Car and Driver - USA (2020-04)

8 APRIL 2020 ~ CAR AND DRIVER

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SUPRASTAR

In your October issue,

the Ford Mustang Shelby

GT350 beat the Porsche

718 Cayman and the

Toyota Supra in a sports-

car comparison [“Deep

Roots, Long Shadows”].

Both the Porsche and the

Toyota made the 10Best

list, but the Shelby didn’t.

How’d that come about?

—Logan Deimler

Munich, Germany

As we said in the comparo,

“Some people might find

the Shelby too extreme.”

That’s what happened when

we moved from Califor-

nia’s roads to Michigan’s.

Our larger pool of 10Best

voters preferred the greater

livability and wider band-

width of the Supra and

718 over the GT350—Ed.

IDOLATRY

Thanks to Daniel Pund’s

“Idyll Speed” comparo, I

realize now I am a strip-

per relative, not a rela-

tive stripper [January

2020]. Sorry, Auntie.

—Dennis Horvath

Greendale, WI

CAN'T TOUCH THIS

The question I have about

sovereign citizens regards

their use of the road [“Above

the Law,” January 2020].

If they’re not paying taxes,

what the hell are they doing

on my road that I did pay

for with taxes? They can go

build their own damn road.

—Don Henry

Eagleville, PA

THE HEAT IS ON

In “Home on the Range” in

the January issue, David

Beard states that “we drop

279 feet below sea level into

EXPLAINED

The “Crank Yankers” sidebar in the Ford Mustang

Shelby GT500 piece is misleading [“GT500,” January

2020]. I understand the point that a twin-turbo

cross-plane-crank V-8 with crossover exhaust tubing

can provide 180-degree exhaust pulses to each turbo-

charger. How does the proposed alternative (hot V)

provide 180-degree spacing without crossover tubing?

—Dean Lekos, Litchfield, CT

Turbos should be positioned as close to the exhaust

]\_a`N`]\``VOYRV[\_QR_a\ZNeVZVgRaURV_R¦-

ciency and response. Situating the turbochargers

next to each other in the valley of the engine’s V

`VZ]YV¼R`aUR]YbZOV[T]_\OYRZdUR[N`V[aUR

PN`R\S/:Dμ`@# C%V[aUR:"VaQ\R`RZ]Y\f

P_\``\cR_ abOR` ?RZRZOR_ b[R^bNYYR[TaU

P_\``\cR_URNQR_`N_R[μaVQRNYS\_N_\NQPN_N`

energ y is lost in those long runners—K.C. Colwell

Splendor,” January 2020]?

It’s okay; I understand. Every-

one’s gotta eat. I’ll renew.

—Nick Smyrniotopoulos

Salt Lake City, UT

I travel to Florida twice

monthly (1000 miles

round trip). I leave my

Mercedes-Benz E300 in

the garage and drive my

Ram 1500. It is a better

highway vehicle than the

Benz and possibly the

most comfortable vehicle

I’ve owned. It is very much

deserving of a 10Best award!

—Doug McDougal

Cumming, GA

when gas-powered mid-

engine three-pedal sports

cars are extinct, you will be

kicking yourselves for not

having picked up one of the

last—and arguably best—

examples when you had the

chance. If you are fortunate

enough to have the means,

go out and buy one while

you still can. I know I will.

—Dixon M. Ho

Ottawa, ON

BUILT RAM TOUGH

How fitting that I received my

subscription invoice attached

to the 10Best issue. Really,

the Ram 1500 [“American

equally good if not better.

But if Kia kicked some money

my way, then the Telluride is

all good! It’s a game changer!

Let’s get real, folks. It’s a Kia!

—Dave S.

Lancaster County, PA

It sounds like you can be

bought. We can’t—Ed.

We’re 5000 miles in and

we love the Telluride. Com-

plaints: The app’s remote-

start function is awful. Also,

a weird rattle in the rear

sunroof cover begs for a

dealer visit, but that’s it.

Your review nails it. A game

changer in this segment.

—Eric Silver

Brooklyn, NY

How much are they

paying you, Silver?—Ed.

THE CONVERTED

I now own a beautiful blue

Mazda CX-5, and it lives

up to all you wrote about

[“Talking the Talk,” January

2020]. I had researched

many vehicles—vehicles that

were not Mazdas. Once I

test-drove a CX-5, all other

choices were left in the dust!

—Bonnie Horne

Smithfield, VA

BELIEVERS

As I tell my friends: If an

orgasm were a car, it would

be the Porsche Macan

[“The Great Communi-

cator,” January 2020].

—Darin Furry

Rancho Mirage, CA

You have kind friends—Ed.

STRONG BUY

So glad to see the Porsche

718 Boxster/Cayman right-

fully retain its 10Best spot

[“Getaway Car,” January

2020]. To my fellow car guys,

I will say this: In a decade,

CROSSOVER

MANIFOLDS

HOT-V

MANIFOLDS

TWO WAYS TO PLUMB

A TWIN-TURBO V-