Car and Driver

OUR GRUMPIEST READERS, mistaking coverage for endorsement, love to send missives expressing displeasure with our Electric Vehicle of the Year contest. In case you missed it: It’s in this issue. While some of you would have us shelve the award permanently, we’re not quite ready to do so. When EVs become more commonplace—something that will happen over the next few years—maybe we’ll stop highlighting the best new electrics in this way. For now, it’s a good opportunity to examine and explain changes in technology, test advancements, expose failures, and fill you in on who does it best and which EV rises above the rest. One thing EVs do best is accelerate. We’ll go so far as to say that EVs have won the acceleration war, with gas cars having signed the…

TAKE ISSUE I’ve subscribed to all the major car mags since the ’60s, feeling respect for Road & Track but affection for Car and Driver, sort of Paul Frère versus Ezra Dyer, obligation versus joy. Of the reformatted survivors, you’re now the best—and by a large margin. —Michael SermanNew York, NY You were doing excellent work on the March/April issue. Then you bring this load of caca for the May/June issue! Consumer Reports, Motor Trend, or Popular Mechanics could handle that type of information. Please publish all the information, comparisons, pictures, and useful facts about sports cars costing at least six figures. That’s why my renewals keep coming for over 60 years! —Cleveland Norton Jr.San Diego, CA I can’t tell whether this is sarcasm—Ed. BEAST IN ME I didn’t think it was possible, but the Tesla Cybertruck…

AFTER 47 YEARS at General Motors, Tadge Juechter, longtime chief engineer of the Chevrolet Corvette, is retiring. But Juechter is going out with a bang, sticking around just long enough to see the cover come off the 2025 Corvette ZR1. The C8 ZR1 shares the basic recipe of its C6 and C7 forebears, relying on forced induction to make big power. Unlike those previous ZR1s, which had a supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 making 638 and 755 horsepower, respectively, the latest iteration employs a twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter V-8, dubbed LT7, that produces a mind-boggling 1064 horses, making this car by far the most powerful factory-backed production Corvette ever. And with a claimed top speed of more than 215 mph, it’s the fastest too. In a career filled with more high notes than a Bee Gees…

Chevy is adamant that the LT7 V-8 of the ZR1 is not just a Z06’s LT6 with a pair of turbos bolted on. That’s because the brand developed the two engines in tandem rather than successively. Even so, there’s no denying the relationship between these powerplants. Both displace 5.5 liters, share an identical block structure, and use what’s effectively the same forged steel flat-plane crankshaft. The duo even had a single code name: Gemini, an ode to the NASA spacecraft of the mid-1960s. Developing the engines concurrently eliminated any potential compromises the LT7 may have otherwise endured. For instance, the six-stage oil pump in the Z06 purposely included provisions for an unused seventh stage of scavenging. This contingency allows Chevy to use the same pump in the ZR1, which needs the…

MIKE NEW has one of the best jobs in the automotive industry. He manages the subjective test drivers at Michelin’s Laurens Proving Grounds. What exactly does that mean? New and his team test and give feedback on tires Michelin is developing. And yes, these drives very often involve pushing the tires to their limits of adhesion. We struggle to think of a better way to make a living, aside from working at Car and Driver. C/D: What makes a great subjective test driver? NEW: The main thing we look at is car control and how natural a feel someone has for handling a car in at-the-limit situations. C/D: Is car control instinctive, or is it a skill that can be developed? NEW: Some people are naturally gifted at it. Some people can learn it…

EXCEED THE SPEED LIMIT in one of the 27 European Union countries, and you may get some pushback from your vehicle. As of July, new cars sold in the EU must include a speed-warning device that alerts drivers if they exceed the posted limit. At a minimum, vehicles must include acoustic or haptic speed warnings, though the European Commission gives automakers the latitude to supplant those passive measures with either an active accelerator pedal that applies counterpressure against the driver’s foot or a governor that restricts the vehicle’s speed to the legal limit. Drivers can override or deactivate these admonishments, but the devices must default to their active state at startup. Now California is looking to emulate the EU with legislation that would mandate in-car speed-warning devices. The bill, SB 961,…