Auto News 5

It's hard for me to turn down the chance to drive any Mercedes-Benz S-class for a weekend. Unfortunately, it's hard for my bosses to do so, too, so I rarely get the chance, and happily jumped at my most recent opportunity. The S-class debuted way back in 2005, but I still adore the car's luscious, super-comfortable cabin. Also, the Comand system's infotainment controller is very intuitive and still strikes me as one of the best on the market, even after half a decade. Many people, including me, have criticized the S-class's exterior styling, but it says something when a car that's been on the shelf this long continues to attract so much onlooker attention. This car -- and this brand -- clearly still have plenty of cachet.

Alfa Romeo's popular and accessible sports car, the Spider, was sold in the United States from 1966 until 1994, its long run divided into four series. The early cars, with their distinctive boattail styling, were immortalized as Dustin Hoffman's ride in The Graduate. Generally regarded as the most beautiful iteration of Pininfarina's design, these Spiders also are the most basic in spec, the rarest, and the most expensive. After skipping U.S. exports in 1970 (as it had in '68), Alfa brought back the Spider for 1971, beginning the second series, with a chopped tail and fussy Spica fuel injection for its enlarged 2.0-liter four-cylinder; heavy rubber bumpers arrived for 1975. The next iteration, the '83 to '90 Series 3 models, got a controversial black rubber ducktail rear spoiler, better-integrated bumpers, and (in '86) interior revisions. They enjoy more reliable Bosch fuel injection and available air-conditioning (both of which actually came on board in '82). For the final cars, the 1991-'94 models, the styling was smoothed out, power steering and a driver's air bag were added, and an automatic transmission (!) was optional; they're a bit more powerful but also slightly heavier.

Fret not when another British sports car maker slips under the waves. Since England is the cradle of two-seat entertainment, whenever an automaker like Triumph or TVR succumbs, some up-and-comer arrives to fill in. In the land of fish and chips, creativity isn't so hindered by balance sheets and business plans.

The Chevrolet Volt's gas-electric powertrain is seriously complex. The mechanicals and four primary driving modes -- which we covered earlier this week -- are fairly straightforward, but the Volt continues to hide curiosities in the computer code and control strategies that define this game-changer's behavior. At yesterday's media drive in suburban Detroit, we learned the details of a rare scenario in which the Volt operates with reduced power during extended-range driving.

Replica cars are nothing new. Hot-rodders have been relying on new 1932 Ford body shells for years, and longtime readers may remember the Autokraft Cobra that was splashed on the cover of our second issue, in May 1986. But those are copies of exceedingly rare, expensive, and significant cars. A 1966 Ford Bronco is none of those things. And yet, starting later this year, the public will be able to assemble brand-new ones.