2007 Bentley Continental Gt on 2040-cars

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2017 North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year entries announced

Over 40 vehicles will compete for the 2017 North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year awards. If that name looks a little strange, it's because the competition added a third category. In years past, pickup trucks, crossovers, SUVs, commercial vans, and minivans competed for the same award. That's why there were occasionally weird comparisons, like last year's competition between the Volvo XC90 and Nissan Titan XD. The new format separates pickups and commercial vans into the truck contest and CUVs, SUVs, and minivans into the utility competition. A complete list of eligible vehicles is below, but here are a few highlights. For one, the entire list of entries has a luxurious lean. Of the 43 vehicles, nearly half of them are from premium brands. There are two eligible Bentleys – the Bentayga and Mulsanne – the Rolls-Royce Dawn, Jaguar F-Pace, Audi Q7, and the Mercedes-Benz GLS-, E-, and S-Class Maybach. The performance ranks are lofty, too, with the Audi R8, Acura NSX, Alfa Romeo Giulia, Mercedes SL- and SLC-Class, Porsche 718, and F-150 Raptor. The mainstream entries are just as comprehensive. From the Chrysler Pacifica to the Chevrolet Cruze to the Fiat 124 Spider to the Mitsubishi Mirage, NACTOY has covered an enormous price range with this year's contestants. Of course, these are only the eligible vehicles. They'll need to run through three rounds of judging, starting in September at NACTOY's traditional Hell, MI, test drive. The Canadian and American journalists involved in the judging will announce this year's nine finalists – three in each category – on December 6. Cars Acura NSX Alfa Romeo Giulia Audi A4 Audi R8 Bentley Mulsanne Buick Cascada Buick LaCrosse Cadillac CT6 Chevrolet Bolt Chevrolet Cruze Fiat 124 Genesis G90 Hyundai Elantra Infiniti Q60 Jaguar XE Kia Cadenza Lincoln Continental Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan Mercedes-Benz S550 Maybach Mercedes-Benz SL-Class Mercedes-Benz SLC-Class Mini Clubman Mitsubishi Mirage/G4 Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman Rolls-Royce Dawn Toyota Prius Prime Volvo S90 SUVs Audi Q7 Bentley Bentayga Buick Envision Cadillac XT5 Chrysler Pacifica GMC Acadia Infiniti QX30 Kia Sportage Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class Jaguar F-Pace Mazda CX-9 Nissan Armada Trucks Ford F-Series Super Duty pickups Ford F-150 Raptor Honda Ridgeline Nissan Titan half-ton Related Video: Featured Gallery Bentley Bentayga View 23 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub.

Bentley Continental GT Speed gets a little more juice

The latest version of the Bentley Continental GT Speed packs 633 horsepower, up ever so slightly from the 626 hp in the outgoing version launched in 2014, the 616-hp model that arrived in 2012, and the 602 hp offered in the first iteration from 2007. It also leaves the previous, 621-hp Supersports model in its wake, and further separates the flagship twelve-cylinder version from the lighter but less potent V8 model. Along with the relatively negligible 7-horsepower increase, the crew from Crewe also raised the torque figure by 15 pound-feet to a total of 619. As a result, Bentley says the latest flagship Conti will hit 60 in 3.9 seconds, down from the 4.0 flat the previous version was quoted at. No word on the top speed changing, but at 206 miles per hour, it didn't need much improvement in the first place. The Flying B marque has also launched a new Black Edition of the same model that offers a whole array of visual enhancements inside and out. As you might have guessed, it consists mostly of black trim, but also some contrasting aero components and leather trim. That's all well and fine, but we doubt most occupants would be paying much attention once all that power is deployed. Related Video: BENTLEY LAUNCHES NEW GT SPEED AND STRIKING BLACK EDITION - Continental GT Speed increases power and torque - Bold new Black Edition joins GT family - New and unique styling cues handcrafted to perfection at Bentley's Crewe factory (Crewe, 4 April 2016) Bentley unveils today the revised Continental GT Speed, raising the bar even further in terms of exclusivity and performance. The fastest production Bentley ever, with a top speed of 206 mph (331 km/h), now delivers even more power and torque, and a striking new Black Edition model joins the Speed family. Engineers at Bentley in Crewe have developed even more muscle from the Continental's iconic 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged W12 engine. The GT Speed now produces 642 PS - up from 635 PS - and 20 Nm of extra torque, bringing its total to a forceful 840 Nm. This additional torque is applied through the entire rev range via careful reoptimisation of boost control, raising the Grand Tourer's renowned "torque plateau" of continuous maximum torque delivery from 2,000-5,000 rpm, and bringing even greater acceleration performance. As a result, the 0-60 mph sprint time has dropped to just 3.9 seconds (0-100 km/h in 4.1 secs).

40+ cars that barely avoid the gas guzzler tax

The Gas Guzzler schedule, with mpg ratings and charges that haven't changed since 1991, lays out which fuel-swillers owe what to Uncle Sam.
I started thinking about the "Gas Guzzler Tax" - considerably less well known as The Energy Tax Act of 1978 - when I was driving Dodge's new Challenger SRT Hellcat last week. Unsurprisingly for a car that can burn 1.5 gallons of gas per minute at max tilt, theoretically able to empty a full tank of premium in about 13 minutes, the Hellcat will be subject to the Gas Guzzler Tax schedule when it goes on sale.