I really didn’t like the creased design language, which made the cars look, to me, cheap and harsh. It sort of peaked with the GLK, then Merc wisely decided to soften things... a lot. Not all of it works, but I think the current C-class coupe is one of the prettiest cars out there right now.

Small quibble: The VR6 was launched a couple of years before Piech joined VW, first appearing in 1991. I think it began as a diesel engine conceptin the early 1980s. But no question he helped popularize the engine, and it’s probable he identified the design’s potential for use in supercars.

They did, but only about 5,000 were made. Toyota made 300 supercharged MR2s for the UK market around the same time. It’s clear, though, that neither company wanted to get into the forced-induction game. The NC got a bigger engine instead.

You are probably asking only about the diesels, which never got AWD in the U.S. For a couple of model years (2017-2018 IIRC), VW offered the Golf Sportwagen with 4Motion and 6-speed manual. But only with the 1.8T engine and only in basic S trim.

The Voodoo comparison would work if Ford was installing it in Escapes and Fusions. Sorry, no, the Quad 4 was a mainstream engine. And it was half-baked. By installing balance shafts, GM basically admitted it whiffed on the original design.

Oooh... TCR 290...

Yes, for sure, but it wasn’t just European technology. Nissan and Toyota were mass-producing DOHC 16V engines many years before GM. And these were good-quality engines, not crude and finicky crap like the Lotus 907 and Cosworth Vega.

There was a big transition in chassis, too, going from the old RWD Gemini platform to GM’s FWD R-body. An interesting anecdote is that Giugiaro designed the new Gemini (which we know as the I-Mark and Spectrum) for Isuzu, but GM’s overlords made changes without consulting the designer. That ended Giugiaro’s long…

The recession probably was a factor, but what’s odd about the MR-S is that Toyota didn’t stand pat on the car. It was updated with a sequential manual—not a minor change—and added a Torsen diff. I personally think Toyota was trying to compete directly with the Miata, and like Mazda resisted the temptation to go to…

Don’t forget the Sports 800, which is most definitely a sports car and Toyota’s first.

They are certainly closer than the F-type/370Z comparison made by the OP. So... what is the 370Z’s real competition? Pretty much every review I’ve read has trouble coming up with an answer, aside from Miata.

The origins of the Beetle go back a lot further than May 1938. Nobody’s denying that. The huge difference is that if you buy and use a Beetle made after WWII, it was manufactured by people who were compensated for their labor they elected to do. But if you buy one made before WWII, chances are quite good it was made…

I was talking about the XTerra, which I believe had a long-stroke version of the same engine used in the Z, as well as the same six-speed manual trans (?). Of course, that was years ago and now the Z has the VHR engine. The steering ratio is good, just overboosted.

For raw power, the 370Z is a bargain. But it has a drivetrain that was once in the Xterra. Compared to the F-type, the Z has overboosted, numb steering, too long shift throws, vague clutch, and lots of driveline vibration. It’s also too front heavy, hurting absolute grip.

It may have been listed in service manuals, but I don’t think AMC ever got around to building any VW/Audi-powered Pacers. The car was really heavy for its size (3,400 lbs with air con) and by the time AMC had started installing its own version of the EA831 the car’s sales figures had fallen off a cliff. As it was,…

Yes, 1.7 liters/100km. This figure was converted (by BMW) from WLTP regs. Converting this number to EPA’s mpg figures, however, is not straightforward.

The 71 figure for the 2018 330e is the MPGe, I believe. Based on the 15% estimate, the EPA should get about 35 combined, 32 city, and 39 highway. Not double, but a sizable increase.

I see this car being more useful in Europe, where emissions-restricted urban areas are more common. The main attraction there would be the fact that a PHEV retains the flexibility of a traditional ICE car with the added benefit of EV mode for use in cities.

EV range was not really the point of this car, but even if it was, the range is more or less on par with what you get from any other PHEV on the market. The only ones to beat it substantially, aside from the i3, are the Volt and Clarity. I think it’s safe to say neither of these offer the driving experience of the…

Yes, it will be here for 2020MY. Apparently we’re getting an all-wheel-drive option as well.