Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2015 i MotorTrend

Longtime readers will notice that something is missing from this December issue. That’s right. We’re not announcing Sport/Utility of the Year, as we have since we first expanded our Of the Year awards to include SUVs in the December 1998 issue. The normal cadence for our OTY awards has traditionally been Sport/Utility of the Year in December, Car of the Year in January, and Truck of the Year in February. But all that is about to change. On November 16, 2015, we’re going to do something we’ve never done in the 66-year history of Motor Trend. On that Monday evening, at the groundbreaking YouTube Space: Los Angeles, we’re going to reveal our Car, Truck, and SUV of the Year for 2016 at a celebratory gala. What makes this event extra…

Bond has been seen behind the wheel of everything from a drop-top Toyota 2000GT to an AMC Hornet, but for most people the special agent is linked to an Aston Martin. Although Daniel Craig’s Bond is perhaps the edgiest the franchise has ever been, in many ways the filmmakers have managed to boil down Bond’s essence to the most pure ingredients. What does that mean for car enthusiasts? Gone are the days of heavy-handed product placement (sorry, BMW) and silly over-the-top stunts. Bond and Aston Martin are back in a big way, and all is right in the world of British secret agents. Since Daniel Craig has donned the tuxedo, Bond has seen seat time in a DBS and the iconic DB5 first seen in the Connery era. But in…

December is the time of year to look back and reflect on the last 12 months—at least that’s how I convince myself that that blur of a year indeed stretched 365 days. For me, most of twenty-fifteen was spent in Japan, where my wife’s Fulbright Scholar grant led our family and where I got to experience many memorable machines. Some of them—the go-kart Honda S660 kei car and the retro-fantastic Toyota Land Cruiser 30th Anniversary pickup—I covered in this space. But I’d be remiss not to mention five others that left a lasting impression. Honda Jade Save for a few stylish, utilitarian people-movers—e.g., the Audi Allroad, BMW 3 Series Sports Wagon, and VW Golf SportWagen—wagons can’t seem to escape the black hole in the land of the red, white, and…

“[A mid-engine Corvettebased Cadillac] has to be one of the options.” You’ve had the engineering capability, so why has it taken until now to build a world-class-handling Cadillac? There’s probably many factors at play. I would say it boils down to a renewed sense of focus and really beginning to answer that question of, “What does Cadillac as a brand stand for?” And if we want to be around for another 113 years, how do we evolve from a proud history and heritage of all that the brand has captured in the past yet make it relevant for a new world and a new audience and a new demographic of customers? I think, too, that while we mustn’t ever contemplate emulating those who today dominate the luxury market—because if you…

FIRST TEST Lots of contradicting stereotypes come with the Chevrolet Camaro. For example, how can an owner have a red neck and a mullet? That just doesn’t make sense. The 2016 Camaro does make sense, though. From LT to SS, Chevy has vastly improved the performance, interior, and the styling. It’s cleaner, crisper, and much more nimble. Sure, it’s also undergone a well-publicized haircut. Its new Alpha platform, the same one used for the Cadillac ATS, is stiffer, smaller, and stronger than the outgoing Zeta. Forget the party in the back. This machine is all business. The V-6 LT will likely be the sales workhorse for Camaro. Tucked between the entry-level 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder Camaro LT and 6.2-liter, direct-injection V-8 Camaro SS, the 1LT and 2LT provide the right combination…

Approximately half the Range Rovers and two-thirds the Range Rover Sports sold in the United States last year were powered by the 340-hp, supercharged, 3.0-liter V-6 engine. Care to guess the percentage sold in Europe with this entry-level powerplant? Zero. Zip. Nada. Land Rover doesn’t even offer the gasoline V-6 over there. If you want to drive a six-cylinder Rangie, you have one choice: the 3.0-liter V-6 turbodiesel Land Rover calls the Td6. The Td6 engine powers 90 percent of the Range Rovers sold in Europe, and 50 percent of those sold worldwide. And now it’s come to America, available in 2016 Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models. The Td6s will deliver 32 percent better fuel efficiency than their V-6 gas counterparts, according to Land Rover. EPA consumption numbers…

On August 26 our Army and Marine Corps selected a new SUV to (mostly) replace the lovable and by now iconic HMMWV. The great-grandson of Willie and Joe’s original jeep will be the Oshkosh L-ATV (Light All-Terrain Vehicle), aka JLTV (Joint Light Tactical Vehicle) in U.S. mil-speak. It’s a vastly different animal than the Humvee, and you probably shouldn’t hold your breath for a civilian version. Just as the typical HMMWV weighed more than twice the M151 jeep it replaced, so will the JLTV more than double a base Humvee’s weight to about 7 tons. This is a reflection of the operating theaters in which these trucks will be used. Jeeps and Hummers were intended as tactical support vehicles driven behind the front lines, but these days instead of front…

WRITE US AT 831 S. Douglas St. El Segundo, CA 90245 Email us online at motortrend.com or send an email direct to motortrend@motortrend.com Ballin’ In the September 2015 issue, your comparison test of a Mercedes-AMG GT S, Nissan GT-R, and Porsche 911 Turbo S estimates the front legroom of the Porsche as 66.7 inches (“Ride of the Valkyries”). Is this for the NBA special edition? ART SAMUELSON San Francisco, California Somehow, the engineers who can rewrite the laws of physics to make a rear-engine car handle safely can’t measure legroom. It’s missing from Porsche's specs panels going back years.—Ed. The Contrarians [Spoiler alert] I simply cannot figure out what made you choose the Mercedes as the winner in your Mercedes vs. Nissan vs. Porsche comparison. Here is why you…

Volkswagen Group (Volkswagen AG) has admitted to cheating on diesel emissions regulations for the past six years. The admission comes after independent investigations showed vehicles equipped with Volkswagen AG’s 2.0-liter TDI turbodiesel four-cylinder emitted far more nitrogen oxides (NOx) in real-world conditions than during laboratory emissions testing. After more than a year of scrutiny and an ineffective voluntary recall, VW admitted to installing special cheating software, which only activated emissions controls during emissions testing, on vehicles equipped with the four-cylinder diesel engine. The U.S. government has ordered the company to recall roughly 482,000 affected Volkswagen and Audi cars. The U.S. Justice Department could levy a fine of up to $37,500 per vehicle, or about $18 billion, for two violations of the Clean Air Act. Affected vehicles include the 2009-2015 Volkswagen…

The Smart Fortwo, codeveloped with Renault, is still 106.1 inches long for parallel-parking ease. But now it’s 4.1 inches wider and 0.5 inch taller, and the wheelbase is extended 0.2 inch, lessening the cramped feeling inside. The new-to-Fortwo powertrain has a five-speed manual transmission clinging to a rearmounted, turbocharged, 0.9-liter three-cylinder. The cabin is jazzed up to feel like that of a modern car instead of a DaimlerChrysler-era Mercedes A-Class, with a posher interior and pretty decent (for the 73.7-inch wheelbase) ride. We spent the entirety of our Smart encounter driving the right representative car, the one armed with the $990 Getragsourced six-speed twin-clutch automatic. Smart expects 80 percent of its customers to choose the auto over the manual. If you never experienced the previous Fortwo’s five-speed automated manual, you’ll…

@MT_TheGoods MOTOR TREND’S THE GOODS Porsche PTS Ultralight luggage M – RS 2.7 • $950 • shop.porsche.com Limited to 1,973 units, the four-wheeled piece wears the 911 RS 2.7’s iconic viper green and fits in all current Porsche models. In true Porsche fashion, it’s lightweight and made in Europe. Horse Brand Co. Naval Knife • $225 • horsebrand.co Inspired by Scandinavian knives of years past, it’s made from corrosionresistant 440C stainless steel and brass. The cutting edge’s sharp grind is ready for any maritime mission. Filson The Scout Watch $650-$900 • filson.com It’s a clean and simple 45.5mm timepiece—just how we like ’em. It comes with a number of Horween leather straps and colored dials. You’ll appreciate its scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, Super-LumiNova hands, and Shinola Argonite 715 quartz movement. Anki…

I’ll never forget the first time a fourth-gen Camaro SS rolled up on me in my 2000 Mustang GT. It was late at night. The roads were clear. He revved. I revved. Adrenaline surged. The light turned green. The Camaro ripped away from the light. And I—a college kid just days into driving stick—got left in the dust. Since the Chevrolet Camaro’s introduction in 1966, it and the Ford Mustang have faced off at countless other stoplights—and in our pages more than 20 times. To say it’s been contentious is an understatement. Mustang versus Camaro is among the greatest of rivalries. It’s Celtics-Lakers, Rangers-Devils, Patriots-Everybody. The two sides have lots of history, and it ain’t always friendly. Ford and Chevy have escalated the arms race, throwing more performance capability on…

WORLD WAR II | Detroit Arms America In 1940, the United States was depleted and alone. Decades of isolation and a global depression had created a nation unresponsive to the world beyond its borders. But the battles raging in Europe and Asia were growing steadily closer. Despite serious opposition to joining another foreign war, President Franklin Roosevelt understood the magnitude of the pending carnage. We weren’t ready when he mentioned the Arsenal of Democracy 75 years ago, but he planted the seeds to the most prolific—and most lethal—manufacturing story in the history of the world. It has never been repeated, and it likely never will be. “The more you study it, the more you learn about it, the harder it is to believe it actually happened,” says A.J. Baime, an…