months later, Oshkosh Defense of Oshkosh,
technical editor Michael Austin yells from alties. But Afghanistan is different. Wisconsin, was selected from a group of four
the seat behind the driver. “You don’t have Afghanistan really has no roads. Fewer bidders and awarded a $1 billion contract. By
that wincing moment when you’re thinking, than 8000 miles of pavement exist accord- the time we drove the Oshkosh M-ATV late
‘Oh, this is going to sound horrible!’ ” ing to the CIA World Factbook. (The U.S. has last year, more than 40 were already in
It almost makes you forget the signifi- 2,615,870 miles.) Instead, narrow dirt trails Afghanistan.
cance of the machinery. We’re driving what wind through mountain passes, most cov- “The United States hasn’t mobilized the
is arguably the most significant new military ered in a foot of fine sand that American industrial base to produce anything this fast
vehicle in a generation: the MRAP (mine troops call “space dust.” Steep grades, tight since World War II,” Dave Hansen declares.

Hansen is the deputy program manager for it in a layered combination, the details of
the Joint MRAP Vehicle Program, the which we don’t have the clearance level to
M-ATV portion of which is led by Marine know. We’d guess the doors weigh a couple
Corps Systems Command. hundred pounds each, but just as important,
“Survivability is not just the armor that the M-ATV sports a V-shaped hull that
you have,” Hansen explains. “Survivability deflects blasts and prevents IEDs from pen- erwise, soldiers simply cut and splice into
can also be tied to your lack of predictability. etrating the cabin. Central tire inflation and the wiring, so M-ATV designers figured
If you go out on a particular road and they huge run-flat Michelins are survivability they’d make everyone happy.)
know you’re coming back on that road, they enhancers as well. The M-ATV must be able From the driver’s seat, it feels as if the
can lay IEDs. If you can get off-road with to drive at least 30 miles at 30 mph with one M-ATV will take you home over any route
something like this, you can be less predict- or two flat tires. It can also take a 7.62-mil- you choose. We drove it as the Marines
able and more survivable because [insur- limeter round to the engine oil/coolant/ would, in full flak jacket and helmet.
gents] don’t know which way you’ll be com- hydraulic system and drive on for at least Strapped into a five-point harness, each of
ing back.” another kilometer. the four occupants rides in a bucket seat
Of course, some trusty ol’ armor vastly What the M-ATV can take, it can also anchored to the floor and tethered to the ceil-
improves survivability, and the M-ATV has give. Its roof turret can accommodate any- ing for stability. The M-ATV rides far better
thing from an M240 7.62mm machine gun to than you’d expect. Over all but the most pre-
a Mk 19 grenade machine gun or TOW anti- cipitous drops on Perryman No. 3, it offered
The numbers tank missile launcher. All can be operated more than acceptable levels of jounce and
from the turret or remotely from inside the required minor steering inputs to stay the
V EH IC L E TY PE >
front-engine, rear/4-wheel-
drive, 4-passenger, 4-door truck cabin, where the driver has a low-visibility/ course. Even before we’d hit the whoops sec-
ESTI M ATED PR IC E AS TESTED > $1,437,000 night thermal-imaging display that flips tion, we’d left a Chevy Silverado 2500 chase
(estimated base price: $437,000) down like a sun visor. In addition to a com- vehicle in the dust as its driver (and our pho-
ENGI N E TY PE > turbocharged and intercooled
pushrod 18-valve diesel inline-6, iron block plete gauge package, the driver faces two bat- tographers) struggled not to break the truck
and head, direct fuel injection teries of rocker switches that control every- in half on the preceding off-road stretch.
DISPL AC EM ENT > 442 cu in, 7242cc
Pow ER (SA E N ET) > 370 bhp @ 2400 rpm thing from transmission and transfer-case Hansen and Doug Griffin, the ATC test
ToRqu E (SA E N ET) > 925 lb-ft @ 1440 rpm
TR A NSM ISSIoN > 6-speed automatic with
modes (road, cross country, 2wd/4wd) to tire director, describe the M-ATV driving expe-
manumatic shifting inflation and a rearview, or “check six,” cam- rience as SUV-like. “If you were to get in a
DI M ENSIoNS:
w H EEL bASE > 154.8 in L ENGTH > 246.8 in
era. Traction control and anti-lock brakes are larger MRAP, it would be very different,”
w I DTH > 98.1 in H EIGHT > 105.0 in enabled depending upon the mode. Hansen says. “The other MRAPs drive like
Cu R b w EIGH T > 25,000 lb
The six-speed automatic Allison 3500 big, honking trucks.”
C / D T E ST R E S U LTS transmission is operated via a vertical row Credit the TAK-4 independent suspen-
Zero to 60 m ph > 32.8 sec of push buttons, and there’s blessed air con- sion that every M-ATV (and many MRAP
STR EET STA RT, 5–60 M PH > 30.0 sec
STA N DI NG 1/4-M I L E > 24.5 sec @ 54 mph
ditioning accessed by familiar rotary HVAC vehicles) rides on. Developed by Oshkosh
ToP SPEED (GoV ER NoR L I M ITED) > 65 mph controls. The real bonus for entertainment- and tested by the Joint MRAP Vehicle Pro-
bR A k I NG, 60–0 M PH > 269 ft
roadholding, 200-ft-dia skidpad > 0.46 g
deprived troops is cigarette-lighter-style gram and the Nevada Automotive Test Cen-
power ports for iPods and CD players. (Oth- ter, the TAK-4 is a heavy unequal-length
50

control-arm setup with coil springs. Com-
pletely modular, it bolts up easily and offers
steering, chassis stiffness, and lack of bump
steer are impressive. The thing just chugs Return to Base
16 inches of independent wheel travel. Com- over the mess. early reviews from the front
pare that with Ford’s new F-150 SVT Raptor On-road, it’ll do a maximum of 65 mph. suggest the m-atV will put the
R Baja-type production-based racer, which You wouldn’t call it nimble, but there’s little Humvee out to pasture.
steering slop and the sense that if you hit
“the mArine corps is
offers 15 inches of travel, and you’ll under-
something it’s not going to matter so much
definitely going in
stand how the M-ATV can speed across off-
road terrain with aplomb. anyway. Acceleration is tank-like (although
Power is courtesy of a Caterpillar C7 0 to 60 in 32.8 seconds is quicker than an the right direction
7.2-liter, inline-six turbo-diesel. Found in a actual tank), and it’s noisy, with a little As fAr As suspension,
variety of military and commercial vehicles, throttle lag. mobility, And getting
it makes more than standard grunt in the bAck on the
offensive. this
Big brake drums require significant
M-ATV (370 horsepower and 925 pound- pedal pressure, but panic stops are drama-
feet of torque versus the stock 330 horse- free. The nose dives, and you can actually vehicle is going
power and 850 pound-feet). see the anti-lock brakes pulse the M-ATV to to be A plus for the
“This is kind of a juiced-up C7,” Griffin a halt. An ATC test driver managed 0.46 g on mArine corps.”
says with a smile. “They essentially did a tur- our improvised 200-foot-diameter skidpad —gunnery sgt. michael bandy,
motor transport chief,
bocharger and chip upgrade.” The quip (an airfield helicopter ordnance-loading marine expeditionary
reflects the character of ATC’s test staff, pad), the M-ATV tilting obscenely and actu- brigade-afghanistan
who grasp the importance of their work but ally lifting the unloaded front wheel. But
are also car guys to a man. really, your mom could drive this thing. “going up hills
This combination of enthusiasm and And that’s the point. The M-ATV is for is nothing for the
rigor shows up on Perryman No. 5, another m-Atv. other vehicles
tAke forever to
fighting as well as driving. Ease of operation
test course. It would resemble the paved means experienced MRAP drivers need only
chassis twist-ditch stretches found at many about 14 hours of instruction, complete nov- go up. not this one.”
manufacturer proving grounds—if they ices just 40 hours. The M-ATV has no formal —lance cpl. mario rivera,
motor transportation operator,
were unpaved and designed by the insane. A name yet, but we’re tempted for obvious rea- brigade headquarters group,
quarter-mile of two- to three-foot-deep sons to call it the “B’Gosh.” In Afghanistan, marine expeditionary
brigade-afghanistan
asymmetrical sinkholes tests the TAK-4 the M-ATV will endure months and perhaps
suspension and the M-ATV’s chassis and years of the most arduous duty, where it “the m-Atv is
steering severely. Cringing in anticipation, must bring as many soldiers home as possi- equipped with An
we crossed it at 5 mph. The M-ATV’s light ble. Maybe they should call it the RTB. independent
suspension, which
will Allow mArines
to get into more
restrictive terrAin.
we think it’s going
to be A huge benefit.
we’re looking
to get our mArines
out of those
humvees And into
m-Atvs, which
is going to give
us more mobility
And survivAbility.”
—chief warrant officer 4
robert ramsey jr.,
motor transport officer,
marine expeditionary
brigade-afghanistan
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SUPER-UTES
The sTarTling new Porsche sedan goes Toe-To-Toe
by K.C . COLW ELL

photography by INGO Ba r ENsChEE

COMPARO
STiMULUS
PackageS
wiTh a glamorous iTalian and a businesslike german.
ThE lauNch Of ThE PaNaMEra cOMEs DurINg a sTraNgE aND TuMulTuOus Era aT POrschE.
Exhibit A: The German sports-car maker’s bestselling vehicle since 2003 has been a sport-utility vehicle,
the Cayenne. Exhibit B: The car before you, the company’s first production sedan, is a further hyperexten-
sion of the Porsche lineup. Exhibit C: The attempt by Porsche to take over Volkswagen resulted in a perfect
reversal of fortunes: Volkswagen took over Porsche. At which point, Porsche boss Wendelin Wiedeking was
hurried off the premises, replaced by his right-hand man, Michael Macht.
With the above in mind, you might think that Porsche is getting a little distracted, a bit off its game. Would
the Panamera have the Porsche-ness—that magical sports-car sensitivity—to outdrive its increasingly fleet
competition? That’s what we wanted to find out.
ca r a NDDr I V Er .cOM M a rch 2 010 59

woMen who heard The SoUndTrack
Its competitors are all European. Three Mercedes-Benzes would $90,775) was zooted up with more than $40,000 worth of options.
qualify for the job: the CLS63 AMG (same number of seats, similar Still, the Maserati was the costliest, at $150,375. Our fully loaded
dimensions—the car Wiedeking hoped to improve upon), the pricier BMW 750i checked in at $104,230, though it starts at $82,280.
S63 AMG (closer perhaps to the Panamera’s flagship, luxury-trans- We threw a six-pack of clean Jockeys and a stash of Altoids into a
port mission), and the E63 AMG wagon (same number of doors). But rucksack and jetted to Bavaria for a weeklong road bender. It’s fair to
Mercedes begged off, skittish about pitting the aging CLS against say we drove the spätzle out of these cars. Here is how they stack up.
this new Porsche. Complicating our selection process, a Mercedes
S550 had recently been knocked off by a BMW 750Li [“Executive
Sweets,” May 2009], and the other logical competitor, the E63 3. Maserati Quattroporte
wagon, may not even come to North America. Don’t be fooled by the Maserati’s third-place finish: It’s still an
So we decided on two challengers for the new Porsche: a stan- astounding car. It’s also the glamour puss of the three.
dard-wheelbase BMW 7-series and a Maserati Quattroporte. The The Ferrari-derived V-8 at the heart of this Maser produces an
Quattroporte got the invitation because we hadn’t had it in a exhaust note that’s like a Le Mans pit. At first, the ferocious noise is
comparo since one disposed of a Jaguar XJR and a Mercedes E55 entertaining. But after a half-hour, the severe snap, crackle, and pop
AMG in 2004. Of three QP models, we chose the top Sport GT S verges on the annoying, then becomes tiring. It’s so loud that driv-
because its 4.7-liter V-8 makes 433 horsepower, 37 more than a stan- ers up ahead can hear it at cruising speeds. Thankfully, you can turn
dard 4.2-liter Quattroporte, and it has the sportiest suspension. down the sound: We switched off the sport setting, which closes
The Porsche and the BMW both make 400 horses. bypass valves in the exhaust system. This made long runs tolerable
We’d hoped to keep our entry-level Panamera reasonable—even and kept our profile somewhat lower.
$10,000 in options would have made it the least expensive car in the But what’s a guy to do? A study by a British insurance group in
test—but, as usual, our rear-wheel-drive S model (base price: 2008 shows that women who heard the soundtrack of a Maserati’s

of a MaSeraTi’S V-8 becaMe aroUSed.
V-8 became aroused. (The test’s psychologist explained that the The interior feels and looks a bit dated, though it is covered in
“roar of a luxury-car engine actually does cause a primeval physi- supple, luxurious leather, and the car lacks in the “features and ame-
ological response.”) nities” department (see Final Results chart). That said, the Maserati
The fun doesn’t stop at the ears. It can be felt in the rump, too. A has the most emotional appeal: It feels less like an engineering mas-
0-to-60-mph dash of 4.5 seconds and a quarter-mile in 13.1 seconds terpiece and more like a work of art.
bests the Panamera and the BMW. It is also quicker than the one-
step-down Quattroporte S, by 0.3 second to 60 and 0.4 second in the
quarter-mile. 2. BMW 750i
In spirited driving over winding roads, the QP exhibits the most This BMW looks big even though it’s shorter than the Maserati and
body roll of the three, possibly because it’s the only one without an not as wide as the Porsche. At 58.3 inches high, however, it is the tall-
adjustable suspension. Maserati dumps the adaptive magnetorheo- est of the three. It appears completely unsporting and ordinary when
logical shocks in the standard QP for single-rate dampers in the resting next to the Maserati and even the Porsche. The previous
Sport GT S, lowers the ride height, and fits stiffer springs. The result 7-series was a victim of Chris Bangle’s design philosophy, with
is a sport-dedicated suspension that rides well, especially consider- slashed sheetmetal and swooping fenders that made BMW’s busi-
ing its 20-inch wheels, largest of the group. Despite the extra pitch, ness vessel look like too much of a caricature. As a result, this 7 was
the QP hustles through corners. It became our favorite on switch- designed with a more conservative, boardroom approach than the
backs because it offers the best forward sightlines and has excellent, mangled Bangle of the past.
plantain-size paddle shifters. It also has the most organic steering Looks can be deceiving, though. With a turbocharged 400-hp
feel, though effort is on the light side. Both the BMW and the Porsche V-8 that is admirably lag-free, the big BMW seems to shrink in size
have variable-ratio steering, which, especially in the BMW, filters as speeds increase and driver confidence grows, some achievement
out some linearity at the helm. for a 4475-pound car. This is a Saint Bernard–size chassis that thinks

STIMULANTS
B MW 750i
THE HIGHS > Supple interior, commodious inside,
deceivingly quick and competent on winding roads.
THE LOWS > Looks bland parked next to a
Maserati or a Porsche, no paddle shifters.
THE VERDICT > A full-size luxury car with the heart
(and much of the grace) of a 3-series.
P O R SCH E PANAMERA S
THE HIGHS > Hooked-up chassis, sculpted interior,
surprising fuel economy, divine transmission.
THE LOWS > Frustrating start-stop operation,
questionable styling, poor front and rear sightlines.
THE VERDICT > Built for speed and function,
it’s the ultimate four-seater.

M A S ERAT I Q UAT T RO PO RT E
THE HIGHS > Italian style, Italian power,
Italian sounds, Italian charm.
THE LOWS > Italian cost, Italian quirks,
no folding rear seat.
THE VERDICT > Brilliant on its own and full of
sprezzatura but lacks content compared with the others.
it’s a border collie. Attribute much of that to the 750i’s

dynamic anti-roll bars, rear-wheel steering, and variable-
rate dampers that act on both rebound and compression.
The variable-ratio rack and rear-wheel steering combine for
an artificial feel transmitted through the wheel. This can
become alarming when you’re pushing the car hard because
it allows it to rotate more immediately. It takes some getting
used to, but it’s surprisingly effective.
The 19-inch run-flat Goodyears fitted to the 750i are
tuned for comfort relative to the sports-car-bred Michelin
Pilot Sport PS2s on the Porsche and the Maserati’s Pirelli P
Zeros. Despite the tire handicap, the BMW managed a
respectable 67.6 mph through the lane-change maneuver,
although that was poorest in test, and 0.87 g on a small, 150-
foot-diameter skidpad. Stopping from 70 mph was weakest
in test, too, at 162 feet, which was five feet more than the QP
and four more than the Porsche. The BMW was also the
heaviest and paid its price for that in straight-line tests. It
took 5.2 seconds to hit the 60-mph mark from rest, which
was 0.7 second behind the Maserati. But by the time the cars
got to the quarter-mile, the gap had shrunk to 0.5 second,
with a time of 13.6 seconds for the BMW.
When we tried to play tag in the hills with the Maser and
the Porsche, the Bimmer was hindered by its lack of paddle

SUrPriSe: we goT 19 MPg oVer 450 MiLeS.
shifters. It would approach a corner in too high a gear, so we would economy as well as steering and brake feel. But the 25-point “fun
find ourselves groping for the joystick-like shifter in the center con- to drive” category stays.
sole to drop a couple of gears, only to have the transmission hesitate The Panamera’s styling has failed to win us over despite repeated
occasionally while the lead car pulled away. encounters with the car. It’s hulky and bulky, and from behind, it
However, there are no compromises in luxury or amenity. The seems to be retaining water. This hatchback has a grand amount of
back seat is both largest by volume and the most comfortable; it’s the room for full-size adults and their luggage—but seating in back is
only car that pleasantly accommodates three grown-ups. (The Pan- for two only, and its rear seats are the narrowest of the three cars
amera is for two only.) The BMW is also the quietest, whether at idle, here, hence the low scores for rear-seat comfort and space.
full throttle, or a 70-mph cruise. Most owners will not take the car From the inside looking out, the Panamera feels low and wide, and
to our extremes but will enjoy it for the expensive commuter that it its cockpit is the most attractively designed. However, the corners of
is. Still, it does have a true sporting side, which is a great byproduct the car can be difficult to see while parking, and the high beltline and
of a thoroughly engineered car. raked styling can make the cabin feel claustrophobic at times. At
night, the headlights of cars approaching from behind suddenly dis-
appear behind the rear shelf and the C-pillars. And with the optional
1. porsche panaMera s noise-insulating glass ($1120), those cars become not only invisible
Gentlemen and ladies, get your pens out because we have another but stealthily silent.
C/D comparo that has been decided by just a few points. As a We anticipated that the Panamera would get the best fuel econ-
caveat, take note that we no longer have the oft-reviled “gotta omy as it is the only one of the three not slapped with a gas-guzzler
have it” category baked into our evaluations. After so many scorn- tax, which ranges from $1000 to $7700 on cars that achieve less than
ful missives contending that this was a not-very-clever way to 22.5 mpg on the EPA’s unadjusted combined scale. However, we were
cook the books, we dumped it, redistributing some points to fuel pleasantly surprised by a figure of 19 mpg over 450 miles of varied

STIMULANTS
Maserati
BMW Quattroporte Porsche
750i Sport GT S Panamera S
VEHICLE
PR IC E BA SE > $82,280 $138,100 $90,775
PR IC E AS TESTE D > $104,230 $150,375 $130,855
DIMENSIONS
L E NGT H > 199.8 inches 200.7 inches 195.7 inches driving that included autobahn speeds up to
W I DT H > 74.9 inches 74.6 inches 76.0 inches
H E IGH T > 58.3 inches 56.6 inches 55.8 inches 150 mph. That’s 36 percent better fuel econ-
W H E E L BA SE > 120.9 inches 120.6 inches 115.0 inches omy than the next-best BMW’s 14 mpg.
F RON T T R AC K > 63.4 inches 62.3 inches 65.3 inches
R E A R T R AC K > 65.0 inches 62.8 inches 65.4 inches The good gas mileage was possible partly
I N T E R IOR VOLU M E > F: 57 cubic feet F: 48 cubic feet F: 48 cubic feet because the Porsche has a start-stop feature,
R: 49 cubic feet R: 43 cubic feet R: 38 cubic feet
C A RGO > 14 cubic feet 15 cubic feet 16 cubic feet which allows it to save fuel by shutting off its
WEIGHT engine instead of idling when it comes to a
CURB > 4475 pounds 4453 pounds 4101 pounds
%F RON T/%R E A R > 50.3/49.7 47.0/53.0 51.1/48.9 stop. The engine refires when the driver
FUEL releases the brake pedal. Interestingly
TA N K > 21.7 gallons 23.8 gallons 21.1 gallons
F U E L R AT I NG > 91 octane 91 octane 91 octane enough, U.S.-market Panameras all come
E PA C I T Y > 15 mpg 11 mpg 16 mpg with this feature, but owners will have to
E PA H W Y > 22 mpg 18 mpg 24 mpg
C/D 450 -M I L E TR I P > 14 mpg 13 mpg 19 mpg toggle it on every time they start the car.
P OW E RT R A I N Because the on position is not default, the
EPA did not enable it for the city portion of
E NGI N E > twin-turbocharged DOHC 32-valve V-8 DOHC 32-valve V-8
DOHC 32-valve V-8 286 cu in (4691cc) 293 cu in (4806cc) its fuel-economy testing. With the start-stop
268 cu in (4395cc) disabled, the EPA rates the Panamera at 16
POW E R BH P @ R PM > 400 @ 5500 433 @ 7100 400 @ 6500
TORQUE LB-FT @ RPM > 450 @ 1800 361 @ 4750 369 @ 3500 mpg in the city.
R E DL I N E > 6600 rpm 7200 rpm 6600 rpm But, like being the world’s most famous
L B PE R BH P > 11.2 10.3 10.3
DR I V E L I N E:
golfer, there’s an upside and a downside to
T R A NSM I SSION > 6-speed automatic 6-speed automatic 7-speed dual-clutch this feature. When the car comes to a stop
auto man and the 400-hp, 4.8-liter V-8 takes its sab-
DR I V E N W H E E LS > rear rear rear
GE A R R AT IO:1/ 1 4.17/5.5 1 4.17/5.0 1 5.97/3.8 batical, the engine restart is cumbersome,
M PH PE R 1000 R PM > 2 2.34/9.8 2 2.34/8.9 2 3.31/6.9
3 1.52/15.1 3 1.52/13.7 3 2.01/11.3
and switching from brake to throttle too
4 1.14/20.1 4 1.14/18.3 4 1.37/16.6 quickly causes the car to lurch. Releasing the
5 0.87/26.5 5 0.87/24.1 5 1.00/22.7
6 0.69/33.2 6 0.69/30.2 6 0.81/38.6
brake and letting the engine settle down
A X L E R AT IO:1 > 3.46 3.73 3.55 from its restart before rolling into the throt-
CHASSIS tle will save you some frustration and even a
SUSPE NSION > F: multilink,coil F: control arms, coil F: control arms, air little more gasoline.
springs, anti-roll bar springs, anti-roll bar springs, anti-roll bar The Panamera’s stellar seven-speed,
R: multilink,coil R: control arms, coil R: multilink,air
springs, anti-roll bar springs, anti-roll bar springs, anti-roll bar dual-clutch automated manual should be a
BR A K ES > F: 14.7-inch F: 14.2-inch drilled, F: 14.2-inch benchmark for transmission makers. Shifts
vented disc vented disc vented disc are brisk and sometimes even unnoticeable
R: 14.6-inch R: 13.0-inch drilled, R: 13.0-inch vented
vented disc vented disc disc in the least-sporting of the three settings,
ANTI-LOCK CONTROL > yes yes yes
STA BI L I T Y CON T ROL > yes yes yes which are normal, sport, and sport plus. In
T I R ES > Goodyear Pirelli Michelin sport plus, the transmission chooses the
Excellence RSC P Zero Pilot Sport PS2 lowest possible gear, which reduces the need
F: 245/45R-19 98Y ★ F: 245/35ZR-20 F: 255/45ZR-19
R: 275/40R-19 101Y ★ (95Y) (100Y) N0 to use the confusing and redundant push-
R: 295/30ZR-20 R: 285/40ZR-19
(101Y) (103Y) N0 pull shifters on the three- and nine-o’clock
C/D T E S T R E S u LT S spokes of the steering wheel.
Unfortunately, about the only option not
A C C E L E R AT I O N
0–30 M PH > 1.9 sec 1.7 sec 1.8 sec tacked onto our test car was the $1320 Sport
0 – 60 M PH > 5.2 sec 4.5 sec 4.6 sec Chrono package, which includes launch con-
0–100 M PH > 11.9 sec 11.0 sec 11.2 sec
0–150 M PH > 30.4 sec 32.1 sec 30.2 sec trol. Even without it, the Panamera was
1/4 M I L E @ M PH > 13.6 sec @ 107 13.1 sec @ 108 13.2 sec @ 109 plenty quick: just a tick off the Quattro-
ROL L I NG 5–60 M PH > 5.7 sec 5.0 sec 5.1 sec
TOP GEAR 30–50 MPH > 2.7 sec 3.3 mph 2.6 sec porte’s 0-to-60-mph sprint and quarter-
TOP GEA R 50–70 M PH > 3.6 sec 3.5 sec 3.1 sec mile mark, at 4.6 and 13.2 seconds, respec-
TOP SPE E D > 155 mph (gov ltd) 177 mph (drag ltd, 176 mph (drag ltd,
mfr claim) mfr claim) tively.
CHASSIS But our biggest question surrounding
BR A K I NG 70–0 M PH > 162 feet 157 feet 158 feet
ROADHOLDING,
the Panamera was how Porsche would sup-
150–FT–DIA SKIDPAD > 0.87 g 0.91 g 0.90 g ply this 4101-pound gorilla with the han-
L A N E C H A NGE > 67.6 mph 67.9 mph 69.1 mph
SOUND LEVEL dling and agility we have come to expect of
I DL E > 42 dBA 47 dBA 44 dBA its cars. On initial turn-in, this four-passen-
F U L L T H ROTT L E > 70 dBA 82 dBA 75 dBA
70–M PH C RU I SE > 65 dBA 70 dBA 69 dBA ger sedan reacts with piggish understeer: no
surprise there. But a blink later, the tires
seem to extend some traction spikes and dig
into the road, contradicting any counter-
measures the driver might have already
taken against the understeer. This trait

final RESUlTS
Rank
1 2 3 THE PORSCHE IS CAPABLE
OF WALKING AWAY
M
as
er
FROM THE OTHER TWO
M
at
ax
Po
iQ CARS ON BACK-ROAD
im
rs
ua
um
ch
ttr
eP
po
op BLASTS—IT JUST TAKES A

in
an
BM
ts
or
am
av
te
W
ai
GT
BIT OF CONFIDENCE.
75
ra
la
bl
0i
S
S
e
VEHiClE
DR I V E R COM FORT 10 9 10 10
E RgOnOM ICs 10 9 8 9
R E a R-sE aT COM FORT 5 3 5 4
R E a R-sE aT spaC E* 5 1 5 3
T Ru n k spaC E* 5 5 4 5
F E aT u R Es/a M E n I T I Es* 10 10 7 3
F I T a n D F I n I sh 10 10 10 7
I n T E R IOR sT y l I ng 10 10 8 8
E xT E R IOR sT y l I ng 10 7 7 10
R E baT Es/ E x T R a s* 5 0 1 0
a s-T EsT E D pR IC E* 20 15 20 11
su bTOTa l 100 79 85 70
p ow E RT R a i n
1/4-M I aCC E l E R aT IOn* 20 20 18 20
F l E x I bI l I T y * 5 4 4 4
F u E l ECOnOM y * 10 10 8 7
E ngI n E n V h 10 9 10 8
T R a nsM I ssIOn 10 10 8 10
su bTOTa l 55 53 48 49
CHaSSiS
pE R FOR M a nC E* 20 20 18 20
sT E E R I ng F E E l 10 8 7 9
bR a k E F E E l 10 10 9 8
h a n Dl I ng 10 10 9 10
R I DE 10 8 10 9
su bTOTa l 60 56 53 56
ExpERiEnCE
F u n TO DR I V E 25 21 16 25
GRAND TOTAL 240 209 202 200

made the lane-change test slightly spooky because the car felt like it would be
sliding off line and would then regain grip just in time to power through the
finish gate. Ultimately, though, the Panamera is seriously capable, clocking 69.1
mph in this test, a feat that’s nothing short of astonishing for a 76.0-inch-wide
car. The Panamera was second on the skidpad, at 0.90 g, trailing the Maser by
a scant 0.01 g.
Quirky turn-in and all, the Porsche is capable of walking away from the oth-
ers on back-road blasts; it just takes a bit of confidence in the car’s ability. Apply-
l a sT M a n sTa n DI ng: No clear winner stood out ing post-corner power is possible earlier than with the BMW and is without the
until the votes were tallied, so the resulting
nine-point separation from first place to last did occasional, but entertaining, power oversteer of the Maserati.
not surprise us. All three cars have strong merits, The Panamera triumphs because it’s the best compromise of luxury and
but the Panamera’s unique balance of opulence
and sports-car performance is what put it on top sport. It’s not as visceral as the Maserati or as luxurious as the BMW, but it
despite its unorthodox styling. drives as a Porsche should—i.e., it’s still exhilarating—and delivers Porsche-
level performance. It also has a gorgeous interior and feels the most hooked
*Tese objective scores are calculated from the vehicles’ dimensions,
capacities, rebates and extras, and/or test results.
up of the group. Too bad about the way it looks, but you won’t care from the
driver’s seat.

5.4.3.2
70

. 1
by Michael austin
photography by roy ritchie
BLaST
SPECIALTY FILE
OFF!
Jason Heffner Makes tHe LaMborgHini
gaLLardo LP560-4 an even faster rocket.
CA R A NDDR I V ER .COM M A RCH 2 010 71

i
HEFFNER LP850 TT
n the tuning world,

Jason Heffner has a special tal-
ent—he can get big power gains
from expensive exotic cars with-
out messing up their reliability.
Modifying a car such as the Lam-
borghini Gallardo LP560-4 is not
for the faint of heart. A mistake that results
in a blown Lambo engine can cost well more
to repair than the price of a new Mustang.
And with 552 original horsepower delivered
from the factory, it’s questionable how much
more performance can be squeezed from the
V-10. This is why Heffner’s latest effort, a
twin-turbo LP560-4, is technically a bar-
gain. For $39,000, he’ll cook up another 298
horsepower, which works out to just $130.87
per pony, for a new total of 850.
Heffner, 33, opened shop in the fall of
1998. We first crossed paths with him in
November 2006 when he showed us his
twin-turbo work on a Gallardo and a Ford
GT. Fifteen months later, he entered similar
cars in our “Zero to 200 and Back” competi-
tion; his Ford finished first, his Lambo third.
Turns out most of the work done in Heff-
WHere tHe Magic HaPPens

ner’s Sarasota, Florida, shop is on those two
cars, although he’s anticipating a lot of
demand for a forthcoming Audi R8 package. Two turbos and all the plumbing go in where the mufflers used to be.
All told, about 40 Gallardos have been fitted
with two turbos and a set of Heffner Perfor-
mance badges. Intake Intercoolers
The LP560-4 evolved from a standard Seven psi of peak boost runs through the Compressing air generates heat, so a
Gallardo when it got a new direct-injection, intake, but the mods end at the throttle pair of water-to-air intercoolers, tucked
5.2-liter V-10 for the 2009 model year. To bodies. It’s basically a bolt-on system. behind the taillights, helps lower the
then turn that car into what he calls the intake-charge temperature.
“LP850 TT,” Heffner swaps the stock exhaust
exhaust for one that incorporates a pair of “If anything, my customers ask me to turbochargers
Performance Turbo 6265 turbochargers, make it louder,” says Heffner. The turbos Normally obscured by a mesh plate,
which are downstream of the catalytic con- quell most of the noise around town, but these Performance Turbo units are the
verters and running about 7 psi of peak we still measured 93 decibels inside the size of cantaloupes. The exhaust-side
boost. Twin water-to-air intercoolers are cabin at full throttle. housing is covered in heat-shielding wrap.
tucked behind the taillamps and fed by a res-
ervoir that sits at the bottom of the front
storage compartment. That adds about 150 changing any internals, which suggests that On 93 octane, we hustled the twin-turbo
pounds to the car, which means that the Heffner’s belief that the V-10 is more robust Heffner through the quarter-mile in 10.4
LP850 TT has a power-to-weight ratio of 4.3 than its predecessor is accurate. seconds at 144 mph, 0.8 second quicker than
pounds per horsepower. By way of compar- Heffner tells us the secret to all this a stock LP560-4 and just 0.3 second behind
ison, the Bugatti Veyron’s ratio is 4.5 and the power is in the engine tuning, explaining the mighty Veyron. By 170 mph, the Heffner
Corvette ZR1’s is 5.3. that he can program the car for 100-octane LP850 TT is half a second ahead of the mil-
“It’s hard to believe the 560 comes from fuel and get an extra 100 horsepower or so lion-euro-plus Bugatti. Like we said, the
the same company that made the old Gal- if the buyer is willing to endure the hassle of Heffner is technically a bargain.
lardo,” Heffner says. The first Heffner searching for race gas. If an additional 400 Standing-start acceleration runs in the
Lambo we tested, in November 2006, had a horsepower versus the stock LP560-4’s is LP850 are exceedingly violent. In the first
long list of internal engine modifications somehow still inadequate, Heffner will give few feet, the launch-control logic—Heffner
and made 700 horsepower—188 more than you an engine with rebuilt internals and sticks with the stock programming—strains
what the factory offered. The LP850 TT is a higher turbo boost, with packages starting to restrict all the extra power from the
bigger improvement over stock without at $65,000. engine to prevent time-wasting wheelspin,

Full throttle
produces a banshee wail
so loud you can Feel
your clothes tremble.
The numbers
V EH IC L E TY PE >
mid-engine, 4-wheel-drive,
2-passenger, 2-door coupe
PR ICE AS TESTED > $305,745 (base price*:
$268,050)
ENGI N E TY PE > twin-turbocharged and
intercooled DoHC 40-valve V-10, aluminum
block and heads, direct fuel injection
DISPL AC Em ENT > 318 cu in, 5204cc
PowER (mfR’S CLAIm) > 850 bhp @ 8000 rpm
ToRquE (mfR’S CLAIm) > 608 lb-ft @ 6500 rpm
TR A NSm ISSIoN > 6-speed automated manual
DI m ENSIoNS:
Cu R b w EIGH T > 3652 lb
C / D T E ST R E S U LTS
Zero to 60 m ph > 2.9 sec
Z ERo To 100 m PH > 5.5 sec
STR EET STA RT, 5–60 m PH > 3.7 sec
Standing 1/4-m ile > 10.4 sec @ 144 mph
ToP SPEED
(R EDL I N E L I m ITED, m fR’S EST) > 202 mph
bR A k I NG, 70–0 m PH > 150 ft
RoA DHoLDI NG, 300-fT-DI A Sk I DPA D > 0.95 g
*Base price includes all performance-

enhancing options.
but once fully hooked up, the six-speed auto- speeds, the rumble from the exhaust is well Heffner has managed to enhance the
mated manual cracks through the gears like muted and you can carry on conversations at performance of the LP560-4 without cor-
it’s on a mission. And our test car, with its regular volumes. Heffner hasn’t altered the rupting its inherently brilliant drivability
stock clutch, held up under repeated, vicious brakes or the suspension, and we respect his and handling. And you get 54 percent more
launches. Can you blame us for taking a few wisdom not to fix what ain’t broke. All the power for 17 percent more money. Dare we
extra rides? horsepower is incredibly easy to manage, say “bargain” one more time?
There is a significant fear factor on initial and the four-wheel drive offers extra assur-
approach. At idle, the exhaust rumble and the ance in keeping the front end where you Heffner Performance, 4396 Independence
faint whirring of the turbos make the LP850 point it. The extra oomph from the turbo- Court, Sarasota, Florida 34234; 941-359-0900;
TT sound like some doomsday device in a chargers comes on more like a wave than an www.heffnersperformance.com.
Bond flick, and full throttle produces a ban- explosion. With the exception of a satisfying
shee wail so loud you can feel your clothes waste-gate flutter when you abruptly lift CARand DRivER. com
HEA R THE HEffNER lP850 TT sCREA M.
tremble. But in normal operation, the car from part throttle, the turbochargers are CARANDDRIVER.COM/HEFFNER
is surprisingly user-friendly. At cruising hardly noticeable.

FEATURE
Cash,
Love,
&
Tiny
Cars
Inside the world of
Hot WHeels
collectors.
M ark Fletcher
taps the two tiny, chipped toy cars on the velvet cloth in front of him:
a gold ’68 Mustang and an orange-metallic ’68 Cougar. “These are
my childhood cars,” he says.
Fletcher, an unemployed Arizona computer salesman, is now 50.
But back in 1968, when he was eight and visiting relatives in Southern
California, his father took him and his brothers shopping for Hot
Wheels, only to discover that the local toy store was closed. Desper-
ate to avoid a mutiny, his dad found an old Hot Wheels package in their
car, located the manufacturer’s address on the back, and began driv-
ing in that direction. It was late in the day when he arrived at Mattel’s
corporate headquarters, and hardly anyone was around, but a secre-
tary responded to his pleas.
She rummaged in someone’s
desk and grabbed these two
cars: handmade, chrome-
plated demonstration models
used by salesmen to drum up
department-store orders. “I
was the youngest,” Fletcher
says, rolling one of the cars
back and forth, tenderly, “so
I got last pick. I cried because
there was a crack in the wind-
shield of mine.”

by BR ET T BER K
photography by TED SOQUI

FEATURE
We’re at the 23rd-annual Hot Wheels

Collectors Convention. More specifically,
we’re in a small banquet room in the Los
Angeles Airport Marriott, at an invite-only
party where the VIPs of the toy-car world
show off their rare treasures. Little vehicles,
lovingly displayed in custom mirrored cases,
line the walls. All around us, middle-aged
men talk animatedly about their toys.
Fletcher lets us pick up one of his cars.
It’s familiar—warm and worn and with a sat-
isfying heft—and a rush of nostalgia ensues.
Many Americans who grew up loving cars
had cases filled with these as boys. But it’s
one of the only times we will hold one here.
This hands-off policy makes sense.
These toys have become a serious business.
When we ask Fletcher about the value of his
childhood relics, he estimates about $10,000
for the pair. We guess he’s not crying over
split windshields now. Or is he? They’d be
worth four times as much, he says later, “if
they weren’t play worn.”
h
ow did we get to the five-figure,
museum-piece Hot Wheels?
Having conquered contempo-
rary girlhood with the Barbie
doll in 1959, the folks at Southern Califor-
nia–based Mattel trained their sights on advanced engineering: The cars all had light- produce and sell profitably for less than a
boys. Hoping to improve on what he thought weight, aluminum-zinc alloy construction; buck. Manufacturing was moved overseas to
were bland toy cars being produced by integrated suspensions; and low-friction save on labor costs, designs were simplified
Matchbox and Corgi, intrepid company co- wheels that allowed scale speeds of up to to save on production expenses, and the
founder Elliot Handler asked his designers 200 mph on the brand’s customizable paint formula was shifted from its pricey
to develop a superior line of stylized, little orange plastic track. (Sold separately!) (and lead-rich) metallic to cheaper enamel.
metal vehicles that would run quickly on But like the classic muscle cars on which Hot Wheels held the line on pricing, but
smooth surfaces and capitalize on the bur- they were often based, the first generation sales still fell.
geoning local muscle-car and hot-rod cul- of Hot Wheels—now known as “redlines” Handler attempted to diversify his way
Hot WHeels are consistently tHe most

populous eBay category, WitH an average of
25,000 veHicles up for auction at any time.
ture. (Company lore has it that the brand for the thin red band that runs around their out of the slump, expanding the Hot Wheels
name came from a comment made by Han- tires—were made only through the early line to include die-cast motorcycles, trains,
dler about one of his designer’s rides, a 1970s. Their demise was caused by some of airplanes, and bizarre human-machine
chopped El Camino: “Those are some hot the same factors as those of their roadgoing hybrids. These items generally met with a
wheels!”) counterparts: inflation and the spike in oil lukewarm reception from consumers. How-
The toys were an instant smash when the prices. (The little cars didn’t run on gas, but ever, the company’s licensing department
first 16 models were shown in 1968, eliciting the big industry that built and transported found a means to succeed without the risk of
millions of orders from national retail chains them certainly did.) inventing new toys: Simply place the corpo-
and handily outselling all rivals. Their suc- The cars were also victims of their own rate seal on existing products. Hot Wheels
cess was attributed equally to the tweaked groundbreaking uniqueness. Their complex has since stamped its logo on almost any-
realism of their designs, their garish candy- stampings, buffed metal bodies, and flashy thing that will take an imprint: lunchboxes,
metallic paint, their sub-$1 price, and their paint made them increasingly difficult to headbands, sheets, coffee cups, yo-yos,

Clockwise: retired head
designer Larry Wood, in
his garage; customized
car; collector’s tattoo;
handmade signs
advertising the “rooms”;
an array for sale
inside a room.
toothbrushes, watches, cake decorations, collectors to exchange information and mil- drawn signs and propped-open doors, the
laptops, even hair gel. Still, Mattel has con- lions of dollars’ worth of little cars. rooms are a serial bazaar for Hot Wheels
tinued making little 99-cent cars. And 41 But as the hobby has become more com- hoarders. Inside each one, cars for sale shim-
years later, it’s the No. 1 toy-car brand in the modified, it’s grown away from the toys’ mer on every surface: “in blister” or “loose”
United States, having produced over 4 bil- humble $1 roots. Rare, original redlines— (in their original packaging or out); on dress-
lion vehicles. those that look new, were produced in lim- ers and chairs; in velvet cases and under shop
Until last year, affable hot-rodder Larry ited numbers, or feature bloopers such as lights; and, ubiquitously, covering the beds.
Wood was the company’s head designer. mismatched wheels—now routinely trade There are toy cars here for $5, $50, $500.
“For the first 15 years, I just did my job, and for thousands of times their original price. There is a Classic ’31 Ford Woody for $9000,
no one cared,” says Wood, now 67, when we There have been forgeries, where unscrupu- a VW Beach Bomb for $12,000, and a pink
visit his Long Beach garage, where he walks lous dealers create fake rarities by repaint- Superfine Turbine whose owner simply
us through his huge collection of tiny-car ing vehicles in uncommon colors or carefully laughs when we ask what he’s asking.
memorabilia (and his larger collection of installing desirable “errors.” It’s created a Sid Belzberg, a Canadian software CEO,
life-size vehicular retirement projects). layer of “pickers,” who scour flea markets is here, looking to fill holes in his collection,
“Sales went up. Sales went down. Then, about and grandmas’ attics for hidden gems to a million-dollar hoard that includes the first
20 years in, the kids who’d bought the origi- resell. And it’s caused divisiveness in the col- Hot Wheels ever produced. “We’re category
nal cars started to become dads, and these lectors’ world where, as postal worker Rafael killers,” Belzberg says of himself and his wife
dads started buying the cars for their kids, Cerillo says, “It’s not a question of what you Alicia, describing how they’ve dominated
and things just went through the roof.” want to collect anymore. It’s a question of markets in tin toys, ancient coins, and
This same nostalgia has fueled the what you can afford to collect.” pocket watches. “We collect until we get
remarkable escalation in the toys’ collect- everything there is.”
ibility. Thousands of adult fans now attend And there’s puckish, 48-year-old real-
W
local and national collector conventions. estate broker Bruce Pascal from Washing-
Hot Wheels are consistently the most hat you can afford certainly ton, D.C., who, in addition to being a walking
populous eBay category, with an average of figures prominently in the toy-car wiki and a member of the Diecast
25,000 vehicles up for auction at any “rooms,” the commercial Hall of Fame, is famous for owning the most
time. And sites such as diecastspace.com, hub of the collector con- expensive Hot Wheels ever purchased: a
redlinesonline.com, and Mattel’s own ventions. Arrayed throughout various floors pink 1969 VW Bus for which he’s said to have
hotwheelscollectors.com allow legions of of the host hotel, and advertised by hand- paid about $70,000 in 2000. While he sus-

Clockwise from top: treasures on display;
pink Superfine Turbine in blister, one of two
known in existence; Mark Fletcher (seated)
recruits for the Blister Pack Liberation Army.
pects that things have come down from the

peak of the market, he feels confident that
the high end remains strong. “There’s still
money in the hobby,” he assures us. By way
of example, he relates the story of a picker
who paid $56,000 in cash for a set of cars the
day before. “The guy he bought them for will
part them out on eBay a few pieces at a time
and will probably gross around $80,000.”
But even in this acquisitive environment
we uncover another sentiment, one based
less on picking, parting, or killing and more
on affection. “When I’m looking for a car,”
long-haired, longtime L.A. collector Mark
Randall says, “I’m attracted first to what’s
pretty. It’s like a girl. You see her across a
room and you know you like her, but the per-
son next to you might have a totally different
opinion.” He opens a small padded case.
Inside is evidence of his passionate obses-
sion: a rainbow of pristine, loose “Heavy
Chevys”—a rodded-out, first-generation
Camaro. “Which one catches your eye?” he
asks. We point to a spotless, olive-green
F-body, a color we believe few others would
find pretty. But Randall smiles, generously.
“You have excellent taste,” he says, nodding
like a sensei. “That’s the most desirable color boys push a button, and a heavy steel press tors, few have stories of giving one away,
for this casting.” descends, crushing the toy into a flattened even as children. Their anecdotes also
This obsessiveness runs even deeper disc of plastic and metal. The young perpet- poignantly reveal the Liberators’ distance
among customizers, the fastest-growing uators of the hobby squeal with delight. from the toys’ elemental nature. “The last
segment of the hobby. These folks spend time I opened a blister pack,” Belzberg con-
days chopping, welding, and painting these fesses, “was in 1969.”
W
tiny cars, just for fun and show. Generosity Finally, each holds up his or her tiny
is another hallmark of this sub-subculture. e finally locate the collec- package. Onlookers cringe and shout offers
When customizers meet at conventions, tors’ collective heart at a to buy them, intact. But every member liber-
their signature act is to give away a car meeting of the Blister Pack ates each little car from its brittle prison—
they’ve decorated, an object and action they Liberation Army. This though they all do so with care, like a bride
call a random act of kindness. “We’ll leave group formed about 10 years ago and is opening wedding gifts.
here with 100 cars,” Chicago customizer coordinated by childhood car hoarder And as they linger and chat afterwards,
Brian Thorby says, introducing his wife and Fletcher. The gathering is ad hoc and surrep- they share a vital, if hermetic, camaraderie,
two young sons. “Guys in the rooms will see titious—occurring off the convention’s as if they’ve been liberated as well, freed to
the kids and just let them pick out a car for agenda, at 11 p.m., outside the hotel’s shut- revel in the cars’ innocent joys.
free.” Why this outpouring of benevolence? tered ballrooms—but is open to anyone who “Everyone thinks we’re stupid, taking a
Biological imperative. “They’ve got to keep brings a classic redline, still in its original valuable package and ripping it open.”
the kids in it,” Thorby says. “It perpetuates 40-year-old package. (Such a seal multiplies Fletcher says, standing behind a table lit-
the hobby.” a car’s value three to ten times.) tered with cardboard and yellowed plastic.
Intrigued by this statement, we follow Fletcher tells the 20 or so persons gath- “But we spend five days here trading cars for
Thorby’s sons briefly as they explore the ered there: “Introduce yourselves by money, looking for the perfect piece. This
convention floor. They lead us to one of their answering two questions: Which cars did event is about reminding ourselves that
favorite features: a glass-fronted machine you give away as a kid, and why?” these cars weren’t perfect, even right out of
near the merchandise room, about the size The Liberators take turns presenting. the package. It’s about having a beautiful
and shape of an average household aquar- While nearly all of them have a heartwarm- thing that you can touch and hold rather
ium. We watch as they feed a Hot Wheels car ing tale of receiving a car—from a beloved than just value.” He rolls a car in his hand,
into a hole in its side. The car rolls down a grandma, from a resentful sibling, from a studying it beatifically. “It changes your
ramp and stops on a platform. Then, the friend at a convention—being innate collec- relationship to a car. It becomes yours.”

SPORT
NASCAR
PANS FOR FOREIGN
GOLD
If Marcos aMbrose’s SprInt Cup
proSpeCtS are any IndICatIon,
naSCar’S good ol’ boyS may be gettIng
more paSSport-wIeldIng CompetItorS.
hen he isn’t racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Marcos

Ambrose pans for gold, a hobby he acquired back home in Tas-
mania and brought with him to North Carolina. “I’m not very
good at it,” he says, but he was good enough to be featured in
some episodes of Gold Fever, an Outdoor Channel cable series
that followed him to Tasmania during the off-season to film his
prospecting adventures. And when a crew from the Australian
version of 60 Minutes came to North Carolina to do a story on
him, he took the crew panning for gold outside Charlotte.
“We didn’t find much,” Ambrose says. “We never do. But it’s nice to
have a backup plan.”
As the first Australian to compete in NASCAR’s top series in two
decades, Ambrose thought he needed a plan B when he came to the U.S.,
after dominating V-8 Supercar racing Down Under.
“I thought I’d be here for six months, run a few races, then be sent
home,” Ambrose says. That was four years ago, when he started out in
the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2006, before moving up
to the second-tier Nationwide series in 2007. “I had hoped it would work
out, but given the past history of foreign drivers in NASCAR, I was well
by Ste v en Cole Sm ith aware of the possibility it wouldn’t.”
80 M a rch 2 010 ca r a nDDr i V er .coM i l l u s t r a t i o n by r o b i n e l e y

81

SPORT
There is a precedent for that, even with a

fellow countryman. In 1989, in his NASCAR
debut, Australian Touring Car champion
Dick Johnson was running well at Sears
Point, with seven laps to go. Entering a right-
hand turn, Johnson slid on an oily track and
high-sided his red Ford Thunderbird onto a
tire barrier, the nose of the car pointed at the
sky. Thinking it would be entertaining to
have an in-car camera, ESPN also wired it
for sound so fans could hear the Australian
accent. The announcers and viewers at home and 2009 NASCAR Nationwide races at Madras, India; and Karachi, Pakistan.
were startled to hear Johnson shout, as he Watkins Glen and finished seven times in And there was a pair of two-fers: Duno is
hit the tires, “Ah, f---!” After a pause, com- the top 10 in his first full Sprint Cup season. from Caracas, Venezuela, and rookie Alison
mentator Benny Parsons translated: “I think For that, he earned $4,187,040. “He’s the MacLeod is from the province of Ontario.
that was Australian for ‘Whoops!’ ” real deal,” says Dick Berggren, pit reporter Those ARCA hopefuls are the tip of the
Johnson lasted six more NASCAR races for Fox’s TV coverage of NASCAR. “He is iceberg, and some traditionalists are con-
(three in 1989, three in 1990), but the crusty the only new driver able to step in and seem- cerned that this iceberg is in the path of the
Australian was not exactly sponsor-friendly, ingly master the ‘Car of Tomorrow.’ Keep an USS Sprint Cup. They point out that open-
and he returned home. Twenty years later, eye on him.” wheel racing in the U.S. is struggling and
Ambrose’s 2009 Sprint Cup rookie season He may be the transition personality, the suggest that it has been since so many for-
was everything Johnson’s wasn’t. He’s been template for how foreign drivers can slip eign drivers entered the CART and IRL
voted the 12th-most-popular NASCAR across NASCAR’s border. Change appears series. Twenty-three of the 33 drivers in the
driver, and he knows what to say when the to be coming. For the overwhelming major- 2009 Indianapolis 500 were foreign-born,
microphone is on and off. ity of NASCAR drivers over the history of which is fewer than it sometimes has been,
NASCAR was founded in 1948, and while the sport, there were three central criteria: but many enthusiasts would like to see more
there have been more than 50 foreign-born Be white, be American, be male. Americans, if for no other reason than
drivers to race in the top stock-car series, In the top level of the series, only four watching a future superstar get a start at
only in the past few years have any begun to drivers who do not fit that description have your home track makes for a lifelong fan.
gain long-haul traction: Juan Pablo Mon- won: Wendell Scott, the pioneering African- Not many current NASCAR drivers have
toya, the Colombian who migrated from American driver, who won a race in Jackson- addressed this, but Jeff Burton came as close
Formula 1 and, more quietly, Ambrose. ville, Florida, in 1963; Italy-born Mario as anyone: “I view it as a flattering commen-
There are not many Montoyas out there. Andretti, who parachuted into NASCAR for tary on our sport that other forms of drivers
But there might be a lot of Ambroses. a Daytona 500 win in 1967; Earl Ross, one of want to come to our sport,” he says but adds:
Is Ambrose the new face of NASCAR? multiple Canadians who have snuck across “The controversial thing is, at what point do
Maybe. He has just signed a new contract the border to race in NASCAR, won at Mar- we not have enough American drivers to
with sponsor Little Debbie for 2010, and you tinsville in 1974; and Montoya, with one vic- attract the American fan.”
can expect to see snack-food TV commer- tory in his 109 starts. This was June 2007 at Too many foreign drivers have “some
cials featuring Ambrose and his “wisecrack- Infineon Raceway, the California road potential negative consequences,” Burton
ing koala sidekick, Sydney,” who is often course previously called Sears Point and the says, “as I think we’ve seen in other forms of
wrapped around Ambrose’s neck in promo- site of Dick Johnson’s indiscretion. motorsports. We American fans, for the
tional photos. Though the sport has not produced a most part, like to pull for American drivers.
“His personality is infectious,” says Brad candidate that counters all three of the That’s just how it is.”
Daugherty, the former NBA star who is one white-American-male stereotypes, a star- It isn’t discrimination, though, that has
of Ambrose’s team owners. He is speaking of tling number of prospects are lining up that kept foreign-born drivers out of NASCAR—
Ambrose, not the koala. And, by the way, aren’t white, aren’t American, and definitely it’s the fact that it’s a tough nut to crack for
Daugherty is on record as having no interest aren’t male. any driver not named Earnhardt. Some who
in panning for gold. Of course, when you are The ARCA series, which typically fea- have tried, and failed, to move from other
seven feet tall, it’s a long way down there. tures cars that have been retired from the series to NASCAR include undeniably tal-
Calm, compact, and balding slightly, Sprint Cup Series, has been the principal ented drivers such as Dario Franchitti of
there is something in Ambrose’s demeanor feeder for NASCAR. Take a look at the ARCA Scotland; Christian Fittipaldi of Brazil; and
and blue-gray eyes that makes him a media show now, and it may be how NASCAR will Jacques Villeneuve, Patrick Carpentier, and
darling, unthreatening to fans who may be a look in five years. At the December test at Paul Tracy of Canada.
bit uncomfortable with Montoya, who Daytona International Speedway, a sort of It isn’t easy, but it can be done. “Of all the
brought some of that F1 attitude of superior- casting couch for NASCAR where prospec- drivers I’ve raced around the world, I think
ity to NASCAR. Apparently the good ol’ boys tive drivers hope to get noticed, 10 of the 75 Sprint Cup–series racing is by far the hard-
in the grandstands find a good ol’ mate from entries were women, including the Indy est challenge I’ve ever encountered,” says
Australia a little more familiar than a good Racing League’s Danica Patrick and Milka Ambrose. “And I think you’ll get the same
ol’ muchacho from South America. Duno. There were five Canadians, plus one answer from Dario Franchitti, Scott Speed,
Ambrose is now 33 and has won the 2008 driver each from Hong Kong, China; Juan Pablo Montoya. All of us who have
82 M a rch 2 010 ca r a nDDr i V er .coM

Clockwise: Ambrose wins the Clipsal 500
Adelaide on his Down Under home turf;
Jarno Trulli considers NASCAR;
Colombian Montoya has one victory.
14 drivers in lesser feeder series. NASCAR

also has a program to help recruit minority
team crew members.
NASCAR is, however, a business, one
that seldom leaves money on the table. Over-
seas exposure is good for many NASCAR
sponsors, such as Coca-Cola, that do busi-
ness in other countries. Ambrose says that
even though he was a hero driver in Austra-
lia, with back-to-back Supercar V-8 champi-
onships, “I’m better known now when I go
home, after four years in NASCAR, than
when I was racing at home.” And NASCAR
chairman Brian France doesn’t discount
Montoya’s marketability: “His credentials,
his aggressive style, his connection to the
Hispanic population—it’s very good for us.”
come from different categories and high- Nationwide, Camping World trucks—the Indeed, “All exposure is good,” says
profile motorsports around the world have total grid is enormous. At the season-finale Ramsey Poston, managing director of cor-
to some degree been humbled.” weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, porate communications for NASCAR.
“I’ve been in Formula 1,” Montoya says. NASCAR started 43 Sprint Cup cars, 43 NASCAR already broadcasts to about 160
“I’ve been in Indy cars, I’ve been in CART Nationwide cars, and 36 Camping World countries, but there is no argument that hav-
and Grand-Am, and the best racing is right trucks, meaning there were 122 opportuni- ing a driver from a certain country compet-
here,” in NASCAR. “I’m not saying that ties for a driver to earn a paycheck. ing in NASCAR gives a “bump to the viewer-
because I’m here. I’m saying it because I’ve Plus, says Saxton, “NASCAR gives racers ship there,” Poston says.
lived all of them.” so much more exposure than any other form But to really make money with a foreign
And still the drivers come. In November, of the sport. The opportunities for endorse- connection, “I think NASCAR has to race in
Formula 1 driver Jarno Trulli, 35, a veteran ments and merchandise sales are huge. Look other countries,” says Dan Davis, former
of 216 grand-prix starts, was belted into a at Dale Earnhardt Jr.—he can’t win, but he head of Ford Motorsports and the man
NASCAR Toyota Camry Sprint Cup car at still rakes in the money with his merchan- responsible for bringing Ambrose to the U.S.
the little New Smyrna Speedway in Florida, dise and endorsement deals.” and finding him that first ride. “And with the
trying to learn how to steer a 3500-pound Money, then—to no one’s surprise—is a Sprint Cup schedule what it is, I can’t imag-
race car in a circle. Trulli lost his Formula 1 prime motivator. Starbeast Motorsports is ine NASCAR would be willing to alienate
ride at the end of the 2009 season when Toy- a new North Carolina–based sports-market- fans and tracks here that want a Cup date, to
ota shuttered its team, and he expressed ing firm headed by Miguel Abaroa, a native import one or more overseas.” And they
interest in a move to NASCAR. He has since of Mexico who competed as an open-wheel won’t, says Poston. “But what could happen
signed with F1 startup Lotus for 2010, but he racer. Abaroa brought two drivers to the is that we could export our expertise. We’ve
did not rule out an eventual return to ARCA test at Daytona in December: Indian had inquiries from different countries, and
NASCAR. “I didn’t know about NASCAR driver Narain Karthikeyan, who spent a we’d always be open to the idea of bringing
until Juan Pablo Montoya made his move,” season racing for Jordan in Formula 1, and them our capabilities—‘Here’s how you do
Trulli says. “The world has changed. Every- Chinese driver Darryl O’Young of Hong it, here’s how you market it, here’s how your
one is looking at different series.” Kong, a sports-car racer who has competed rulebook should read, here’s what the sched-
One day before Trulli’s drive in the in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. ule should look like, here’s how the track
m ontoya PH otograP H from getty i m ages
NASCAR Sprint Camry, former F1 driver So what is Abaroa’s plan? “The goal is to should be set up.’ ”
Mika Salo tested the same car at the same eventually bring stock-car racing to the And that would not be unprecedented.
track. Salo, who has 109 grand-prix starts, 2.5 billion potential Chinese and Indian There is already a NASCAR Mexico, and in
has been racing sports cars since leaving fans,” he says. “This is a first step.” Neither Canada, there’s the NASCAR Canadian Tire
Formula 1. He has class wins at Le Mans, driver has sponsorship yet for this stock-car Series, which NASCAR bought in 2006,
Petit Le Mans, and Sebring, and he admits season, but Abaroa is hopeful. “It is hard to replacing the old CASCAR series.
he is looking hard at NASCAR, hoping to find sponsors here,” he says, “but there are For drivers like Marcos Ambrose,
find a ride for 2010. companies overseas that are doing quite well NASCAR participation for nontraditional
Why NASCAR, why now? and may be interested in backing drivers drivers is a win-win. “I like to think I’m
“There are so many more opportunities from their country.” doing quite a bit for NASCAR,” he says, “but
in NASCAR,” says Ernie Saxton, publisher For NASCAR’s part, the sanctioning I know it’s doing a lot for me.”
of Motorsports Sponsorship Marketing News. body has backed a “Drive for Diversity” pro- And if the gold runs out? Well, Ambrose
With three professional series—Sprint Cup, gram since 2004, and in 2009 helped place knows where to look for more.
ca r a nDDr i V er .coM M a rch 2 010 83

RIG
LONG-TERM TEST
Little
2009 Volkswagen Jetta tDI
With the exception of two
model years, 2007 and 2008,
Volkswagen has been selling
diesel-powered cars in the
U.S. since 1977. And yet, the
2009 Jetta TDI is the first
VW diesel we’ve put through a long-term test.
In the past, we shied away from them
because many of the old VW diesels made less
than 100 horsepower (and some less than 60).
Their engines sacrificed horsepower at the altar
of economy. And aside from their ability to
stretch a gallon of fuel, those diesels qualified as
noisy, dirty, and slow automotive hair shirts.
Then, in 2007, the EPA’s new Tier 2 emis-
sions laws required diesels to be as clean as their
gasoline counterparts. Playing catch-up, VW
spent ’07 and ’08 with a diesel hole in its U.S.
lineup while engineers worked to meet the new
rules with a heavily revised 16-valve, 2.0-liter
turbo-diesel four-cylinder that came with a par-
ticulate trap and a catalyst to kill off oxides of
nitrogen (NOx ). The Jetta TDI that emerged is
clean enough to satisfy the emissions laws of all
50 states without resorting to urea injection,
plus, it is powerful (140 horses) and quick enough
(0 to 60 mph in 8.1 seconds) to satisfy us. In fact,
our TDI proved to be as quick to 60 as a manual
five-cylinder gas Jetta.
But the real draw of the diesel Jetta has
always been, and remains, its fuel economy. Over
our 39,678-mile test (VW snatched back its car
just before we could hit the 40,000-mile mark),
our Jetta TDI consumed diesel at a rate of 38
big
At lAst, A VW diesel proVes it cAn be A
by tony Quiroga
photography by CHarLiE MagEE

plAyer on MAin-street AMericA.
87

LONG-TERM TEST
R A N T S A N D R AV E S
STEVE SPENCE
If you’re always in a hurry,
this car’s throttle response
will be your aggravation-
come-true.
PATRICK BEDARD
Spending a buck more
for diesel fuel [than regular
unleaded] paints a grim
picture for cars that require it.
RUSS FERGUSON
Just got 600 miles on one
tank. Wow! I would spend
my money on this vehicle.
DAVE VANDERWERP
Seems like a great little We praised the Jetta’s interior materials,
but rattles and a few mysterious
diesel for the masses, but electrical gremlins annoyed us.
not much speaks to the
enthusiast.
mpg. That number has only been bettered complaint. Instead of the three-pedal man-
twice by C/D long-termers: A 2000 Honda ual, we’d ordered the two-pedal, dual-clutch
SUSAN MATHEWS Insight returned 48 mpg over 40,000 miles, automated manual DSG, a $1100 option on
Every now and then, I get and a 1992 Honda Civic VX got 41 mpg over our $24,190 test car.
just a whiff of diesel as I 35,000 miles. From a stop, the DSG automatically
drive along. Or maybe I’m With its 14.5-gallon tank, our diesel Jetta engages a clutch when the driver toes the
imagining it. easily made 500-mile runs without a fuel throttle. But the engagement is slow enough
stop, so it found itself trolling the interstates to allow the engine to rev up, and once the
a lot. A kidney strainer and bladder buster of clutch does engage, the car lurches forward.
CAROLYN PAVIA-RAUCHMAN the highest order, the little VW went more Often the lurches were severe enough to
Beeping “low-fuel” warning than 500 miles on a single tankful 26 times break the traction of the front tires, which
scared me into pulling into a out of 100 fill-ups. Its most impressive dis- then summons the traction control into
service station. But the trip tance was 616 miles during a 42.5-mpg cruise action, which, in turn, shuts down the power.
computer showed a 110-mile from Dulles, Virginia, to Dundee, Michigan. Previous experience with a DSG in our long-
range. All that noise with During its 13-month stay with us, there were term 2006 VW GTI [December 2007] did
over a hundred miles left? no complaints about the availability of diesel elicit complaints about slow clutch engage-
fuel, but there were some gripes about the ment, but some of the blame must attach to
cost of it: While its price fluctuated, a gallon the lag of the TDI’s 2.0-liter turbo-diesel. At
CORA WEBER of diesel often cost a dollar more than regu- best, it’s an annoyance, but editor-at-large
Unlike the GTI, this Jetta is lar gas. John Phillips did experience the car’s com-
the antithesis of smooth Long treks on interstates elicited love plete refusal to move when the Jetta acted as
around town. Lurchy, laggy, sonnets to the Jetta’s silent and lazy though it had slipped itself into neutral.
surgy, jerky—like an demeanor, its GTI-grade handling, and the “Turning against oncoming traffic, the Jetta
unamusing amusement- effortless whack of its 236 pound-feet of refused to move. Full throttle and zero
park ride. torque. They also revealed the folly of a movement; happened twice . . . If this were
speedo that promises 160 mph but, in real- my car, I’d sell it.” No other drivers had the
ity, never reaches past a governed 125 mph; same experience, so we chalked it up to an
MICHAEL AUSTIN we also discovered (fortunately before the exaggeration about the slow-to-respond
You people are nuts. cops did) that the speedo read slow (a true transmission.
No problems with throttle speed of 82 mph was an indicated 80). And then, at the end of the Jetta’s time
tip-in here. While the reviews on the open road were with us, Volkswagen issued a recall for a
good, around town the Jetta’s transmission group of DSG-equipped cars that experi-
and the car’s turbo lag drew complaint after enced problems exactly like the one

FEATURES
...
conomy
ing fuel e
Astonish
. . . led to a ra
nge over 600
miles.
described by our Mr. Phillips. But according engine barely created enough heat to affect equipped, so we shivered our way to work on
to VW, our Jetta was not among the afflicted coolant temperatures. As a result, the heater cold days.
cars. Later, in a thoughtful gesture, VW struggled to produce warm air, even on Our TDI’s tightwad nature extended to
extended the powertrain warranty for all 40-degree days. One stingingly cold morn- the cost of maintaining it. Like all 2009
’09 models with DSGs from 5 years/60,000 ing, at 10-below, the Jetta’s coolant needle VWs, our Jetta came with free maintenance
miles to 10 years/100,000 miles. Make of didn’t move at all, even after driving 20 for three years/36,000 miles. Service inter-
that what you will. miles. “Thankfully this Jetta has heated vals come at 10,000-mile increments, and
A long, bitter Michigan winter revealed a seats, otherwise I might be frostbitten,” a the trip computer provides a reminder. The
few of this VW’s diesel peculiarities. Freez- staffer reported. To deal with this shortcom- first service calls for an oil and filter change
ing temps required longer cranking times ing, Canadian models come with an electric and a handful of inspections. The 20,000-
than we were used to, but the Jetta never heater that will blow warm air even when mile service adds battery and tire checks to
failed to start, nor did it belch out any engine temps are too low to produce any the list of inspections but is otherwise the
exhaust smoke. Once running, the diesel heat. Our U.S.-spec TDI was not thus same as the 10,000-mile stop. The 30K ser-
C/D FLEET FILES
2009 Honda Pilot Touring 4WD 36,180 miles • 19 observed mpg

Since we last enumerated our Pilot’s adventures, it has had a busy life, including three routine
services (from a low of $117 to a high of $150). It has towed three trailers, carried a go-kart in its
luggage compartment, and hauled photo and camping gear to Montana for our “The Hard Way to
Hemingway” feature [December 2009]. Out west, its ability to wade through 19 inches of water
gen es is PH otograPH by m ark gil lies
was a boon. Complaints? This SUV is truckish—a little awkward in urban environments. But, as
one editor countered, “It makes me wonder why anyone would pay extra for an Acura MDX.”
2009 Hyundai Genesis 4.6 28,993 miles • 21 observed mpg

The term “Lexus-like” keeps cropping up in the Genesis’s logbook, which will no doubt be seen
as mission accomplished by the Korean automaker. It’s a terrific long-distance cruiser, as we
proved on a recent 6000-mile trek. The only glitch so far with the car—and it’s one that has
recurred—was the audio unit getting stuck in Bluetooth phone mode. That killed the sound,
leaving us with the prospect of 5500 potentially entertainment-free miles ahead. On the road,
someone from Hyundai gave us the reboot sequence; back home, a Hyundai dealer cured it.

LONG-TERM TEST
T h E N u m bE R S
2009 Volkswagen
Jetta tDI
V EH IC L E TY PE >
front-engine, front-wheel-drive,
5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PRICE AS TESTED > $24,190 (base price: $23,090)
ENGI N E TY PE > turbocharged and intercooled
soHC 16-valve diesel inline-4, iron block and aluminum
head, direct fuel injection
DIsPL aCEm EN T > 120 cu in, 1968cc
Pow Er (sa E N ET) > 140 bhp @ 4000 rpm
Torqu E (sa E N ET) > 236 lb-ft @ 1750 rpm
Tr a Nsm IssIoN > 6-speed dual-clutch automated manual
w H EEL basE > 101.5 in L ENGTH > 179.3 in w I DTH > 70.1 in
H EIGH T > 57.4 in Cu r b w EIGH T > 3353 lb
P E R FO R M A N C E NEW 40,000
ZERO TO 60 M PH > 8.1 sec 8.3 sec
Z Ero To 100 m PH > 25.1 sec 25.6 sec
sTr EET sTa rT,
5–60 m PH > 9.6 sec 9.6 sec
sTaNDING 1/4-mILE > 16.4 sec@84 mph 16.5 sec@84 mph
brakING, 70–0 mPH > 185 ft 177 ft
roa DHoL DI NG,
300-fT-DIa skIDPaD > 0.81 g* 0.82 g*
ToP sPEED (GoV Er Nor L I m ITED) > 125 mph
EPa fu EL ECoNom Y, CITY/H IGH waY Dr I V I NG > 29/40 mpg
C/D- OBSERVED FUEL ECONOMY > 38 mpg
u NsCH EDu L ED oI L a DDITIoNs > 0 qt
*Stability-control-inhibited.
WA R R A N T Y
3 years/36,000 miles scheduled maintenance,
3 years/36,000 miles bumper to bumper,
10 years/100,000 miles powertrain,
12 years/unlimited miles corrosion protection,
3 years/36,000 miles roadside assistance
O P E R AT I N G C O STS (FOR 40,000 MILES)

sErV IC E (4 sC H EDu L ED, 2 u NsC H EDu L ED) > $219
Nor m a L w Ea r > $41 r EPa I r > $0
DI EsEL (@ $2 .78 PEr Ga L LoN) > $2926
DA M AG E A N D D E ST R U C T I O N
GasoL I N E I N fu EL Ta N k > $224 w I N DsH I EL D > $357
L I F E E X P EC TA N C I E S
No one complained about the (ESTIMATED FROM 40,000-MILE TEST)
scarcity of diesel fuel, but we did TI r Es > 50,000 miles
occasionally have to mix it up with froN T br a k E Pa Ds > more than 100,000 miles
B.J. and the Bear and Large Marge. r Ea r br a k E Pa Ds > 95,000 miles
W H AT B I TS A N D P I EC E S C O ST
vice is identical to the first service; at that handle’s, a new one was installed H Ea DL a m P > $250 ENGI N E a I r fI LTEr > $30
stop, new wipers were added for $41. It under warranty. oI L f I LTEr > $10 w H EEL > $300 TI r E > $116
w I PEr bL a DEs > $41 froN T br a k E Pa Ds > $102
wasn’t until the 40,000-mile maintenance Like our long-term ’06 GTI,
(oil and filter change and even more inspec- the Jetta had an infuriating M O D E L-Y E A R C H A N G E S
tions than at the 20K service) that we were dashboard buzz around the cen- 2010 > revised instrument panel, HVaC, steering wheel,
billed, for $219. ter vent that service technicians and interior trim. bluetooth now standard on some
models. new 16-inch wheel designs.
We did find ourselves in the service bays somehow couldn’t hear. Other
of a couple of VW dealers to correct prob- typical VW failings were a rattle
lems that couldn’t wait until a service visit, in the area of the driver’s-side seatbelt some of which could be blamed on user error,
though both turned out to be false alarms. adjuster and stereo speakers that vibrated the Jetta TDI managed to nearly match the
At 11,406 miles, the particulate filter trig- annoyingly at the slightest hint of bass. efficiency of a Toyota Prius while doing a
gered a check-engine light. No problem was In an act that mirrored an experience with convincing cornering impersonation of a
found with the emissions system, and we our long-term 2007 Mercedes-Benz GL320 zesty GTI. One editor said it was “like a GTI
were sent on our way with the dash light CDI, a staffer suffering temporary frontal- that swallowed a quaalude.” The diesel
extinguished. About 5000 miles later, an lobe damage put a few gallons of gas into the engine still has a few idiosyncrasies, and its
airbag light that wouldn’t go out was found diesel-only Jetta’s tank. Fortunately, the slow-revving nature will bore more avid driv-
to have been set off by a fault in the front- guilty party realized the goof while pump- ers, but Volkswagen has found that at least 25
seat-passenger seatbelt buckle. Technicians ing and had the sense not to fire up the percent of Jetta buyers in the U.S. are willing
tested the buckle but could not find any- engine. After a tow to the dealer, draining to go the diesel route. As long as the issues
thing wrong and reset the light. At 24,010 the tank and replacing the fuel-tank filter with the dual-clutch gearbox don’t become
miles, someone snapped off the driver’s- set us back $224. more than isolated incidents and turn into a
seat height-adjustment handle. Although With the exception of a few minor issues, public-relations disaster, VW may find that
it was probably our fault and not the some of which were the fault of the Jetta and the mainstream is ready for this diesel.

drivelines
2011 Rolls-Royce Ghost by eddie a lter m a n
Scary good. As it should be, for the price.
Preview
Royce magic brought down to a more human inches of length, its 563-hp V-12 thrusting
scale. If the grandiose Phantom is the go-to the car to 60 mph in a Flying Spur–like 4.8
coach for special occasions, the Ghost is the seconds. Yet it will achieve total pricing
obscenely wealthy person’s daily driver. supremacy when it gets to the U.S. in early
Its name truncates one of the great ones 2010, with a projected MSRP of $245,000.
from Rolls-Royce’s past, the Silver Ghost, a Some might argue that this makes the Ghost
moniker that attached itself to the full line more of a competitor to the forthcoming
of classically reliable and quiet 40/50s pro- Bentley Mulsanne. We prefer to think of the
duced from 1906 to 1926. These were the $300K Mulsanne as an insufficiently expen-
A
machines that prompted The Autocar to call sive competitor to the Phantom.
lthough many motoring hacks Rolls-Royce the “Best Car in the World.” The Casting further ambiguity over this car’s
are calling the new Ghost new Ghost will bring that legacy to bear on positioning is that the Ghost shares 20 per-
an “entry-level Rolls-Royce,” the luxury-sedan class, although the issue of cent of itself with the BMW 7-series. It’s
those words suggest a sort of its competitive set is a thorny one. Its size tempting to think that the new car is simply
mythical oxymoron, like a and performance make it a key rival to the an upsized BMW—a 9- or 11-series, even.
pint-size Yeti or a series of Michael Jackson 5500-pound, 552-hp, $180,000 Bentley Con- That’s a little unfair. The 20 percent com-
parenting videos. (What—too soon?) The tinental Flying Spur. Built around a steel monality hides in the climate-control sys-
Ghost is no more entry-level than a Gulf- monocoque, the Ghost carries a similarly tem, the electrical architecture, parts of the
stream G350—it’s merely the old Rolls- staggering 5450 pounds over an extra 4.3 floorpan, and some engine components.

Both cars’ twin-turbocharged V-12s come
from the same engine family, but the Ghost’s
is stroked to 6.6 liters (up from the 760’s 6.0)
and gets revised internals such as a new
crank. And whereas the BMW has air springs
only at the rear, the Ghost uses an air sus-
pension at all four corners. Over southern
England’s narrow B-roads, whose broken
edges and crowned centers have institution-
alized many a ride engineer, the Ghost is
eerily composed. Its air suspension is so alert
that it can sense the movement of a rear pas-
senger from one side of the seat to the other
and adjust accordingly.
Chief designer Ian Cameron has deliv-
ered a shape that is immediately recogniz-
able as a Rolls-Royce even though the car
does not have the traditional Parthenon-
type grille. Its sleeker expression of the
chrome-vaned radiator housing is in keeping
with the car’s driverly mission. Grounded by
a terrifically powerful stance, the Ghost has
fast-raking pillars and bodywork that tucks
in around the wheels. The restrained, almost
featureless body sides mask a subtlety of
proportion and line that makes the car look foie-gras smooth ZF eight-speed automatic,
much smaller than it is. As ever, the long The numbers feels like an electric motor. The car rushes
prow dominates. away from rest in a constantly building cre-
V EH ICL E TY PE >
front-engine, rear-wheel-
But it’s still about 17 inches shorter than drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan scendo of momentum.
the short-wheelbase Phantom even though ESTI M ATED BASE PR ICE > $245,000 Transient responses are disciplined for
it’s nearly as roomy inside. The front chairs intercooled DoHC 48-valve V-12, aluminum such a huge, heavy machine, as is path con-
are regally positioned and padded, giving a block and heads, direct fuel injection trol. The steering is very linear and appro-
DISPL ACEM ENT > 402 cu in, 6592cc
commanding view of the road ahead, and Pow ER (SA E N ET) > 563 bhp @ 5250 rpm
priately slow, at 3.1 turns lock-to-lock, but is
there’s the choice of individual or couch seat- ToRqu E (SA E N ET) > 575 lb-ft @ 1500 rpm more aggressively weighted than the Phan-
TR A NSM ISSIoN > 8-speed automatic
ing in the rear. Everything is wrapped in DI M ENSIoNS:
tom’s. And as much as this car’s silent cabin
leather, either a coarse-grained hide on the w H EEL BASE > 129.7 in L ENGTH > 212.6 in feels a world away from the relative chaos of
door panels or smooth stuff on the armrests C u R B w EIGHT > 5450 lb
those econoboxes with which it competes
and seats. Classic frosted white dials, eyeball PER FoR M A NCE (M FR’S EST): (we’re joking, Bentley), we did hear a bit of
Z ERo To 60 M PH > 4.8 sec
vents, organ pulls, and violin-key switches STA N DI NG 1/4-M I L E > 13.2 sec
tire noise from the 20-inch Goodyear run-
are present and accounted for. We love the ToP SPEED (GoV ER NoR L I M ITED) > 155 mph flats over concrete surfaces.
PRoJ ECTED Fu EL ECoNoM Y (C/D EST):
almost yachtlike helm in the Phantom, but EPA CITY/H IGH wAY DR I V I NG > 12/18 mpg
That said, the best story we heard about
this steering wheel has a smaller diameter this car’s development was of the interior
and a little thicker section that’s well suited engineer who spent two weeks in a sound
to the car. As the failed British car industry’s savior booth listening to the Ghost’s headrest
Because it’s a Rolls, you will be able to and most faithful interpreter, BMW under- motors going up and down. He was attempt-
order it in any color you want, with whatever stands that Rolls-Royces aren’t just about ing to correct an “acoustical imbalance” in
color leather, and you’ll be able to choose any their interiors—they need an uncanny com- them, all part of Rolls-Royce’s obsessive
type of wood and inlays you can dream up. bination of silence and swiftness. The Phan- focus on the reduction of noise, vibration,
Want your family crest rendered in carbon tom has it, and so does this Ghost, albeit in and harshness. This kind of thing is what
fiber on the dashboard? No problem. Care slightly different proportion. Whereas the links the new Ghost to its namesake, and to
for a mother-of-pearl inlay depicting Homer Phantom glides over the road as if its wheels its bigger brother. But whereas the Phantom,
Simpson on a motorcycle, the devil hot on aren’t making contact (R-R calls it “waft- by virtue of its scale, seems to have one axle
his tail? We’ve got you covered, says Rolls’s ing”), the Ghost bears down on the asphalt. in the Thirties and one in the Aughts, this
bespoke department. Only not just yet. It As noted, the ride is sensational, just a bit new car feels more completely contempo-
will take six months to a year to get the cus- more positive in its transmission of the rary. It is incredibly fast and rewarding to
tom shop up and running on Ghosts. For road surface. drive—sporty, even—but it does not sacri-
now, you merely have the choice of 12 hand- Sensational defines the powertrain, too. fice the serenity, calm, and effortlessness
rubbed exterior colors, eight hand-stitched With 575 pound-feet of torque available at that define a Rolls-Royce. The Ghost cossets
leathers, and five hand-laid woods. 1500 rpm, the V-12, in combination with the and insulates, but it also flies.

DRIVELINES
2011 Porsche Cayenne by JUERGEN ZOELLTER

Turning a nose tackle into a linebacker.
PREVIEW
shared with the next VW plete vehicle engineering and quality man-
Touareg and Audi Q7. The agement, “Trim level for trim level, a new
new Cayenne is 1.8 inches Cayenne is nearly 440 pounds lighter than
longer overall and rides the old one.” A Cayenne S now weighs 4553
on a wheelbase stretched pounds, according to Porsche, some 400
1.6 inches, making for a pounds less than the claimed weight of the
roomier rear seat that now current Cayenne. However, the last Cay-
slides fore and aft by 6.3 enne S we tested weighed 5351 pounds,
inches. There are 24 cubic which would suggest a still hefty two and a
feet of space behind the half tons for the new model.
rear seats, up from 19; This lower weight is the big reason that
with the rear seats folded, the next Cayenne, which goes on sale later
the Cayenne will accept 63 this year as a 2011 model, offers better gas
mileage than the current vehicle. The cur-
P
cubic feet of stuff, about
the same as before. rent Cayenne already has a range of direct-
orsche purists may have hated One of the main criticisms of the previ- injection engines, which basically carry over
the Cayenne from the moment ous Cayenne was its blob-like shape, which but are updated to the latest-generation,
of its inception, but the success looked a bit like an eroded brick. For Cay- slightly more powerful units from the Pana-
of the truck has allowed the enne No. 2, chief designer Michael Mauer mera. The naturally aspirated 4.8-liter V-8
continued production of cars and his team devised more subtle air intakes will make 400 horsepower, a gain of 15, and
that enthusiasts yearn for. In fact, in one of underneath the front bumper and a more the Turbo holds at 500. The entry-level 3.6-
the supreme ironies of the auto industry sculpted hood that has cut-lines like the liter V-6 model will make a less sexy 300
recently, the profitability of the VW iconic 911’s. The liftgate slopes more now, horsepower. A start-stop feature will be
Touareg–based SUV was a reason that giving a lighter appearance at the back. standard on all Cayenne gasoline engines.
Porsche was able to attempt a hostile take- While they were at it, the Porsche designers The hybrid version, which mates a super-
over of Volkswagen last year. put together an interior that’s similar to the charged 333-hp, 3.0-liter Audi V-6 engine
Even though that bid failed and Porsche spectacular Panamera’s. with a 52-hp electric motor, most likely will
has become part of the VW Group, the new Another point of contention was the go on sale here in early 2011. This vehicle
bosses certainly recognize the importance of porkiness of this Porsche—as much as 5600 will, Porsche claims, achieve 29 mpg on the
the Cayenne to Porsche’s bottom line. That’s pounds in some trims. To get mass under combined European cycle (that’s more like
why we recently found ourselves in the Mid- control, the Cayenne now has a heavy dose a 25-mpg EPA combined number), which is
dle East, evaluating prototypes of the sec- of aluminum parts: hood, doors, and front better than many a mid-size luxury sedan.
ond-gen version of the Cayenne. The vehicle fenders, as well as suspension pieces. We’ve driven this powertrain, and it’s
is the product of a revised platform that is According to Rolf Frech, director of com- remarkably good.
94

Introducing the
buyer’s guide app
During this first access to the new Cay- In the five seconds after it reached the foot
enne, we focused more on the Turbo (can of a dune, the Cayenne dug its tires into the
you blame us?). As with all the other gasoline sand and lost some speed but resolutely kept
engines, power is transmitted via a com- going, with 5000 rpm steady on the tach. At
pletely new eight-speed automatic transmis- 30 mph, we easily swept to the top of the
sion sourced from Aisin that shifts quickly dune. “You would not do this with its prede-
and very smoothly. First and second gears cessor,” Frech explained. “Only the new
are short, giving fast acceleration off the Cayenne can apportion the engine’s power
line. The Turbo has a claimed 0-to-62-mph over this kind of terrain.”
time of 4.6 seconds. (The S needs 5.9 sec- After plenty of time exploring the Cay-
onds, and Porsche is traditionally conserva- enne’s limits in an environment that pretty
tive with its performance claims.) much none of its American owners will ever
At the other end, the seventh and eighth encounter—unless they go bounding off
ratios are long in order to save fuel. Porsche into the Mojave on an impulse—we ventured
went with a conventional torque-converter back onto pavement. Corners were hard to
automatic because of fears that a dual-clutch find, but we discovered some high-speed
gearbox would overheat from the Turbo’s bends and dips in the road. The steering is
massive 516 pound-feet of torque and accurate, and stability in fast corners is
wouldn’t be as robust for rock crawling at amazing for a truck.
very low speed. Yes, Porsche still persists Although the new Cayenne is still a heavy
with the quaint notion that an SUV ought to SUV, the weight reduction and improved
be off-road capable (the company does sell a electronic chassis systems have made it
EE!
lot of them in the Middle East). much more impressive dynamically. It also
After a couple of hours on what seemed
like a never-ending straight road through the
Arabian Desert, the quietness of the engine
looks a lot less bulky and ridiculous than it
used to. We can’t say that Porsche has
coached a lineman into a wide receiver, but Obtain the
F R
and the lack of tire noise made it difficult to this nose tackle now has the mobility of a
stay awake. Luckily, we left the paved road
and turned toward a huge dune area that rose
linebacker.
buying power
200 feet and featured very soft and deep
sand. Frech and his engineers come here to The numbers on your iPhone™
or iPod touch™
calibrate the torque distribution of the new V EH ICL E TY PE >front-engine, 4-wheel-drive,
Cayenne’s all-wheel-drive system under 5-passenger, 5-door wagon
ESTI M ATED BASE PR ICE > $50,000;
extreme traction conditions. Under normal S, $63,000; S hybrid, $70,000;
road conditions, about 90 percent of the turbo, $102,000
ENGI N ES > DoHC 24-valve 3.6-liter V-6,
engine’s torque goes to the rear wheels. As 300 hp, 273 lb-ft; supercharged and
soon as the wheel sensors identify a rota- intercooled DoHC 24-valve 3.0-liter V-6, 333
tional difference between the front and the hp, 324 lb-ft + 52-hp, 221-lb-ft electric motor
assist (combined power rating, 374 hp);
rear wheels, the system sends more torque to DoHC 32-valve 4.8-liter V-8, 400 hp, 369 lb-
the front—close to 100 percent, if need be. ft; twin-turbocharged and intercooled DoHC
32-valve 4.8-liter V-8, 500 hp, 516 lb-ft
For off-roading, just move a switch in the TR A NSM ISSION > 8-speed automatic with
center console to the “mountain” symbol. manumatic shifting
DI M ENSIONS: Visit caranddriver.com/mobile on your
The air suspension automatically raises the W H EEL BASE > 114.0 in
L ENGTH > 190.6–190.7 in computer or phone for more information
Cayenne’s body, and the center differential W I DTH > 75.9–77.1 in H EIGH T > 65.9–66.9 in
locks. A rear-diff lock is engaged if the car is C u R B W EIGHT > 4800–5200 lb
PER FOR M A NCE (C/D EST):
fitted with the off-road equipment that’s Z ERO TO 60 M PH > 4.5–7.5 sec
standard on the Turbo and optional on the STA N DI NG 1/4-M I L E > 13.0–15.7 sec
PROJ ECTED Fu EL ECONOM Y (C/D EST):
others. At full throttle, the Cayenne Turbo EPA CITY/HIGHWAY DRIVING > 13–22/20–25 mpg
jumped to about 50 mph seemingly instantly. iPhone™ is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and
other countries. For iPhone™, an AT&T wireless service contract
with broadband or with Wi-Fi Internet access if required. For
CA R A NDDR I V ER .COM M A RCh 2 010 95 iPod™ touch, Wi-Fi Internet access is required.

DRIVELINES
S H O R T TA K E
BMW 550i GT by TON Y SWA N
C Living-room rear-seat space, exceptionally quiet, plenty of punch, surprising agility.

D Brontosaurian bulk, swollen sedan styling, stiff option pricing, big appetite for fuel.
T
his may be hard to accept, but people more interested in comfort, space, along with its tidier stablemates, sprinting
what you see here is a BMW and prestige than ultimate driving. to 60 mph in 5.2 seconds and covering the
that’s not really conceived to Not that this swollen five-door is defi- quarter in 13.6 at 105 mph. That’s a wink
please Bimmer loyalists in the cient in basic BMW dynamic virtues. Yes, its, quicker than the sedan in that 2006 test. The
U.S. That’s because this inflated uh, generous dimensions—3.9 inches longer GT’s 400-hp, 4.4-liter direct-injection twin-
version of the 5-series sedan is aimed at than the 2011 5-series sedan on which it’s turbo V-8 churns up 40 more horses than the
expanding markets where vehicle priorities based, 1.6 inches wider, 3.8 inches taller— naturally aspirated 4.8-liter in the 2006 test,
differ from our own. China, for one. make the regular 5s look svelte. Our test car but the real key to the GT’s performance is
If that seems peculiar, remember that weighed almost 2.5 tons (4939 pounds), the turbo V-8’s massive torque—450 pound-
the booming Chinese market is the main which is a staggering 891 pounds more than feet, a gain of 90—plus instant throttle
reason Buick survives while other GM the last 550i we tested [November 2006]. response and a very slick ZF eight-speed
brands have perished: We’re talking about Nevertheless, the 550i GT prances right automatic transmission.
96 M A RCH 2 010 CA R A NDDR I V ER .COM P H O T O G R A P H Y by R O Y R I T C H I E

If the GT’s acceleration is surprising, its
agility is not. BMW’s chassis engineers have
already shown us remarkable skill in mass
management with the M versions of the even
heavier X6 and X5, and the GT is another
example, albeit not as extreme. Body motions
are limited, with noticeable roll-stiffness dis-
tinctions through the three suspension pre-
sets; grip is respectable, at 0.86 g; and if the
optional ($1750) four-wheel active steering s h O r T TA K e
lacks on-center feel, it’s a welcome feature in
high-speed cornering and also makes the GT
surprisingly handy at parking-lot speeds. Bentley Continental
Supersports
True to BMW’s dynamic standards, ride
quality is supple and braking performance is
excellent (160 feet from 70 mph to stand- by A A ron robinson
C Sleek and sinister, ohmigod fast, spectacular interior.

still). Plus, the GT has specific advantages:
presidential-limo head- and legroom in the
aft cabin, replete with adjustable seats (part D Yester-tech nav system, no back seat, squeaky brakes.
W
of a $3650 option package); nifty configu-
rability to the cargo compartment and rear rit large on its face
hatch; and exceptionally low noise levels. with extra grilles and The numbers
On the debit side, there’s fuel economy hood slots is what
V EH IC L E TY PE > front-engine, 4-wheel-drive,
(if that’s the right word): 15 mpg city and 21 the most chest- 2-passenger, 2-door coupe
highway per the EPA, 16 mpg in our test. The thumping Bentley PR ICE AS TESTED > $273,515
price is $65,775 for the base model (including Continental model yet is all about: It’s (base price: $272,195)
a grand for the guzzler penalty), $4500 more about roasting weenies, especially ones intercooled DoHC 48-valve W-12, aluminum
than a standard 550i. And options add up at in Porsches. block and heads, port fuel injection
DISPL ACEm EN T > 366 cu in, 5998cc
a frightening rate: Two GTs came to us for The 621-hp Continental Supersports Pow ER (SA E N ET) > 621 bhp @ 6000 rpm
evaluation—the first was loaded to the tune weighs 5011 pounds, costs nearly TR A NSm ISSIoN > 6-speed automatic with
of $90,925; the second not quite so loaded, $275,000, and hits 60 mph in a face-peel- manumatic shifting
DI m ENSIoNS:
at $80,425. Whew. ing 3.6 seconds, almost a half-second w H EEL bASE > 108.1 in L ENGTH > 189.1 in
Then there’s the styling. BMW market- quicker than the next-fleetest Continen- w I DTH > 75.4 in H EIGH T > 54.3 in
ing types say they don’t expect hard-core tal, the 600-hp GT Speed. It sounds
Bimmerphiles to appreciate it. We think that wonderfully flatulent and looks slightly C / D T E ST R E S U LTS :
expectation may be optimistic. scary. At any moment you expect it to Zero to 60 m ph > 3.6 sec
unfold into a giant robot and start bench- Z ERo To 150 m PH > 21.1 sec
The numbers pressing 747s. Z ERo To 170 m PH > 31.2 sec
The Supersports name sounds STA N DI NG 1/4-m I L E > 12.0 sec @ 118 mph
V EH IC L E TY PE >
front-engine, rear-wheel- quintessentially British, what we expect ToP SPEED (R EDL I N E L I m ITED,
drive, 4-passenger, 5-door hatchback m fR’S CL A I m) > 204 mph
PR IC E AS TESTED > $80,425
from the chuffed ironmongers at Bentley. bR A k I NG, 70–0 m PH > 157 ft
(base price: $65,775) From bonnet to boot it’s heavy but down RoADHoLDING, 300-fT-DIA SkIDPAD > 0.93 g
ENGI N E TY PE > twin-turbocharged and fu EL ECoNom Y:
intercooled DoHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum about 170 pounds from the GT Speed. EPA C ITY/H IGH wAY DR I V I NG > 12/19 mpg
block and heads, direct fuel injection The front seats are deep, stiff, manually C/D obSERV ED > 10 mpg
DISPL AC Em ENT > 268 cu in, 4395cc
Pow ER (SA E N ET) > 400 bhp @ 5500 rpm
adjusted carbon-fiber cocoons lined with
ToRqu E (SA E N ET) > 450 lb-ft @ 1750 rpm leather and diamond-quilted Alcantara.
TR A NSm ISSIoN > 8-speed automatic with
manumatic shifting They wear well for a few hours, before back fatigue begins to set in.
DI m ENSIoNS: The rear seats are gone. A glossy carbon-fiber pole stretches across the empty chasm.
w I DTH > 74.8 in H EIGHT > 61.4 in
It could serve as a shoulder-harness mount but is probably there for liability, so gits don’t
C u R b w EIGHT > 4939 lb sit where there are no seatbelts.
PH otograP H by rob Ert K ErI aN
Black, fine-spoke 20-inch wheels harboring huge carbon-ceramic discs add bigness
to the complexion of the Supersports. A mere 157 feet separates 70 mph from zero—yet
Z ERo To 100 m PH > 12.3 sec another astounding number—but a relentless, maddening squeak made the Bentley
sound like a city bus around town.
STA N DI NG 1/4-m I L E > 13.6 sec @ 105 mph Continentals have always been effective handlers despite their bulk. The Supersports
ToP SPEED (GoV ER NoR L I m ITED) > 147 mph
bR A k I NG, 70–0 m PH > 160 ft
corners as if its entire underbelly is just one giant tire. This Bentley won’t break loose,
RoADHoLDING, 300-fT-DIA SkIDPAD > 0.86 g not for Queen nor country, and owners will be flossing Bimmers and Boxsters out of the
fu EL ECoNom Y:
EPA CITY/H IGH wAY DR I V I NG > 15/21 mpg
grilles on a regular basis.
C/D obSERV ED > 16 mpg Just when you think Continentals have reached their limit, the boys turn up the secret
power screw. What’s next, the Continental Hyper Crumpet? The imagination reels.

DRIVELINES
Toyota 4Runner Trail by A A ron robinson
C Easygoing street ride, comfortable, not overly huge, retains its 4x4 abilities.
D Still expensive, heavy, and hey, where’d the gas go?
s h O r T TA K e
lowland Highlander, and the zillion other Cruiser, the Japan-built 4Runner shares
Toyota and Lexus SUVs launched since. major components and a frame with the
For 2010, Toyota is attempting a retro Prado, a sort of Land Cruiser Lite sold in
reboot of sorts. Prices can still be lofty—a overseas markets (and in the U.S. as the new
poverty-edition SR5 4x2 with a 2.7-liter four- Lexus GX460). Despite its 4780 pounds, the
cylinder is $28,300, while a loaded Limited 4Runner runs city errands with light con-
V-6 4x4 is almost $44,000—but a new Trail trols and a surprisingly relaxed ride. In a
model (base: $36,500) recalls a time when world gone crazy for car-based crossovers,
4Runners weren’t afraid to get filthy. the 4Runner masks its antediluvian archi-
o
With its sparse exterior decoration and tecture well. The 4.0-liter V-6 with the five-
ver the years, we’ve often blacked-out fender flares, the Trail reminds speed automatic doesn’t feel weak in traffic,
defiled the fabulous roads coil- us of the original Reagan-era 4Runner. It and it makes 60 mph in 7.8 seconds. A green
ing around the 8013-foot Frazier comes only as a V-6 4x4, with an electroni- “Eco” light illuminates when you’re being
Peak in Southern California, but cally lockable rear differential, electronic throttle-thrifty. We averaged 18 mpg.
we’ve never been to the top. off-roading aids (such as crawl control and The 4Runner remains what it was: a
Ascending the ragged trail to the summit multi-terrain select, which tunes the throt- somewhat backward-looking body-on-
and its battery of communications antennas tle and the traction control to various sur- frame adventurer perfect for an outdoorsy
and signal repeaters requires a Real Truck. faces), 17-inch wheels with 32-inch Bridge- buyer not afraid of its price premium. Even
There are steep grades, slippery with loose stone Dueler H/T tires, and a longish roster on a clear day, that niche is too small to be
debris. There is the occasional giant tree of amenities. seen from Frazier Peak.
root to scramble over. And, on our day, there Trail people tend not to be affluent, hav-
was a stuck pickup truck corking up the trail. ing spent their free time on trails rather than
The numbers
It was an older Toyota, which we easily on E*Trade. So the Trail’s price undoubtedly
yanked free with our brand-new Toyota, a puts it out of reach of some who will shop the V EH IC L E TY PE >
front-engine, rear/
2010 4Runner. If irony falls in the forest, Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (base 4x4 Sport: 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon
PR ICE AS TESTED > $40,670
does it make a sound? $25,335) and Nissan Xterra (base automatic (base price: $36,500)
Don’t say you remember the previous S 4x4: $28,270). And Toyota offers some ENGI N E TY PE > DOHC 24-valve V-6,
4Runner. Toyota’s compact, pickup-based hefty options, including the $1750 kinetic aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection
DISPL ACEm EN T > 241 cu in, 3956cc
4x4 helped spark the SUV conflagration dynamic suspension, which automatically Pow ER (SA E N ET) > 270 bhp @ 5600 rpm
when it launched in 1984, but as an upmarket disconnects the stabilizer bars for extended TR A NSm ISSIoN > 5-speed automatic
mall patroller, it has lately lived a quiet life in wheel travel, and the $2420 navigation pack. with manumatic shifting
DI m ENSIoNS:
the shadows of the towering Sequoia, the As with the Tacoma pickup and the FJ w H EEL bASE > 109.8 in L ENGTH > 189.9 in
STA N DI NG 1/4-m I L E > 16.1 sec @ 88 mph
ToP SPEED (GoV ER NoR L I m ITED) > 105 mph
bR A k I NG, 70–0 m PH > 201 ft
RoADHoLDING, 200-fT-DIA SkIDPAD > 0.73 g
fu EL ECoNom Y:
EPA C ITY/H IGH wAY DR I V I NG > 17/22 mpg
C/D obSERV ED > 18 mpg
98 M A RcH 2 010 cA R A NDDR I V ER .cOM P H O T O G R A P H Y by R O B E R T K E R I A N

Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid by DAV E VA NDERW ER P
C Big fuel-economy gains, smooth operation, the cheapest S-class.

D Where’d the brake-pedal feel go? Still not exactly affordable.
s h O r T TA K e
The numbers
V EH IC L E TY PE >
front-engine, rear-wheel-
drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
PR ICE AS TESTED > $94,570
(base price: $88,825)
ENGI N E TY PE > DOHC 24-valve 3.5-liter V-6,
275 hp, 258 lb-ft; AC permanent-magnet
synchronous electric motor, 20 hp, 118 lb-ft;
combined system, 295 hp, 284 lb-ft
TR A NSM ISSION > 7-speed automatic
with manumatic shifting
DI M ENSIONS:
W H EEL bASE > 124.6 in L ENGTH > 206.5 in
Cu R b W EIGH T > 4594 lb
I
Z ERO TO 60 M PH > 7.1 sec
n stark contrast to such luxury Mercedes says drivers won’t be able to STR EET STA RT, 5–60 M PH > 7.5 sec
STA N DI NG 1/4-M I L E > 15.4 sec @ 92 mph
hybrids as the Lexus LS600hL and feel whether braking is regenerative (using TOP SPEED (GOV ER NOR L I M ITED) > 131 mph
the new BMW 7-series hybrid— the electric motor) or conventional (using bR A k I NG, 70–0 M PH > 176 ft
ROADHOLDING, 300-fT-DIA SkIDPAD > 0.86 g
both of which, perplexingly, make the friction brakes). That’s true, but only fu EL ECONOM Y:
more power than their less-green because the brake pedal is so numb that EPA C ITY/H IGH WAY DR I V I NG > 19/26 mpg
C/D observed > 24 mpg
luxocruiser counterparts—Mer- pretty much nothing can be felt, which is the
cedes’ first hybrid, the S400, is sur- S400’s only off-putting flaw. While slowing
prisingly rational. Not only does it downsize to a stop, the engine switches off; the electric Although the luxobarge class has shrunk
from the S550’s 382-hp V-8 to a combined motor restarts it as soon as the brake pedal by about 40 percent in the past year, the
output of 295 horsepower (supplied by the is released, which is actually smoother and S-class remains the sales king, and adding
corporate 3.5-liter V-6 and an electric quicker than a typical, nonhybrid start this sensible S400 certainly can’t hurt. In
motor), it also costs less. Whereas the Lexus sequence. If the engine is silenced for more fact, Mercedes says the hybrid is already
and BMW hybrids come at a premium of tens than just 0.7 second, says Mercedes, it saves making up about 10 percent of the mix. What
of thousands of dollars, the S400 is the cheap- more gas than is required to refire the V-6. car service, for example, wouldn’t want a less
est S-class, by $3650, starting at $88,825 Speaking of which, EPA fuel economy expensive S-class that also chugs less gas?
(before an $1150 federal tax credit). jumps from 15 mpg city and 23 highway to 19 After all, the back seat is still just as tranquil
Transforming the S-class into a mild and 26, respectively. On a mostly highway and commodious. And that’s the best part:
hybrid—it cannot run on electric power trip—but with no shortage of wide-open- Hybrid or not, the S-class retains the envi-
alone—is the addition of a roughly 65-pound, throttle on-ramp charges—we averaged a able position of being the closest automotive
shoebox-size, 0.9-kilowatt-hour lithium- remarkable 27 mpg. Overall, we got 24 mpg, approximation of four La-Z-Boys flying in
ion battery pack under the hood and a same as the last VW GTI we tested. close formation.
50-pound electric motor sandwiched
between the engine and a seven-speed auto-
matic. Despite the additional weight of the
hybrid gear, however, the S400, at 4594
pounds, is the lightest ninth-generation
S-class we’ve tested.
The hybrid doesn’t have the deep power
reserve of the effortless S550—you know, for
when someone really needs to be shown
who’s boss—and the V-6 can occasionally
sound strained, but it isn’t exactly slow,
either. Getting to 60 mph requires 7.1 sec-
onds versus 5.3 for the last S550 we tested, Lithium-ion
and the quarter-mile, at 15.4 seconds, is battery pack
slower by 1.5. The electric motor seamlessly Tucked underhood in place of the
fills in low-end torque, of which there’s still traditional battery, the 0.9-kW-hour pack
doesn’t reduce cargo space one iota.
plenty for brake-torque burnouts.

gearbox
Accessories
Apparel
Car Care
Collectibles
Electronics
Tools
Toys
Ratcheting
Wrenches
Handy tools when access gets
tighter than a Tokyo subway car.
The newest ratcheting wrenches combine the slim profile of a standard wrench with the click-click-turn functionality that
makes ratchets so useful. The original ones, which date back to the ’50s, had bulkier, laminated steel bodies with heads at both
ends. The new ones can’t replace the ratchet-and-socket combinations that can reach into impossible holes, but they are a must
for any grease monkey replacing brakes in a driveway or performing an alignment at the track. Most toolmakers produce these
single- or double-headed wrenches, while GearWrench has staked its entire business on them. We selected a range of wrenches
from various makers, all of them in metric sizes because automotive nuts and bolts no longer are cut in fractional measures. We
also included a budget version. All of these ratcheting wrenches have lifetime guarantees. —k.c. colwell
100 M A RCH 2 010 CA R A NDDR I V ER .COM P H O T O G R A P H Y by R O Y R I T C H I E

GearWrench Flex Combination [1] Snap-on Reversible Craftsman Flat Ratchet Box [5]
12-piece set (8mm–19mm), $137; Combination [4] 5 pieces (7/8mm, 9/10mm, 12/13mm,
10mm wrench, $26. 12-piece set (8mm–19mm), $225; 14/15mm, and 19/21mm), purchased
Versatility is this wrench’s selling point. 10mm wrench, $18. individually, $46 total; 9/10mm wrench, $8.
It has a flip-flopping head for access to Snap-on is the Cadillac of hand tools. This is the absolute cheap end of the
bolts that are otherwise inaccessible, so You can order Snap-ons online, but ratcheting-wrench market, as not
changing those hard-to-reach water they’re not sold in stores—they’re sold everyone can afford a couple hundred
pumps can be much easier—that is, if out of trucks that drop by garages and dollars’ worth of tools that shop
you can keep the wrench firmly on the shops; a salesperson will come directly to teachers consider “convenience” items.
nut or bolt. As the head approaches a your door. Robust in feel, Snap-on Although the laminated construction
right angle with the handle, it is tougher wrenches seem like they can take some means there is no open wrench at one
to apply force in the intended direction abuse. These combos are slightly longer end, you do get the handiness of two
and the wrench can slip off the nut—or than other reversible wrenches, and a sizes in one tool. But the mechanisms
worse, strip it. These ratcheting 12-piece set is considerably more only ratchet every 20 degrees (all of the
wrenches cost a little more than non- expensive (which affected its score). others here ratchet every 5 degrees) and
flexing ones, but they are But they will be the envy of require regular cleaning and
9 worth it. (800-688-8949; 8 tool snobs everywhere. (877- 5 oiling (none of the other
www.gearwrench.com) 762-7664; www.snapon.com) wrenches here needs that).
GearWrench GearBox [2] 1 Mac Edge Reversible [6]

12-piece set (8mm–19mm), $167; 12-piece set (8mm–19mm), $270;
10mm wrench, $23. 10mm wrench, $24.
The stretched handle of the GearBox Mac is the only manufacturer we could
makes these wrenches about 40 to 50 2 find that offers a six-point ratcheting
percent longer than competing tools, head. We wonder why others don’t go
which means less force is required with the six-point because it
for either loosening or tightening a significantly reduces chances of
bolt. (Torque, you’ll remember, equals stripping nuts and bolts. On the other
force times lever-arm length.) The hand, it also makes it a bit trickier to
manufacturer says the GearBox design lock onto bolts. Like the Snap-ons, this
is a favorite among professional brand also has the cachet to create
mechanics because it combines the serious tool envy, at an even
excellent grip of a fully boxed wrench 8 higher cost. (800-622-8665;
head with the ease and efficiency of www.mactools.com)
a ratcheting wrench.
8 Note: The length can be
inhibiting if space is tight. 3
Craftsman Elbow [3]

4
7-piece set (10mm–15mm and 17mm), $80;
10mm wrench, not sold separately.
The Elbow is a nifty new take on how a
ratcheting head can transform a tool.
When the swiveling head is unlocked, it
5
moves back and forth, simulating a
piston-driven ratchet, saving time in
those pesky situations where you might
have only 10 or 15 degrees of room to
swing the wrench. The head also can be
locked in 14 different positions, thus the
wrench can be used in situations where
6
only a half-moon, or ess-bend, wrench
would have worked. However, the
Elbow only comes in a limited number
of sizes, which reduces
9 usefulness. (800-349-4358;
www.craftsman.com)

gearbox //// DIY level of difficulty >
8
Run Your Diesel on Vegetable Oil

This month’s featured ratcheting wrenches helped us
turn our project ambulance into a mobile deep-fryer.
We first looked at waste vegetable oil (WVO) conversions in March 2004, when we
wrote about Justin Carven and his kits (www.greasecar.com). We recently bought a
used 1996 Ford E-350 ambulance for a future project and decided to find out how hard
it is to install a Greasecar kit. Carven counseled against trying to convert a van because
its cramped engine compartment makes it ill-suited for accommodating his kit’s
hardware (other companies make more van-friendly conversions). We went ahead
anyway, as it promised to be a good way to test our sampling of ratcheting wrenches,
which we found to cut down on skinned knuckles and toiling time.
To make a diesel vehicle able to cope with WVO, you essentially install a parallel
fuel system with hardware that is resistant to the specific corrosive qualities of
vegetable oil. This system also needs to be heated to keep the oil’s viscosity low. Here’s
the basic procedure, although some applications might require extra parts or steps.
1. Install a second tank for the veggie oil. the engine will
start on diesel, and once warmed up, lines from the engine’s
cooling system provide heat to warm the WVo. (local veg-oil
mechanic Joe McEachern prefers to switch to a 205-degree
engine thermostat for better heating, but the Greasecar fuel
line runs inside one of the coolant lines from the tank and,
therefore, won’t hold up to that amount of heat.)
2. Install the switching hardware for the fuel lines. this

allows you to alternate between diesel and WVo to both run
the engine and backwash the veg-oil lines with diesel to
prevent them from gumming up when cold. For the Ford, we
had to remove the diesel-fuel-filter assembly, which sits in
the valley of the engine’s vee. the GearWrench Flex works
well to swivel its way around the van’s cramped packaging.
3. Install an aftermarket pump to move the WVo from its

tank. some vehicles, like our Ford, can use the stock fuel
pump for both fuels, but McEachern tells us the factory units
won’t last long when pumping vegetable oil.
4. run the WVo fuel lines from the tank to the switching
hardware, including a water-separating fuel filter with a heat
exchanger. clean, warm oil is essential, so you may have to
install extra heat exchangers or filters. Wherever you mount
this extra hardware will probably be cramped, so, once again,
the ratcheting wrenches save a lot of time normally wasted
on realigning a wrench after each fraction of a turn.
5. Wire an automated controller or manual switch to

manage fuel selection. you’ll also want gauges for fuel
I llustratIon s by ch rI s ph I lpot
pressure, WVo temp, and fuel level if the controller does not
come thus equipped. bleed the air from both fuel systems and
the coolant system; test the WVo lines first with diesel fuel.
Hot tip Most WVO, like what comes from

your local burger joint, needs filtering to
remove water and particulates before use in a
car, which requires garage space and spare time.

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WHAT I’D DO DIFFERENTLY
Ron Dennis
The former head of McLaren Racing took
his team to F1 glory, created the greatest
street car ever—and got hit by the biggest fine in
the history of motorsports. He tells us about it.
C/D: You started out as an F1 mechanic left you to drive for Williams in ’94, you insider. That really must have hurt . . .
and went on to lead one of the most success- didn’t know that he would die driving for RD: We had someone who was in a senior
ful racing teams ever. Along the way you’ve his new team, but you must have been dev- technical position who made some very
developed a reputation as a driven perfec- astated to lose him. unwise decisions—there was just a phenom-
tionist. Do you recognize that description? RD: I honestly look back and think we enal naïveté and a belief that this was all
RD: I always thought, from day one, that [McLaren and Senna] were just taking a time quite common and acceptable . . . I look back
winning races was just doing your job. After out. He’d been pretty damn demanding, and on that as a very difficult year, a year where I
that it was a question of how did you win a it was just time to move on. But I don’t think had to make some difficult decisions.
race, how immaculate was the car, how pol- there’s any question that under different C/D: You’ve enjoyed phenomenal suc-
ished was the driver? How did we present circumstances Ayrton would have finished cess, but looking back, is there anything
ourselves, and did that constitute a good his career with McLaren. you’d have done differently?
magnet to invest in us? C/D: McLaren also designed and cre- RD: If you ask what’s the overwhelming
C/D: Let’s talk about 1988, McLaren’s ated the F1 supercar, which arrived just in thing I regret, it’s that people have had rea-
most dominant season, when your drivers, time for the early-’90s economic slump. son to question my personal integrity or
Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, won an Was it a case of right car, wrong time? commitment to running the company in an
amazing 15 of 16 events. That must have felt RD: That’s too simplistic. We went in honest way . . . But, by and large, I look back
like the pinnacle, right? with a view of building 300 cars over a on my career to date, which is a long way from
RD: I’ll be honest. There are two things I period of time. That’s not exactly a car com- being finished I might add, and feel very com-
remember about 1988, one of which I’ve pany; that’s a project. It wasn’t a project fortable with the decisions I made.
never told anybody before. Firstly, when we driven by a desire to lose money, but it cer- C/D: You’ve stepped away from the F1
won the last race, the significance of not hav- tainly wasn’t going to make a lot of money. team, but you’re still heading up McLaren
ing won Monza suddenly dawned on us C/D: Ten years after the F1, you started Automotive, looking after the development
[Senna, in the lead, crashed trying to lap producing another road car, the SLR, co- of the upcoming MP4-12C. Keeping busy?
Jean-Louis Schlesser]. Because when we lost developed with your then-F1 partner Mer- RD: One of the things we’ve put in place
Monza, we still had races to go, but that had cedes. How does that one fit in? for the future strategy of the company is that
denied us the perfect score. The second RD: When we were making the SLR, the there’s a whole range of products coming . . .
thing was receiving a phone call from the world didn’t know: Was it a McLaren, was it there will be, in broad principles, a new car
chief executive of my principal sponsor a Mercedes? Who did what exactly? It was a of one sort or another every single year, from
[Marlboro], who actually told me that it great project. I think we did a tremendous now for 12 years. That’s the plan. And that’s
would be in the interests of the sport if I job, and we exceeded quality expectations. a huge difference from just going into the
started to lose races. Which, I mean, just We made money, too, but it didn’t contribute uncertainty of “what next?” which we had
blew my mind. And I can tell you he was to where we wanted to go. We weren’t on the with the F1.
absolutely, categorically serious. He was say- path we wanted to be on. C/D: Do you want to be remembered as
ing this is not good, back off a little bit and C/D: Let’s move up to date: the 2007 F1 a race-team boss or a businessman?
give other people a chance. Like, yeah, that season. McLaren got hit with a $100 million RD: What do I want written on my tomb-
was going to happen. fine after one of your senior engineers was stone? “Ron Dennis, 1947 to so-and-so, one
C/D: Senna was thought by many to be caught with a 780-page technical dossier on of the world’s great entrepreneurs”—noth-
the greatest F1 driver of all time. When he that season’s Ferrari, leaked by a Maranello ing to do with motor racing. —mike duff
Car and Driver (ISSN 0008-6002) (USPS 504-790), March 2010, volume 55, issue 9, is published monthly Publications Mail Agreement Number
by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc., 1633 Broadway, New York, New York 10019. Periodicals postage 40052054; Canadian Registration Number
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changes to Car and Driver, P.O. Box 52906, Boulder, Colorado 80322-2906; 386-597-4375; fax 303- West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill, Ontario
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112 M a rch 2 010 ca r a NDDr I V Er .cOM I L L U S T r a T I O N by j E f f r E y S M I T h


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38 2011 Cadillac CTS/-V Coupe

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Behold the new Lexus WTF. 92 2011 Rolls-Royce Ghost wa g o n o v e r l o a d

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Supersports 2009 Ford Fusion Sport

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Behold the new Lexus WTF.

I stood at the Lexus booth at the Los

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EDITOR-I N-CH I EF Eddie Alterman

Published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc.

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eDrive actually hits its claimed zero-to-60 time of less than

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oﬃcial website, there are history is a source of contention. One source

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econom ic i n dic ator > Fuel economy

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