8. Custom 1993 Mazda RX-7 R1 Was Built for Longevity

Why Do You Need to Change Your Air Filter Regularly?

Increased fuel efficiency. After logging thousands of miles on your car, that filter can get really dirty and clogged. A dirty air filter doesn’t allow air to get through to the engine. Remember, your engine needs air to run efficiently. A reduced amount of air means your engine needs to use more fuel to get the same bang to run your engine. Save yourself some money at the pump. Change your air filter regularly.

Prolonged engine life. Engines are big and powerful, but they can be surprisingly sensitive to the smallest grain of sand. Over time, dirt and other particles can cause serious damage to your engine’s internal parts. Better to spend $10 now on a new air filter than thousands of dollars later on a new engine.

Reduced Emissions. Reduced air flow can also mess with your car’s emission control systems causing you to spew more bad stuff into the atmosphere. Men need polar bears to wrestle. Save one by changing your air filter.

How to Change Your Air Filter

1. Buy your air filter. Most air filters are pretty cheap. Between $10-$13. Swing by an auto parts store after work or pick an air filter up while you’re grocery shopping at a Super Walmart. Figuring out what air filter to get for your car is easy. First, you can check your owner’s manual, but let’s face it, you’ll probably forget to do that. Lucky for you, places that sell air filters have this tattered phone book-looking thing hanging off a shelf. It’s literally the phone book for auto parts. You just look up the year, make, and model of your car, and it tells you what parts you need for it. If your auto parts store is really fancy, they’ll have a crappy Speak & Spell-like computer that you can use. But it’s usually busted, so you’ll probably just end up using the book. 2. Open your hood and locate the air filter box. It’s the black plastic box sitting on top of or to the side of your engine. The filter box usually has a giant hose sticking out of its side.

3. Open the air filter box and remove the dirty air filter. Opening an air filter box is a cinch. Just unclasp the big metal clips that hold the top down and open the box. Remove the dirty filter.

4. Check the old air filter. Give your old filter a look over to see if it’s past its prime. Look inside the folds. See a lot of dirt and gunk? Time to replace it. 5. Put in the new air filter. Place your filter in the filter box. Make sure it sits snuggly in the box. Close the top of the box and snap the clips.

That’s it. Your engine will no longer be gasping for air like a guppy that jumped its bowl.

How We’d Spec It: 2022 Volkswagen Golf GTI With the Stick The GTI is new for 2022 with a 241-hp turbo four and a six-speed manual transmission. This is how we’d buy VW’s hot hatch.

Volkswagen’s Golf GTI is a perennial 10Best winner because of its affordability, performance, practicality, and standard manual transmission (#SavetheManuals). So, naturally, when a new model comes out we get excited. For 2022, the GTI gets a 241-hp turbocharged four-cylinder engine (up 13 horsepower over the Mk 7 model), new styling, and an updated interior. We’ve already driven VW’s latest hot hatch, but now the configurator is live, and we can build the versions we’d buy. With a starting price of $30,540, they even might be within reach. The Golf GTI has gotten expensive over the years, so I’m sticking with the base S model that features the quintessential plaid seats. It has almost all of the same performance goodies as the higher trims, with the main sacrifice being that the 18-inch wheels on the S and SE come only with Pirelli P Zero all-season tires; you unfortunately have to upgrade to the Autobahn’s 19-inch setup in order to get the grippier Hankook Ventus or Bridgestone Potenza summer tire fitments. The 241-hp turbo 2.0-liter inline-four engine, limited-slip differential, and standard six-speed manual transmission are otherwise the same as in the more expensive GTI models. I also like the base GTI’s interior setup, as its smaller touchscreen infotainment system appears to have physical knobs (I have yet to sit in one to see how they work) as opposed to the optional larger screen’s touch-only interface. I chose the subdued Moonstone Grey exterior color for an extra $395 because I think the current trend of flat greys looks sharp. My GTI stickers for just above the car’s base price, at $30,935. Of the three GTI trims available, the mid-range SE checks all the boxes for me without entering into luxury territory. While the base S is fairly well equipped, the SE comes with niceties such as a panoramic sunroof, the larger 10.0-inch infotainment display, in-dash navigation, a Harmon/Kardon stereo system, wireless smartphone charging, and adaptive headlamps. Although the eight-speed dual-clutch automatic is a good one, I’d stick with the standard six-speed manual. I recently had a chance to take a manual GTI on a test drive through the mountains in North Carolina and totally fell in love. As for colors, I’ll say that I wish VW offered a better palette of choices here, and the GTI deserves something more exciting than white, black, silver, or gray. I guess I’ll choose Atlantic Blue Metallic, but it’s not my favorite. The SE is offered with two option packages— one that swaps in black-painted wheels and one that trades the plaid upholstery for leather—but I’d skip both. My GTI SE rings in at an entirely reasonable $35,290. I’m going for peak performance with my GTI because I’ll be taking it to open track days. That means, of course, keeping the manual transmission and opting for the top Autobahn trim for its 19-inch wheels, summer tires, and adaptive dampers. Luckily, since I got an Autobahn model, I can get the bright Pomelo Yellow, too, a $395 option. Unfortunately, though, I can’t get the plaid seats, but instead only have the choice of Titan Black seats, which do contrast well with the red detailing. I’m also adding carrier bars for $299 and a bike holder for $180 so I can haul my mountain bike. Add floor liners for $190 so my interior stays clean during Michigan’s salt season. All in, I’m at $40,054, which is approaching Golf R territory.

Custom 1993 Mazda RX-7 R1 Was Built for

The best thing about owning a car like this 1993 Mazda RX-7 is the infinite aftermarket support that, even decades later, is still churning out new and exciting performance and aesthetic parts. The worst part about owning a highly sought car like this is that same infinite aftermarket support that tugs at an owner’s best judgment, in some cases, can turn a JDM hero car into a rolling parts catalog. For Derek Correia, owner of this FD R1, nine years of ownership have resulted in a clean, subtle build and a personal victory both in securing his dream car and maintaining a level of restraint to avoid straying completely from what Mazda originally intended. It might sound silly, praising someone for not snatching up every conceivable upgrade on the planet, but take a closer look at this immaculate example and you’ll understand how sometimes less really is more. The Big Day October 30, 2012, was a special day for Correia. “On that day, a pretty much stock twin-turbo 1993 R1 with a blown coolant seal landed on my driveway ... with the help of a tow truck,” he recalled. “She still managed to start up with a jump and I was able to drive her to SMG Racing before we began its teardown and rebuild.” Just 23 years old at the time, Correia had spent years telling anyone within earshot how he was dead set on owning an FD. He’d gone over the specs and potential parts list far too many times and spent countless hours behind the wheel of an RX-7 at full throttle, dashing around “High Speed Ring” in Gran Turismo’s digital playground. When he finally got an RX-7 of his own, Correia’s list of modifications he’d long kicked around in his head turn into a real-life obsession.

Rodrez Author Oct 14, 2021

Simplified

There are certain modifications that most RX-7 owners contemplate from the very start, and Correia followed suit. In his case, however, there was no period of back and forth. The moment his RX-7 touched down at SMG, the car’s factory twin turbos, along with their convoluted and problematic vacuum hoses, were removed. In their place went a single Precision 6266 unit that hangs from an SMG turbo manifold and is backed by a TiAL 44-mm wastegate.

You can spot the GReddy V-mount cooling setup that takes advantage of the open real estate between the engine and front bumper, but what you can’t see is the rotary’s mild street port and RA Super Seals. With fuel supplied by ID1700x and fed by an Aeromotive fuel pump under the watchful eye of a classic A’PEXi Power FC, an easy 429 hp at the wheels with just 16 psi of boost was realized. The engine setup has served him well for years, but Correia has more plans for the future. “The next step will be pulling the engine, painting the bay, and moving forward with a wire tuck along with u pgrading to a Haltech Elite 1500,” he added. The “just right” ride height was achieved with Fortune Auto’s 500 Series coilovers loaded with Swift springs in 10k front/12k rear rates, and the aged factory bushings were ditched for Super Pro polyurethane. A set of 18-inch TE37 SAGA wheels wrapped in Toyo Proxes R888R rubber helps keep the car on the straight and narrow, while the anodized matte bronze finish is befitting of the car’s bright red exterior.

Longevity A pair of factory seats are used inside the cabin, though low mileage R1 suede versions replaced the originals and the factory steering wheel spot was taken over by a Nardi Deep Corn. A wider gas pedal, courtesy of Garage Alpha, is found on the driver’s side, and a Sake Bomb Garage Spirit R footrest occupies the passenger footwell— both just above plush Mazda Cherry Blossom floor mats. Through the bulbous rear window, you’ll spot the polished Next Miracle X-bar with its butterfly sidebars bolted in place. The majority of the remaining interior remains original-issue. It’s in excellent condition, almost in defiance of the car’s near The Rush Is Over 30-years of service. When Correia first took hold of his RX-7, he did everything he could to get the car roadworthy, from weekly parts purchases and putting in as much overtime as possible to support the almost non-stop spending. The following summer, with the car officially hitting the street, all of his hard work paid off. The eight years that have followed that initial race against the clock slowed considerably and Correia has been able to keep the car on the road and in stellar condition. “I’m happy to say it’s still not done since half of the fun is in the build,” he exclaimed.

1993 Mazda RX-7 R1

Engine: Banzai Racing poly motor mounts; mild street port; RA Super Seals; Precision 6266 ball-bearing turbo; Tial 50mm blow-off valve, 44mm wastegate; SMG Racing turbo manifold, racing downpipe; GReddy V-mount intercooler kit, aluminum radiator, compression elbow; Aeromotive fuel pressure regulator, 340lph fuel pump; ID1700x injectors; Vibrant AN fuel lines; Full Function Engineering fuel rails; JIC exhaust; Mangaflow mid muffler, Ti muffler; A’pexi Power FC ECU Power: 429 whp, 350 lb-ft of torque Drivetrain: JDM 5-speed transmission, Turbo II differential; ACT XT 4-puck clutch; Banzai Racing transmission brace, differential brace line tuck Wheels & Tires :Volk Racing TE37SAGA 18x9.5 +30 front, 18x10 +35 rear; Toyo Proxes R888R 255/35 front, 275/35 rear Exterior: OEM Vintage Red resprayed by Chalkstone Autobody; ‘99-spec front bumper; carbon fiber URAS front spoiler; custom carbon fiber DAMD side skirts; Shine Auto Project carbon fiber street diffuser, taillight spoiler, canards; FEED hood; Sake Bomb Garage LED taillights; DNA Garage carbon fiber exhaust bumper guard; R Magic oil cooler ducts; RX-Lights retrofit LED projector headlights; Ganador mirrors Interior: R1 suede bucket seats; Sake Bomb Garage passenger seat mount halon fire extinguisher, Spirit R passenger footrest; Nardi deep corn steering wheel; Garage Alpha aluminum widened gas pedal, aluminum deal pedal; Fujita Engineering shift knob, carbon fiber spare tire storage bin; JDM Cherry Blossom floormats

Interview: Kristin Bedford digs into Los Angeles’ lowrider culture with ‘Cruise Night’

Kristin Bedford isn’t afraid to commit to a project. Her style of long-term storytelling has taken her to live among a deeply religious community in Philadelphia, explore storefront churches in the South, and most recently to Whittier Blvd. in East Los Angeles to document the lowrider car community there. “For 70 years, members of the Mexican American community [in L.A.] have been expressing their identity through car culture. I wanted to photograph and understand how transforming a car was integral to being seen and heard” “The underlying theme of all of my projects is an interest in social justice and how communities express their civil rights in a society that often marginalizes them,” she says of her work. Bedford’s interest in lowriding culture started from an interest in the politics of Ruben Salazar, a Mexican American journalist and civil rights activist who was killed in 1970. It may seem like an unlikely path, but as Bedford sees it the ideas that Salazar stood for are omnipresent in the lowriding culture today. She started shooting in 2014 and continued to work on the project until 2019. This spring she released the intimate and unstaged photos as a book called Cruise Night (available now here and here). Here, Bedford talks to us about how she became interested in lowriding culture, how she gains the trust of her subjects, and the unique perspective she brings to a project, as an outsider..

How did you get started with this project?

My path to lowriding came from an interest in how the customization of a car is all about having a voice – politically, culturally, and creatively. Lowriding is a worldwide phenomenon, but for Mexican Americans in Los Angeles, it has a unique significance. “The way that I work is I let the photos tell me what the story is about. I make the work in the field and then I go back to my art studio and I quietly look at the images and I just see what speaks to me” For 70 years, members of the Mexican American community here have been expressing their identity through car culture. I wanted to photograph and understand how transforming a car was integral to being seen and heard. I went to my first ‘cruise night’ in December 2014. As soon as I arrived I knew that I was in the right place. It was a pretty immediate confirmation of my intuition about lowriding and this phenomenon and the community. Did you have any interest in car culture before you started photographing Cruise Night?

I didn’t know anything about cars, I had to learn everything from scratch. I’m not an expert on anything when I go into it, so I have to learn – I order every used book possible, I print out people’s thesis – with lowriding it was the same. I had to start from the beginning. “I’m not an expert on anything when I go into it, so I have to learn – I order every used book possible, I print out people’s thesis – with lowriding it was the same” One of the key elements was Ruben Salazar. He was a civil rights activist and reporter, the first Mexican American journalist for mainstream media to cover the Chicano community. During Chicano Moratorium March against the Vietnam War he was hanging out at a place called the Silver Dollar Cafe in East L.A. and the Sheriff’s department shot tear gas into this cafe and he was killed; this was in 1970. My father was this bohemian, activist filmmaker and had told me about him when I was a little girl. When I grew up I looked him up, I heard interviews with him, and Ruben Salazar was someone who just resonated with truth.

Interview: Kristin Bedford digs into Los Angeles’ When I moved to L.A., I figured out where East L.A. was and where the Silver Dollar Cafe was and I was curious about where that voice, Salazar’s voice, was now. Obviously, it’s in a multitude of places, but lowriding is one of those. It was kind of this confluence of many things: the place, thinking about Ruben Salazar’s legacy and thinking about truth. That’s when I decided to learn about lowriding. All of this sounds so intellectual, but when I get to a project I have no agenda. I leave all of that at the door. It’s literally what takes me to the door and then I walk in and I have no end goal. I never even know how long a project is going to last, I don’t know what a project is about – people would ask me and I’d tell them, ‘I have no clue yet’. “It was completely organic that women are so prominent in ‘Cruise Night’”The way that I work is I let the photos tell me what the story is about. I make the work in the field and then I go back to my art studio and I quietly look at the images and I just see what images speak to me. I have all these big tables at my studio. And as each would come along I would print it out and put it there on the table and eventually would see the voice of the project. It took many years for that to happen. As an outsider what perspective do you think you brought to this project?

My initial interest was in this communal self-expression and that’s what brought me to lowriding; once I began making photographs I had no agenda. My process is to completely turn myself over to the unknown. It’s grounded in mystery and I let the photos tell me what the project is about.“It became clear to me that the visual narrative culture of lowriding, and automotive culture of all types, is entirely shaped by men”Over time I realized that many of the photos from this series featured women. It was completely organic that women are so prominent in Cruise Night. During this project, I realized, for the first time, that I am a woman photographer, which was a completely novel thought to me. I never thought that my gender had anything to do with what I do. When I saw the reverent, quiet and natural photos of women lowriders that I made, I discerned that it was a woman connecting with other women. I also reflected on why I had not seen images like this before. And it became clear to me that the visual narrative culture of lowriding, and automotive culture of all types, is entirely shaped by men. Male-dominated imagery usually portrays women as sexual accessories who pose in bathing suits, stiletto heels or lingerie, beside a car. I think that maybe it took a woman photographer to break through that mold and tell a new story. When I was in my studio looking at my photos, I realized that I was unfamiliar with these depictions of women. I didn’t have any pre-existing ideas about how something should be, I was just being me. At what point while working on Cruise Night did you realize that the women in this community were an important and overlooked piece of the story?

It was very early on that I noticed that women were there, but it took time to see how they would play into the story. There were a lot of women present [at cruise nights]; there are women who have cars, more now than ever, and people bring their whole families. Women are a really large part of the culture, but it’s usually men who are photographed. “Women are a really large part of the culture, but it’s usually men who are photographed” Some of the pictures in the book I took literally the first cruise night that I went to, and they have stillness and quietude that is very expressive. It’s there from day one, and the photos of women are there from day one. There is a picture of Raquel sliding out of her boyfriend’s Impala while we were on a road trip in Vegas, and you just see her legs. I took that picture really early on; the vibe and the feeling are elegant, integral, and natural.

Here’s why the Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 makes for the perfect first big bike

When it comes to brand recognition, particularly in the big bike world, few motorcycle manufacturers are as instantly recognizable as Harley-Davidson. For many, H-D represents the very embodiment of the motorcycle lifestyle—the freedom which accompanies hitting the open road on two wheels. As such, it isn’t really surprising that a lot of motorcycle enthusiasts who have chosen the cruiser route look to Harley-Davidson as their ultimate dream machine. Indeed, the MoCo has quite the extensive array of models which cover all the bases when it comes to laid-back, rugged-style riding. What better Harley Davidson to start your cruiser journey on than the Sportster Iron 883? Yes, you may be thinking that starting out on an 883cc cruiser is rather overbearing. However, you’ll be pleased to know that the Sportster 883 is quite the approachable machine. Here are a few more things you ought to know. You can’t talk about Harley Davidson without also talking about its country of origin. Hailing from none other than the Land of The Free and the Home of The Brave, Harley-Davidson has long since cemented its name in the motorcycling hall of fame. As such, the Sportster 883 is a deserving carrier of this rich heritage. To make things even better, the Sportster name is one of the most iconic models to ever roll out of the H-D factory, being in production since 1957.The Sportster has long been the most versatile model in Harley’s lineup, as it can be configured to fulfill a myriad of riding duties. It can handle relatively sporty riding, long-distance touring, and of course, chill rides on the highway. As far as performance is concerned, don’t let the Sportster 883’s big engine deceive you into thinking that it’s a fire-breathing beast. Although displacing 883 cubes, it only churns out 49 horsepower and 54 ft-lbs of torque. That’s nearly just as much as some 400cc to 500cc motorcycles currently available in the market. As such, the Sportster 883 is rather friendly to beginner riders who aren’t exactly well versed in smooth and sublime throttle management. To make things even better, the 883 boasts a rather low seat height and a comfortable, upright riding position with confidence-inspiring ergonomics making it an enticing option for ladies and height-challenged gentlemen. Apart from this Sportster’s rich history and heritage, this bike also makes for an excellent blank canvas for custom enthusiasts to unleash their creativity on. With more and more custom bike enthusiasts emerging, especially in the local scene, it isn’t uncommon to see Harley-Davidson motorcycles donning various bespoke and custom bits and pieces. Having said all that, the Sportster 883 is very well a motorcycle you could keep for a long time, even as your big bike collection continues to expand. Simply put, it’s a practical, easy to ride machine which is full of character. The Harley-Davidson Sportster 883 is available in the local market at a price starting at P700,000.

The 2017 Zero DSR is an all-electric dual sport motorcycle, the latest from Scotts Valley, California-based Zero Motorcycles, which has been producing all-electric motorcycles since 2006. The motorcycle industry, like the auto industry, is struggling toward the future, and that future looks like it will have a much larger share of electric vehicles (EVs). While cars can dip one toe into EV operation while maintaining a firm foot on the dock with hybrid gasoline/electric powertrains, motorcycles don’t really have that luxury. They have to jump in with both feet or stay out of the water entirely. Zero Lineup Zero Motorcycles currently produces six models, each designed for a slightly different riding purpose. Pricing starts at $8,495 for the FX and super moto FXS models and runs up to up to $15,995 for the “electric hot rod” SR. The dual-sport-style DSR has a base price of $15,995. Tax incentives may bring the final cost down a little, depending on where you live. California, where Zero is based, currently offers a $900 incentive. Check your local county and municipality, too -- some areas offer additional savings. New Zero bikes come with a 2-year basic warranty and a 5-year/unlimited-mile battery warranty. Simple Yet Complex Electric motorcycles use sophisticated technology and engineering, but the bikes are mechanically quite simple thanks to the difference between an electric motor and a gasoline engine. On the DSR, the Z-Force electric motor draws current from the bike’s onboard lithium-ion power pack and sends up to 70 horsepower and 116 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheel via a Poly Chain HTD Carbon belt. There’s no clutch, no gears, no transmission -- it’s direct drive. The motor and drive belt require no regular maintenance, just inspection. The system is air-cooled, so there’s no radiator, no fluid and no oil. Just treat the battery right, maintain your tires, and an electric bike is as close to a carefree motorcycle as you’ll find. Operation is nearly silent, with just the whir of the belt and the sound of the tires competing with wind noise. The complexity comes in the technology, which manages the engine output, the battery and other systems. Because an electric motor has its full torque (twisting force) available from zero rpm, the big challenge for engineers is figuring out how to spool out that force in a usable fashion. Dump all that torque at the start and you’ll burn tires and pop wheelies. Fun, but very impractical. Dole out the torque too slowly and you’ll have a bike that performs like a train -- very slow out of the station until it builds up steam. The perfect balance lies somewhere in the middle, requiring computer control and algorithmic mathematics to deliver a fun, useable riding experience.

BY WILL SABEL COURTNEY To say there were great expectations heaped upon the PorscheTaycan would be putting it mildly. As Porsche’s first electric vehicle, it faced more haters and doubters than any Porkersince the Cayenne. Perhaps that’s why, in contrast with Zuffenhausen’s usual modus operandi of rolling out a new vehicle in base-model form first then working up to the more exciting versions, Porsche launched the Taycan in Turbo and Turbo S forms. Clearly, no one could argue with specs like 750 horsepower, 774 lb-ft or torque and a 0-60-mph time of 2.6 seconds (especially when, in typical Porsche fashion, it proved quicker than its maker claimed). The flipside of this was that when Porsche then announced the Taycan 4S several months later, it seemed like, well, kind of a letdown. Only 562 horsepower? 0-60 takes 3.8 whole seconds? Yeah, I know: first world problems, as the kids say. The Taycan 4S looks just as good as any Taycan

Unlike, say, the 911, where spending more bucks on a Turbo or GT3 buys visual differentiation on top of added booyah, every Taycan looks effectively identical. Strip off the badges and spec the same wheels, and an $81,390 base model is effectively identical twins with a loaded $220,000 Turbo S. In other words: nobody needs to know you bought the 4S. Which is great, because that means every trim of Taycan is an equally damn fine-looking automobile. Porsche did a great job carrying over the concept car looks of the Mission E to the real world; the Taycan looks futuristic without being outlandish or over-the-top. The Taycan may have four doors, but it’s more sports car than sedan The Taycan’s roots can be traced back to the Vision Turismo Concept, a project colloquially known as the “Pajun” — a smaller sibling to the Panamera. But while this Porsche may have the same number of portals on each side as a Toyota Camry, it’s much more like a sports car than a traditional family car in terms of design, ride height and performance. In practice, that makes it a far more practical daily driver than even a 911. Those rear seats aren’t huge, and the angle of the roof means entry and exit seems best suited to hobbits, but the aft row makes for excellent, easily-accessible storage. Think of it as the 911’s +2 rear jump seats taken to the next level of rusability.

Do you like screens? Hope so, because the Taycan’s interior is replete with them. The instrument panel is a screen, the infotainment system has two screens, and there’s even an available touchscreen display just for the passenger to control the stereo and freak out at how fast you’re going. Apart from the ones on the wheel and the shifter, even the dedicated “hard buttons” are actually capacitive glass. Luckily, the touchscreens are all quick-acting and intuitive, apart from the grayed-out lower section of the center console one that sits ahead of the cupholder. (I looked it up afterwards; it’s for handwriting inputs for the nav system, which seems like a waste of space to anyone who uses Apple.

It’s not without flaws, but they’re ultimately minor ones

Just ask Dwayne Johnson: the Porsche Taycan’s cabin isn’t exactly expansive. Still, unless you’re up at the gym at 3am for two hours every day and eating 5,000 calories to maintain your mass, odds are good you’ll be able to wedge yourself in and find a decent fit — at least, in the front row. With two six-foot plus folks occupying the front chairs, their seat backs are close to flush with the front edges of the back row. Excellent ergonomics mean those front seats stay comfortable even over hours of driving, however. And while the Taycan also suffers from the same instrument panel blockage issue that plagues the 992-generation 911 (as you can see above), it’s less of an issue here because the Taycan doesn’t need a traditional Porsche tachometer. Instead, power output and regen are displayed on the outer ring of the center circle, while the speedo sits within. That frees up the peripheral gauges for all sorts of other configurations. Indeed, the gauges almost work as metaphor for the Taycan’s overall relationship with its famous relative. Delightful and remarkable as the 911 is — and I do love it so — it always by definition has to have one foot in the past. Its engine placement, its design, a thousand other things — they all can only stray so far from the archetype laid down close to 60 years ago.

The 2020 Porsche Taycan 4S w/Performance Battery Plus

Base Price: $110,720 Drivetrain: 93.4-kWh battery; front and rear electric motors; single-speed gearbox on front motor, twospeed gearbox in rear; all-wheel-drive Horsepower: 562 Torque: 479 lb-ft

HOTWHEEL PICKS

Michelin PILOT SPORT 4S

The Pilot Sport 4S is Michelin’s Max Performance Summer tire developed in cooperation with some of the most demanding vehicle manufacturers, including Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche to utilize key technologies engineered during competition in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It was designed for serious drivers looking to maximize the performance potential of their sports cars, performance sedans and powerful luxury vehicles. The Pilot Sport 4S excels in warm dry and wet conditions, so like all Max Performance Summer tires, is not intended to be serviced, stored nor driven in near- and below-freezing temperatures, through snow or on ice. Michelin Pilot Sport 4S Premium Touch LogoSelect sizes of the Pilot Sport 4S are available with Michelin’s Premium Touch sidewall treatment. This velvet-effect checkered sidewall is created using cutting-edge laser technology and is designed to enhance the vehicle’s visual presence.

SizeS: 17 215/45ZR17*(91Y) 225/45ZR17*(94Y) 235/45ZR17*(97Y)

Michelin CrossClimate 2

The CrossClimate² is Michelin’s Grand Touring All-Season tire developed for the drivers of sedans, coupes, station wagons, crossovers and SUVs looking for daily driving comfort combined with confident performance in dry, wet and light snow conditions. The CrossClimate² meets industry severe snow service requirements and is designed to be a one-tire solution for drivers in environments that experience all four seasons, but don’t receive sufficient snowfall to require a dedicated winter tire.

SizeS: 17 205/55ZR17 19 35ZR19 20 265/40R20

Continental TERRAINCONTACT A/T

The TerrainContact A/T is Continental’s On-/Off-Road All-Terrain tire developed for the drivers of pickup trucks, Jeeps, SUVs and crossover vehicles looking for civilized behavior on-road with the benefit of off-road capability when they need it. Designed to combine a quiet highway ride and long tread life with all-terrain performance, the TerrainContact A/T provides year-round traction in dry, wet and wintry conditions, even in snow. TerrainContact A/T tires feature a +Silane enhanced all-season compound molded into a mild all-terrain tread pattern. The open pattern improves traction off-road, while the stable tread blocks and closed shoulder design help provide long tread life and resist uneven wear. The +Silane additives further extend tread life and increase wet grip, and the full-depth sipes and edge-of-the-block traction grooves increase all-season traction throughout the life of the tire. Internal construction of the TerrainContact A/T includes two high-tensile steel belts with a spirally-wound polyamide reinforcement supported by a two-ply casing.

SizeS: 17 215/45ZR17*(91Y) 225/45ZR17*(94Y) 235/45ZR17*(97Y)

The AVID Ascend GT is Yokohama's Grand Touring All-Season tire developed for drivers of sedans, coupes, crossovers and minivans who want a refined ride and noise comfort combined with long life and confident all-season traction. The AVID Ascend GT is designed to deliver grip in dry, wet and wintry conditions, even light snow. Yokohama BluEarth branding is used to identify an ecologically friendly series of tires that are designed to deliver environmentally, human and socially friendly solutions for drivers and their vehicles 15 175/65R15* 185/55R15* 185/65R15* 195/60R15* Bridgestone Blizzak WS90

The Blizzak WS90 is Bridgestone’s Studless Ice & Snow winter tire developed for drivers of sedans, coupes, minivans and crossovers looking for confident control in a variety of difficult winter weather. When winter driving conditions are at their worst, Bridgestone’s Blizzak WS90 winter tires are designed to be at their best. The directional pattern of the Blizzak WS90 features increased block stiffness to deliver more responsive steering in addition to improved wear life, and Bridgestone’s EdgePerformance Technology Package includes full-depth features and interlocking sipes to provide impressive performance longer through the tire’s life. The tread pattern features greater contact area and 15% more block edges than the Blizzak WS90’s predecessor, increasing ice traction and reducing braking distances in slippery conditions. It is molded from Bridgestone’s next generation Multi-Cell compound with bite particles, which allows the tire to remove the thin layer of water that develops between the tread rubber and icy surfaces, enabling the tire to better grip the ice. Silica enhancements in the compound further improve grip in snow and on ice. The Eagle F1

Asymmetric is Goodyear’s

Max Performance Summer tire developed for modern high performance vehicles that are more advanced, intelligent and luxurious than ever before. However since these vehicles are also more powerful, faster and heavier, they require tires that can provide control without conceding comfort. The asymmetric in the

Eagle F1 Asymmetric name describes both the tire’s tread design and internal structure, both of which are designed to enhance performance in dry and wet conditions. The tread uses Goodyear’s Racing

Compound Technology to combine carbon black for dry traction, silica for wet traction and a new generation of polymers to optimize tread stiffness. This compound is molded into an asymmetric tread design with wide, solid outboard shoulder blocks to increase cornering traction while a continuous center rib improves high speed stability and an open inboard tread pattern disperses water. Wide circumferential grooves also allow water to flow from between the tire footprint and road. The internal structure of the Eagle F1 Asymmetric includes twin steel belts reinforced with three layers of spirally wrapped polyamide cord to enhance tread stability and high-speed capability. Goodyear Active Cornergrip Technology includes the addition of aramid reinforcement in the inboard sidewalls to provide a more even contact with the road for more even distribution of pressure across the whole contact patch when cornering.

SizeS: 17 205/55ZR17 19 35ZR19 20 265/40R20

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