Car and Driver January 2018

THREE-CAR MONTE A proposed line for your September 2017 cover: The Super Good, the Big, and the Fugly. —John Bryans Fontaine Westport, CT HER NAME IS RIO Don’t ask why this happened, given the sheer volume of waggish comments in an average issue of your publication, but here it is: The Kia Rio’s silly grin being wiped off sent me into uncontrollable gales of laughter [“New Cars for 2018: The List,” September 2017]. Alone. In my garage. And for a long time. —Keith Bonnecarrere Auburndale, FL ART HISTORY Ferrari has finally made it [“Super Fast,” September 2017]! Paste a prancing horse emblem on the grille and the rear of the Corvette Grand Sport and many would believe it to be the Ferrari shown in your issue. —John Everett Fairfield, CT TYPE R PERSONALITY Don’t count me among the masses of…

In virtually every issue, I encounter a statement along the lines of these about the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio from the October Lightning Lap feature: “The binders are speed-shedding magic” and “There’s no denying the force of the brakes.” Here’s my admittedly amateurish understanding: The brakes on any modern car have ample power to lock all four wheels at any speed (though, of course, anti-lock braking systems prevent them from actually doing so); any power they have beyond that is superfluous. The real factor differentiating two cars’ stopping distances is the grippiness of the tires. Are such phrasings instances of the writers choosing color over precision, or do I have a faulty conception of what really matters in determining stopping distance? —Robert Woolley, Asheville, NC True, a single panic stop, like our 70-mph-to-zero test,…

▴ WINNER: NEW DRIVERS Saudi Arabia, the only country on earth where women were not allowed to drive, announced this past fall that it would lift its ban on women behind the wheel. In a show of solidarity, children—whose driving rights are still restricted in 195 countries— took to the roads in droves. In East Palestine— the one in Ohio—a resourceful eightyearold loaded his fouryearold sister into the minivan after their parents had fallen asleep and drove to McDonald’s for a cheeseburger and McNuggets. Witnesses reported that he obeyed all traffic laws. He had learned to drive by watching YouTube videos, which will henceforth replace the bankrupt Skip Barber Racing School as our preferred means of educating new staffers. In Australia, which is bigger than Ohio, a 12yearold made it 800 miles…

RECALLS Through November. 10 LARGEST HONDA Battery sensor may be exposed to water, shorting electrical system and causing a fire. 1,148,550 VEHICLES RECALLED HONDA Front-passenger airbag inflator may rupture. 977,708 FORD Door latches may not fully engage. 1,101,107 FORD Frontpassenger airbag inflator may rupture. 654,695 FIAT CHRYSLER Occupant-restraint controller may not function properly in a rollover crash. 1,021,279 FIAT CHRYSLER Brake-booster shield issue. 646,394 BMW Electrical short may cause a fire, even when vehicle is not in use. 740,561 BMW Blower-motor wiring may cause a fire, even when vehicle is not in use. 672,775 HYUNDAI Front seatbelt linkages may detach. 977,778 GENERAL MOTORS Vehicle may lose powersteering assist at low speed. 690,685 10 SMALLEST 1 VEHICLE RECALLED 2013 MERCEDES-BENZ R320 CDI 4MATIC: If communication unit is damaged in a crash, engine or fuel pump may not shut off. 2016 KIA OPTIMA: Incorrect installation of inflator seal may cause reduced inflation of driver’s frontal airbag. 2017 JAGUAR F-PACE: Bolt used to attach fuel pump may be too…

[A] ASTON MARTIN VALKYRIE It’s a shriek expressed in carbon fiber and powered by a mid-mounted, Cosworthengineered 6.5-liter V-12 supplemented by an F1-style kinetic energy recovery system. All that is supposed to be good for somewhere north of 1100 horsepower. The shrinkwrapped body covers only those parts that need covering, with the rest dedicated to downforce or airflow management. A conspiracy between Red Bull Racing and Aston, the Valkyrie should be sucking a reported $2.6 million from each of 150 flamboyant billionaires’ offshore accounts by 2018. Maybe 2019. [B] BMW 8 - SERIES The upcoming replacement for the current 6-series, the 8-series will be BMW’s play to regain its spot among big, high-style, high-performance coupes. Sculpted to within an inch of pornographic, the 8-series concept puts the kink into Hofmeister. In production, the…

ALFA ROMEO GIULIA QUADRIFOGLIO MANUAL The Ferrari-inspired flappy paddles mounted on the Giulia’s steering column are cool, but we hate to be stickteased. When Alfa confirmed the car’s sale in the U.S., a few stateside dealers parked demo models with six-speed manuals in their showrooms. Then those cars disappeared, never to be sold. We’ve yet to meet a great sports sedan that wasn’t made better by a clutch pedal. ALPINE A110 The French have been automobile-design pioneers since the 19th century, and while no American misses the LeCar, we’re très en colère that the Alpine A110 is off-limits. It’s a reborn rally car with a 2400- pound curb weight and a mid-mounted four-cylinder that sounds sweeter than the Porsche Cay-mans. Slap a red railye Monte-carlo sticker on that blue body and lets go. AUDI…