Radwood Ferrari Portofino + Long-Term Genesis G90 + Toyota Camry Cup Car + Daytona 500
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RADWOOD FERRARI PORTOFINO + LONG-TERM GENESIS G90 + TOYOTA CAMRY CUP CAR + DAYTONA 500 CAR CULTURE MARCH 12, 2018 SINCE 1958 MADE IN DETROIT DRIVING MATTERS® NOT JUST A RETHINK. A RE-EVERYTHING. Reimagine, revamp, reexamine, retool, reconsider, recalibrate, readjust, realign, rearrange, reevaluate, reassess, rededicate and refocus. Now, we are reborn. We are Mazda Team Joest. We intend to rewrite records. And help lead Mazda into a future of limitless potential. LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER NOSTALGIA DRAGS YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T expect to see a Quattro on the cover. We didn’t, either, until Autoweek alum Blake Z. Rong and photographer Kevin McCauley returned from Radwood. Radwood was founded by Autoweek contributor Bradley Brownell and a few friends. It’s open to ’80s and ’90s cars, and attendees dress in vaguely period clothing. It’s basically a low-buck Goodwood Revival without racing. And everything is fluorescent. Oh, and it’s organized and attended mostly by people who are supposed to be killing chain restaurants and watching prestige TV, not hanging out looking at cars! To me, the most interesting thing about Radwood is a lot of the people involved aren’t old enough to be nostalgic for ’80s cars. I was born in 1982, so while I have memories from the ’80s, I don’t remember the ’80s. That’s probably true of a lot of Radwood attendees. I do remember being at a mid-aughts CCCA or AACA meeting where members fretted about what would happen to their cars when the people in the room weren’t around to take care of them. At the time, even approximations of muscle cars were gobbling obscene amounts of home equity money at auction. Another guy mentioned that club members had been freaking out about the popularity of muscle cars since muscle cars were new and that the “real” classics always seemed to find a nice home. I believe that remains the case today, though if you know where the cheap Duesenbergs are, please drop me a line. The common thread (you have to be looking for one by now) is the idea that car cul- ture’s appeal goes beyond nostalgia. You and I know plenty of people young and old spend- ing all their time and money on cars that predate them by decades. This stuff is fun—there’s intrinsic value in it regardless of when you were born. And hey, if you did have your driver’s license in the ’80s, give in to the pull of nostalgia and get to the next Radwood. You may have knowledge that could be invaluable to a Radwood judge tasked with verifying the period authenticity of a car phone. RORY CARROLL PUBLISHER You can reach me directly on Twitter @rory_carroll or at [email protected] ABOUT THE COVER Brash style, bold colors, a tech megadose: All those and more apply to the Audi Quattro, but they’re also defi ning traits of the time period that birthed it. With its focus on the cars of the 1980s and 1990s, Radwood is a show that celebrates everything we love (and love to hate—or at least roll our collective eyes at) about that particular era. But while there’s more than a bit of self-referential humor on display alongside the cars, Radwood is much more than a self-indulgent irony-fest—as with the Ur-Quattro itself, there’s real substance to back up the fl ash. Photographer Kevin McCauley ably captured the look and feel of the event’s second iteration, Radwood 2. INSIDE THIS ISSUE MARCH 12, 2018 UNPARALLELED As versatile as it is svelte 14 and stunning, the nimble 2018 Ferrari Portofino is worth every penny BY J.P. VETTRAINO CAR LIFE COMPETITION PRESS 08 A GATHERING OF DUDES 24 THE CAMRY QUANDARY Don the finest of neons, grab your toaster-size Toyota’s sheer prowess and dominance in the 2017 phone, hop in a sweet Audi and head to Radwood, Cup season raises some competitors’ eyebrows a celebration of all things delightfully ’80s and ’90s BY MATT WEAVER BY BLAKE Z. RONG 28 LEADING THE WAY 12 MARKET NASCAR president Brent Dewar takes an active role 1988 Porsche 911 Turbo Flachbau in running the series and courting a younger audience BY MATT WEAVER DRIVES 34 THE WIRE REDEFINING LUXURY 20 36 RACING ON TV The long-term 2017 Hyundai Genesis G90 is an adroit, affordable entry in the high-end sedan market DEPTS/COLUMNS BY ANDREW STOY 06 OFFSIDE UNDO 22 ESSENTIALS BY DUTCH MANDEL 2018 Buick TourX 2019 Jeep Cherokee 44 BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE NEW NISSAN ALTIMA SPIED ANOTHER CLOSE CALL ONLY ON AUTOWEEK.COM A floating infotainment screen is part of the popular family NHRA legend John Force’s crash sends him to sedan’s next interior: bit.ly/aw-19altima the hospital: bit.ly/aw-jfcrash Autoweek (ISSN 0192-9674), Volume 68 Issue 5 is published every other Monday except for the first issue in February and the first issue in August, at Crain Communications Inc, 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit MI 48207-2997. Periodicals postage paid at Detroit, Mich., and at additional mailing offices. Subscription and Customer Service, (888) 288-6954. Subscription price is $34.95 per year. Postmaster: Send address changes to Autoweek, 1155 Gratiot Ave., Detroit, MI 48207-2912. Canadian Post International Publications Mail Product (Cana- dian Distribution) Sales Agreement No. 40012850, GST No. 136760444. Canadian return address: 4960-2 Walker Road, Windsor, Ontario N9A-6J3. Printed in the USA. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Autoweek welcomes unsolicited manuscripts and photographs but cannot be held responsible for their return. © All contents copyright 2018 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. Autoweek allows its columnists the fullest latitude in expressing opinions on controversial subjects so its readers will be better informed. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the publication. See how much you could save on insurance for your truck, motorcycle, RV, boat and more. geico.com | 1-800-442-9253 | Local Office Some discounts, coverages, payment plans and features are not available in all states or all GEICO companies. Motorcycle and ATV coverages are underwritten by GEICO Indemnity Company. Boat and PWC coverages are underwritten by GEICO Marine Insurance Company. GEICO is a registered service mark of Government Employees Insurance Company, Washington, D.C. 20076; a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary. © 2017 GEICO COLUMN OFFSIDE UNDO BY DUTCH MANDEL The second trip really tested mettle: a 9,000-mile tour around the country with my wife riding shotgun and armed with a gen-u-ine atlas. Yep, I didn’t once relinquish the wheel of our THE JOY OF SHARING Chevrolet Tahoe, whether cutting along the Blue Ridge Park- way, gliding Interstate 80 through the Badlands or seeing black bears in Yellowstone. We ventured to California wine country and then hit the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in Chandler, Arizona. The breathtaking beauty of New Mexico’s national It should not come as a shock that while growing up, I did not parks didn’t evade us—a run to Denver and a straight shot to play well with others. Chalk it up to being competitive, or may- Michigan (for Autoweek’s Cars in Corktown event), then back be I was just a pain in the tuchus. in the Tahoe to South Carolina to complete the journey. Never In time, I softened. And now, playing well with others — once were we lost. when appropriate—is something I choose. The joy of sharing That was the joy of driving on a grand scale, but it doesn’t comes naturally, and most natural is to share the joy of driving. need to be so big. Today I got an email from Mazda’s John Last summer, I shared several long drives, each of which Doonan, who was quick to share that his son, AJ, just earned was special in large part to the company, yet also because of his driver’s license. John’s joy of sharing that moment was ines- the journey itself. You can still have fun just driving. capable; that his daughter, Maggie, is a year from this goal was The first was in a Mercedes-AMG GLE43 around Northern also palpable. California and into the Sierra Nevada. Son Clay asked to drive Do not underestimate the joy of sharing—cars, moments, the coast from San Fran to LA, but Mother Nature’s mudslides people and our lives—courtesy of the car. This is one thing I prevented that. Still, we ventured out on a kind of back- yearn we never lose in the age of autonomous cars. ward-looking vision quest as I shared with him my old stomping grounds, including Autoweek’s HQ when it was in The City; the East Bay town of Lafayette, California; and Reno, Nevada. We visited people important in our lives: Michael (he was al- ways “Mike” to me, or one-half of the Brillo Brothers Racing Team with yours truly), who taught me how to wrench on a car; Danny and I reminisced about how he introduced me to Clay’s mother; and Tony, who lived the No Fear life before it came and We’re glad former Publisher DUTCH MANDEL continues to went as a brand. The Mercedes, infinitely capable to fit us two share his unique takes as our executive editor at large. hulking guys and our goods, carved highways and mountain He can be reached on Twitter @Dutch_Mandel switchbacks, bringing unintended smiles along the way. 6 | AUTOWEEK MARCH 12, 2018 AUTOWEEK.COM Do you hate your detector? 1155 GRATIOT AVE., DETROIT, MI 48207-2997 EDITORIAL (313) 446-0324 ADVERTISING (313) 446-6048 It was your best friend, now it never shuts up.