Car and Driver

The Guinness Book of Records folks say that the biggest road-race event of all time had something like 184 vehicles. There’s a good chance, depending on how many not-quite-ready teams thrash their hoopties into shape overnight, that we may break that record at the Vodden the Hell Are We Doing 24 Hours of LeMons at Northern California’s Thunderhill Raceway. Of the cars that are ready, we can say that the record for Most Totally Ridiculous Engine Swaps been shattered already. Plus, we have our first-ever Scion Xb, complete with the very rare burning-toast option package! READ MORE ››

Underappreciated though they may be, minivans are a crucial cog in the modern suburban machine. From crosstown errands to interstate voyages, the one-box formula rules at hauling cargo, especially the fleshy, carbon-based kind. That Honda has historically imbued its Odysseys with some sense of driver involvement has made it our first choice for family outings to Walley World. READ MORE ››

Chrysler likes to market its 300 sedan as the perfect rolling accessory for any gritty urban backdrop, whether it be L.A. or Detroit, and now the company is releasing two special 300C models that are, well, grittier. The duo are called the 300C John Varvatos Limited Edition and the 300C John Varvatos Luxury Edition, and they were created with input from, you guessed it, designer John Varvatos. The special 300C models join the Glacier Edition as newcomers to the 2013 300 lineup.  READ MORE ››

Each week, our German correspondent slices and dices the latest rumblings, news, and quick-hit driving impressions from the other side of the pond. His byline may say Jens Meiners, but we simply call him . . . the Continental.

“The entire automotive world is looking to Berlin,” declared VW chief Martin Winterkorn last week, and he wasn’t exaggerating. He launched the seventh generation of the Golf in the German capital, at the Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery) designed by Mies van der Rohe. The event began on a humorous note, with a protest staged by Greenpeace. “The new Golf: Climate target missed,” the notorious organization declared. READ MORE ››

Think modern cars look bloated? Of course you do. Part of what you’re seeing is the effect of European and Asian pedestrian-protection requirements that went live last decade. The idea is to leave enough space beneath the hood to keep a struck pedestrian’s head from caving it in far enough to hit the top of the engine. So, you’d expect higher hoods and taller noses. But that little bit of air over the intake manifold ripples through and changes everything. READ MORE ››

With the new Altima just out and a new Honda Accord and Ford Fusion on its heels, you might say we’re at the precipice of another mid-size-sedan war, were not the vehicles in this segment so mild-mannered. Calling it a mid-size-sedan argument is probably more accurate. Or, perhaps, a slight re-ordering of status among several like-minded members of the same tribe. Whatever your name for it, the time has come for a new generation of these cars to disagree somewhat. READ MORE ››

Update 2/27: We’ve received a fresh batch of photos depicting the camouflaged C7 Corvette, again taken while the car was undergoing cold-weather testing. Although we’re sticking with our original assessment that the C7’s redesign will be more evolutionary than revolutionary, the new images bring a couple of details into focus: First, an array of LED running lights appear to be hiding in the headlight clusters and, second, the B-pillar looks as if it’s going to be thicker and perhaps flow into a more traditional sail panel. If the latter proves accurate, it follows that the wraparound rear glass of the current Vette will be abandoned. Even under the heavily padded camo, careful examination indicates the new backlight rests at a less severe degree of rake than the current model’s. Read on for the rest of what we know about the C7. READ MORE ››

2013 Dodge Charger Pursuit, in a typical shady alley and without all-wheel drive

As bad-ass as Dodge’s Charger Pursuit police car looks, the rear-drive cop car’s, ahem, pursuit skills potentially face limitations in inclement weather—until now. Dodge is introducing all-wheel drive as an option for cop Chargers for 2014; the new drive configuration will be available only on Charger Pursuit models equipped with the 370-hp, 5.7-liter Hemi V-8. READ MORE ››

When unveiling the Paceman concept at the 2011 Detroit auto show, Mini touted it as a “totally new category of car” thanks to an “innovative body concept.” The concept hardly lived up to the rhetoric and now that it has morphed into a production car, it can be a challenge to distinguish it at first glance from the Countryman. The front end, in fact, is identical to that mega-Mini five-door; its wheelbase hasn’t changed; even the interior incorporates precious few alterations, all destined to appear in the Countryman anyway. READ MORE ››

Ford has announced that it is adding its corporate 3.7-liter V-6 to the Police Interceptor sedan’s option sheet, where it will slot between the base, naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V-6 and the twin-turbo 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6. The 3.7-liter is new to the Police Interceptor sedan, but is standard on the Police Interceptor Utility SUV, where it serves as that model’s only powertrain. In the sedan, the new V-6 makes 305 hp and 279 lb-ft of torque, an increase of 1 hp relative to the Utility. READ MORE ››