Innehållsförteckning för August 2019 från MotorTrend

Just prior to shipping this issue, the only two BMWs I had recently driven were the X7 and X5—both all-new for 2019. I had only a brief lunchtime spin in the supersized X7, in which I took five colleagues to a local pho joint and was able to use all three rows. My co-workers handle different parts of the business at the MotorTrend Group, from business intelligence to operations to ad sales, so they were excited to experience a brand-new BMW. “Do you like it?” they hollered from the back. “How does it drive?” “It’s really … big,” I said, struggling to find words to describe the 5,300-pound, 203.3-inch-long (0.6 inch shy of a Chevy Tahoe), $100,000 (as tested), leather-swaddled behemoth. I spent a lot more time in the X5:…

Make it more confident and intuitive to drive.” That was the feedback current owners of Ford’s wild-child, track-rat, flat-plane-crank, manual-only Mustang Shelby GT350 offered when the development team asked. The team kept this wish in mind as it pushed the current platform to new levels of performance while developing the GT500, and it’s now rolling out a new GT350 with higher performance limits. Perhaps the lowest-hanging chassis-development fruit is better tire grip. The Mustang team worked with Michelin to tailor a tire and then retuned the chassis to take advantage of the new grip. Upgrading from Michelin Pilot Sports to Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires represents a serious performance and technology leap. The GT350R has used wider-section versions of this tire from the start, and the tires look similar. Both…

America’s love for the crossover has forced a growing number of automakers to eliminate sedans from their lineups. But not Honda. Its 10th-generation Civic has sold more than 1 million copies since its launch. Is the updated 2019 Honda Civic good enough to keep the momentum going? Our long-term 2016 Civic Touring was a solid product from the start. But we also found some room for improvement, most of which has been addressed with the 2019 refresh. The audio system has finally replaced the capacitive touch slider bar with a volume knob. The touchscreen section of the Display Audio System is pretty much the same, though we wish it had been upgraded to the more intuitive and responsive next-gen interface found in other Honda models such as the Insight. Powertrains…

Niki Lauda, the Formula 1 racing legend who survived a fiery, life-threatening high-speed crash to emerge a champion, died in late May. He was 70 years old. Lauda won the F1 drivers’ championship in 1975 and 1977 with Ferrari and again in 1984 with McLaren. But Lauda is perhaps best known for the 1976 crash he survived at the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, when he was trapped in his burning car for nearly a minute before fellow racers pulled him to safety. In a coma battling third-degree burns and damaged lungs from inhaling toxic gases, Lauda battled back to race again in just six weeks—finishing a heroic fourth place at Monza, with blood from his facial burns seeping into his balaclava. After his driving career came to a…

The developed world has called the automotive shots for a century-plus, but many of its biggest players are stumbling when attempting to serve the developing world. They find that low-income connected buyers don’t want stripped-down first-world cars. They’ll accept minimalism where it doesn’t show, but they want to look at screens and see pleasing design. They demand solutions that have been “frugally engineered” for them. The “frugal engineering” gospel is preached by the Chennai, India–based digital tech services provider Hinduja Tech. I first learned of this company during a live broadcast of Autoline Detroit featuring “lean design” guru Sandy Munro. He was ostensibly there to discuss his company’s teardown and cost analysis of the Tesla Model 3, but he mentioned he had a Renault crossover in his shop that sells…

I should be the type of guy who likes convertibles. I live in Los Angeles, I’m under 30, and—to channel my inner narcissist for a second—my hair flows in the wind shampoo-commercial style. Yet I can’t get behind the idea of top-down driving. It’s not one reason; it’s a bunch of little ones. Convertibles look ungainly to me with their tops up, and many don’t handle as well as their roofed brethren. And as a worry-wart (thanks, Mom), I’m convinced someone will come along with a switchblade and liberate me of nickels and an iPhone cable. I’m apparently not the only one cool on convertibles; back during Peak Topless (between 1950 and 1970), American automakers offered at least 33 different convertibles, accounting for nearly 6 percent of new car sales.…

Sadly for car aficionados, the federal government’s regulations have kept us from enjoying the world’s coolest rides. A right-hand-drive car, or a vehicle too small to pass crash-safety tests, or one with an engine that would not pass emissions—all are viable reasons to not give a free pass for cars never meant to be sold here. But time—enemy of yellow bananas and pop music stardom—is the friend of gray-market car enthusiasts with an appreciation for Japan’s coolest cars of the 1990s. Cars like the Nissan Figaro, Suzuki Cappuccino, and the head-turning gullwinged Autozam AZ-1 weren’t designed to meet U.S. government requirements, so they were never sold here. It wasn’t even legal to buy one in Japan and bring it home yourself. DUNCAN IMPORTS BRINGS THE COOL JDM RIDES WE NEVER…

For decades, the BMW 3 Series was the epitome of the luxury sport sedan. Its great handling, punchy power, and dynamic ride made it the leader of its class. “Ultimate Driving Machine” was more uncontested truth than mere advertising slogan. But the Bavarian brand took a left turn with the last generation, which lacked the emotion and precision that so defined the 3 Series of yore. Other brands—like Alfa Romeo—used that misstep to jump in the game, creating exciting machines that made up for the BMW’s shortcomings. Now in its seventh generation, the 2019 BMW 330i is faced with having to regain its lost luster. With the Giulia, the Italian brand created one of the best sport sedans in the market. We liked it so much that we named it…

The historic Saw Mill River Parkway in Westchester County, north of New York City, began construction in 1926, the same year the Rolls-Royce Phantom I entered production at the Rolls-Royce of America plant in Springfield, Massachusetts. The stone bridges crossing over the highway were clearly never intended to have four lanes of 55-plus-mph traffic crammed under them. It’s the first time I’ve been tense in days. This Rolls-Royce Phantom VIII is worth nearly $600,000, and I don’t have that sort of cash on me. Until now, I’ve been the picture of calm behind the wheel of 20 feet and 5,700 pounds of arguably the greatest luxury on four wheels. But narrow lanes and speeding New Yorkers are making me nervous. After a few bridges, though, it’s clear my trepidation is…

Long before you got your first car, and longer still before your dream car/project, you had a Hot Wheels car (or a few dozen). Now, though, is your chance to make your life-size baby a future Hot Wheels collectible. Launched last year as part of Hot Wheels’ 50th anniversary, the Hot Wheels Legends Tour once again is crisscrossing the country—giving fans the opportunity to show their cars and compete for not only a best in show trophy but also the chance to have their car immortalized as a 1:64 scale Hot Wheels die-cast. Winners at each of the 18 shows become finalists for the grand prize, which will be announced at the SEMA aftermarket show in Las Vegas this November. The tour’s in full swing with events held in Miami,…

Better late than never. Years after its German rivals launched cut-down versions of their SUVs, Porsche has finally built a Cayenne with a lower roofline. The Cayenne Coupe arrives in the U.S. this fall with three powertrains, additional standard equipment, and a host of options. The Cayenne Coupe shares powertrains, suspension components, electrical architecture, and much of its body structure with the regular Cayenne. In terms of sheetmetal, however, only the hood, front fenders, and front door skins (plus the lights) are carried over from the regular Cayenne. The A-pillars have been laid back, there’s a new windshield, and the roofline is 0.8 inch lower, sweeping gracefully rearward into 0.7-inch-wider rear quarter panels to create a greenhouse with echoes of the iconic 911. The interior is virtually identical to that…

Will the new Toyota Supra be yet another sports car launched with fanfare and then allowed to quietly fade away? Many sporting cars do when initial demand wanes after 24 to 30 months. Keep a close eye on the sales figures, both in the U.S. and worldwide. The small sports car segment the Supra plunges into has been challenged for some time, with sales down 13 percent worldwide last year, continuing a trend that has accelerated over the past five years. Although Porsche’s Boxster/Cayman twins have weathered the storm better than most, product planners in Stuttgart have been alarmed enough to contemplate a complete reskin of the existing hardware, a shared platform with Audi, or even discontinuing the cars. Mercedes-Benz product mavens killed off plans for an SLK successor. As…

Following the successful launch of the third redesign of the Porsche 911 developed during his 18-year stint as product director of the iconic sports car, “Mr. 911,” August Achleitner, is transitioning to retirement. The Austrian-born mechanical engineer, who started at Porsche in the chassis development department in 1983, will hand the reins to Porsche’s current head of motorsports, Frank-Steffen Walliser. We caught up with Achleitner at the official introduction of the 911 Cabriolet. Is developing the next 911 the world’s easiest or hardest job? What we are presenting today has involved decisions made over the past three years, and the Porsche engineer is always creative. There are of course new ideas. We get results out of pre-development activities. We get results of feedback from the customer and from the press,…

We sold 27.” Toyota chief engineer Masato Tanabe is curt with his answer. I had asked if Toyota had plans to sell its recently redesigned Century—the chauffeur-driven, ultra-luxury sedan that’s been in production since 1967—in markets outside Japan. He first, quickly, answered, “No.” Then I ask why not. Because, Tanabe-san explains (through a translator), they tried to do so with the previous generation. And it flopped. The second-gen Century launched in 1997 with a 5.0-liter V-12. Yes, a Japanese V-12. For a single car model. Not even Lexus could borrow it. Toyota offered that Century for sale in Germany, Austria, Great Britain, Australia, and a few Middle Eastern countries. One hundred left-hand-drive examples were built, with some winding up in the U.S. to shuttle Toyota’s local executives. But selling even…

During an intense day spent driving the all-new 992-generation 2020 Porsche 911 S and 4S Cabriolets, I sensed that my heart was spending a great deal of time at an elevated rate, and my pasty winter-in-Detroit skin was equally conscious of and grateful for the overdue dose of vitamin D it was receiving in the nearly draft-free cockpit. This drive around the Attica peninsula below and around Athens, Greece, felt like my healthiest outdoor activity since warm weather departed Michigan. Could these Cabrios actually be good for your health? Whether dancing or driving, my natural tendency is to let it all hang out a bit farther when nobody’s watching (or hanging on for dear life). This is especially true when I’m leading a superior dance partner who’s forever whispering, “C’mon…

The 2019 Arteon’s best design detail is that it’s not immediately identifiable as a Volkswagen. The brand has produced some very safe designs lately, so it’s satisfying to see a sexier shape slink out of the design studios. The Arteon won’t inspire envy from Audi A5 Sportback owners, but this Volkswagen is a far more pleasing shape than the Nissan Maxima, Toyota Avalon, or Acura TLX. As the brand’s flagship four-door sedan straddles the full-size mainstream and entry-level luxury segments, however, styling can’t assure success on its own. Let’s be clear: This is no bargain Audi. Materials inside the $36,840–$47,705 Arteon are hit or miss, from the center console’s hard plastic to the unacceptably cheap “Is this a Jetta?” feel of the HVAC knobs. Then again, the Nappa leather feels…

M. Allen Swift faced a difficult decision in 1928. Shortly before his 26th birthday, his father had made him a deal: Stay in the family’s gold leaf business and watch your two younger brothers go off to college at MIT, and you can have any car you want. On the advice of a friend, Swift pointed his Marmon north and made the short drive up from West Hartford, Connecticut, to the Rolls-Royce of America plant just across the border in Springfield, Massachusetts. “Someone had advised me to go to the Springfield plant,” Swift told the Springfield Museums in a 2003 interview. “I went all through it and watched them making the parts. It reinforced my idea that it was well made. I saw all the ways they tested the cars.…

2018 Volkswagen Atlas Service life: 6 mo/11,852 mi • Avg. Fuel Econ: 17.6 mpg “With average fuel economy hovering around 18 mpg, I spend so much time at the pump that I’m considering turning in a time card.”William Walker Avg CO2 1.10 lb/mi Energy cons 187 kW-hr/100 mi Unresolved problems None Maintenance cost $80.40 (oil change, inspection) Normal-wear cost $0 Base price $36,165 As-tested $38,265 EPA City/Hwy/Comb Fuel Econ 18/25/20 mpg Real MPG 19.9/27.5/22.7 Between my daily 45-minute commute and pulling support and transportation duties on out-of-town photo and video shoots, we have been putting some miles on the Atlas. With 11,087 miles on the odometer, it was finally time to visit our local Volkswagen dealership to get the oil changed. In addition to changing the oil, the dealership completed…

Luftgekühlt is German for “Air-Cooled” It was all a Marty McFly dream, right? One Saturday morning, hundreds of classic Porsches pull in to surround the Hill Valley town square set from Back to the Future. And then, by late afternoon—poof! They were all gone. Was it a dream, Doc? No, it was the sixth and very dreamlike installment of Luftgekühlt, the legendary gathering of air-cooled Porsches, and one of the finest car shows of any kind, anywhere. Last year’s Luftgekühlt 5 took place at the massive yet tidy and oddly photogenic Ganahl lumberyard in Torrance, California. Afterward, I was left to wonder, how on earth will the Luft crew top this? By going from wood to Hollywood, of course. The set pieces at Luft 6 were made for photographers and…

This doesn’t feel like an SUV. It’s far too much flipping fun. Pop, snort, burble. Quick turn-in, followed by a long sweeper on some epic roads through the mountains between St. Tropez and Nice—life is good behind the wheel of the 2019 Jaguar F-Pace SVR. Happily, the Special Vehicle Operations team got its hands on the F-Pace. The team says its 550-hp, 502-lb-ft 5.0-liter supercharged V-8 will go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds and do the quarter mile in 12.3 seconds with a top speed of 176 mph. All-wheel drive is standard, and it has an eight-speed automatic transmission. The team nicknamed its creation “the magnificent beast,” and it’s instantly recognizable as one with new bumpers, bigger air intakes, and vents in the hood and front fenders.…

The EQC 400 is aimed squarely at the Audi E-Tron and Jaguar I-Pace; it’s also intended to win over Tesla rejecters. Curiously, given Daimler’s long history of innovation, the EQC is not built on a bespoke electric platform. Instead, it rolls on a highly modified version of the MRA components set that underpins the regular C-Class sedan, coupe, and wagon, as well as the GLC SUV. The EQC can therefore be built on the same production line as those models. Daimler’s conservative engineering approach means less financial risk, but it also means the EQC is a relatively conservative take on a modern electric vehicle. Unlike the Tesla Model S or Jaguar I-Pace, the EQC’s proportions are similar to those of a regular internal combustion Mercedes. The EQC is all-wheel drive,…

Following World War II, nearly all the world’s major industrialized powers were in ruin following the global slaughter; only America’s infrastructure had stayed intact, though it had just emerged from nearly two decades of economic depression and war. But America was in a rejuvenated consumerist mood, and the Marshall Plan helped Europe and Japan rebuild swiftly. Suddenly, citizens of First World countries enjoyed a certain limited prosperity compared to previous decades and generations. And those in the business of providing the tools of life—from housewares to office equipment to transportation—discovered that consumers were now taking notice of how their products looked as much as how they functioned. It was the time of democratizing design. The middle and working classes deserved intriguing-looking goods, as well. Designers’ ability to give modern vehicles…

Back in 1967, Toyota launched the Century as a reaction to the Nissan President, which made its debut in 1965 as a possible candidate for use by the Imperial Household Agency of Japan. The President was a reaction to the 1964 Toyota Crown 8, a large, 2.6-liter V-8-powered four-door built to stop the use of foreign (i.e., American) luxury sedans. The first Century was based on the Crown 8, and for a while it used a 3.0-liter version of the latter’s engine. In 1973 the displacement grew to 3.4 liters before finally growing to 4.0 liters in the early ’80s, about 15 years after the original car launched. No matter, as the first-gen Century stayed in production for another decade and a half—finally getting replaced by a V-12 in the…

Sport sedan lovers, your time is now. Although crossover SUVs have invaded the market like a herd of stampeding cattle, there are still plenty of options for those who prefer a lower center of gravity in a traditional three-box shape. As you’re reading this, no fewer than 12 automakers, from Acura to Volvo, offer a spirited, premium, well-equipped four-door in the $50,000 range. The sport sedan segment might be down, but it is definitely not out. In our latest comparo, we focus on the standouts in the class—three shining stars that each bring something class-leading and unique to the table. There’s the sport sedan legend, an award-winning newcomer, and, finally, a disruptive upstart. Which one has what it takes to wear the crown? The 2019 BMW 330i brings seven generations…

“Yankee Rose so true, how we all love you, and we’re proud to say you belong to the U.S.A.,” crooned the First Lady of Radio, Vaughn De Leath, alongside Sam Lanin and his Famous Players in a New York City studio in January 1927. Meanwhile, across town at the Brewster & Co. coachbuilding line in Long Island City, workers fitted a custom body to the just-released Rolls-Royce Phantom I flagship that had been driven some 140 miles from a factory in Springfield, Massachusetts, as nothing more than a bare chassis and its mechanical underpinnings. Although the Phantom I was a new entry into the Rolls-Royce lineup, American manufacturing of English luxury machines had already been happening for nearly a decade. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, founded in 1904, had only been up…

There’s no getting around it: Teenagers are pretty bad drivers when they first hit the road. Most high schools don’t offer drivers-ed courses anymore, and some states don’t even have formal driver education requirements. In other states, new drivers older than a certain age don’t have to undergo training. Even those who receive all the necessary training in the classroom and behind the wheel may come out learning little beyond the basic rules of the road, and inexperience usually means those neophyte drivers are not prepared for real-life emergency situations. That’s where the Tire Rack Street Survival school comes in, teaching students how to handle these scenarios and giving them the opportunity to put their knowledge into practice—in a controlled environment, of course. “It’s not that we’re teaching them how…

It was the car crash that shocked the world. On August 31, 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, died after the Mercedes-Benz S280 in which she was a passenger collided with a concrete pillar in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris. Also killed were Diana’s boyfriend, Dodi Fayed—son of Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed, then owner of London’s famed Harrods department store—and the driver of the black Benz, Henri Paul. Bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, the fourth occupant, survived. What made it even more shocking was that the princess, Fayed, and Paul had died in what was widely reckoned at the time to be the safest production car in the world. Having been to the international launch of the W140 series S-Class and seen its leading-edge active and passive safety features firsthand, I…