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40+ cars that barely avoid the gas guzzler tax

The Gas Guzzler schedule, with mpg ratings and charges that haven't changed since 1991, lays out which fuel-swillers owe what to Uncle Sam.
I started thinking about the "Gas Guzzler Tax" - considerably less well known as The Energy Tax Act of 1978 - when I was driving Dodge's new Challenger SRT Hellcat last week. Unsurprisingly for a car that can burn 1.5 gallons of gas per minute at max tilt, theoretically able to empty a full tank of premium in about 13 minutes, the Hellcat will be subject to the Gas Guzzler Tax schedule when it goes on sale.

Bentley debating production of either Speed 6 or smaller SUV

A fifth model is coming to the Bentley range, and after the EXP10 Speed 6 concept dropped jaws and a whole lot more at this year's Geneva Motor Show, observers expected the luscious green coupe to get the go-ahead. Yet, since January, Bentley has publicly mulled a new SUV smaller than the coming Bentayga that would "to attract more women and younger buyers to the brand." Now, the firm's marketing director is in the midst of a global research to work up a business case for each model that will decide the matter. The growth of the SUV market and the success of more affordable models forces Bentley to consider the potential money stacks provided by an even more price-friendly entry. The SUV is helped by the fact that it could be built on the same MSB platform that would support a production version of the EXP10 Speed 6. It looks like this is another cage match between heart and incontrovertible business case, yet a nod to the SUV wouldn't necessarily kill the Speed 6, only delay it. The investment for a fifth model begins after the Bentayga goes on sale at the end of this year, with 2020 or 2021 suggested as the production date for whichever new model comes next. There's no reason the Speed 6 couldn't come after that, even though we - and a bunch of potential customers - know the model we'd choose to build right now. According to Autocar, it might take up to two years for a decision. And either model will be draining enough of the company's time, talent, and resources as to mitigate a super-high-performance Continental variant, as we reported earlier. Related Video: Featured Gallery Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept: Geneva 2015 View 9 Photos News Source: AutocarImage Credit: Drew Phillips / AOL Bentley Coupe Crossover SUV Concept Cars Luxury Performance bentley bentayga bentley exp 10 speed 6

W12 engine disappears for regular Bentley Continental GT in 2022

The non-Speed version of the Bentley Continental GT will not be available with a W12 engine in 2022. It'll be V8 only. CarBuzz noticed the change missing on Bentley's Continental Range page, and when the outlet put the question to the English automaker, the answer came back, "GT Speed and GT Speed Convertible are the only way to get a Continental with the W12 for 22MY." So ends a 13-year run of being able to choose how many horses and torques you wanted to pair with your leather and wood. We thought things were strange when Bentley priced the 2022 Continental GT Speed coupe $50,000 above the previous non-Speed Continental coupe with the W12. That's about double the premium the Speed has charged in the past despite making only 24 more horses than the non-Speed W12. Of course, that doesn't exist any more so such comparisons are academic.  At least the new Speed has received a handling makeover that includes a Bentley first: an electronic limited-slip differential. The new tools and their algorithms impart an enthusiastic liveliness at the stern end of the world's most flamboyantly capable heavyweight grand tourer. But the 2022 GT Speed can't do anything that the old standard W12 GT couldn't; the Speed is just more pliant and talkative about it. And now it exclusively has four more cylinders. The regular Continental range now includes four versions — GT V8 coupe and convertible, and GT V8 Mulliner coupe and convertible — with the Speed adding its own hardtop and droptop duo. Bentley execs have repeatedly said and hinted that they aren't finished with the W12, which got an all-new version to power the Bentayga in 2015; CEO Adrian Hallmark called it "effectively a new engine." The automaker's only got five years to spread it around, though, Bentley having said it will offer a hybrid version of all of its models by 2026, and also having said it doesn't want to add batteries to the W12 because the engine — and the car it powers — are already heavy. Our guess is that Bentley's looking up. There was a 2017 Continental GT Supersports with a W12 that made 700 hp and 750 lb-ft., which cost $60,000 more than the GT Speed. A new Supersports with those mammoth numbers (or more) and the newest Speed's dynamic tricks would make a might fine showcase.