Where it's also legal. But still no." A third editor, stepping from the 2024 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, asks, "Isn't weed legal in West Virginia anyway? We saw a medical dispensary." The gas-station guy replies, "Well, yeah. But if you have one of those cards, then you can't own a gun." Effectively illegal, then, to this guy. Fueled up and with a fresh understanding of West Virginia drug law, we return to the road with our mind-altering sports sedans, legal in all 50 states but capable of extremely extralegal feats of performance.
Which is why we're heading to Rockingham Speedway in North Carolina. The M3 hits 100 mph in 7.3 seconds, the Giulia tops out at a claimed 191 mph, and the CT4-V feels so untroubled at 96 mph that you'd swear you're going 65, Your Honor. These cars need a track like a hyper Labrador puppy needs a dog park, and Rockingham is just the place. The famous NASCAR venue hosted its last race in 2013 and then slid into disrepair, but new ownership and a multimillion-dollar glowup brought Rockingham back from the dead, with the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Trucks on the schedule for April. Both the mile-long high-banked oval and the infield road course got new pavement, so we figured we'd do our part to lay down some fresh rubber. First, though, we had to get there-from Michigan.
Which is about 800 miles away, once you account for back-road detours and visits to colorful West Virginia gas stations. But a great sports sedan should excel at this kind of mission, melting away the highway miles and then terrorizing a closed course with equal aplomb. If you're looking for a daily driver that puts the devil on your shoulder, allow us to present three of the finest choices yet proffered to the motoring public.
The Giulia Quadrifoglio is an everyday Italian that's powered by the best-sounding V-6 this side of a Ferrari 296GTB. Options are few, so our car's $91,415 as-tested price didn't stray too far from the base of $83,465.
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Esta historia es de la edición January - February 2025 de Car and Driver.
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The Best Odds
SOMETIMES-NOT OFTEN, BUT sometimes-car manufacturers create something semi-wondrous that is also borderline irrational and three-quarters inexplicable to their own marketing types.
Mileage Booster
Kia Carnival Hybrid HIGHS: Big mpg bump, no CVT weirdness, solid ride and handling. LOWS: Shared HVAC and audio controls, second-row loungers can't be removed, changing brake-pedal feel.
Medium Spicy
Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo HIGHS: Lengthy list of features, spacious interior, generous trunk. LOWS: Uncomfortably flat seats, rivals are quicker, only modest grip.
Drivelines
HORACIO PAGANI IS A visionary designer and self-taught engineer.
Suspensions of Disbelief
It's easy to say a vehicle rides well but much more difficult to explain the nuanced implications of that highly subjective statement.
PUMPED-UP KICKS
NISSAN ISN'T SHY about experimenting with its subcompact of ferings. In the recent past, it briefly gave us the adorable Cube, seemingly designed by Hello Kitty, followed by the frog-eyed Juke that somehow spawned a six-figure R-badged super-SUV in other markets.
THE ALFA ROMEO GIULIA QUADRIFOGLIO. THE BMW M3 COMPETITION. AND THE CADILLAC CT4-VBLACKWING HEAD SOUTH ONA ROAD TRIP TO FIND OUT WHICH ONE BEST DELIVERS ON THE SPORTS-SEDAN PROMISE.
One of us, gassing up the 2025 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing, says, \"No, we drove from Michigan.
SINCE WE APPRECIATE GREAT TALENT IN ALL ITS FORMS, WE ALSO HONOR THE 10BEST TRUCKS, SUVS, AND VANS. INCLUDING ONE WINNER WITH LITERAL BUZZ.
THE DISCUSSION AROUND this year's 10Best Trucks competition had some editors wishing the award were called 12Best.
OUR VERSION OF A 2024 AUTOMOTIVE AWARDS SHOW (SOMETIMES HUMOROUS, SOMETIMES NOT).
America's fastest senior citizen made the save of the year when his Funny Car's engine exploded at Virginia Motorsports Park.
"A ROMANCE THAT BUILDS WITH SPECTACULAR PASSION. THE LONGER YOU DRIVE IT, THE BETTER IT GETS."
When the history of the sports sedan is written, the late-narrative plot twist that few would have seen coming is the emergence of CadillacCadillac!-as the keeper of the flame. And yet, that's exactly what's happened.
