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Continue reading 2024 GMC Hummer EV pickup gets a price hike – with a catch
2024 GMC Hummer EV pickup gets a price hike – with a catch originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 21 Aug 2023 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Continue reading Trucks with the best gas mileage for 2023
Trucks with the best gas mileage for 2023 originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 19 Aug 2023 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Continue reading Hummer EV SUV overland camper teased from GMC and EarthCruiser
Hummer EV SUV overland camper teased from GMC and EarthCruiser originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 8 Aug 2023 11:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Continue reading Junkyard Gem: 1956 Buick Special 4-Door Sedan
Junkyard Gem: 1956 Buick Special 4-Door Sedan originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 6 Aug 2023 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Most of us are guilty of speeding now and then, but some drivers seem to spend their lives in the passing lane. Newly proposed legislation in New York aims to curb chronic speeders with a device that limits their vehicle’s speed. A whopping 30 percent of traffic fatalities in New York come from speeding drivers. If passed, the bill would require drivers to install a special device that holds the vehicle’s speed to five miles per hour over the posted limit.
New York City is generally packed with slow-moving cars, but it saw an uptick in pedestrian deaths in 2022. Shockingly, the city saw 59 fatal incidents in the first quarter of the year, and 131 people died in the first half of this year. This type of legislation will likely start popping up in other states. Pedestrian deaths reached a 41-year high in 2022, with more than 7,500 people killed by vehicles.
Though it sounds heavy-handed, the bill in its current form gives drivers plenty of chances to slow down before the device comes into play. Drivers who get six tickets in a year or rack up 11 or more points on their license in 18 months are candidates for the device, but some feel the number should be much lower. Speaking with CBS News, one Brooklyn resident said, “Give them three. Three is enough. After three, let’s do something.”
New York City has piloted the devices in city vehicles and found that drivers obeyed the speed limit 99 percent of the time with them installed. Lawmakers said they were inspired by the interlock devices that convicted DUI offenders have to install in some cases. Several states require the breathalyzer boxes, but New York would be the first to require a speed-limiting device. We don’t know how much the speed limiters cost, but drivers will likely be on the hook to pay for them.
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Continue reading Buick Regal lives on in China, gets visual and tech updates
Buick Regal lives on in China, gets visual and tech updates originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 28 Jul 2023 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Continue reading Junkyard Gem: 1984 Buick Skyhawk Custom Sedan
Junkyard Gem: 1984 Buick Skyhawk Custom Sedan originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 26 Jul 2023 10:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Continue reading 2023 J.D. Power APEAL Study shows new-car customer satisfaction scores slip
2023 J.D. Power APEAL Study shows new-car customer satisfaction scores slip originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Jul 2023 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Continue reading 2024 Buick Envista Cupholder Mega Test: Will the Nalgene bottle fit?
2024 Buick Envista Cupholder Mega Test: Will the Nalgene bottle fit? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 Jul 2023 06:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Looking for something more interesting to do with your car-loving friends than just standing around a parking lot on Saturday mornings drinking coffee? How about a poker run?
Never heard of one? Neither had I until I received an invitation to drive a variety of W12-powered Bentleys on a “poker run” tour of greater Los Angeles. To be clear, you do not need Bentleys to do this, nor do you need to cycle through a variety of cars. You also don’t really need to know how to play poker, which is good, since my knowledge of the game begins and ends with watching the crew of the Enterprise play it on “Star Trek.”
This is what happens. Craft a four-stop route of wherever you may live or visit. Coffee or lunch stop, scenic overlook, tourist spot, friend’s mansion, whatever. In this particular poker run, we would be going from the chic Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica (did I mention we were driving Bentleys?) to the Griffith Observatory by way of Beverly Hills, the Sunset Strip and Hollywood. We’d then drive across Highway 101 (an interstate-style road at this point in L.A.) to the Topanga Overlook in Woodland Hills, down to the Cross Creek plaza in Malibu, and out through the Santa Monica Mountains to Calamigos Ranch for lunch. You can see the route map here.
Was it the most dynamic drive in the world? No, but we saw some stuff. And at each stop, plus at the start, we drew a card from a standard deck. With W12 Bentley branding on them no less. With a fifth and final card drawn at Calamigos, we discarded one to craft the best hand possible. The winner in this case would receive the first press loan of the limited-edition Bentayga Speed Edition 12, but you could make the prize whatever you want. I knew enough about poker (thanks Commander Riker) to know that my hand was probably not going to get it done despite an ace of diamonds and a joker. My other choices were 10 of diamonds, two of hearts and five of clubs. And no, bluffing isn’t allowed even if it could be worked into this. Sure enough, I did not win. It was a fun way to spend the day, though, and an idea I’ll try again sometime with friends.
I’m guessing we won’t be in a colorful collection of Bentleys, though, which is of course the other part of this story. You see, the venerable 12-cylinder Bentley is going away. The classic 6.75-liter V12 already disappeared back in 2020 with the Mulsanne, and after 2024, the twin-turbo W12 will be joining it. This is the engine that helped re-imagine the Bentley brand after it was purchased by Volkswagen Group at the turn of the century. Launched in 2002, the W12 was an entirely different type of engine, in the most basic of terms a pair of VW’s narrow-angle VR6 engines spliced together to pack 12 cylinders in an area roughly the length of a V8.
That was vital for it to fit in an entirely different type of Bentley: the Continental GT. It was based on the same platform as the Volkswagen Phaeton (which could be had with a less powerful naturally aspirated version of the W12), came standard with all-wheel drive and featured rounded styling that was a radical departure from the boxy, ye olde Bentleys of the past. Those had been reworked Rolls-Royces, though, and the 6.75-liter was part of that legacy. The Conti GT and its W12 showcased the future.
We of course know what that future would entail. For the next 20 years, a W12 would find itself in multiple generations of Continental GT, Continental GTC convertible and Flying Spur, plus the Bentayga. Bentley would introduce a new V8 and eventually a hybrid powertrain, but the W12 remained king with multiple updates and two generations (the second was launched with the Bentayga in 2015). In those 20 years, the W12’s power has been increased by 37%, torque improved by 54% and emissions decreased by 25%. It continues to be hand-built in 6.5 hours by a group of 60 workers in Crewe, England, who will be redistributed to other engine production.
It’s been ages since I last drove a W12-powered Bentley, and the first time I’d driven the latest-generation Continental and Flying Spur. I’d never driven a Bentayga before. The power delivery certainly does not disappoint. The 6.0-liter twin-turbo W12 is smooth and abundant with either 626 horsepower (Bentayga and Flying Spur) or 650 hp (Continentals). There’s 664 pound-feet of torque regardless. The exhaust provides a lovely rumble, but honestly, the sound of the engine itself is just as underwhelming as I remember. It sounds like a V6, which isn’t surprising since it’s basically two of them. This would be the reason why so many reviewers (and owners) over the years have stated they prefer Bentley’s “lesser” V8 models than those with the W12, which is found in all of the Speed models I sampled on the Poker Run.
A more emotional, characterful car like the Continental GT therefore seems like a better fit with the more characterful V8, even if its ancestor launched the W12 three generations ago. On the other hand, the W12 seems wasted on the Bentayga, which I found underwhelming. For $321,000, I’d want something that looks and drives more special than what seemed like an extremely fancy Audi Q7 (with an amazing Damson purple leather interior, to be fair).
The Flying Spur seemed like the best match for the W12. This grand sedan is all about quiet, effortless motoring, so the engine note just doesn’t matter as much. At the same time, this is still a grand sedan intended for high-speed grand touring in fine Bentley tradition – if you want to waft down the road, buy a Rolls-Royce. The W12’s 626 hp and 664 lb-ft provided the motivation for a surprisingly adept blitz through the Santa Monica Mountains on Mulholland Highway. Perhaps the beautiful British Racing Green paint and complimentary Porpoise/Cumbrian Green interior with gorgeous engine-turned aluminum trim had a lot to do with it, but it was the Flying Spur Speed that left the strongest impression during this poker run.
As the Rolls-Royce Spectre proved, though, electric motors are perfect replacements for 12-cylinder engines in big, ultra-luxurious cars like the Flying Spur. Bentley has committed to an electric future, and unlike the transitions of some other brands, I don’t think this one will be quite so dramatic. The W12 may be going away, and while a commendable engineering feat and a capable performance engine, I won’t be missing it as much as other layouts when batteries take over.
Of course, there will forever be something exotic about an engine that starts with the letter W instead of V, I or H. Whether it’s a W12 Bentley, W8 Passat Wagon (yes, that was a thing) or the mack daddy of them all, the W16-powered Bugatti Veyron and Chiron, we car enthusiasts will always be intrigued by that which is different or even quirky. You know, like a poker run.