Car_and_Driver_USA_July_2017

Backfires:
The joyful noise of the
commentariat, rebutted
sporadically by Ed.
WAITING GAMES
It is a sad time for car
lovers when fully half
of the 25 “cars” are
hideous crossovers
[“25 Cars Worth
Waiting For,” April
2017]. And the one
truly exciting, affordable
car is the Honda
Civic Type R, a car so
ugly even its mother
couldn’t love it. I just
hope the rest of the
automaker herd
doesn’t follow the
“styling” of the Civic.
—Steven K.
Poughkeepsie, NY
I think you mean 14
cars, and 11 vehicles
that don’t belong in
this magazine.
—Jonathan Bird
North Reading, MA
I read your “25 Cars
Worth Waiting For”
article and was
surprised that there
was no mention of
Buick’s sale of Opel in
the piece on the new
Regal. Living in
Montana, I find the
all-wheel-drive wagon
especially interesting.
However, with the
Opel sale happening,
I’m wondering if a
Buick-badged Opel
will still happen. Any
light you can shed on
that would be
appreciated.
—Paul Rubright
Manhattan, MT
The sale announcement
took place
after the April issue
went to press. A GM
executive assures us
that the deal to sell
Opel and Vauxhall to
Peugeot will not
affect the Regal.
Check out the Reveal
on page 019—Ed.
Okay, I get it, I’m in
the minority—I
currently own an
Infiniti QX50 and love
it. It’s a great size, is
loaded with features,
has rear-wheel drive,
handles great, etc.
The totally redesigned
2017 QX50
should hold great
appeal for me, right?
Wrong. It’s an immediate
no sale because
“the only transmission
offered is a CVT.”
Infiniti, leave the CVTs
in Nissans; sport/
luxury buyers want a
more engaging
experience!
—Hal Coley
Macon, GA
“THE TOTALLY
REDESIGNED
2017 QX50
SHOULD
HOLD GREAT
APPEAL FOR
ME, RIGHT?
WRONG. IT’S
AN IMMEDIATE
NO SALE
BECAUSE ‘THE
ONLY TRANS-
MISSION
OFFERED IS
A CVT.’ ”
Anyone notice that
the hindquarters of
the Volkswagen
Arteon resemble the
back of a Chevy
Monza? Just sayin’.
—Brian Strom
New Milford, CT
Your “25 Cars Worth
Waiting For” was a
complete waste of my
time. I get that the
airport theme is a
good idea, but for
God’s sake, it could be
better executed by
someone half my age!
The aesthetics were
so bad that I started
calling them ASSthetics.
Furthermore, I
absolutely loved last
year’s list [May 2016]
because the page
layout was simple
instead of being
designed by Ronald
McDonald, and
because most of the
cars were worth
waiting for. But here?
No. One of them was a
freaking engine! The
new QX50 will be
crushed by the Jaguar
F-Pace, Mercedes-
Benz GLC, and the
new Audi Q5; the Jeep
Wagoneer and BMW
X2 may not even
happen; the Alfa
Romeo Stelvio is just
a Giulia in drag; the
Toyota C-HR is
pointless; and neither
the Dodge Demon nor
the McLaren 720S
made the list at all!
Make the list better or
don’t make it at all!
—Patrick Jacobson
Tiburon, CA
In the April 2017 Car
and Driver, you have a
two-page spread of
the 2018 Corvette
ZR1. There is ZR1
badging on the front
fender and Z06
identification
embossed in the rear
wheel. Is one package
a component of the
other, or are they now
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