Car and Driver January 2019

ORANGE PEEL Just pulled my issue from the mailbox to find a huge orange jack-o’-lantern grinning its evil sneer. The editor who selected that Lambo photo for the October (read: “Halloween”) cover should be commended for the inspiration. —Al RossChocowinity, NC Nothing says Halloween better than a jacko’-lantern on the cover of an October issue. Scary! —Eric JacobsenPacific Palisades, CA ON TRACK As a lifelong track addict, I always look forward to your Lightning Lap issue, and this year’s feature was especially entertaining [October 2018]. I love the deep dive into the data comparing the ZR1, the 918, the 720S, and the GT2 RS. That said (and I am very familiar with your policy of running the tires the manufacturer provides with that model), I would love to see what the 720S would do on the…

Your September articles describing the Fiat Chrysler (page 069) and the Mercedes (page 081) hybrid systems indicate that a 48-volt motor-generator also starts the gasoline engine. Unless these cars have a second starter operating on 12 volts, a jump-start will require a 48-volt energy source; how many roadside-assistance providers equip their trucks with 48-volt sources? Are there any 48-volt batteries suitable for keeping in the trunk for emergency use? The conversion from 6- to 12-volt electrical systems in the mid-1950s went smoothly (with the exception of some foreign makes), but that was an industry-wide transition. —Stanley Kalemaris, Melville, NY Modern hybrids—including those with the emerging 48-volt systems—retain a conventional 12-volt battery and starter for the initial ignition sequence. The 48-volt motor-generator then refires the engine during stop-start events. It also replaces the…

Cancer finally got C/D’s former executive editor/old boy racer, Tony Swan, but it took all it had. I had the pleasure of working with Tony for several years, and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t his favorite person, having had to fire him in one of the periodic purges common in today’s magazine business. But it didn’t diminish my admiration for the guy. He was valorous in the face of his disease and ruthless in the face of editorial mediocrity. Tony’s greatest passion was racing, and after he had become fed up with the SCCA, he installed himself on the 24 Hours of LeMons circuit. Jay Lamm, the founder of LeMons, found the right words to commemorate Tony’s passing at the Where the Elite Meet to Cheat race at GingerMan Raceway in…

Loser: Nature As if Volkswagen’s Dieselgate wasn’t enough, it emerged early last year that the brand—in addition to other German manufacturers—had sealed monkeys in airtight chambers plumbed to the exhaust pipe of a diesel Beetle in an attempt to prove that the fumes were safe. There’s a line in Idiocracy, Mike Judge’s prophetic comedy about the dumbing down of America, about how meaningful scientific progress stalls because the country’s best scientists are focused on reversing hair loss and prolonging erections in lab monkeys. Apparently there are even less useful things for scientists to do to primates. Winner: The Idiocracy Prophecy In an early analysis of the effects of potentially relaxed fuel-economy standards, NHTSA suggested that higher mpg allowances would reduce roadway fatalities because they would encourage people to drive bigger, safer vehicles. Peterbilt…

WAXING POETIC about automotive forbidden fruit—you know, the manual-transmission brown diesel station wagons of the lore—is a favorite pastime of car enthusiasts. But deep down, we know that the Ford Mondeo wagon is never coming to the home of the Whopper. There are, however, some cars sold abroad that would be natural fits for our market. We did some armchair product planning and came up with 10 foreign-market vehicles we’re convinced would garner strong sales stateside. All we ask for in return is a little credit when they start showing up on dealer lots.…

Mirrorless Mirrors The auto-show trope of replacing side mirrors with cameras is no longer just a concept-car fantasy. Outside the United States, the 1035-hp McLaren Speedtail and the Lexus ES will provide drivers with video streams of their blind spots. Compared with mirrors, cameras offer wider views, lower aerodynamic drag (the Speedtail’s can retract into the body in Velocity mode to achieve the car’s claimed 250-mph top speed), and digital image enhancement to compensate for poor visibility. Regulatory hurdles will keep this technology from U.S. drivers for now, but as with laser headlights, it’s only a matter of time before America catches up with the rest of the world. Put It on the Glass Supersizing the head-up display (HUD), Japan’s Sekisui Chemical can laminate windshields with a film that includes a light-reactive material.…