CAR and Driver - March 2017

Sic your dogs on us at: [email protected] or join: backfires.caranddriver.com MAR/2017. CAR AND DRIVER. 007

DOWN TO THE
’MARO
Am I the only person
who noticed the
poorly Photoshopped
image of the under-
side of the new 2017
Chevy Camaro ZL
[“Ballistic Leaf
Blower,” December
2016]? The lift arm on
the left side of the
picture is completely
disconnected. The
pics are shot from
different angles and
don’t line up.
—J e ff S c h l e e d e
Spencerport, NY

The picture of the ZL
up on the lift, on page
047, looks a bit weird.
The left-rear swing
arm appears to be,
well, you look at it.
—Jerry Allen
Charlotte, NC
We couldn’t get
the whole ZL1 under-
side in one shot
without distorting
the details, so we
did it in three and
tried to make the
splits obvious. It
worked!—Ed.

I’m a huge Chevy fan
(own two Camaros
currently), and the
last time I was moved
to write was the prior
ZL1 test. Back then, I
was upset that the car
was overweight and
underpowered. Now,
I’m just confused.
The ZL1 used to be
the straight-line
powerhouse, and the
Z/28 was the corner

carver. This new car

seems to be a blend of

both. As such, it lacks

focus and fails to

excel in either realm.

It probably won’t beat

a Ford Mustang Shelby

GT350 around a

track, and it probably

won’t beat a Dodge

Hellcat in a drag race.

Nice work, Chevy.

You wrecked your own

branding strategy and

left us all wondering,

Z L- W T F?

—Brian Bark

New town, PA

MONEY PROBLEMS

Unless you guys are

overpaid, you can’t

afford any of the elite

cars you so love to

test. Neither can I. I’m

sorry, but there is just

nothing relevant to

read anymore in your

book.

—Wayne Burkart

The Villages, FL

It seems as if readers

are always complain-

ing that you cover

cars that are too

expensive for the

common man. I’m

sure I’ll fall into this

class later in life, but,

as a young bachelor,

my subscription has

proven to be the best

birth control a man

can buy!

—Jackson Savoy

Fredericksburg, VA

WATER FOR

ELEPHANTS

The Bugatti Chiron

[“On a Highway in

Hell,” December

2016] looks as if a

Camaro is eating it.

—Jack Williams

Sultan of Swim

STEER CLEAR

Four-wheel steering is

nothing new [“Ringing

the Bull,” December

2016]. I remember

reading about it way

back in the ’80s. All

four-wheel-steering

systems do essen-

tially the same thing:

countersteer at low

speeds and in-phase

at higher speeds.

Heck, even GM pickup

trucks could do that

not too long ago. Give

any old technology a

whiz-bang new name,

and people will think

that you’ve created a

revolutionary new

product. Sorry, not

impressed. Lambo

hasn’t done anything

groundbreaking here.

—Michael M. Melton

Las Cruces, NM

No one said it was

groundbreaking, and

we’ve written about

it for decades. It is,

however, new to

Lamborghini—Ed.

RAGS TO RICHES

As a longtime sub-

scriber, I found your

Mercedes-AMG S

versus Bentley

Continental GT V-8 S

“THE ZL

USED TO BE

THE STRAIGHT-

LINE POWER-

HOUSE, AND

THE Z/28 WAS

THE CORNER

CARVER.

THIS NEW CAR

SEEMS TO BE A

BLEND OF

BOTH. AS

SUCH, IT LACKS

F O C U S .”

Backfires:

The joyful noise of the

commentariat, rebutted

sporadically by Ed.