David E. Davis Jr. Rejoins Car And Driver

Car and Driver's new editor-in-chief Eddie Alterman is on issue number two of his tenure...and he's continuing to hit all the right notes.

At his invitation, David E. Davis, Jr., who held that office twice in the 60s, 70s and 80s (both tenures widely considered to be the golden years of C/D) has returned as a columnist.

Davis is the father of modern automotive journalism, a true giant whose talents and instincts not only propelled Car and Driver to the top while he was at the helm, but provided sufficient momentum to keep C/D there for the 23 years since his departure to launch Automobile. His most recent venture was the online magazine Winding Road.

If you took everything Davis ever wrote in his life and put it in one volume, I'd read it all (most of it for the second or third time) and then urge you to do the same.

Davis says he's rejoining Car and Driver because it is the one car magazine with the ingredients needed to succeed.

Alterman's second issue (July, 2009) is yet another big step forward in putting Car and Driver back in gear, from a thought-provoking editor's column, to continued refinements in content and artwork (including the cleanest-looking cover in years).

Last month's appearance by former editor-in-chief Csaba Csere, kicking off a series on Certified Pre-Owned vehicles, appears to have been a one-shot...Tony Swan writes installment number two (on Porsche 911's)

DED, Jr.'s first column is in there, too...a brilliant piece on former General Motors chief Rick Wagoner and what might soon be the former General Motors. Go buy a copy. Then subscribe. This is going to be very good...at a time when we car folks need it most.

Car and Driver May 1964 (Vol 9 No 11)
Automobile, December 1988, Vol. 3, No. 9.

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Ford F-150 Supercrew Lariat Review

If you were wondering why Lincoln chose to discontinue building the Mark LT pickup this year, meet the reason:

The Ford F-150 4X4 Supercrew Lariat.

A fact fewer and fewer people seem to know: Full-size pickup trucks can be fairly cheap. A base Ford F-150 XL standard cab starts at $20,815.

But not this one. Base price: $37,990. And the Ford PR folks slathered on more than eight grand worth of options (special color metallic paint, limited slip axle, navigation, a chrome step bar, moonroof, the Lariat Plus package, 20 inch aluminum wheels, a trailer brake controller and heated and cooled leather captain's chairs) for a bottom line before discounts of $46,195.

Thank goodness for the $1,000 Lariat premium discount...it's really only $45,195.

Incredibly, the Lariat isn't the top of the line...meaning $45,195 isn't all the money you can spend for a Ford truck. The King Ranch edition starts about six grand higher than the Lariat base price...and the Platinum goes $1600 above the King Ranch.

Meaning you can break $50,000 here.

Mileage? Well, rent a car to go to the Sierra Club meetings. The EPA says 14 city/18 highway.

So...given all that, how is it?

If you want a full-size, four-door truck loaded like only Lincoln Town Cars used to be (and more tasefully at that)...and it appears that's exactly how truck buyers like them these days, then this is the one.

At least, I think. It's definitely one-upped the Chevy Silverado. There's also a new Dodge Ram pickup for 2009, but Chrysler pulled it out of the Phoenix press fleet a few weeks before my scheduled week in it. Will we see one again? If you know the answer, a courtesy call to the UAW workers biting their nails over Mopar's future would be nice.

                                                           

Keep your gear dry with a Ford F150 tonneau cover from AmericanTrucks.

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How It Happened

The once inconceivable is now reality. General Motors, rebuffed by bondholders, appears headed to bankruptcy court and a future we can only guess at. Peter DeLorenzo's piece on Autoextremist today is the best analysis of how the mightiest corporation ever managed to fall.

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Mercury Mariner Premier Review

Somewhat lost in the hype over the Ford Escape Hybrid is how good a vehicle that is even without the super-green powertrain.

Its fraternal twin, the Mercury Mariner Premier came to TireKicker Villa for a week's stay recently and made its case for the traditional good life.

You see, the Escape Hybrid I tested last summer was a base model with just one option...Ford and Microsoft's SYNC audio system.

The Premier came loaded...nearly six grand worth of options including heated mirrors and seats, 17 inch painted aluminum wheels, moonroof, a mini-overhead console with map light, the rear cargo convenience package, a navigation and audiophile music system, dual zone climate control and a reverse sensing system.

The moonroof gets a "Moon & Tune" discount (that's what they call it on the window sticker) of $395, so with $725 in delivery charges, the Mariner bottom-lined at $29,670...a stone's throw from the as-tested price of the Escape Hybrid.

Ah, you say....but you're giving up all that fuel economy. Well, yes and no.

Hybrids are designed to deliver the biggest improvements in fuel economy in the city, where the electric engine can often take over completely in low-speed driving (or crawling, as commuters on L.A.'s 405 freeway might know it).

Often, hybrids' EPA estimates are the reverse of normal cars...higher in city than on the highway. That's the case for the Ford Escape Hybrid...34 city/30 highway.

At 20 city, the loaded Mariner (even with the four-cylinder engine our tester had) uses a lot more fuel.

But what if you do mostly highway (or uncongested city freeway) driving? Well, then things get interesting...because the Mariner's EPA estimate is 28...only two mpg less than the Hybrid (which, by the way, you can get in the Mariner as well).

If your driving tips the scales toward highway, then a loaded Mariner with a gasoline four, selling for a grand or so less than a base Escape Hybrid with SYNC (though the tax credit pretty much makes it a wash) might make as much or more sense. Less complexity...less uncertainty about what the bill might be when the battery pack fails after the warranty runs out.

Your call. They're both very good small SUVs.

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And Miles To Go...

Whether the fuel economy standards announced by President Obama yesterday are a good thing or not is a matter of opinion (or perhaps ideology). But, as Peter DeLorenzo notes in today's Autoextremist, it is what it is...and now the work begins.

So how far from the targets are the cars we drive now? Jalopnik did the math, and found that not a single automaker is there yet.

UPDATE: But then, Los Jalops learned more about the nuts, bolts and...um...air conditioning...behind the figures. Turns out the bar's a lot lower than the headlines suggest.

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Nissan 370Z Review

Oh, man, I hope the Nissan dealers have sold all the leftover 350Zs already.

Because once you drive the new 370Z, there is no going back.

The 350Z was nice and all...apart from a seriously cheap interior...but this...well, wow.

332 horsepower. 270 pounds per foot of torque.

A six-speed manual transmission.

18 inch wheels.

An interior someone spent time and money on.

That's the standard stuff...that comes with the $29,930 base price.

The one I drove for a week (and seriously considered hiding when Nissan came around to pick it up) had Chicane Yellow paint ($500: see photo above), carpeted floor mats ($115) and the Sport Package (SynchroRev Match manual transmission, viscous limited slip differential, 19 inch RAYS forged wheels, upgraded P245 and P275 tires, front chin and rear spoiler and Nissan Sport Brakes for $3,000).

Total price, including $695 destination charge:

$34,240.

Oh, sign me up already!

I haven't wanted a Z like this in 30 years. And it doesn't hurt that while you're rocketing across the universe (or so it feels), the EPA says you're getting 18 miles per gallon in the city and 26 on the highway.

The Z lost its way for a couple of decades...but it's all the way back now.

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Lincoln MKS Review

Do something enough times and people can assume it's true again, even when it's not.

Case in point: Lincoln has spent the last few years taking Fords and dressing them up with Lincoln grilles, badges and logos (Expedition becomes Navigator; Explorer becomes Aviator; F-150 becomes Mark LT; Fusion becomes MKZ, Edge becomes MXK) that when I saw the new MKS on a stand at the Auto Show in November 2007, I assumed that it was a gussied-up Taurus.

I was wrong.

Sure, the MKS and Taurus are built of the same platform (shared with the Volvo S80), but Lincoln has shaken off the doldrums and built its own car here...and one that actually deserves the Lincoln nameplate.

Start with the leather, top-quality stuff sourced from the same company that provided hides to Lincoln 50 years ago. Move on to fit and finish...well above anything we've seen from Dearborn in a long, long time. The interior designers have crafted a distinctly Lincoln instrument panel, making the common item from the Ford parts bin look less, rather than more conspicuous.

The MKS was also my first experience with Ford's new SYNC system featuring live weather radar, up-to-the-minute sports scores and movie listings (I wouldn't have blamed them for making it a Lincoln exclusive for a year, but it's also available in the Ford Flex and the Escape Hybrid).

On the road? More than adequate power, and far better handling than any Lincoln I can remember.

The distinctive grille, meant to evoke memories of the late 30s-early 40s Continentals, is actually pointing the way to Lincoln's future. Let's hope the MKS is indicative of what Lincoln not only can but will do with future models.

UPDATE: Recently had a week in a second MKS, this one with "premium" rather than "ultimate" leather, and missing the dual-panel moonroof. Everything I wrote above still stands. But as a full production model, this one came with price and EPA estimates.

Base price: $37,665.

Options: $1,115 for the Technology Package (rain sensing interval wipers, adaptive headlamps with auto high beam, forward sensing system and Intelligent Access push button steering wheel).

$2,995 for the Navigation Package (voice activated nav system, rear-view camera, THX-II certified audio system with 5.1 surround sound).

$510 for 19 inch bright machine cast aluminum wheels.

Bottom line (including $800 delivery charge): $43,085. Pretty much in line with Cadillac CTS.

EPA estimates: 17 city/24 highway.

Crash ratings still pending at time of shipment.

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