Car and Driver November 2016

“IT SEEMS LIKE A GREAT CAR, AND THIS TIME IT IS BEAUTIFUL. I WISH ALFA WELL.” ROMEO AND GIULIA As someone who drove my father’s wonderful (if ugly) 1967 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super to school many a time before it disintegrated into a rust pile, I was excited to read your article on “11 things you need to know” about the new Giulia [“Is the Wait Finally Over?” August 2016]. It seems like a great car, and this time it is beautiful. I wish Alfa well. However, I was dismayed that you got an important fact in the article so wrong. The name “Quadrifoglio” does not mean “cloverleaf,” as stated in the answer to your first question. Quadrifoglio means “four leaf,” as in four-leaf clover. —Mario Jorquera Columbia, MD In the first instance, we…

Oreos are old hat? Wait, why did you put “old hat” and “The Google” in quotes? What the hell is “The Google”? I’ll ignore all of that for now, but I will answer your coherent question. In the turbocharging scenarios of the ’70s and ’80s, engine displacement usually stayed the same. In those days, 200 horsepower was considered a lot, and any uptick in power, however small, was greeted with effusive praise because cars were pretty slow. Today, carmakers aren’t choosing turbos for their ability to make more power—meeting Corporate Average Fuel Economy requirements is much more important. So, naturally aspirated engines are being replaced with smaller-displacement turbo engines that do well on the EPA fuel-economy cycles. In general, these downsized turbo engines provide strong low-end torque, but horsepower outputs…

DAIMLER’S SECOND ATTEMPT to relaunch Maybach has largely consisted of stuffing the back seats of Mercedes S-classes with pillows. Up to now, we’d say this effort deserves nothing more than a good hard rap on the knuckles from Grandpa’s cane, except that those pillows are actually pretty comfy. But old money, by definition, wasn’t born yesterday, and if Maybach is going to compete with the two other German über-luxury marques, the ones both pretending to be from Merrie Olde England, it’s going to have to invent a compelling identity. So here’s the pitch: A high-tech autonomous EV that looks more than a little like the coachbuilt, art deco coupes of the ’30s. Rolled onto the lawn at Pebble Beach this past August, the Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6, which we’re going to just…

FOR AGES, AUTOMAKERS have been searching for a practical means of varying an engine’s compression ratio on the fly. How hard the air—and sometimes the fuel—is squeezed before ignition plays a crucial role in overall efficiency: Compressing the mixture as much as possible without detonation yields a longer expansion ratio and more power for every increment of fuel consumed. Since the compression ratio is determined by basic engine geometry (the cylinder volume with the piston at the bottom of its travel versus the top), that isn’t easily changed. One expedient now in wide use is combining the Atkinson cycle with variable valve timing. But Infiniti has made a significant stride with its Variable Compression-Turbo (VC-T). This boosted 2.0-liter four-cylinder, the product of two decades of research and 300 patents, will…

CONSIDER THIS We’ve shown before that a determined driver with enough practice can beat a well-calibrated launch-control system [“Smokeless Burnout Acid Test,” June 2011], but it’s getting harder. And it won’t happen the first time a rookie drops the clutch. As recently as five years ago that might have been the case, but today’s systems, and the Chevy’s in particular, are rapidly closing the gap. We generated the best driver-controlled numbers without launch control on our sixth attempt. WE LIKE WOODING IT. And since you’re reading this magazine, we bet you do, too. But despite the appeal of such heavy-hammer techniques, they’re rarely the fast way off the line. When it comes to launching a modern sports car, carefully metered restraint is the hot ticket. But what really goes on in those split…

LINCOLN’S LINCOLN — Big-ticket cars—from the mid-six-figure range on up—are practically impossible to total. As long as the vehicle’s identification plate can be salvaged, the car can be rebuilt around it. Specialty insurers are used to dealing with such claims and accommodating repairs that may require expertise unavailable at the local Maaco. They also may be more understanding when an owner makes a total-loss claim but wants to retain the wreckage. THE LARGEST POPULATIONS OF COLLECTOR-CAR OWNERS ARE IN THESE FIVE STATES: 1. CALIFORNIA 2. MICHIGAN 3. NEW YORK 4. FLORIDA 5. TEXAS THESE ARE THE 10 MOST COMMON COLLECTOR MODELS: 1. CHEVROLET CORVETTE 2. FORD MUSTANG 3. CHEVROLET CAMARO 4. CHEVROLET BEL AIR 5. FORD MODEL A 6. FORD THUNDERBIRD 7. VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE 8. CHEVROLET C10 PICKUP 9. CHEVROLET IMPALA 10. CHEVROLET CHEVELLE INSURANCE IS THE ROOT canal of automotive enthusiasm. It’s fine print, inscrutable terms, disaster scenarios,…