Car and Driver February/March 2023

The Great Smoky Mountains are a driver’s paradise. The tarmac is superb and the views at every stop are absolutely breathtaking. On SMOKY 600 you’ll drive Appalachia’s renowned roadways, stay at its finest luxurious hotels, enjoy delicious southern hospitality at our meals, and sample the region’s most famous export—bourbon! Stretch your cars’ legs to the fullest at the iconic NCM Motorsports Park and explore the National Corvette Museum, home to iconic examples of the marque’s history and the world-famous “sinkhole” exhibit. Rally through Tennessee and Kentucky’s best backroads and wander their charming town squares. While this region’s roads are all overwhelmingly excellent, it wouldn’t be a trip to the Smokies without an early morning run down the Tail of The Dragon to Cherohala Skyway, perhaps some of America’s most famous and legendary driving roads. Don’t…

WHAT BINDS US I got two sets of pages 17 to 32 in my November issue, and there’s a big gap between pages 32 and 49. Based on the verbiage on the cover, the new Corvette Z06 is pretty special, but I’d have no way of knowing, because the story doesn’t exist in my magazine. I called customer service. They’re extending my subscription by one issue, but come on. —Jay Olson-Goude Stockholm, WI An error at the printer caused some issues to go out wonky. Your replacement issue is on the way—Ed. PRICE SMOOTHING Cover line: “America’s $100,000 Hypercar.” Turns to page 39: base price, $116,795; as tested, $162,510. You aren’t very good at math, huh? Wish my account had that kind of variance. —Rich Boudet Seattle, WA Does your bank account have $109,295? That’s the Z06…

Personality counts. No, I’m not giving dating advice, but I have been pondering the role that the powertrain plays in defining the character of a car, a thought that bubbled up after a couple of weeks spent with two very different vehicles with the same heroic engine. Built and developed by AMG, this now-nine-year-old twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 transforms any car into a ballistic missile. It barks on startup and roars like a Kansas thunderstorm under acceleration. Lift off the gas and the exhaust breaks into applause. Even the most law-abiding driver is powerless against its charms. No matter what version or what this engine finds itself in, it will hit you right in the guttiwuts. Unapologetically V-8 in rhythm and pulse, it turns hydrocarbons into endorphins. When Aston put the AMG V-8…

China is the country with the largest new-car market and the highest automobile production. You’d think we’d know Chinese automotive brands as well as we know Detroit’s, but since the models aren’t exported to the U.S. (yet), readers may find their names unfamiliar. Of the nine largest Chinese multibrand automakers, together fielding almost 50 nameplates, only four have mapped out a global strategy so far. And of those four, arguably only Geely, BYD, and Nio are, at this point, sufficiently advanced to take on American, Korean, and European brands. Hot on the heels of those industry giants are several fast-rising second-tier competitors. Overall, these five companies are best poised to capitalize on the shift to EVs. HUMAN HORIZONS Human Horizons, which is privately owned by the former general manager of Shanghai General…

Many of America’s oldest and most established car brands are popular in China—but not necessarily the ones you’d expect. Buick is huge, and Lincoln sold more cars in China than in the U.S. in 2021. Here are the most interesting China-market exclusives from U.S. automakers. BUICK GL8 CENTURY Vans are big business in China, especially high-end models meant for chauffeuring the well-to-do. Buick has had a stranglehold on the market with its GL8, and the latest iteration adopts the Century name. Niceties include heated footrests, a fridge, and a 32-inch entertainment screen for rear passengers. BUICK VELITE 6/CHEVROLET MENLO These wagonoid twins have flown the EV flag for GM’s Chinese joint venture, and the Buick also comes as a plug-in hybrid. More electric models are in the pipeline. LINCOLN ZEPHYR If the Lincoln MKZ looked like…

→ Of particular interest in the Car and Driver offices is Michael Mann’s upcoming Ferrari movie. That’s in part because, well, Ferraris, but even more so because it’s based on the book Enzo Ferrari: The Man and the Machine by a longtime C/D editor, the late Brock Yates. Brock published his book in 1991 and had plans to bring it to the big screen. But like exotic sports cars, movies can be hard to get off the drawing board. No screenwriting newbie, Brock already had financial (if not critical) success with 1981’s Cannonball Run. He drew the interest of A-list directors Mann and Sydney Pollack, as well as Andre Morgan, who’d produced Cannonball Run. Perhaps less fortunately, Ferrari also had the interest of Cecchi Gori Pictures, an Italian production company that…