HYBRID ECONOMY + ADVENTURE + TESLA vs MUSK
He’s been Stango’d
Most enjoyable story in your April issue about Ford racing the Mustang at Daytona. Entertaining words, evocative images. However, I do find myself thinking that Ford is acting strangely, on two fronts. One, in thinking that now is a good time to be stinking up the atmosphere with combustion race cars, while it’s trying to divert customers to EVs. Two, in banging on about the Mustang being the world’s best-selling sports car. It’s alright, but it’s not a sports car by any rational definition, any more than the Tesla Model Yis a 4x4.
Read the manual
I absolutely love and need manual transmissions in my performance cars – the control, connection, and humiliation at errors make the driving real.
My current money pit is a 2004 Pontiac GTO, six-speed crunch ’box, on its third LS-based engine. Really, it’s a Holden Monaro with a new face and left-side controls.
I got to drive a club member’s Nissan GT-R –a car that some think is in the same spirit. Brilliant, crunchy, abrupt and scary limits. But paddleshift leaves me cold, and the ‘just drive around’ setting was harsh and coarse. I think an electric Godzilla, as recently previewed by Nissan, will be even less engaging, no matter the outright performance. Maybe I’m getting old.
All good things must come to an end, but manual transmissions are great things, yes?
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Slow down, Mark
Mark Walton has excelled himself in his March column with such a large number of ways to describe being sick because of the uncontrollable acceleration of EVs. Having had three EVs to date and not experienced such problems, might I suggest he tries keeping his heel on the floor while pressing the accelerator? If he is long of body and short of leg, as some of us are, perhaps he should put his thesaurus on the floor and rest his heel on it. That might prove more useful than discovering 27 ways to describe being sick.
Worth it?
I always start my read with Our Cars. Not sure why. £83,620: graunchy door-handle motors. £43,750: bland plug-in hybrid performance. £51,595: feels a bit cheap in places. £69,265: can be tricky to get into. £58,330: characterless to own. £54,357: exterior is very safe. £107,080: not much feel, options make it expensive. £73,350: one way or another, Lexus infotainment is still not great. £78,895: bland styling, complex user interface, quality. £103,310: but it doesn’t go far on a charge.
That’s Range Rover, Vauxhall, Alfa, Volkswagen, Volkswagen, Mazda, BMW, Lexus, Genesis, Audi Mostly premium brands, not recent start-ups. Average price £72,255. Words escape me.
It takes a village
As a long-term subscriber I thought I should contact you about something
