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MIKE BRADY , THE MANUFACTURER

From the November 1967 issue of Car and Driver.
Last year, we applauded Plymouth for building what we thought was the best looking Detroit car of 1967, the Barracuda. A remarkable feat, considering the Chrysler Corporation’s odd, unstable styling history which, since the Airflow, has been marked by committee-styled cars which, aside from lacking integrity of design, have oscillated between being far out to the point of vulgarity and being timid to the point of sterility—a seemingly endless series of over-compensations for each preceding year. With this background, we were pleasantly surprised by the ‘67 Barracuda, but quite prepared to wait years before Chrysler came up with a worthy successor. We conjured a picture of designers and stylists lying about their studios, spent, from their Barracuda effort, and barely able to create so much as a new bumper for 1968.

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Imagine, therefore, our surprise—again pleasant—when we saw Dodge’s new Charger. Working with Chrysler Corporation’s 117-in. wheelbase “B” series body/chassis, the designers that we’d imagined were worn out have not only achieved far more than a face-lift, they have easily surpassed the mark of excellence set less than a year ago.
The only 1968 car which comes close to challenging the new Charger for styling accolades is the new Corvette, which is remarkably similar to the Charger, particularly when viewed from the rear quarter. But, we give the honors to the Charger for several reasons. First, the Corvette, being a smaller car in both seating capacity and wheelbase, has a much easier time attaining the desired sporty image. Second, Dodge stylists have shown that they can create a car in the current idiom with originality, combining just the right amount of tasteful conformity with that novelty and freshness which attracts attention. Originality takes guts in Dodge’s position as the smaller division of the number three automaker, but the Charger’s aerodynamic wedge theme is not only distinctly new but it is very like the new breed of wind-tunnel tested sports/racing cars which are just now making their debut in the 1967 Can-Am series. Third, while the Charger is a vast improvement over its predecessor, the 1968 Corvette is anticlimactic after the Mako Shark show cars which preceded it.

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MIKE BRADY , THE MANUFACTURER

Chrysler Corporation, then, is flat-out in the automobile business again. The Marlin‑like Charger of the past (really a Coronet with a hastily added fastback roof), and the similarly makeshift Barracuda were grim reminders of the Corporation’s close call with financial disaster in the early Sixties. But the belt-tightening policies of Lynn Townsend—Chrysler’s chief executive since 1961, and more recently Board Chairman—combined with his intense efforts to improve and increase the Corporation’s manufacturing facilities seem to be paying off. The 1967 Barracuda and the new Charger, each with its own distinctive sheet metal now, are evidence of Chrysler’s increasing strength and ability to meet both the financial and creative challenge of the specialty car age.
Specialty cars are conceived from a significantly different planning philosophy than that of the bread-and-butter cars which Detroit used to build exclusively. Bread-and-butter cars are built with the primary intention of offending no potential buyer, rendering the cars largely featureless and unexciting. Specialty cars, on the other hand, are built to please specific groups of customers. We like the more positive philosophy behind the specialty car, and the Charger is chock-full of features with obvious appeal for the performance-minded enthusiast.

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The aerodynamic appearance of the Charger (it’s as aerodynamically slippery as it looks, according to Chrysler’s engineers) is accented by a rear spoiler combined with a truncated rear end for a Kamm effect—a design approach which has become almost mandatory in modern racing cars. The Charger takes on the nose-down appearance common to both NASCAR and NHRA, and the bulging rear fenders should accommodate the racing tires used in both drag and stock car racing with a minimum of rework. The greenhouse, following the sharply curved side-glass, slants steeply towards the center of the car, very reminiscent of Le Mans Ferraris, particularly when viewed from the rear. A tunnel-type backlight is used instead of a pure fastback (a styling feature fast going out of fashion from over-use). The smaller rear window of the tunnel roof also gives much less distortion to rear vision than a steeply slanted fastback window.

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THE MANUFACTURER

Further visual performance identity is achieved by the use of a racing-style gas filler cap mounted high on the left rear quarter, and quasi fog/driving/parking and turn signal lights mounted low in the front bumper. Matte black paint is used extensively in the grille and around the tail lights. Full wheel cut-outs, fat tires on 6-inch rims, and simulated engine compartment exhaust vents in the hood (which also house turn signal indicator lights, like the Mustang GT) and at the leading edge of the doors complete the Charger’s complement of visually “in” features.

Specifications

Specifications
1968 Dodge Charger Hemi
VEHICLE TYPE front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 4-passenger sports sedan with all-steel integral body/chassis
PRICE AS TESTED N/A
ENGINE TYPE pushrod water-cooled V-8, cast-iron block and headsDisplacement 426 in3, 6981 cm3Power 425 hp @ 5000 rpmTorque 490 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm
TRANSMISSION 3-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 117.0 inLength: 208.0 inWidth: 76.6 inHeight: 53.2 inCurb weight: 4035 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS 30 mph: 1.7 sec60 mph: 4.8 sec90 mph: 10.0 sec¼-mile: 13.5 sec @ 105 mphTop speed (est): 156 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 274 ft

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Marc UrbanoCar and Driver

It’s turbocharged. It’s supercharged. It’s front engine and mid-motor. It’s gas and electric, eight speed and one speed. It’s front-wheel drive, all-wheel drive, and rear-wheel drive. If you want to collect all those attributes in your driveway, you could buy a Tesla Model 3, a Porsche 911, and, obviously, a 2002 Mazda Millennia. Or you could get a Volvo XC90 T8, which checks all those boxes plus the one for an Orrefors crystal shift lever. You didn’t get one of those in a Millennia.

HIGHS: Impressively quick and efficient for a big SUV, still one of the best interiors out there.

The Volvo T8’s 313-hp, 2.0-liter inline-four—supercharged and turbocharged—powers the front wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. Out back, an 87-hp electric motor spins the rear axle, with the pair combining for 400 horsepower and 472 pound-feet of torque. Because there’s no physical connection between the front and rear axles, a T8 running in electric mode is rear-wheel drive, just like an old Volvo 240 wagon. Break out the Grateful Dead stickers.

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Marc UrbanoCar and Driver

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When an all-wheel-drive car can disengage its front axle, we tend to think “drift mode!” That’s the case here—albeit in the sense of an untethered trawler gently drifting away from the dock. The T8 is EPA-rated for 18 miles of electric range (we eked 21 miles out of our test car), but there’s no escaping the fact that you’re driving a 5142-pound vehicle with 87 horsepower. The plug-in XC90 tops out at 78 mph in electric mode—also the max speed at which the electric motor engages in hybrid mode—but in practical terms the EV function is for low-speed pursuits, like navigating the Jazzercise parking lot or coasting down Main Street in Greenwich, Connecticut.

LOWS: Portly curb weight, pricey with options, not much of an EV.

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Marc UrbanoCar and Driver

It’s much more fulfilling to let the Wonder Twins activate, summoning both the internal-combustion engine and the electric motor to goose the XC90 off the line like a startled elk. We clocked a zero-to-60-mph time of 4.9 seconds and a quarter-mile pass in 13.6 seconds at 102 mph, numbers that seem kind of hilarious for a three-row hybrid SUV with no outward pretensions of performance. The XC90 T8 could certainly surprise a few sports cars in a stoplight drag race. And on the skidpad, our T8 generated more grip than a Camaro Z/28. Okay, we’re talking about a 1977 Camaro Z/28, which pulled .74 g. The XC90 managed only .77 g, so maybe don’t go prowling canyon roads with it.
However, thanks to the mid-aft position of the electric motor and the 9.1-kWh battery, the T8 does arrive at a nice front-to-rear balance, with only 52.0 percent of its weight resting on the front wheels. That battery gains some capacity for 2020, thus constituting the biggest hardware upgrade for 2020. The brakes also get electronic control for the hydraulic circuits, which allowed Volvo to tune a linear pedal feel as the braking blends electric regeneration with the conventional discs. You really don’t notice anything unusual about the brake feel, which is the best thing you can say about a system that’s combining regenerative braking with old-school friction.

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Marc UrbanoCar and Driver

There are also some minor cosmetic changes, like a new grille, and you can now get a six-passenger interior layout with second-row captain’s chairs. But Volvo didn’t do anything too radical, given that the XC90 has aged exceptionally well since its 2016 debut. In terms of design, the XC90 is still competitive with the best of its class, inside and out. Sure, the front seat massage function only works on the backrest, but maybe you can get over that. Our fully maxed-out Inscription model was as beautifully trimmed as cars costing twice as much, which is impressive since it costs quite a bit itself: $86,790 as tested. But come on, you need leather-covered sun visors, right? If you can forego those and other treats, like the $3200 Bowers & Wilkins sound system and the $1800 air springs at all four corners, an XC90 T8 can be had for as little as $68,495, not counting the current $5419 federal tax credit garnered by the plug-in powertrain. Which seems pretty reasonable for a three-row luxury SUV that rips the quarter-mile just 0.4 second slower than the 475-hp Dodge Durango SRT we tested and gets 25 MPGe.

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Marc UrbanoCar and Driver

Ah yes, fuel economy. With plug-ins, quantifying efficiency gets tricky, because it all depends on how you use the vehicle—as we proved by gaming a Lincoln Aviator PHEV beyond an (indicated) 999 mpg. Run short trips around town with plenty of charging, and you’ll probably see nice numbers. Drive coast to coast on the highway with no charging, and you’re basically dragging around extra weight—although the big Volvo did post 29 mpg on our 75-mph highway fuel-economy test, bettering its federal estimate by 2 mpg. Over more than 1000 miles of mixed driving, charging as often as possible, we averaged 25 MPGe.
That’s well short of the EPA’s 55-MPGe combined rating for the T8. We did note that the T8 is efficient in regenerating electricity and has an effective charge mode that uses the 2.0-liter to replenish the battery while driving. We also noted that the plug-in Volvos, this one included, tend to wrestle with thermal management while charging, running cooling fans for the battery pretty much constantly while plugged in. Sometimes the fans start running even when the car is parked and unplugged. That’s probably good for battery longevity, but the XC90 no doubt burns plenty of watts staying cool before it even turns a wheel.

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Marc UrbanoCar and Driver

Like we said, it’s a complicated powertrain. And plug-in hybrids can often seem like they pursue complication for its own sake, adding weight and power in equal measures to end up nearly back where they started. But the T8 offers sizable advantages in both speed and efficiency compared to its non-hybrid counterpart, the XC90 T6 AWD. The last time we tested one of those, it posted a 6.4-second run to 60 mph and 17 mpg overall. The T8 is a major improvement on both fronts. Just don’t expect too much from its electric drift mode.

Specifications

Specifications
2020 Volvo XC90 T8 E-AWD Inscription
VEHICLE TYPE front-engine, mid-motor, rear- or all-wheel-drive, 6-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE AS TESTED $86,790 (base price: $74,795)
POWERTRAIN turbocharged, supercharged, and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4, 313 hp, 295 lb-ft; permanent-magnet synchronous AC motor, 87 hp, 177 lb-ft; combined output, 400 hp, 472 lb-ft; 9.1-kWh lithium-ion battery pack
TRANSMISSION 8-speed automatic (front), single-speed direct drive (rear)
CHASSIS Suspension (F/R): control arms/multilinkBrakes (F/R): 14.4-in vented disc/13.4-in vented disc/discTires: Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season, 275/40R-21 107V M+S VOL
DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 117.5 inLength: 195.0 inWidth: 75.7 inHeight: 69.9 inPassenger volume: 131 ft3Cargo volume: 11 ft3Curb weight: 5142 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 4.9 sec100 mph: 12.9 sec130 mph: 31.9 secRolling start, 5–60 mph: 5.6 secTop gear, 30–50 mph: 2.9 secTop gear, 50–70 mph: 3.8 sec1/4 mile: 13.6 sec @ 102 mphTop speed (mfr’s claim): 140 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 188 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.77 gStanding-start accel times omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.
C/D FUEL ECONOMY Observed: 25 MPGe75-mph highway driving, EV/hybrid mode: 73 MPGe/29 mpgHighway range, EV/hybrid mode: 20/530 miles
EPA FUEL ECONOMY Combined/city/highway: 27/26/28 mpgCombined gasoline+electricity: 55 MPGeEV range: 18 miles

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From the June 1997 issue of Car and Driver.
“I’m a little worried if you mention Paul Newman,” says Ross Converse, a former aircraft mechanic whose primary business since 1988 has been selling simple kits to slot Mustang V-8s into rear­-drive Volvos.

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Converse, a soft-spoken 46-year-old Mainer, is more concerned that Indy-car team owner and actor Newman will be angry with him for divulging a secret: Known fast-car lover and salad-dressing-­and-salsa salesman Newman tools around his home base in Connecticut in a V-8-powered Volvo 960 wagon built by Converse.
See, one of the advantages of having a V-8-powered Volvo, especially in the Northeast, is that Swedish cars blend into the traffic like Toyotas in Tokyo. Cops and autograph hounds normally tend not to notice ubiquitous Volvo station wagons.
The other reason is this: A Volvo wagon weighs only 100 pounds more with an iron-block Mustang V-8, so performance improves. In fact, one of the two Converse-built Volvo wagons we tested got to 60 mph in 5.9 seconds. It was a special version, with a Powerdyne Automotive Products centrifugal supercharger driven by a shielded, toothed belt. It was as quick as the convertible Mustang Cobra we tested last July. In fact, that Volvo got down the quarter-mile in 14.3 second at a trap speed of 100 mph, faster than July’s Cobra. Top speed for the station wagon is 145 mph. That’s 1 mph faster than the sizzling 850 Turbo wagon we tested last March. Our second test subject from Converse had a stock Mustang engine and a four-speed automatic; it made it to 60 mph in a still-zoomy 7.4 seconds. A new 740 Turbo wagon reached 60 mph in 8.0 seconds and took the quarter in 15.9 at 85 mph back in May 1985. Throttle response in both cars is quick, and you can spin the stock-size tires at most speeds on a whim.

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Jim CaiozzoCar and Driver

In eight years, Converse has built 50 of the V-8-powered cars and has sold 150 kits for do-it-your-selfers. It’s by nature not a lucrative business, since he charges just $750 for the parts or $1700 for doing the engine swap himself. The supercharger is a popular upgrade priced at $2500, and it takes two to three hours to install, says Converse. Our blown test car also had 89,000 miles on the odometer, making it relatively new for the average Converse conversion.
“It was a lot of fun riding with, you know, Newman, as he slid the car through some corners at 90 mph,” Converse recalls, reveling in the pure adolescence of one shakedown trip with the 72-year-old Newman. But the low-key Converse gets nervous about us mentioning his famous clients. The trouble started when another Indy-car team owner, late-night TV host David Letterman, bought one of Converse’s V-8-powered Volvo wagons and was so excited that he let it slip—to the whole world—that Newman had one, too. Appearing on the now-defunct Jon Stewart Show, Letterman revealed: “Six months ago, Paul Newman calls up. ‘Dave, I’m thinking about getting a Volvo station wagon, with a Ford 302 V-8 the size of a small piano. Do you want one? ‘”

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Jim CaiozzoCar and Driver

Letterman continued: “Paul told me from 20 to 100 [mph] you can chew anybody’s ass. What circumstance would Paul find himself in while driving around in a Volvo station wagon where he feels he’s got to chew somebody’s ass?”
Letterman was chastised for his loose lips: “The guy gets a little cranky about mentioning his name,” Letterman told interviewer Al Roker on CNBC later. Newman, you see, wanted a car he could drive fast but not be noticed in. But Letterman revealed that Newman had already been stopped by the cops. “It’s like driving a go-kart or a jet fighter,” adds the toothy TV star.
Converse designed the package to be an affordable way to preserve otherwise ­sound Volvos; Newman wanted a supercharger and a bunch of engine tweaks, cost no object. Cost, however, was the major motivator for Converse’s conversions. Converse lives on a dirt road on the outskirts of Portland and does all his work in a modest-sized garage. Modest, that is, to a car fan like Newman. Extravagant, perhaps, to Converse, who once lived for two years in the Maine woods in the back of a delivery truck. He also lived in a BMW 1600 sedan for a few weeks in the 1970s and spent a couple years as the live-in mechanic for a wealthy gentleman in North Carolina (“It sure was a lot warmer there than in Maine”). He went to school to learn to be an aircraft mechanic, but his Yankee-inventor, hot-rodder personality became frustrated with strict FAA regulations that discourage the hot rodding of airplane engines.

The five-speed shifter from the Ford transmission pokes up through a Volvo shift boot, but the fabricated shift lever Converse adds to the transmission uses the Mustang shift knob.

Converse is always eager to recycle. In high school, he bolted an aluminum Buick V-8 into a worn Datsun 510. He built his first V-8 Volvo for his 75-year-old mother. At the time, Converse noticed there were plenty of the strong, Swedish wagons available in salvage yards in the Northeast, most suffering from engines that hadn’t been maintained properly. “Diesels blow up all the time,” he says. “No, they do. I wanted to replace a diesel engine with one that was absolutely cheap to maintain, and if it made more power, then all the better.”
He chose the Mustang V- 8 over a small-block Chevy simply because the distributor location on the Ford motor fit more easily under the Volvo hood.
Converse makes a wiring harness that plugs into both the Volvo chassis and the Ford engine harnesses, and solders a 33-cent resistor into the tachometer circuit board of the Volvo so it will read properly with the Ford V-8. The five-speed shifter from the Ford transmission pokes up through a Volvo shift boot, but the fabricated shift lever Converse adds to the transmission uses the Mustang shift knob. “We love recycling parts, using cheap parts and covering them up,” he explains.

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Jim CaiozzoCar and Driver

The Volvo driveshaft is shortened and balanced, and a new yoke is added to mate it to the Ford transmission. The rear end remains stock. “Volvo uses Dana 30 guts in its housings,” he says, which makes him confident about the durability of the pieces. Engine mounts are fabricated from mild steel.
Our supercharged test wagon had one stock Ford catalytic converter mated to the stock-Volvo resonator for exhausting the right bank of cylinders, and the left bank was plumbed with the second stock Mustang catalytic converter and the stock ­Mustang muffler. “I’m always trying to figure out how to reuse things,” says Converse. So, none of the exhaust pieces went to waste. The downside is you wind up with two tailpipes that look completely different.
Newman’s and Letterman’s cars began life as brand-new 960 wagons, but most of Converse’s customers own high-mileage Volvos. They come to Converse because they are concerned about the reliability of their well-used drivetrains, he says. Our supercharged test car was a solid and rattle-free 1990 740 Turbo that rode soundly enough to belie its seven years of age. Its V-8 and five-speed were from a 1991 Mustang. The normally aspirated tester was a 1986 740, with a 1989 Mustang powertrain.
High-mileage Volvo wagons are cheap: “Anything with 240,000 miles on it is only $2000 to buy,” says Converse. “We’ve converted a number of cars that had over 200,000 miles on them. We go around on an anti-squeak campaign, replacing suspension and body bushings. At 200,000 miles, a Volvo body is still good, but what makes it feel old is rattles and squeaks.”
And complaints from famous folks who don’t appreciate the frugality of the conversion as much as they do the performance.
Converse Engineering, 14 Caldwell Street, Portland, Maine 04103; 207-828-6795.

Specifications

Specifications
1990 Volvo 740 Converse Supercharged V-81986 Volvo 740 Converse V-8
VEHICLE TYPE front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE AS TESTED $26,000 (supercharged V-8)$10,000 (V-8)
ENGINES supercharged pushrod 16-valve 4.9-liter V-8, 287 hp (mfr’s est); pushrod 16-valve 4.9-liter V-8, 205 hp
TRANSMISSIONS5-speed manual (supercharged V-8), 4-speed automatic (V-8)
DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 109.1 inLength: 188.4 inCurb weights: 3509 lb (supercharged V-8); 3408 lb (V-8)
C/D TEST RESULTS (SUPERCHARGED V-8) 60 mph: 5.9 sec100 mph: 14.4 sec130 mph: 32.5 secRolling start, 5–60 mph: 5.9 sec1/4 mile: 14.3 sec @ 100 mphTop speed (drag limited): 145 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 189 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.80 g
C/D TEST RESULTS (NATURALLY ASPIRATED V-8) 60 mph: 7.4 sec100 mph: 20.9 sec130 mph: N/ARolling start, 5–60 mph: 7.4 sec1/4 mile: 15.7 sec @ 89 mphTop speed: N/ABraking, 70–0 mph: 212 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.77 g

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Left hand at 11 o’clock, right at one o’clock, forearms straight down with elbows at the bottom of the steering wheel. And that wheel is up against the driver’s chest. It’s the classic early pickup-truck-driving position. The way a truck without power steering and a confined cab had to be driven. Leverage was needed to steer, and there just wasn’t any room to push the seat back. It’s also the driving position for Icon’s hard-core, high-end, obsessive-compulsive Reformer re-imagination of the short-bed, regular cab 1970 Ford F-100 4×4.
Jonathan Ward’s Icon brand started as an offshoot of his classic Toyota Land Cruiser restoration and service business. It’s now grown beyond boutique status to become a Southern California luxury brand. What Singer is to Porsche 911s, Icon is to old Ford Broncos, Chevrolet and GMC trucks from the early 1950s, Toyota FJs, and whatever else captures Ward’s imagination or sparks the whimsy of a well-heeled customer.

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Jessica Lynn WalkerCar and Driver

Keep in mind that what Icon does is re-engineer and add overwhelming detail to old vehicles. What makes the Icon machines compelling is that they work so incredibly well. But there are built-in limitations.

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What’s easiest about modifying old cars and trucks is that, compared to new vehicles, they suck. So making them better is a pretty straightforward proposition: replace the archaic pieces with newer, better stuff. For this F-100, that starts with an all-new ladder frame built by Art Morrison Enterprises in Fife, Washington. It’s a stretched version of the frame Icon uses under its Broncos, which C/D drove back in 2013. And that 23-inch stretch pays off.
Like the Icon Bronco, the F-100 uses Eibach coil springs at all four corners. In front, the Dana 44 solid axle is supported by a radius-arm setup and a Panhard rod. The rear, beefier Dana 60 axle is suspended on a four-link system. Fox Racing shocks dampen the ride motions. Big-ass Brembo brake rotors are aboard to do, well, the braking. They’re controlled by a Wilwood master cylinder and Hydratech booster. The wheels are 18-inch alloys painted to resemble the original steelies and finished with the original-style Ford hubcaps. The adoption of the coil-spring suspension necessitated raising the bed floor two inches to accommodate the spring towers. (The F-100, like most four-wheel-drive pickups of the era, originally came with leaf springs front and rear.)

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Jessica Lynn WalkerCar and Driver

While the suspension system is virtually identical to the Icon Bronco’s, the Bronco has a dinky 92-inch wheelbase. This short bed F-100 puts 115 inches between the front and rear axles. The stretch gives the pickup a much-settled, easygoing ride both on-road and off. The Bronco often feels nervous, like it’s walking on its tiptoes. The F-100, on the other hand, is settled and confident. This pickup is a better everyday machine, even if it may sacrifice some of the Bronco’s off-road nimbleness.
That raised bed floor also made it easier to fit a fuel tank behind the rear axle and between the frame rails. When Ford built this truck, the tank was in the cab behind the bench seat, where a good whack could atomize the fuel and potentially ignite and incinerate the occupants. Not good. The new tank is much safer and uses a filler positioned in the bed.

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Jessica Lynn WalkerCar and Driver

Again like Icon’s Bronco, the F-100 is powered by Ford’s 5.0-liter, DOHC, 32-valve V-8. Most prominently featured in the Mustang GT, the Coyote V-8 is rated at 460 horsepower in the 2020 edition of that pony car. The version in this truck, Icon says, is rated at 426 horsepower. “We’ve fattened up the torque curve,” Ward explained. “We’ve become pretty good at managing the fuel map.” Behind it is a Ford AOD four-speed automatic transmission, which in turn feeds an Advanced Adaptors Atlas II two-speed transfer case. Engaging the four-wheel-drive system takes a mighty tug on the transfer case’s shift lever and getting out of the truck to twist the knobs on the manual front hubs.
Ford may be selling 10-speed automatics in its cars and trucks now, but the AOD four-speed automatic is better than good enough. The driver will never miss the other six gears. And really, today’s high gear-count transmissions are about fuel economy ratings, not driving manners.

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Jessica Lynn WalkerCar and Driver

Ford introduced this body style (the fifth-generation F-Series) for the 1967 model year and made several clever design decisions. The big clamshell-style hood covers the fender tops so there’s no sloppy panel gaps along the edges. And the drip rail around the doors continues around the front of the truck to disguise any roof seams. After all, Ford built 626,585 of these things during calendar year 1970 and was selling them cheap. The factory didn’t have time to caress every single body panel. Jonathan Ward, on the other hand, was paid beaucoup bucks to make this one example perfect. So, his shop put in the hours to perfect the panel fit and drench the thing in enough coats of paint to repel artillery fire. Ward’s crew started with a sweet 1970 truck in very good condition and didn’t stop futzing until it glistened.
The full futz continues inside the cab, which appears factory with some slight exaggerations. The knobs were never this shiny when they left Ford, the upholstery so precisely tailored, and the gauges never so clearly marked and legible. An air-conditioning system using Vintage Air components keeps things cool while the close-cropped carpets feel so downy it’s a shame to wear shoes.

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Jessica Lynn WalkerCar and Driver

The Coyote V-8 sort of yelps to life and settles into a burbling idle. The column-mounted shifter snicks into drive, and the F-100 barks a bit and almost swaggers forward. Throttle response is good, the brakes bite with authority, and the steering is light and precise if somewhat mute.
Here’s the truck’s main drawback: It’s still a 1970 Ford cab. That driving position described in the first paragraph isn’t a choice, it’s a necessity. There simply isn’t enough cab to get comfortable by 21st century standards. One problem is that the restored stock steering wheel, necessarily huge in the days of unassisted steering, is simply too big in diameter for the current power-steering system. A two-inch reduction in diameter would make the steering feel more modern and open up some room for those of us carrying thunderous thighs down there.

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Jessica Lynn WalkerCar and Driver

Aerodynamics were a dark art when this F-100 was in production. There’s wind noise around the drip rails, and the big side mirrors are out there catching wind, too. Nothing so obtrusive as to detract from the truck’s personality. But it’s not a new F-150 King Ranch, either.
We’re guessing here, but the zero-to-60-mph time is likely in the high six-second range. But slamming the accelerator pedal isn’t what this is all about. There’s a confidence and even-temperedness to this F-100 that nothing built in 1970 could ever approach.
Exposure to off-road conditions was limited. But there’s good reason to expect fine manners there, too.

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Jessica Lynn WalkerCar and Driver

Managing one’s expectations is the toughest part about re-tailoring an older vehicle for the 21st century. It’s easy to make a 1970 Ford F-100 better, but there are limits to how good it can get. There’s still a lot of 1970 in it.
Icon isn’t shy about charging for its design expertise and fabrication skills. The build bill on this truck is up around $400,000, though the exact cost is between Icon and its customer. That could buy a really nice Rolls-Royce, but who’d want that when you can get an F-100?
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Its engine is almost nothing, a single cylinder that’s air cooled, fuel injected, and displaces only 125 cubic centimeters. That’s less than eight cubic inches. If it makes 10 horsepower, it would be overachieving. But it doesn’t have that much motorcycle to push around since, as Honda says, the 2020 Super Cub C125 weighs only 240 pounds. This is the first production vehicle I’ve evaluated for C/D that weighs less than I do.
Since the original Cub went on sale in 1958, Honda has built more than 110 million of them. It is by far the best-selling self-propelled vehicle of all time. In the United States, it’s been sold as a harmless thing to play with through the summer. It’s the Honda upon which you meet the nicest people. It’s happy and fun, designed to be operated by someone wearing tight white jeans, boat shoes, and a blond ponytail. But in Asia and other parts of the world, it’s a truck, an F-150 for squeaking through crowded streets delivering food orders or lugging goods from farm to market.

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Jessica Lynn WalkerCar and Driver

Honda’s Super Cub and Monkey Bikes Are Coming Back

Honda Produces 100 Millionth Super Cub!

Even more than the Civic, Accord, or a HHT25SLTAT lawn trimmer, it’s the Cub that established Honda around the world. Over the past 63 model years, Honda has built Cubs with engines ranging from a nominal 50 cc to this relatively beastly 125. The four-stroke, single-overhead-cam, two-valve engine itself is shared with other small Honda motorcycles, including the super-adorable 2021 Monkey and the goofball Grom. Besides its classic step-through design, the big advantage the Super Cub has over its siblings is its 17-inch alloy wheels and relatively long 48.9-inch wheelbase, which make it more stable and comfortable, and make it more of an actual motorcycle and not a moped.
While it looks like the Cubs of old, Honda pulled the original from the United States in 1974. This is an all-new machine that Honda introduced to the American market in 2019. Assembled in Thailand, every plastic body panel, every engine casting, and every other component is beautifully finished and impeccably built.

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Jessica Lynn WalkerCar and Driver

Modern touches include a proximity key so that the Super Cub can be started simply by turning on the ignition and touching the switch on the right side of the handlebar to engage the electric starter. The front disc brake is equipped with anti-lock control, but the rear drum is on its own. All of the lighting systems are LEDs, and they work exceedingly well. The instrumentation consists of a speedometer, some warning lights, and a small digital display that doubles as a clock. There’s only a single seat on the Super Cub and no place to store anything. Well, there is a small compartment on the side that’s just big enough to fit the owner’s manual. A chrome rack that bolts to the front of the leg shield is a $73 accessory.
Throwing on a borrowed Arai Classic-V helmet that neatly matched the seat top, I looked like a background extra from Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs. But there’s something emboldening about a helmet no matter how funny you look. I felt a sense of safety as I got onto a motorcycle for the first time in about 20 years.

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Jessica Lynn WalkerCar and Driver

The Super Cub is amazingly easy to ride. The four-speed sequential transmission operates with a lever at the rider’s left foot. Neutral is at the bottom, and the rider toes up for first and keeps going up until it runs out of gears. If your toe is hypersensitive, the shifter can also be operated with your heel on the opposite end of the lever. A centrifugal clutch and spring-loaded clutch plate handle engaging drive, so the rider can concentrate on keeping a death grip on the left side of the handlebar. The right side is capped with a conventional twist throttle and a lever to operate the front brake. The rear brake is operated by a foot pedal on the right.
Comfortably upright, the riding position compromised the aerodynamics of my torso. Rolling into the throttle, the Super Cub pulls away with no drama. Of course, with a bit less than 10 horsepower available acceleration is hardly intimidating. First gear runs out pretty quickly, but second is good for up to about 30 mph. Third will take the bike all the way up to its terminal velocity of about 60 mph—assuming the rider bends forward to cheat the wind. Fourth is best used as a cruising gear on flat roads or downhill.

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Jessica Lynn WalkerCar and Driver

During my time with the Super Cub, I rode it for 230 miles and put 1.4 gallons of fuel into its 1.0-gallon tank. Including the gallon of gas that was in it when the bike was delivered, that works out to 96 mpg. The total fuel bill came to $7.40, which is kind of awesome.
That in mind, one frustrating element of the Super Cub is filling that tank. The filler lives under the hinged seat and is accessed by pressing a single release button. That’s no problem. But there’s a support rod that runs across the tank just below the filler, and that makes it impossible to insert the fuel nozzle all the way in. That may not be much of a problem in other parts of the country, but in California where vapor recovery systems are mandatory, it makes for an awkward amount of finagling to pull the rubber vapor hose up enough to allow fuel to flow freely. But since the tank is small, it doesn’t take long to fill it.

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Jessica Lynn WalkerCar and Driver

This is a stable, easygoing motorcycle for puttering around a town like my Santa Barbara home. Its feathery weight means it’s easy to pull up onto its center stand for parking. Nearly everyone you meet wants to talk about it, and even at full speed it never feels ragged or strained. It corners securely, allows greater lean angles than I have the courage to exploit, and rides comfortably over road irregularities. As my re-entry point to motorcycling, it’s about perfect. And at $3839 the 2020 model is priced at about a tenth that of the average new car. The 2021 models are already arriving and will cost $100 more.
Motorcycle riders make for better car drivers. You can’t afford to be distracted on a motorcycle—no Bluetooth chatter full of podcasts and pundits (unless you wire your helmet), no eating an Egg McMuffin, no daydreaming. On a motorcycle, a keen situational awareness of everything around you emerges almost naturally, and there are so many inattentive drivers out there that stark terror is only one idiot pulling out of a Starbucks driveway. The intense concentration necessary, even on a bike as benign as the Super Cub, will follow you when you get back behind the wheel of a car.
As for meeting friendly people on this Honda? Well, I can be kind of surly.
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Audi’s boss in the 1980s, Ferdinand Piëch, realigned the company to compete with Mercedes-Benz and BMW, setting in motion a close competition between the German marques. If one of the brands enters a segment, the others follow shortly. If one updates a vehicle, so do the others. The latest in this anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better strategy is the redesigned Audi A3, which follows the introduction of the second-generation Mercedes-Benz CLA and the new BMW 2-series Gran Coupe.

2020 Audi A3 Is an Early Look at What’s to Come

2022 Audi A3 Sedan Is Aggressively Contemporary

We recently spent a day behind the wheel of the A3 Sportback 2.0 TDI (that’s the hatchback version), but now our attention turns to the A3 sedan, the body style that will be coming to the U.S. next year as a 2022 model. While American A3s will have a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four that makes about 200 horsepower, a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and a 48-volt hybrid system, the A3 sedan we drove came equipped with a 148-hp turbocharged 1.5-liter four-banger. It might not offer the same acceleration as the one we’ll get, but the 1.5-liter gives a clear indication of what the A3 sedan will feel like going down the road.

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Audi

At first glance, the new A3 Sedan comes across as an evolution of its predecessor. There are sharp creases, slight fender flares, and it looks more aggressive than before, yet the overall proportions remain very much the same. The bubble roof is a typical Audi element ever since Peter Schreyer introduced it on the A1X concept in 1991, and the horizontal taillights provide another connection to the previous A3 sedan.
The interior is boldly futuristic, with a digital instrument panel that is available in two sizes, as well as a standard central touchscreen. The cockpit is full of creases and hard edges; the materials are soft and attractive. The central infotainment screen is similar to that on Audi’s top-level cars, but it provides feedback in sound rather than the vibrations of other Audis. An informative and well-designed head-up display is optional.

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Audi

The A3’s telematics systems and levels of electronic assistance are impressive. Audi’s navigation system is easy to operate and delivers precise commands. We are especially impressed by the optional matrix LED headlights and how they lay an crisp carpet of light ahead of the car.
We found the A3 Sedan to be as well-suited to long trips as the Sportback version that we recently drove. Like the hatchback, the sedan has a comfortable seating position and relatively spacious rear seats. The four-door has a sizeable and easily accessible trunk with a low liftover height, and the rear seats can be laid flat to expand the usefulness of the cargo space.
In Europe, the 148-hp 1.5-liter is the second smallest engine. There is a super-efficient 109-hp 1.0-liter three-cylinder positioned below. Fitted with a 48-volt hybrid system, this A3 offered a genuine “hybrid” driving experience: When you take your foot off the gas, the car will coast, the engine shuts off before the car actually comes to a halt, and restarting is a quick and vibration-free affair.

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Audi

What this engine offers in efficiency and silky-smooth delivery, it loses in acceleration. We won’t complain about a claimed zero-to-62-mph time of 8.4 seconds, but the small four-banger never feels particularly eager to explore its limits. Reaching the claimed top speed of 144 mph will require many miles of autobahn. The seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, which will be shared with the U.S.-bound 2.0-liter, changes gears quickly and unobtrusively. When Audi launches the 40 TFSI model in the U.S., it will be offered with front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. We did wish for a firmer suspension on the car we drove, but it remains to be seen how the U.S. model will be tuned.
With two AMG-fettled versions of both the CLA and A-class, as well as an M235i Gran Coupe, there will inevitably be new S3 and RS3 performance versions of the A3. While those hotter models haven’t been shown yet, we did learn that the S3 will have more than 300 horsepower and that the RS3 will likely make more than 400. Even at the economical end of the luxury segment, the competition among the German brands remains heated.

Specifications

Specifications
2022 Audi A3 35 TFSI MHEV S Tronic
VEHICLE TYPE front-engine, front-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan
BASE PRICE $31,000
ENGINE TYPE turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injectionDisplacement 91 in3, 1498 cm3Power 148 hp @ 6000 rpmTorque 184 lb-ft @ 1500 rpm
TRANSMISSION 7-speed dual-clutch automatic
DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 103.8 inLength: 177.0 inWidth: 71.5 inHeight: 56.1 inCurb weight (C/D est): 3000 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST) 60 mph: 7.7 sec1/4 mile: 16.1 secTop speed: 144 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST) Combined/city/highway: 32/29/37 mpg

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Michael SimariCar and Driver

The hybrid-only 2021 Venza is one of the best-looking new Toyotas in recent memory—or at least one of the least fussy in its design. But its good looks are one of its few strengths. Although Toyota pitches the Venza as a mid-size two-row SUV in the vein of the Chevrolet Blazer, Ford Edge, and Honda Passport, this new crossover struggles to stand apart from the company’s own compact RAV4 hybrid. Within the greater Toyota lineup, it’s easier to think of the Venza as a high-end trim level of the RAV4, rather than a separate model designed to compete with larger rivals.

HIGHS: Attractive design, solid highway fuel economy, cool panoramic roof on Limited models.

Unlike the previous Venza, which was a Camry-based crossover created for the United States market, this new model is plucked from Toyota’s Japanese lineup, where it’s called the Harrier. A glance at the Venza’s spec sheet reveals a number of similarities with the RAV4, as the two crossovers share a platform and most of their powertrain and dimensions. The Venza is a few inches longer, owing to its different body, but its wheelbase and width are the same as the RAV4’s.

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Michael SimariCar and Driver

Toyota Venza Returns for 2021 as Hybrid-Only SUV

Why the Toyota Sienna and Venza Are Hybrid-Only

2021 Toyota Venza Costs More Than the RAV4 Hybrid

The supposedly bigger Venza is actually less spacious inside, and its inferior packaging makes it less practical for hauling cargo. We fit just seven carry-on suitcases behind the rear seats of the Venza—three fewer than in the RAV4 and less than half of what you can stow in a Honda Passport. Lifting things into the Venza requires a bit of extra effort as well, as its cargo floor is significantly higher off the ground than the RAV4’s, at 32.3 inches versus 27.5. The Venza’s rear-seat dimensions are nearly identical to the RAV4’s, yet sitting back there feels more confining because of the Venza’s slightly smaller windows and higher beltline.

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Michael SimariCar and Driver

The Venza features the same all-wheel-drive hybrid drivetrain as the RAV4 hybrid, including a 2.5-liter inline-four and two motor-generators, plus a third electric motor on the rear axle. Combined output is the same 219 horsepower. The only significant difference is that the Venza gets a lithium-ion battery pack versus the RAV4’s nickel-metal-hydride unit. However, the Venza’s more modern battery holds far less energy, 0.9 kWh versus the RAV4’s 1.6. Perhaps that’s why the Venza Limited we tested, at 7.6 seconds to 60 mph, is 0.3-second slower than the RAV4 hybrid despite weighing only 58 pounds more. Either way, a Passport is a significant 1.5 seconds quicker. In our 75-mph highway fuel-economy test, the Venza’s 36 mpg trailed the RAV4 hybrid’s result by 1 mpg, although both numbers are admittedly impressive for any SUV. Still, Toyota’s smooth 3.5-liter V-6 would have helped to differentiate Venza, as would the new RAV4 Prime’s impressive plug-in-hybrid powertrain with 302 horsepower. But Toyota says it has no plans to offer other Venza variants in the U.S.

LOWS: Slower and less practical than a RAV4 hybrid but more expensive.

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Michael SimariCar and Driver

While the Venza may look a bit classier than the RAV4, it offers similar levels of comfort and refinement. Its four-cylinder can sound buzzy and sends more vibrations through the steering wheel and pedals than we’d like. Wind noise is noticeable on the highway, even though the Venza’s sound measurement at a 70-mph cruise is one decibel lower than the RAV4 hybrid’s. The Venza is reasonably balanced around corners, but its comparatively slower steering and softer suspension versus the RAV4 make it feel larger and a bit lazier on the road, as well as less composed over rough pavement. Our test car’s Bridgestone Ecopia all-season tires were quick to relinquish their modest grip, with adhesion around the skidpad amounting to 0.79 g and stops from 70 mph requiring an unimpressive 179 feet.

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Michael SimariCar and Driver

Unfortunately, the Venza lags behind the RAV4 in additional comparisons: The Venza isn’t rated for towing, yet the RAV4 hybrid can tug up to 1750 pounds; the RAV4’s physical buttons and knobs on its center stack are easier to use than the Venza’s touch-capacitive buttons; and the Venza has fewer and smaller storage cubbies for stashing small items. Perhaps most frustrating is that Toyota charges between $3000 and $6000 more for the Venza than for equivalent RAV4 hybrid models.
On a technical level, the Venza’s primary advantage is its panoramic electrochromic sunroof, a $1400 option exclusive to the Limited trim that can change from transparent to translucent at the touch of a button. But at our test car’s $43,045 price point, the new Venza struggles to distinguish itself both from Toyota’s own compact SUV and its numerous mid-size crossover competitors. Unless you’re smitten with the Venza’s design, the RAV4 hybrid is the more compelling buy.

Specifications

Specifications
2021 Toyota Venza
VEHICLE TYPE front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE AS TESTED $43,045 (base price: $33,590)
POWERTRAIN DOHC 16-valve Atkinson-cycle 2.5-liter inline-4, 176 hp, 163 lb-ft + 3 permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors, front: 118 hp, 149 lb-ft; rear: 54 hp, 89 lb-ft (combined output, 219 hp); 0.9-kWh lithium-ion battery pack
TRANSMISSION continuously variable automatic
CHASSIS Suspension (F/R): struts/multilinkBrakes (F/R): 12.0-in vented disc/11.1-in discTires: Bridgestone Ecopia H/L 422 Plus, 225/55R-19 99V M+S
DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 105.9 inLength: 186.6 inWidth: 73.0 inHeight: 65.9 inPassenger volume: 95 ft3Cargo volume: 29 ft3Curb weight: 3879 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 7.6 sec100 mph: 20.9 secRolling start, 5–60 mph: 7.9 secTop gear, 30–50 mph: 3.8 secTop gear, 50–70 mph: 5.2 sec1/4 mile: 15.8 sec @ 89 mphTop speed (governor limited): 118 mphBraking, 70–0 mph: 179 ftRoadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.79 gStanding-start accel times omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec.
C/D FUEL ECONOMY Observed: 36 mpgHighway range: 520 miles
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (MFR EST) Combined/city/highway: 39/40/37 mpg

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We’ll apologize up front for this being another of our occasional takes on a compelling car that the vagaries of the international auto industry deny us. That’s because although Alpina does exist in the United States—selling its B7 version of the BMW 7-series and set to launch its new XB7 SUV here soon—there are unfortunately no plans to bring any of the BMW tuner’s smaller and more affordable models to the States, such as this impressive 3-series-based B3.
The new B3 isn’t meant to be a rival to the forthcoming M3. Alpina’s close relationship with BMW is based on the clear understanding that the company’s variants are built around a different mission from those that wear M badges. Alpinas are softer and more comfort orientated, designed more for effortless high-speed blasts on Germany’s autobahn than for shaving seconds from lap times. That focus makes for seriously multitalented vehicles, which the new Alpina B3 demonstrates wonderfully.

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Alpina

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Alpina’s status as BMW’s officially sanctioned tuner means it basically gets to play Lego with the manufacturer’s componentry. The B3 uses the all-wheel-drive system, mechanical limited-slip rear differential, and eight-speed automatic transmission from the M340i xDrive model but adds a beefier torque converter to better cope with the output of the S58 twin-turbo 3.0-liter straight-six that the B3 shares with the X3 M and X4 M SUVs. For Alpina duty, the six gains smaller, low-inertia turbocharger compressors, redesigned intake and exhaust systems, and a retuned computer. Its 456 horsepower slots it slightly below the 473 or 503 horses of the M models, but the B3 produces a stout 516 pound-feet of torque versus the M tune’s 442 pound-feet. The B3 should be able to clear 60 mph in about 3.5 seconds, and top speed is an unrestricted 186 mph for the wagon and 188 mph for the sedan.

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Alpina

The B3’s engine pulls without lag—or indeed much in the way of apparent effort—generating significant speed with the accelerator pedal only halfway through its long travel. Pushed harder, the g forces increase and the sounds it makes get angrier, but the engine’s linearity and broad midrange muscle is in marked contrast to the top-end fireworks of most M cars. The last-generation B3 was less powerful yet struggled for grip in its standard rear-drive form, but the new car just sticks, even when accelerating hard from a stop. While understeer can be found in tighter bends, the front end’s push is minimal and is usually successfully countered by the all-wheel-drive system.
Even more impressive is the B3’s chassis. It employs new Eibach springs but keeps the adaptive dampers from the M340i, which have been reprogrammed to give a broader spread between Comfort and Sport modes. Even with the dampers in their firmest setting, there was no harshness to the car’s ride over the (admittedly few) rough patches we could find on our test route through the German countryside. There was also no sense of float or excessive body roll in Comfort mode. That includes during hard acceleration, which, despite the softer springs, seemed to produce less squat than is typical in punchy BMWs. The steering feels better weighted as well, with a more natural loading of cornering forces than in the M340i.

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Alpina

We drove both sedan and Touring wagon versions of the B3 on the road and can say there’s minimal dynamic difference between them. The wagon’s open cargo area allows slightly more noise inside, although its cabin is still impressively quiet at cruising speeds. Its responses to control inputs aren’t quite as keen as the sedan’s—Alpina says it weighs 176 pounds more—but with no Touring version planned for the new M3, the long-roof B3 will be the quickest factory-approved version of the current 3-series wagon.
Beyond some discreet Alpina branding, including the company’s badge on the steering wheel in place of the BMW roundel, the B3’s interior is predictably similar to that of a well-specified 3-series. The standard steering wheel features Alpina’s traditional small buttons on the back of the spokes for manual gear selection, but you can opt for more functional machined aluminum paddles instead. Externally, the B3 is similarly understated, especially for buyers who resist Alpina’s optional pinstriping. Beyond the Alpina-branded front splitter—which harks back to when the company competed in the European Touring Car Championship—the B3 shouts remarkably little for being as quick as it is.

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Alpina

On the demanding Bilster Berg racetrack, an exclusive members’ club built on the site of a former British army munitions depot, the B3 felt impressively quick for a luxury performance car. Its suspension retains tight control of the car’s body motions and reveals a playful side that comes in part from the all-wheel-drive system’s rearward torque bias. Chuck it through a tight corner, and the combination of the more aggressive Sport Plus drive mode and the stability control’s Sport setting allows a liberal amount of slip from the back end. The next M3 will undoubtedly be even quicker and more extreme on the track, but the softer-edged B3 is no slouch.
In terms of global reach, Alpina remains a boutique shop. With production limited to about 2000 cars a year in total, CEO Andreas Bovensiepen admits it’s not possible to financially justify the considerable costs of certifying its less-expensive models for sale in the U.S. Less expensive in this case means a starting price the equivalent of $91,000. Still, it’s a shame. What the new B3 gives up in outright performance it more than makes up for in refinement and exclusivity. Sadly, we’ll have to continue to appreciate it from afar.

Specifications

Specifications
2020 Alpina B3
VEHICLE TYPE front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan or wagon
BASE PRICE (GERMANY) $91,000
ENGINE TYPE twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve inline-6, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injectionDisplacement 183 in3, 2993 cm3Power 456 hp @ 7000 rpmTorque 516 lb-ft @ 2500 rpm
TRANSMISSION 8-speed automatic
DIMENSIONS Wheelbase: 112.2 inLength: 185.8 inWidth: 71.9 inHeight: 56.6–56.7 inPassenger volume: 95 ft3Trunk volume: 17–18 ft3Curb weight (C/D est): 4150–4300 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST) 60 mph: 3.4–3.5 sec100 mph: 9.0–9.1 sec1/4 mile: 11.9–12.0 secTop speed (mfr’s claim): 186–188 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST) Combined/city/highway: 18/15/23 mpg

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