Innehållsförteckning för April 2017 från MotorTrend

Ford CEO Mark Fields and chief technical officer and global product chief Raj Nair discuss the need to invest in core vehicles and markets while pursuing autonomy and ride-sharing initiatives. The auto industry is worth $2.3 trillion globally, but transportation services are worth $5.4 trillion. Ford wants as big a slice as possible. To do that, it will keep investing in popular trucks, SUVs, and commercial vans, will transform underperforming Lincoln and small cars, and will grow mobility services. Interview Did you plan for Trump taking office, and how does that change Ford’s commitment to CAFE? Fields: We looked at the two candidates, their positions, and what it would mean to our business. When it comes to fuel economy, it is not just the U.S. we have to deal with.…

I’m among the minority of Motor Trend staffers from a “real” place. For my Southern California native buds, the sun is a year-round phenomenon, rain is something that happens once a year, and snow might as well be a myth. But growing up as a car enthusiast in New York City, I understood that weather was a certainty, a cloth top was code for “rob me,” and that a true driver’s car has the power and the grip to be enjoyed at your limits rain or shine. That’s the modus operandi of the Ford Focus RS. The Focus RS is fast, grippy, and versatile. It might be disadvantaged in this group by virtue of its curb weight (four doors and five seats add up, after all), but it makes up…

Ask anyone: Driving a slow car fast is always more fun than driving a fast car slow. The updated Toyota 86 (née Scion FR-S) is the very embodiment of this idea and the essence of a “momentum car.” With its balance of performance and tire, the 86 allows you to get the most out of the driving experience. Don’t take it from me, though. Listen to what my fellow editors had to say: Jonny Lieberman: “An incredible driver’s car. Anyone who says differently doesn’t really understand cars.” Christian Seabaugh: “This car is the type of car folks buy and immediately begin modifying and tuning. Don’t do it. Stickier tires and power adders will ruin an otherwise sublimely engineered experience.” Jason Cammisa: “This is a total blast and a fantastic sports…

The most fascinating aspect of the new Lamborghini Huracán Performante isn’t its increased power, new tires, reworked suspension, or improved ABS system. It isn’t its recalculated stability and traction control programs, upgraded transmission, or decreased weight, either. The part of the Performante that’s going to excite supercar lovers the most is ALA. That’s short for Aerodynamica Lamborghini Attiva, an entirely new way to do active aerodynamics. But first, the basics. Power is up! And that’s always a good thing. Especially when your garden variety Huracán is capable of producing “only” 602 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque from its 5.2-liter naturally aspirated V-10. For Performante duty, the engine gets new intake and exhaust camshafts, an air intake borrowed from the Super Trofeo Huracán, and a new exhaust system. The result…

“Driving a hydrogen car every day presents a unique opportunity to collect key data and learn from a rapidly evolving fueling infrastructure.” EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON 67/67/67 MPG-E BASE PRICE $58,335 PRICE AS TESTED $58,335 Here it is: the first hydrogen car to grace the Motor Trend Garage. For the next several months, we’ll learn what it’s like to drive and live with a hydrogen vehicle. We’ve learned a few things already, such as not to panic when the fueling nozzle freezes onto the car’s receptacle at the hydrogen pump. Oh, and that the Mirai can outrun a Prius. The Toyota Mirai is the first vehicle of its kind to be available for retail sale in the U.S. It’s currently only sold in eight dealerships across California,…

2018 Ford F-150 Not content with just an all-new 10-speed automatic transmission as an update to the F-150, Ford is plowing ahead with new and improved engines, too. The big news is a 3.0-liter turbodiesel V-6, which is related to the one Ford builds for Jaguar Land Rover. Also new is a 3.3-liter V-6 to replace the old 3.5-liter base engine. It, the 5.0-liter V-8, and the 2.7-liter EcoBoost twin-turbo V-6 now feature both port and direct injection for more power and better efficiency. The 3.5-liter EcoBoost, similarly upgraded for 2017, carries over. Every engine except the base V-6 gets the 10-speed automatic, and every engine gets automatic start/stop. The 2018 trucks also get new grilles, headlights, taillights, and tailgates. Volkswagen I.D. Buzz Concept VW has teased us mercilessly with…

Now that Tesla has successfully (so far) made a proper run of building and selling electric vehicles in mass quantities, there are several nascent alt-fuel automakers promising similar dramatic leaps in technology, product offerings, and sales goals. Among them are Faraday Future and Lucid Motors, and others wait in the wings. If you read Frank Markus’ column last month, you know that 3-D printing could provide low-volume automakers with a lower-cost method of manufacturing parts that would ordinarily require hundreds of millions of dollars in tool and die machines. But those costs are relative in a larger-scale picture. Tesla’s ability to manufacture cars was largely a result of CEO Elon Musk’s fortuitous timing of having capital and leverage when every automaker was slashing costs during the recession. Toyota sold its…

“This car is hands down the best BMW made in at least five years, probably more. It’s the first M car in a long time to actually live up to the Ultimate Driving Machine tagline,” features editor Christian Seabaugh says. Others in our test group mirrored the sentiment. Which is why it stunned, irked, and bemused me that the panel voted the Bimmer fifth out of six entries. I would reach for the M2 keys before any others in this pack. It has everything a driver wants: forceful power, reassuring handling, a smooth-enough ride, fantastic seats, interior refinement galore, and intuitive infotainment. Road test editor Chris Walton says the M2 has one of the sweetest engines around and torque available everywhere. There is a mesa of power through the middle…

How did the car with the best damping, best steering, best brakes, and just plain ol’ best performances across the board not win this test of performance? Brand bias and vocal minority. I swear I heard somebody say, “Well, of course it’s the best car here. It’s a $90,000 Porsche!” Would it be OK with an Abarth badge on it instead? I can’t dispute a price that includes $23,460 in options, but like our annual Best Driver’s Car contest, that should not matter, either. If we had the $57,000 base 718 Boxster with a manual transmission, it would’ve received more votes than this apex predator. Ppffft. With the Boxster S’ optional sport exhaust, the engine has texture, a guttural voice, and attitude The 718 Boxster’s more powerful, more fuel-efficient four-cylinder…

The Bugatti Veyron quite famously came complete with 10 heat exchangers. That 1,001-horsepower projection of Ferdinand Piëch’s ego made so much heat it needed 10 coolers to keep it from boiling. The 650-hp 2017 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 has 11. Such is the extreme nature of the latest, probably greatest, and without question most powerful street-legal Camaro the Bow Tie has ever sold to the public. Unlike the obvious competition (looking at you, Hellcat), the ZL1 isn’t simply extreme for extreme’s sake. The Camaro team gave the sixth-generation Camaro all flavors of performance enhancers for a reason. Three reasons, actually: Camaro boss Al Oppenheiser wanted the ZL1 to be the best ponycar on the drag strip, on a canyon road, and on the racetrack. Chevy is marketing these three objectives in…

Every car is defined by a series of trade-offs and decisions that achieve one goal at the expense of others. The BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe itself defines compromise—emphasizing style over function. We just can’t decide which of its two performance derivatives we like better. The M6 and Alpina B6 are both available from BMW dealerships with full factory warranties and wear the same sexy body. They have different engines, but both are twin-turbo V-8s that crank out 600 tarmac-tearing horsepower. Even their base prices are similar, a mere $3,400 apart. That’s a rounding error at their six-figure price points. Despite the apparent similarities, these two BMWs are the products of different compromises. Everyone knows what an M car is. You expect the M6 Gran Coupe to pummel any racetrack,…

In 1953 newly elected President Dwight D. Eisenhower nominated GM CEO Charles “Engine Charlie” Wilson as secretary of defense. When asked during his confirmation hearings whether he could ever make a decision that would adversely affect his old employer, Wilson said he could but added he could not conceive of such a situation “because for years I thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa.” Back in 1953, the auto industry marched lockstep with the national interest, and not just in the U.S. A homegrown auto industry was de rigueur for any country wanting to join the wealthy nations club. No more. In the 64 years since Engine Charlie’s controversial confirmation hearings (his reluctance to sell his GM stock, worth $22.6 million in…

2018 Chevrolet Traverse Hot on the heels of the downsized GMC Acadia, the full-size Chevrolet Traverse returns with three rows and seating for up to eight. Its new architecture drops a claimed 362 pounds, which should add a bit of pep to the standard 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder (255 hp, 295 lb-ft) and optional 3.6-liter V-6 (305 hp, 260 lb-ft). Both engines drive an all-new nine-speed automatic and feature automatic start/stop. An optional all-wheel-drive system tells you when to engage rather than doing it for you. A longer wheelbase means more interior space, and the second row slides, even with a child seat anchored in. Chevy also added several new trim levels and retained the ability to tow up to 5,000 pounds. 2018 Honda Odyssey Following Chrysler’s Pacifica, Honda has rolled…

As a kid, the first car repair I learned was how to change the oil and filter on the family’s trusty ’69 Chevy wagon and ’70 Beetle. My sisters were also taught this skill, and at least one of them still regularly changes her car’s oil. The Castrol division of petro giant BP wants to eliminate this learning curve, along with the associated tools, drop cloths, catch basins, rags, and Lava soap. Instead, Castrol will replace it all with a product called Nexcel. In short, Nexcel integrates an oil filter into a reservoir containing all the oil the vehicle should need for the duration of its oil-change interval. An oil change starts by initiating the procedure on the dash or via OBD port. Then all the engine oil gets pumped…

Be honest. You can spend a week with one of two cars: the Ford Focus RS or the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R. Or for Europhiles, it’s a decision between a Porsche 911 and a 718 Boxster S. You can’t choose both, but you get to beat on your selection as hard as you like on both a closed road and a racetrack. Chevron is paying for the gas. That Focus RS is a cool hot hatch. But if you’re being honest— really, truly, hand-on-a-holy-book honest—you choose the Shelby. Such was the sacrifice we made when choosing the field for our 2016 Best Driver’s Car test. It was an embarrassment of riches in terms of jealousyinducing vehicular choice. We could not bring ’em all for reasons ranging from available time and…

As soon as I put the V-8-powered version of the Camaro 1LE through the figure-eight test, I knew Chevrolet had accomplished something special. A week later, the rest of the Motor Trend staff verified my impressions by voting that car fourth place out of 12 world-class contenders in our 2016 Best Driver’s Car extravaganza, beating the Dodge Viper ACR and Audi R8 V10 Plus among others. So we were naturally curious how the V-6 version would do. The Camaro 1LE is such a great handler that you can turn the nannies off with a high degree of confidence The first thing you need to know about the Camaro 1LE V-6 is that the front end never gives up. Go ahead. Try to force this car to understeer. I’ll wait. The…

When it comes to cars, we all have our preferences. We could argue about the relative merits of a turbo engine’s midrange torque versus a naturally aspirated engine’s instant response. Or whether steering precision is more important than feedback at the wheel. But there’s one thing that you can’t argue with: the power of a smile. In this group, the Fiat 124 Abarth had the least powerful engine, but it was also the undisputed king of back-road perma-grin. In this group, the Fiat 124 Abarth had the least powerful engine, but it was also the king of back-road perma-grin. The top-down motoring is enjoyable, but the Fiat is also willing to give it all. To wit: In its driver’s seat, I followed the BMW M2, being pushed to its absolute…

The Lexus brand thundered onto the automotive scene nearly 30 years ago with the LS 400 flagship sedan, which sniped the German brands with the concept of affordable, reliable luxury. But it was the first Lexus coupe that announced the brand possessed style and panache. The stunning 1992 SC 400 was born of its Newport Beach, California, design studio, which gained inspiration for its concept model by pouring gloppy plaster into balloons and seeing how they jiggled and wobbled. The resulting coupe was a sleek, stealthy sensation. We named it our Import Car of the Year. However, the follow-up coupe that arrived in 2001 was the portly, stubby SC 430, a vehicle few under the age of 65 ever coveted. When it quietly went out of production in 2010, no…