Articles by Marty Padgett

When we last drove the Jaguar F-Type Convertible, it hustled substantial arse on some choice mountain roads. The Jaguar emitted noises like nothing we've heard this side of an AMG V8 or an Aston V12, and its sinewy stance drew more gapes per linear kilometre than anything in its class.But the tightly strung switchbacks worked against those wide hips, making it feel a little too big for those branches, and a slightly softer setup left it playing catch-up with the abilities of the Mercedes CLA45 AMG and Porsche Cayman.Since then, we've had the chance to drive the roofed version on the Motorland Aragona track and the emptied-out quarters between it and Barcelona. More than five kilometres long, the F1-approved Motorland and its surrounding vistas fleshed out what we'd missed from the F-Type equation. It's all about the body, as if you couldn't guess.Before the rain blew in, we'd decided the F-Type Coupe R is the most affable, most tossable Jaguar ever to pass through our grip. Adding a roof adds tremendously to its stability. If anything, it's more subliminally sexy than the roadster.And it still has the inestimable, intangible value of one of the best exhaust notes you can buy.The F-Type Coupe hasn't lost any of its visual extravagance in the short trip from the concept-car circuit to the real world. It made its mark as a C-X16 concept, and the very nearly identical shape that's emerged is impure, and riveting for it.Call it a do-over: The gills and grille slash through the front end, sharply retracting the oval inlet cut into a whole generation of Jaguar XK grand tourers. But they're largely the same as in the F-Type roadster.Where it's different from the roadster, obviously so, the Coupe nails down the essence of what a Jaguar should look like. The F-Type Coupe is a somewhat short car, and doesn't have the luxury of languid lines playing out as the XK had. (It's being retired after 2015, now that the F-Type is assuming its mantle). Adding a roofline could have abbreviated the F-Type's shape in ungainly ways, but it hasn't--it's only amplified those powerlifter haunches."This car is almost classical in its proportions," says Wayne Burgess, who worked out the winning details, like the tiniest flap of a decklid spoiler that mimics the modesty panel in a union suit. It rises at 70 mph to provide downforce, and lowers at below 50 mph.The unseen effect of the hardtop is with the body structure. The F-Type coupes get a specific roof beam for strength, which nets out a body that's said to be 80 percent stiffer -- a real accomplishment, given the F-Type's already stout glued-and-riveted aluminum body.We cruised for a couple hundred kilometers in a rich wake of crackling overrun, a hornet's nest of coupes slashing across Spain toward Motorland, flipping between F-Type Coupes in V6 and V8 spec, with solid or glass roofs, all with automatic transmissions -- still, after a year, the only gearbox you can have is one that keeps more to itself.You don't have to be an apologist to be happy with the supercharged V6 in the F-Type Coupe. Rated at 250kW of power and 450Nm pf torque from 3.0-litres, it'll run 0-100km/h mph sprints in about 5.1 seconds and scream to a 260km/h top end, Jaguar says.Pull into the F-Type S Coupe, and you'll get 280kW from an uprated version of the same six, good for 4.8 seconds of 0-100km/h time and a 275km/h top speed. With Jaguar's chosen ZF eight-speed “Quickshift” automatic transmission and paddle shifters, it's a tap and a firm foot to access what we gauged to be about 75 per cent of that accessible F-Type S speed, on more lonesome stretches of road.What you won't get is the more guttural bark of the V8, or the V8-only F-Type Coupe R's superior suspension tune. It's about now that we'd be remiss in not pointing out some truisms: the coupe is almost always better to drive than the convertible or cabriolet, and when it comes to engine displacement... bring it.Consider it brought, at 5.0 litres, 405kW (uprated 40kW from the V8 S roadster), and capable of 0-100km/hh launches in 4.0 seconds, and a 300km/h top end.It all lines up according to gospel here -- and gospel truly is the analogue for what the F-Type Coupe R's vocal chops are capable of emoting through its active-exhaust system. We never mind the boggling numbers on tap for a few longish stints while running roughshod through rural Spain, just to listen. Even more so than in the roadster, the V-8 is nearly impossible to ignore. Minus the distractions of sun and breezes and gawkers caught mid-gape, the Coupe fills with the resonating throb of that thundering V-8, even when it's just waking up.Clever thing: when you push the orange-tinted metal start button, the F-Type Coupe R runs rowdily up to near its redline. Imagine four of those going off at a time in the pit lane of an F1-worthy road course. From the get-go, that chorus signals these Coupe R Jags are totally down for what's up at the Motorland track.The carillon rings out as we sling the Coupe R around Motorland, running it to redline down the mile-long straight, backing off sharply to cut through some supremely technical passages. The Coupe R is the best shoe of the F-Type family, no doubt. The springs are a few percent stiffer at each corner, and the fast-acting adaptive shocks are a lot less permissive (on the road, the F-Type couldn't feel more pleasant).The Coupe R simply does a better job of shearing off corners and gathering itself more quickly than any of the F-Type roadsters we've driven. There's no weight difference, V-8 to V-8, but the revised body structure and retuned dampers resolve some of the niggling convertible issues, like a mild side-to-side rocking that never felt quite settled on our Georgia drive last year. It's flatter, and happier, and in its element on a wide, freshly paved track with a few corners carbon-copied from our secret corner of Appalachia.A half-dozen laps are all it takes to understand what's going on at Aragon, big blitzes of full-on power, slashed and burned with big stabs of optionally fitted carbon-ceramic brakes, some leaning on the Coupe R's electronic torque vectoring to tighten a line here and there. The fast throttle wants to be in the game all the time; the stability control's sport mode is mapped out to be playfully loose with the tail. It'll give you more yaw angle than you can use, before it reins in the Coupe R from situations where it might otherwise rotate with Olympic speed.You could spend hours getting used to the Motorland surface and the crapload of nuances of its spookier turns, and that's a testament to the car's transparent nature.What you won't spend a lot of time doing in any F-Type, Coupe or roadster, is packing. It's an object to be coveted, not to be projected upon with a bunch of futile practical notions. Two golf bags might nestle in longways behind the front seats, but the Coupe R doesn't strike us as the golfing type, anyway. A roll-on bag and two smaller camera bags wholly consumed a cargo hold we'd call shallow to its face.That's simply fine, says designer Burgess. The Coupe is "designed to be a little selfish."We're perfectly okay with selfish. We'd pass on the base coupe, forgoing a college diploma or two for a child to be named later (these things usually sort themselves out), if we could hang on to the aural delight and invigorating handling of the F-Type R Coupe.Now that the F-Type Coupe has finally arrived, it's every bit the sportscar we’d hoped it would be.www.motorauthority.com 

We're about to correct some false impressions: That the WRX has been totally invalidated because it now offers a sort of automatic transmission (again) and because it's a little bit bigger than before

There are classic oxymorons that keep garden-variety morons like me awake at night. Think about 'military intelligence', or 'a little big' -- or even perhaps 'adult male'. Among those brainbenders is the term 'sporty SUV'.But our first drive of the 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Sport in sunny Welsh countryside proved the label's validity. We strafe a lightly used airport runway at 240 km/h in the Sport, before running it through half a meter deep river of muck. Could you do that in a Cayenne, an X6 or an ML? Possibly. Would you ever consider it? Unlikely.Relatively long story short, the confusingly accurate "sporty SUV" label isn't just stuck on the Range Rover Sport--it's earned.Here's the even shorter story on how the Range Rover Sport's grown better: Range Rover. The first-generation car was a steel body on a frame; now it's an aluminium spin-off of last year's brand-new Range Rover, with just a few inches of height and length subtracted to suit it for a differently shaded personality. The same crash diet that shaved 318 kg from the bigger ute nips about 363 kg from the Sport. In performance terms, that's like kicking out four adults before hot laps.In essence the Sport's a slice off the Range Rover, but there's plenty of influence from the smaller Evoque in its profile. It's almost pure Range Rover from the doors forward, save for a slimmer nose and winged headlamps, but the roofline picks up the Evoque's sleekness and its rounded rump. The cockpit? It's all Range Rover, with calm stretches of leather and wood devoid of the busy clusters of buttons that had cramped the Sport's style.Two drivetrains are on tap this time, and they divide camps neatly, into nicely done and awesomely hot. A new supercharged, 250 kW 3.0-litre V6 engine is the new base engine, delivering a nice 90-degree V6 snarl and sub-7-second acceleration, in tandem with a sweet paddle-shifted ZF eight-speed automatic.The supercharged V8 comes from a different planet entirely, one maybe with a timeshare in the American South: it barks out 375 kWr with NASCAR authority, ripping off 5-second runs to 100 km/h.With either, the Sport's ride/handling worldview tilts firmly to sport. The bigger Range Rover specializes in coddling; the Sport's air dampers and variable-ratio steering quicken up the pace, and with the V8's Dynamic setting, dial out much of the innate lean and scrub dictated by its height and weight. It's much closer now to the benchmarks set by the uber-utes from Germany.At the same time, it's an incredibly capable muckraker, with either the base Torsen four-wheel-drive setup, or the more advanced dual-range system, with its active rear locking differential. With more ground clearance than ever, the Sport can extract itself from almost anything the bigger Range Rover can, and its slight size advantage might let it squeeze through where the executive-class Landie might not--say, an abandoned 747, like the one we were guided through carefully, from cargo hold to a first-class arrival through the nose.The Sport's cabin has never looked better, and extra room in almost all dimensions solves one of the least happy aspects of the first-generation ute, though the second-row seat isn't quite as supportive as the Range Rover's. These are the sacrifices, folks. If you're an occasional user of a third-row seat, the Sport gives in to convention with a pair of semi-usable jump seats that fold away tidily when not in use. We suggest if you're beyond Highlights for Children, you don't try to clamber in them.All 2014 Range Rover Sport models come nicely equipped, including custom Meridian audio systems (three in total, ranging up to 1,700 watts and 23 speakers); advanced safety systems aided by cameras; an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment interface that frankly could use a couple of Palo Alto software geeks and a quick reskin; and of course, the latest generation of Land Rover's Terrain Response 2 traction management system.The Range Rover Sport shares nearly all its structure and powertrains with the bigger Range Rover, and it shows--on the scale, on the way it keeps an even keel when it's sunk knee-deep in mud.The new 3.0-litre supercharged V6 is an assertive-sounding engine at full throttle, with a hearty snarl that subdues quickly as the Sport flicks into higher gears, back into a more relaxed part of the powerband.But it's really the 5.0-litre supercharged V8 you want, if only for the NASCAR intake and exhaust riffs that were frankly the inspiration for its soundtrack. It's scored at 375 kW and 624 Nm of torque, and ripping off a 0-100 km/h run in 5 seconds is in the realm of Cayenne Turbos and Grand Cherokee SRTs.Top speed is 225 km/h, unless the Dynamic pack's specified--it's lifted to 250 km/h. Either way, the Sport's stick shifter is in control--it's not a rotary like the control in the Range Rover or Evoque--unless you flick the paddle shift controls, letting the ZF automatic do what it does best, click off clean shifts without any drama.The Range Rover Sport's more obviously, and vastly, better on pavement than it was in its first lifetime. A procession of electronic assistants get tuned for more focus and more grip than they do in the bigger Range Rover. If you don't see as much daylight between the bigger ute and the Sport, you'll feel it, particularly in the V8 versions.The Sport's stock and trade are some of the same air suspension and electric-steering bits as in the Range Rover, but that flagship's setup is deliberately set for a more relaxed feel. The Sport's most neutral state, when its ride height is set to normal via a console-mounted switch, and its Terrain Response system dialled into street driving, still yields quicker steering responses with more deliberate counterweight and a much calmer ride than the first-gen Sport.The extra technology in the V8 Sport crafts a handling personality that's strikingly different from the base Sport, from the Range Rover, and about as deft as the other ultra-powerful SUVs (even if the SRT Jeeps and Cayenne Turbos are still ultimately, slightly, quicker).If it's not quite the thunderclap that is the Cayenne Turbo or the SRT Jeep, the Range Rover Sport makes up for the tenth or two of acceleration with unbelievable off-road talent. The basic, lighter-duty setup  is a new four-wheel-drive system with a Torsen limited-slip differential and anti-lock brakes limiting wheelspin, and a 42:58 torque split that can shift to 62 percent front, or up to 78 percent to the rear.It's offered only on the V6, and wasn't ready in time for our first drives. The more rugged version, standard on the V8 and optional overseas on the V6, has a low range and locking differentials, with a torque split of 50:50 that can switch to 100 percent, front or rear wheels, as traction suffers.We spent the better part of two days in Welsh hills and English river beds, letting Terrain Response's Auto mode do all of the work some of the time, and opting for its individual modes (Grass/Gravel/Snow, Mud/Ruts, Sand, and Rock Crawl) as we trudged through the countryside without the benefit of pavement.The Sport's slight size benefit versus the Range Rover isn't so noticeable, but the increased ground clearance over its last-generation edition is. It's up to 28 cm, and the air suspension can extend itself another inch and some change when it needs to extract itself from especially difficult off-road scenarios.With nearly 55 cm of cross-wheel articulation, that doesn't happen too often--but when it does, the Sport can isolate its roll bars, and make the most of its wheel travel. It can even deploy that additional reserve of ground clearance when it's wading close to its 85 cm maximum, and seconds later, lower itself almost silently down a steep grade thanks to a much quieter hill-descent control system.We think the Sport's tugged and stretched its performance wrapper in the right directions. 

General Motors and Ford will partner to build a new generation of automatic transmissions -- nine-speed and ten-speed automatics that the companies will use to boost fuel economy across their lineups.The US carmakers have worked together in the past to engineer automatic transmissions, to reduce the engineering and development costs. The six-speed automatic installed in many large GM and Ford crossovers is a result of the companies' more recent joint efforts. So far, the companies have built more than 8 million gearboxes from that project.The new transmissions will be used across both companies' lineups, in both front-wheel-drive and rear-wheel-drive applications.Ford and GM won't be the first to develop nine-speed automatic transmissions. Chrysler has one on the way in the 2014 Jeep Cherokee, while Land Rover announced recently that it's working on a nine-speed transmission with ZF. Ten-speed automatics would be a new development.The transmissions are expected to hit the road within the next three years, with differences in programming to give each automaker its own approach to shift quality and economy.Both GM and Ford rely heavily today on six-speed automatics, while some competitors like Lexus and Chrysler have moved quickly to eight-speed automatics, in the hunt for better fuel economy in their larger vehicles.www.thecarconnection.com 

The Jaguar XFR-S sedan counters the efficient new V-6s added to the luxury four-door's lineup with a blistering 410kW, 5.0-litre, supercharged V-8 engine shared with the XKR-S coupe and convertible--one with more aural pleasure than today's supercharged V-8 XFR, thanks to straighter exhaust runs and a conduit for more exhaust noise to reach the cabin. The 30 KW boost over the current XFR makes the XFR-S the highest-output Jaguar sedan offered today--and the fastest, with a 0-100 km/h time pegged by the automaker at 4.6 seconds. Top speed is limited to 300 kilometres per hour. Like the XFR the XFR-S sports an eight-speed, paddle-shifted, throttle-blipping automatic supplied by ZF, though the torque converter's beefed up for hardcore duty. Throttle response is quicker too, but fuel consumption is said to be unchanged from the XFR. Stop/start control is standard. The XFR-S' suspension gets a thorough revamp to handle the upgrades in power. Jaguar promises better handling with stiffer spring rates and a new rear subframe and stiffer bushings, along with a retuned active rear differential and reprogrammed stability control. The XFR-S' 20-inch staggered wheels and 265/35R20 front, 295/30R20 Pirelli tires are wider rolling stock than the treads on the XFR. It'll be easy to spot the XFR-S - an immense rear wing that generates downforce at the rear is on the options list, but there's a more discreet offering, too. The sedan swaps out some sheetmetal and air dams for carbon-fiber pieces with massive air intakes and splitters that cut aerodynamic lift by 68 percent, Jaguar says. Inside, the XFR-S has contrast-piped seats and its own leather and aluminum trim. An 825-watt Meridian sound system is standard. The 2014 Jaguar XFR-S will go on sale overseas late next year in limited numbers, with just 100 cars scheduled for sale in the 2014 full year. www.motorauthority.com

Yourself, obviously. Your cigarettes. Your warm bottle of Mountain Dew? Mos def. How about a week's worth of petrol? The Cable News Network, via affiliate KUSA, reports a Colorado mother (their definition) decided that answer would be yes, and swapped out her small child from the mandatory car seat for the precious can of gasoline. She then was stopped by police in Aurora, Colo., during a campaign to patrol for seatbelt usage--one of the "Click It Or Ticket" events that regularly nab scofflaws who ignore primary-seatbelt laws. When police pulled the woman over, they found her infant child, in a diaper, sitting under a lap belt in the back seat with the shoulder belt tucked behind. Next to the can of gas, which was buckled in, semi-safely. An aghast Colorado Department of Transportation put the photo on its Facebook page, and warned drivers to "please be responsible and make sure children are properly restrained in the appropriate child safety seat." As of 11:30 a.m., the story has 885 shares, 267 comments and 127 likes on Facebook, with comments mostly centered around "pure stupidity on the part of the mother." CNN says the woman was given several tickets, and claimed the child often unlatched his seatbelt--but had no answer when police asked if the child also often buckled gas cans in child safety seats. Motor Authority