Car and Driver Oct-15

MATTERS OF IMPORTANCE THE NEXT BREAKTHROUGH MATERIAL IS 20 TIMES STRONGER THAN CARBON FIBER Carbon-fiber composites have begun to move from the world of motorsports to that of production cars. But there’s an even more exotic material on the horizon that will set new standards for strength, stiffness, and weight. That material is carbon nanotubes. The carbon nanotube’s unique structure makes it the strongest, stiffest material known to man. LIFE-CHANGING LUXURY: TECHNOLOGY BEYOND THE REARVIEW CAMERA: An Enhanced View All the Way Around The rearview camera is now widely available, but the 2016 Lincoln MKX goes a few steps further, providing a 360-degree “bird’s-eye” view over and around the vehicle. Created from four available cameras—mounted on the front, at the rear, and under each sideview mirror of the Lincoln MKX—the four separate feeds are stitched…

Sic your dogs on us at: editors@caranddriver.com or join the discussion at: backfires.caranddriver.com TIME STAMP The stopwatch on the July cover is awesome! Who thought of that? That person deserves a raise. NEIL LOCKWOOD HUNTERSVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA Imagine my horror when I saw a stopwatch on the cover of your latest issue. Perhaps you should change the title of your magazine to Chronograph and Timekeeper. What next, a Ford F-150 Raptor on the cover? MIKE MEYERS GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN Imagine my horror when I paid to see The Love Guru, Meyers—Ed. DIAMONDS ARE A READER’S BEST FRIEND I just finished the 60th Anniversary issue [July 2015] and really enjoyed it. Please publish another 60th Anniversary edition next year, and each year thereafter. DAVID KETTLEHAKE LEBANON, OHIO Glorious! I loved every page of this issue, and that’s the first time I’ve been able to…

★ BRIDGES OF AFFALTERBACH HALF STOCK — Mercedes is bridging its regular models and full-blown AMGs with a line of “AMG Sport” vehicles. Full AMGs will now be branded Mercedes-AMG, while AMG Sports will follow the style set by the Mercedes-Benz C450 AMG Sport. PLATFORM The Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG has long been a favorite of ours. With a body only slightly larger than a Honda Civic and a massive 6.2-liter V-8 cranking out supercar power, how could it not be? Apparently others felt the same way. Globally, Mercedes managed to sell 40,000 copies of the previous-generation C63 coupe. Sans AMG treatment, though, the C coupe was less impressive. Neither its shape nor its dynamics raised the pulse; it came across more as a two-door sedan than a serious performer. For the 2017 model year,…

PICKUP TRUCKS HAVE long been the kings of configuration—long or short bed? two doors or four?—but now there’s a new challenger for multiple-choice supremacy: the van. Ford’s big Transit [see “(Cargo) Vannin’,” page 082] comes in three roof heights, two wheelbases, three overall lengths, and with a choice of three engines. All told, once a buyer has decided to get a Transit, he or she still has to choose from 33 distinct mechanical configurations—almost as many as Honda has in its entire vehicle lineup. And that’s not even counting comparatively minor differences, such as the number of seats and how many and what type (hinged or sliding) of doors it has. And though both pickups and vans are offered in a seemingly endless array of configurations and lengths, only one…

MOTORCYCLISTS SIGNAL THEIR TWO-WHEEL approval by dropping left hands while passing. But when you’re riding a Honda Grom powered by a 125-cc engine and the rider of a 1340-cc Suzuki Hayabusa making around 190 horsepower gives you the low sign, it’s hard not to laugh. That’s like a Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat’s driver soliciting kinship with a guy in a Smart Fortwo. Its name is derived from “grommet,” a slang term for a young surfer. But the Grom is an old soul—part pit bike, part sport bike, and all fun. The only thing novice about it is how easy it is for new riders to approach. It’s no scooter, though. It’s a legitimate motorcycle with a four-speed gearbox, and it requires a motorcycle endorsement on the rider’s driver’s license. If you…

★HUSH-HUSH MONEY In Michigan, ticketed drivers can now pay an additional fee and take an online traffic course, and the state won’t report the violation to your insurance company. While we’re all for lower insurance rates, something about the state conspiring with its citizens against private businesses doesn’t sit well with us. WHERE: TA is the adjusted ticket cost. TR is what the ticket would cost according to current practice. 50 is a constant. ET is the vehicle’s elapsed time in the quarter-mile. The quickest car we’ve tested is the Porsche 918 Spyder, which clocked 9.8 seconds. 0.2 is a constant used to rate vehicles according to their quickness. Each 0.2-second increase over 9.8 seconds increases the fine. B70 is the vehicle’s 70-to-zero braking distance. The best braking we’ve measured is 128 feet from 70 mph, achieved…