Innehållsförteckning för July 2018 från Car and Driver

THE VISION MERCEDES-MAYBACH Ultimate Luxury concept was built to do three things: preview the future of Mercedes-Benz’s in-car technology, express Mercedes’ intent to grow the Maybach brand, and provide a look at the company’s plans for the EV powertrains that will motivate its upcoming EQ line. Apparently “appeal to American tastes” was not in the brief. Unveiled at the Beijing auto show in April, the Ultimate Luxury was designed specifically for the China market, from the ebony trim throughout the interior (the wood is used in traditional Chinese furniture making) to the tea service in the center console. Beneath the flourishes, however, is a vehicle concept of consequence. Mercedes will eventually release a GLS-based Maybach SUV, the long-term goal being to grow the nascent ultraluxury subbrand into something as strong,…

WHETHER OR NOT FERRARI actually had a hand in the odometer-fraud scandal that rocked a Palm Beach dealership last year, the whole thing looks bad. The diagnostic computer that Ferrari has used since 2008 requires authorization from Maranello before a technician somewhere else in the world can reset the mileage on a car to zero—a functionality that Ferrari says is meant for instances of odometer malfunction, is consistent with the federal odometer law, and will work only if the car’s mileage is below 311 miles (500 kilometers). But the resulting imbroglio shines a light on an uncomfortable truth: Odometer tampering is still possible, and not just on older cars. Today, the act is the confluence of high-tech fraud and good old-fashioned records falsification. NHTSA estimates that more than 450,000 vehicles…

The Pace of Sport-Ute Sportification Bonus! //Throughout this section, we reveal the enabling technologies that can transform SUVs from lumbering oafs into totally graceful oafs.…

FIFTY YEARS AGO IN THESE PAGES, THEN SENIOR EDITOR DAVID E. DAVIS JR. CANONIZED THE BMW 2002 IN A PIECE CALLED “TURN YOUR HYMNALS TO 2002.” DAVIS RECOGNIZED AND CELEBRATED THE MOMENT THAT A SMALL, UPRIGHT GERMAN CAR BECAME A FORCE IN THE MARKET, AND THE STORY CEMENTED THE BMW LEGEND. WHILE THE SPORTS SEDAN WASN’T BORN THAT DAY, DAVID E.’S ANALYSIS ANNOUNCED THE ARRIVAL, IMPORTANCE, AND VITALITY OF A PRAGMATIC MACHINE WITH THE SOUL OF A SPORTS CAR. Will an SUV ever have the same sort of moment? Could one ever transcend its inherent dynamic limitations and be as good as a sports sedan or even a sports car? Will one ever come along that changes the way we see SUVs? Did I lock the front door? More than…

Arrival: Nov/2016 Departure: Mar/2018 What we drive, more often than not. Welcome to Crossover and Dad, the first magazine devoted to those high-riding, two-box vehicles that no self-respecting car guy wants but everyone is buying! Going forward, the rebooted C/D will be so replete with crossover news and reviews that it will resemble the overflowing cargo area behind the third row on your last family vacation. Yes, we know it’s your wife’s car. Our promise to you both: Absolutely no minivans—ever! Fear not: There’s no way that’s happening, no matter how much the auto business careens off in such a direction. And make no mistake, the car world has turned upside down. Buick, which may be the stodgiest, most historically sedan-centric mainstream brand, reports that 79 percent of its sales…

IF YOU OBSERVE CLOSELY, the new, seventh-generation Volkswagen Jetta has a tell. Ignore the strakes on the hood that make it appear something like a shrunken Passat. Don’t be fooled by the shiny chrome exhaust tips integrated into the rear-bumper valance—they’re fake. Instead, trace the major character line from the little badge on the passenger front fender back along its length. There, hiding within the crease in the metal, is the Jetta’s fuel-filler door. Look familiar? Of course it does: It’s nearly the same shape as on the Golf, the Jetta’s once-again platform-mate. For 2019, the Jetta moves to the MQB platform, VW’s do-everything, be-everything architecture, which made its U.S. debut in the 2015 Golf (and also underpins the Tiguan and Atlas as well as the Audi A3 and TT).…

AS THE GREAT RICKY BOBBY said in Talladega Nights, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.” Which got us thinking: What’s it like to never win—ever? In general, roughly half the drivers on the grid in any major race haven’t won in their current series. Others have never even stood on the podium’s second- or third-place step. But if they’re not at the front of the field, these drivers are still at the top of their game. So don’t pity the guy at the back of the pack—his bank account is probably still winning. THE BIG SHOW Since even top-level racing grids in some series can vary from event to event—particularly in the U.S.—we based our figures on the roster from each series’ most recent marquee race as of press time:…

THE PROLIFERATION OF LOW-PROFILE tires is evidence that form often wins over function. This automotive fashion statement is wholly detached from our current reality of ever heavier vehicles pounding over increasingly derelict roads, and drivers pay the price when forced to replace damaged tires and/or wheels. With little hope of reining in automotive stylists, tire manufacturer Michelin has developed a wheel that bends to both designers’ desires and tire-eating potholes. The company’s flexible wheel soaks up the hard impacts that often result in torn and bulging sidewalls and bent and cracked wheels. Driving on it, Michelin engineers were able to hit a three-inch-deep test pothole at 34 mph without damaging a typical low-profile 285/30R-21 tire. The same pothole flattened an identical tire on a conventional wheel at half the speed.…

Astonish. It has always been what a Lamborghini does best. Lambos drop jaws, dilate pupils, inspire goosebumps, and knock frontal lobes back into the parietal lobes. They are impractical, intemperate, impossible to see out of, and get stupid hot inside, but, damn, look at them. Now here is the new 2019 Urus, the first Lamborghini that does none of those things. It’s the counter-Countach. Purely as a business proposition, the Urus was unavoidable. The market is obsessed with crossovers; ignoring that, and the profits that go with it, is a formula for permanent business marginalization. Lamborghini needs a crossover to anchor its cash flow, stabilize sales, and recruit new customers who may want an Aventador or Huracán but need a vehicle that functions as a daily driver. If Lamborghini sells…

When the term “SUV” first entered common use, the S referred to a sort of sport that had nothing to do with speed and everything to do with honest, go-anywhere capability. With a fair bit of ground clearance, three locking differentials, and a low-range transfer case, the Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen was the ultimate SUV. It still is. The three locking diffs remain—as does low range—and on our drive of the fully redesigned G-wagen in southern France, we used them to crawl up and down rocky slopes steeper than 30 degrees. The G being utterly unstressed by this, we even showboated a little, stopping on the way down and reversing uphill. Like its predecessor, the new G-class is so capable off-road, you feel as if the only place you can’t go is…

AUSTRIA’S GROSSGLOCKNER HIGH Alpine Road had just opened for the season when we nosed the 2019 Bentley Continental GT through the tollgate. With spritzing rain and the melting snowpack wetting the pavement, we began our 8200-foot ascent, winding and unwinding the wheel through one switchback after another as we stair-stepped into the clouds and then descended through a thick fog. The previous Continental GT would not have been happy on this road. Sure, it could have stormed up the mountain, pulled along by the ample thrust of its W-12 engine, but it would have suffered through the turns, impatiently waiting to unleash its torque once the wheels were again pointed straight. Although this is still a luxurious GT, not a playful sports car, the new Continental is surprisingly at home…

ONCE UPON A TIME, there was a Porsche 911. Not an ordinary 911, mind you. The 911 GT3 RS is a near race car masquerading in a 911’s frock. Porsche designed this RS to be the most direct, ferocious, and precise street-legal sports car in the brand’s hierarchy. Yes, we’re aware that a 700-hp GT2 RS exists, but arguments for the GT2 RS as Porsche’s ultimate predator collapse with every huff and puff of its turbochargers. In the GT3 RS, you get clawsharp throttle response and the 9000-rpm bawl of a 520-hp naturally aspirated flat-six exhaling through a titanium exhaust. The regular GT3’s 500-hp unit is an electronically neutered version of the same engine. But unlike in the lesser GT3, there’s no manual available in the RS, only a seven-speed…

YOUTUBE IS FREE-FORM CHAOS open to anyone with an ax to grind, a crying need for attention, or an obsession that must be shared. The most popular YouTubers, such as Swedish gamer PewDiePie, who currently has 62.5 million subscribers to his channel, can net as much as $15 million per year. Car ’Tubers don’t harvest that level of lettuce, but several now earn their livings posting videos to the Google-owned site. YouTube is a demanding mistress, but success can be predicted. And it’s not about being slick or glamorous, even if that doesn’t necessarily hurt. Herewith, a guide to online-video prosperity: Step 1: Know the Score Make peace with the fact that you will be playing by YouTube’s rules. It’s a massive entity, and it does not care about you.…

Car names are freighted with meaning. If McLaren were to name a car after its founder, Bruce McLaren, it would probably endow it with many Bruce-like qualities. Such a machine would need to be powerful like a gorilla, yet soft and yielding like a Nerf ball. So thank goodness McLaren chose to name its masterstroke not for the company’s progenitor, but for the Brazilian racer who won each of his three Formula 1 championships while driving for the team McLaren started. True to its name, the Senna demonstrates deep focus, offers transcendent thrills, and bristles with an unrelenting intensity. Molded from carbon fiber and honed in a wind tunnel, it is a 789-hp attack on road courses and the air that surrounds them. This latest addition to McLaren’s Ultimate Series…

ENABLER #1 Roll Control Active anti-roll bars insert an electric motor or hydraulic actuator between two torsion bars connecting the left and right suspensions on an axle. In curves, the active element exerts torque that amplifies the effect of a conventional anti-roll bar to counter body roll, in some cases with nearly 1000 pound-feet of twist. For companies that want their crossovers to have off-road capability, some active anti-roll bars can uncouple the left and right wheels for truly independent suspensions. ENABLER #2 Center of Attention Today’s most advanced all-wheel-drive systems use a transfer case or coupler with an electronically controlled clutch pack to vary the front/rear torque split. With continuous control over torque distribution, automakers can increase the rearward bias for more dynamic handling. Torque then can be routed…

Arrival: Mar/2018 Miles: 3215 • Observed mpg: 19 —SAY WHAT YOU will about the reliability of Alfa Romeo’s cars; our newest longterm test vehicle, a blood-red Giulia Quadrifoglio, made it well past its engine break-in period before it needed to pay an unscheduled visit to the service department. Heck, we could have broken in two of the 505-hp twin-turbo 2.9-liter V-6s before the “service electronic throttle control” warning first flashed, followed by a check-engine light. The Giulia spent a week in the shop, but the technicians could find no cause for the alarms. While they were crawling around our new hotness, though, they found a small coolant leak. Tightening a loose hose clamp stemmed the flow. Also, the car smells like some kid is doing a wood-burning craft inside it.…

IT WON’T SURPRISE YOU to learn that we here at C/D regularly disagree with one another. It’s often about trivial matters such as how long a Geo Metro can run without oil in its crankcase (we’ll settle that argument in next month’s issue). Occasionally, we squabble over more pressing issues, like whether or not the cost of executive editor Jared Gall’s Steel Trap deodorant will increase with the hike in Chinese trade tariffs. But in the matter of the Jaguar F-Pace versus the Land Rover Range Rover Velar, we reached a rarely achieved consensus: The Jag wins this showdown of platform-mates because it’s more enjoyable to drive every day. This alphanumeric soup of mini comparison tests pits Jaguar’s F-Pace 30t Portfolio LE against Land Rover’s Range Rover Velar P250 R-Dynamic…

DON’T GET TOO EXCITED—the latest Regal GS isn’t what you think it is. Yes, it has torque-vectoring all-wheel drive, a 310-hp 3.6-liter V-6, and knockout good looks, all of which are sure to flash as hot pings on most people’s performance-car radar. In actuality, the Regal GS is merely a nice near-luxury car with a V-6 engine. As in competitors such as the Acura TLX, Lincoln MKZ, and Toyota Camry, the six mostly signifies a higher station in the lineup—in this case, the Regal’s top trim level—not a dog whistle to driving enthusiasts. We can see how Buick could have you fooled, though. The GS looks fast. Even the regular Regal—dubbed Sportback on account of its sloping rear hatch and vestigial trunklet, which are shared with the GS—starts out lithe…