Car and Driver May 2018

WE’RE COVERED In regard to your statement on the “Vive la Ford!” February cover: Shouldn’t the headline have read, “Full road and track test of …”? Oh, wait, I get it now. Clever. —Randy Taylor Flushing, MI I’m not sure if anyone else has brought this to your attention: The ass end of the Ford GT looks a lot like the pigs’ faces from Angry Birds. —Nate Smith Buffalo, NY First thing I saw—Ed. GT AND ME I’m curious: Is the Ford GT’s lowered Track mode street legal [“2:43.0: Lightning Lap 11.5,” February 2018]? I note that in the larger article [“La Ford in La France!”], you mention that Track was “a mode we are expressly forbidden to select on-road.” I just want to make sure I am comparing apples-to-apples performance with the rest of the vehicles…

NEARLY SIX YEARS AFTER Tesla’s Model S became the first volume-produced pure-electric luxury vehicle with a range rivaling that of internal-combustionengined cars, it still has no direct competition. Indeed, the $3.5 trillion auto industry has inexplicably sat by while this upstart built a $56 billion market capitalization. At least until now. Jaguar’s production 2019 I-Pace looks almost exactly like the electric crossover concept that stunned Los Angeles showgoers in 2016. When it arrives in dealerships later this year, priced from $70,495 before tax credits, it will give the well-heeled something to cross-shop. And Elon Musk headaches. CHASSIS The I-Pace is a four-door hatch with a small frunk and a generous rear cargo hold. Formwise, it sort of splits the difference between the Tesla Model S and X. Its cabin promises to be roomy…

GEORGE POTEET’S Mississippi accent often slides off into a chuckle at the end of a sentence, as if he finds his own automotive life surprisingly entertaining. He grew up in the tiny town of Mantachie, Mississippi, in a house that lacked indoor plumbing and electricity, and took to cars early. Poteet went to work for National Safety Associates in 1969 collecting past-due accounts, rose to senior management, and eventually became the company’s second-largest shareholder. Now that he’s made it, his passion and pocketbook are helping make others in the hot-rod business. His 1000-acre compound just south of Memphis houses more than 120 cars, many of them among the best hot rods ever built. Projects commissioned by Poteet are always finished to the highest standard. They take a lot of time and,…

REDUCING YOUR CAR’S MASS is the only modification that will both improve every metric of performance and increase fuel efficiency. Doesn’t matter the car: The delicate balance of safety, efficiency, and affordability that is automotive engineering typically leaves a few pounds on the table for the motivated owner. But the price you pay to save each pound varies greatly depending on the part you replace. Our example for this exercise is the Porsche 911. Porsche’s own options list contains many weight-reducing solutions, and with more than 1 million 911s in circulation, the aftermarket offers plenty of ways to drop pounds as well. We availed ourselves of both. Prices quoted below do not include installation, which in some cases will vary significantly. Weissach Package for the GT2 RS WEIGHT SAVINGS: 40 LB COST: $31 ,000 COST/POUND…

JUST AS WITH TV series and Taco Bell menu items, success in the tech industry can be measured in spinoffs. Now that Uber and Lyft apps are on everyone’s phones, developers are taking the basic concept into new territory. Those apps prohibit anyone under 18 from riding solo, but a growing crop of ride-sharing services is targeting children—even toddlers. One is outside Boston, but most are in Silicon Valley, where the populace is accustomed to being new-tech guinea pigs. Kids can’t use the apps themselves, nor do the services offer last-minute bookings. But they do promise booster seats, background checks (in California, the state’s TrustLine database screens for the shady stuff), and easy scheduling. Some have made deals with major automakers. A few offer on-demand child care. And others envision…

AUTOMAKING BEHEMOTH VOLKSWAGEN leverages economies of scale with unparalleled success. It uses similar architectures to underpin Phaetons and six-figure Continental GTs, Polos and Passats. That strategy is hardly unique to the Volkswagen Group. What is unique is the way each VW brand maintains its distinctive character. That’s largely due to the Group’s engine lineup, the most diverse in the industry. In a market where it feels as if every brand’s engine menu lists four-, six-, and eight-cylinders, novel mills such as Audi’s inline-five and Bentley’s W-12 imbue the Group’s closely related cars with personalities all their own and the sort of cachet that attracts enthusiasts and the well-heeled alike—even if it’s the four-cylinders that thrill the Wolfsburg accountants. Here’s the full rundown of the under-the-hood oddities Volkswagen offers in the U.S. THE ISLAND…