The Lohdown Ins and Outs

摘要

I often tell people that the only thing that really separates the editors of this magazine from a passionate, car-crazy reader like yourself is that we get to drive everything early. (Well, that and we have a bunch of GPS data loggers, test tracks on speed dial, and friends with expensive cameras.) But early access is definitely key. Of the 168 new-for-2017 models featured in this issue's New Car Buyer's Guide, only a dozen or so have not already been road tested by at least one member of team Motor Trend. And this magazine was put to bed on the second day of summer. How is this possible? Well, the cycle of regular press launches we attend provides early access to many of next year's vehicles, but not all of them. Occasionally, automakers will ask us for off-the-record feedback on a vehicle early in development or to attend a smaller, more specialized launch program (as we did with the limited-edition 911R Jason Cammisa reviews on page 21.) We also test roughly 40 cars over the course of a hot summer week for our Car of the Year program. For the rest, we pick up the phone and pester automakers to send us the latest models just as soon as they become available in fleet.