The 2024 GMC Acadia is bigger than before, with its wheelbase and overall length growing by 8.4 and 10.6 inches, respectively.The Acadia’s growth spurt translates to a roomier interior, which gets ritzier with a new design that includes a standard verical 15.0-inch touchscreen.Every model now has a 328-hp turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder and can tow 5000 pounds with either front- or all-wheel drive.Entering its third generation, the 2024 GMC Acadia becomes an even bigger three-row mid-size SUV. Not only is it longer, taller, and wider than its predecessor, but the new Acadia has a boxier exterior that makes it look more trucklike—a trend that’s echoed by new competitors as well as its corporate cousin, the recently redesigned Chevy Traverse.Inside ScoopThe new Acadia’s interior materials don’t look or feel truly luxurious—even on the deluxe Denali model—but the space is still much ritzier than before. The center console has more storage space thanks to the awkward shift buttons being moved to a column-mounted shifter, and there’s also more room underneath the console.Along with the crisply rendered 11.0-inch digital gauge cluster, the dashboard is dominated by a vertically oriented 15.0-inch touchscreen. Both features are standard, and the Google-based infotainment system includes customizable screens and available apps. The bottom of the center display also has static HVAC controls with a mix of touch functions and toggle switches.Every Acadia has a host of driver-assistance technology, and now almost all of it comes standard. Along with popular aids such as adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, and blind-spot monitoring, there are also detection systems for bicyclists and pedestrians, automated emergency braking that works at intersections, and up to nine exterior camera views. The new Acadia is available with Super Cruise too, GM’s hands-free driver-assist system, which is available on the Elevation and AT4 trims for the first time. A GMC Growth SpurtAfter growing 10.6 inches overall, the Acadia now measures 204 inches from stem to stern. That makes the mid-sizer a half-foot shorter than the full-size GMC Yukon, and now the two have an identical 120.9-inch wheelbase, after the Acadia’s was stretched by 8.6 inches. The result is a roomier interior that should better serve all passengers onboard. The base-level Elevation trim has a second-row bench seat and can fit eight passengers; the AT4 and Denali have captain’s chairs that cap seating to seven.The new Acadia’s increased size also contributes to more cargo area. GMC claims there’s now almost 80 percent more space behind the third row and roughly 36 percent more space with the rearmost seats stowed. While the company hasn’t released exact figures, we estimate the new generation will have about 23 cubic feet behind the third row and about 56 cubes behind the second row. Underneath the load floor is a large storage bin, and there’s a spare tire below that.A Turbo Four for AllPreviously, the Acadia’s engine lineup included a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder and a 3.6-liter V-6. The four-pot was good for 228 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, while the V-6 pumped out 310 horses and 270 pound-feet. Now, every Acadia has a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder that’s considerably mightier. It makes 328 horsepower and 326 pound-feet. GMC hasn’t yet released fuel-economy estimates for the Acadia’s new powertrain.An eight-speed automatic transmission replaces the old nine-speed unit, but the Acadia still offers front- or all-wheel drive. Either configuration can tow up to 5000 pounds, which is between 1000 and 1700 pounds more than before. The off-road-oriented AT4 model also has an exclusive all-wheel-drive system with a twin-clutch rear axle.The AT4 stands about an inch taller than other Acadias, which are already 3.4 inches taller than their predecessors. Other unique AT4 hardware includes 18-inch wheels mounted on Goodyear Wrangler Territory all-terrain tires and a specially tuned suspension. The most rugged Acadia can also be identified by its red front tow hooks, lower front skid plate, and plastic overfenders with orange reflectors at the top.No one will have trouble spotting the Denali version of the Acadia. Not only does it boast glossy black lower body trim and a flashy grille (now satin instead of chrome), but it can be had with big 22-inch wheels—20s were previously the biggest opton. Inside, the Acadia Denali has leather upholstery, laser-etched wood trim, chrome accents, and heated and ventilated front seats. A 12-speaker Bose stereo is standard, but a 16-speaker version is optional. The same goes for the massive panoramic sunroof and second-row heated seats. GMC hasn’t said how much the 2024 Acadia will cost, but pricing will be announced sometime before it becomes available early next year. If we had to wager a guess, we’d say the base-level Elevation will start just under $40K, with the top-of-the-line Denali cresting the $50,000 mark.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.Senior EditorEric Stafford’s automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual ’97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a ’90 Honda CRX Si. More

The auction site Bring a Trailer has just listed a 1988 Callaway Corvette, but not just any Callaway Corvette.This C4 Vette was part of Project Sledgehammer, Callaway’s program to create the fastest, most uncompromised roadgoing Corvette ever. Its predecessor was part of a Car and Driver multi-car test in 1987 called “A Gathering of Eagles.”The auction ends on May 23, and bidding has already exceeded $450,000.Today, a very special Corvette has gone up for auction on Bring a Trailer: the 1988 Project Sledgehammer Callaway Corvette. Anyone who’s followed the storied history of the Chevrolet Corvette likely knows about Callaway, a specialty vehicles company that develops performance modifications and packages for production vehicles with an emphasis on Corvettes.

Back in 1988, the Callaway team set out on Project Sledgehammer with the goal of pushing the C4 Corvette platform to its absolute limit in order to create the most uncompromised roadgoing Vette ever. It eventually resulted in a road-car speed record of 254.76 mph in 1989 that stood long past the turn of the century.

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[image id=’54efd29e-c240-4686-af06-09e3fbda2cde’ mediaId=’8ac1e550-2fc3-4896-9cb2-97c1f01cd809′ align=’center’ size=’medium’ share=’true’ caption=” expand=” crop=’18×11′][/image]The Sledgehammer even has a history with Car and Driver. Its predecessor, nicknamed the Top Gun Corvette, made an appearance in the story “A Gathering of Eagles” in our December 1987 issue. The story tells how it logged a speed of 231 mph at the top-speed event we held on the Transportation Research Center’s 7.5-mile oval. Snippets of the event and background on the car can be found in this YouTube video:
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In the years since that record-setting run, the 200-mph club has steadily grown, but none has gone quite as far to separate itself from the pack as the Sledgehammer. In order to make the leap from the 231-mph mark measured at our Eagles event to the target of 250 mph required major modifications: pieces of the frame had to be removed for packaging purposes, an entirely new body kit for improved aerodynamics had to be developed, and a new 5.7-liter twin-turbo V-8 built by John Lingenfelter with a stronger rotating assembly, new heads, a new camshaft, and larger turbochargers capable of more boost replaced the Callaway-designed mill. When all was said and done, the Sledgehammer was able to produce a massive amount of power—especially for the time—to the tune of 880 horsepower and 772 pound-feet. Perhaps best of all is that, despite all the changes it went through, the Sledge never lost its manual transmission.

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The Sledgehammer’s BaT listing states that it has just over 2000 miles on the odometer and has spent the majority of its time in a museum environment—and from the photos it sure looks like that’s the case. It’s hard to say how quick this car would’ve been on the street; we only had a chance to test the standard Callaway Corvette back then, but it’s safe to say the Sledgehammer would better those numbers and then some. As of this writing, the bid sits at $325,000. The auction will go for another 11 days and you’ll need a lot of coin—quite possibly into the seven figures—to get a chance to test it out for yourself. With its one-off rarity and rich history, it’s unlikely the mighty Sledgehammer will see much more than museum-parking duty for the rest of its life, and that’s probably for the best. In a world rapidly proliferating with electric vehicles it’s important we don’t forget the past.
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Comments from Ford CEO Jim Farley on Thursday seemed to indicate that the company was going to transition to 100 percent online, fixed-price sales for its EV offerings to stay competitive with modern retail expectations. A Ford spokesperson clarified those comments on Friday, which he says were taken out of context.Rather than a complete transition to a new distribution model, Ford spokesperson Said Deep told Road & Track, Ford is simply discussing developing a 100 percent digital online transaction platform, not transitioning 100 percent of sales to a digital platform. In Farley’s initial comments reported Thursday, he compared the sales strategy to the way some retail companies have adjusted to digital competitors.”I believe for retail, we have to . . . It’s kind of like what happened between Amazon and Target. Target could have gone away, but they didn’t,” Farley says. “They bolted on an e-commerce platform and then they use their physical store to add groceries, and make returns much easier than Amazon. They use their expertise as a physical retailer to their advantage, but they modernize the e-commerce piece, so it would be really easy to do business with them. It’s exactly what we have to do on the retail side. We’ve got to go to non-negotiated price, we’ve got to go to 100 percent online. The vehicle, there’s no inventory, goes directly to the customer, 100 percent remote pickup and delivery. But then we have this opportunity to use our physical presence to outperform them.”When asked if the change would mean transitioning away from a dealer model to focus on direct-to-consumer sales, Deep reaffirmed that the Ford dealer network remains a crucial element of the company’s future.”Leaning into” Dealer Network”Our dealers are a competitive advantage for us as they are closely connected with their customers and communities they serve,” says Deep. “This is the reason we are leaning into them and working with them to dramatically improve our overall customer experience for EVs. We want them to be even more specialized in the future, and we plan to craft a new set of operating standards for Ford EV sales that would combine the ease and most popular aspects of direct-sale startups with the expertise our dealers have developed over more than a century. Ford and our dealers want to deliver the best experience we can for our customers. The digital retailing experience is critical. Whether the customer is at home or in a dealer showroom, they expect an outstanding digital experience. Our ability, together with our dealers, to deliver a 100 percent digitally supported, world-class customer experience is going to serve our customers very well no matter how they want to do business with us.” The quote indicates that the existing dealer model will be integrated with something that resembles the direct sale model for the consumer, including direct delivery. It does not necessarily mean that dealers would not have stock on hand, though.”Directly to the customer is about sourcing just in time—built to order for an individual customer and delivered through our dealer network,” Deep says. “If they want it delivered directly to their home, our dealers can help do that as well. We’ve had great success with this already on Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning. This is just one way we are looking at reducing the amount of stock a dealer needs to hold, reducing costs for both Ford and our dealers that we can reinvest in more compelling products and services for our customers.”

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The Ferrari Roma is a truly exceptional grand tourer, a return to form for a company that spent the 1960s building some of the most glorious GT cars ever to see the road. That makes it a perfect fit for the open roads of Italy, from the vineyards of Tuscany to the top of the Alps. But not all roads in Italy are all that open.At some point in this particular Roma’s grand tour, the driver felt he had no choice but to get to the other side of a narrow alleyway in a historic Italian city. The car was just narrow enough that it almost fit, a particularly dangerous proposition that led to this: a car being stuck on both sides well into an alleyway, with no way out but to move centuries-old houses, remove some body panels, or back up all the way back to the entrance.

The video does not actually show any resolution, just a concerned onlooker (possibly the driver) looking at the corners of the very stuck car and accepting that forward is no longer an option. We have to use our skills of inference, but anyone who has ever gotten a car stuck on a narrow wall can attest that the driver will be dealing with serious scratches and dents, creating lasting damage to the Roma’s elegantly swooped rear fenders.Italy’s historic alleyways are famously narrow and its modern performance cars are famously wide, so this was just a matter of time. The owner can at least take some solace in the fact that he has joined a grand comedy tradition of wedging cars in alleyways.

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The Mini Strip, based on a Cooper SE, is the result of a partnership with fashion designer Paul Smith. It was unveiled yesterday in London.Smith left the steel bodywork exposed and redesigned the front and rear bumpers with more plain graphics constructed from 3D-printed recycled plastics.Leather and chrome are absent inside, with the dashboard made from recycled cork, the door panels replaced with mesh, and the floor mats fashioned from recycled rubber.If you feel overwhelmed by the dazzling display of exotica revealed at Monterey Car Week—from the open-top Aston Martin Valkyrie Spider to the 600-hp Acura NSX Type S—then check out the latest Mini concept, unveiled yesterday in London. The Mini Strip is a collaboration with fashion designer Paul Smith, who took an electric Mini Cooper SE and pared things back, guided, according to Mini, by a mantra of “simplicity, transparency, sustainability.”

Mini

Smith removed anything from the Mini he deemed unnecessary while using sustainable materials for the parts he replaced. The bodywork was left unpainted (save for a transparent coat to protect against corrosion) and marks on the steel panels from the manufacturing process weren’t fixed, with Smith aiming to show “the perfect imperfection.” Much of the simplified front and rear bumpers were 3D-printed from recycled plastics, and Smith left the screws exposed on the wheel arches to emphasize the back-to-basics look. The aerodynamic wheel covers as well as the grille trim and panoramic roof were all made from recycled Perspex, a transparent plastic.

Mini

While the exterior is very monotone, there’s a splash of color inside, where the theme of simplification continues. The doors feature Smith’s iconic stripe motif, and most of the interior trim was removed to expose the blue-painted bodyshell. A semi-transparent, smoked-glass piece makes up the dashboard, and the central console was removed, with a space for your smartphone to take over the infotainment duties. The only remaining physical controls are the window switches and start/stop button.

Mini

Sustainable materials abound in the cabin, replacing the traditional chrome and leather elements. The top of the dashboard and doors are made from recycled cork, the seats are wrapped in a knitted fabric, and the floor mats are recycled rubber. The steering wheel ditches buttons and switches for plain aluminum spokes and, since Smith is an avid cyclist, a rim wrapped in handlebar tape. A mesh covering in the center of the wheel allows the driver to see the airbag, and the door panels were replaced with the same mesh material. While the aluminum door handles remain, there are also pull handles fashioned from wound climbing rope.

With the Strip more of a styling exercise than anything, Mini didn’t quote any performance figures, but we would have to imagine that the weight shed by Smith’s simplification will have made the Cooper even more sprightly. This is not the first time Smith has gotten his hands on a Mini, painting an old Cooper with 86 stripes in 24 colors in 1997 for the Tokyo auto show.
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