2016 Mclaren 570 Coupe on 2040-cars

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Our interview with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, plus SEMA! | Autoblog Podcast #491

This week, David Gluckman and Mike Austin talk SEMA madness, mis-aligned steering wheels, wireless charging, McLarens (they're sports cars!), and decals. We also have an excerpt from a recent interview with James May and Jeremy Clarkson of The Grand Tour and Top Gear fame. As always, we talk about a variety of cars we've been driving and then respond to some questions from listeners. And as a bonus, there's a trivia question mixed in. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want questionable buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast at autoblog dot com. Oh, and please send trivia questions! You'll get the honor of stumping your fellow listeners, and we'll thank you too. Autoblog Podcast #491 The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics and stories we mention Stars Selling Cars The Ford Flex is dying SEMA! Dodge Durango Shaker concept New Mercedes inline-six engines Our interview with Jeremy Clarkson and James May Mercedes-Benz E-Class McLaren 570S Ad of the Week: Volvo ABCs of Death Spend My Money on used cars Rundown Intro - 00:00 The news - 02:15 Clarkson/May interview excerpt - 17:12 What we've been driving - 21:12 Ad of the Week - 39:02 Spend My Money/listener questions - 44:13 Total Duration: 57:05 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Celebrities Podcasts SEMA Show Cadillac Dodge Ford McLaren Mercedes-Benz Volvo ford flex the grand tour mclaren 570s SEMA 2016

F1 should scrap qualifying and drop out of the sky instead

There's always some new controversy hovering over the Formula One paddock like a thick fog. If it's not team orders or industrial espionage it's unsportsmanlike conduct between two rivals or the off-track behavior of some driver or FIA official. This year it's all about qualifying, with the new format introduced for the Australian Grand Prix already jettisoned in time for the next round in Bahrain. But as ridiculous as this video may seem, McLaren may just be onto something. The clip shows Jenson Button strapping himself into the cockpit of the latest McLaren-Honda, just as he would for any race. Only this time he's not starting from the grid or even the pit lane. This time the former world champion straps in for a computer-animated airdrop out the back of an RAF C-130. Okay, so maybe it wouldn't be the safest way to determine the starting order, at least not until those proposed new halos are installed (along with some beefier shocks). But suppose, just for a second, that instead of lining up according to the fastest qualifying times, F1 drivers hit the ground running after being airlifted and parachuted out of a cargo plane? After all, if the Stig could bungee-jump an F1 car, and drag racers can pack parachutes, why not skydive onto the grid with the engine running? It's not like the drivers can't handle the G forces, and it'd sure beat the classic Le Mans start where the drivers run across the track, jump into their cars, and get moving. Okay, fine. We're just kidding. Related Video:

2015 McLaren 650S Review

Otolith organs are the tiny acceleration-sensing parts of your inner ear that are extremely effective at telling your brain when you are changing velocity. They make easy work of elevator rides, subway cars and most roller coasters, but the organs are completely overpowered by the 2015 McLaren 650S – the acceleration from its twin-turbocharged V8 leaves them dazed and confused, an overwhelming, dizzy sensation topped off with a bout of queasiness. The British automaker did not intend its MP4-12C successor to be nauseating – despite its effectiveness in this role – but the explosive way the rear-wheel-drive supercar puts its power down is absolutely mind-boggling. We've driven countless other exotics, but it's hard to point to a single example that changes velocity as quickly, and as capably, as this $330,000, carbon fiber, street-legal racer. Some would consider a $1-million winning lottery ticket the key to happiness. We'd argue that spending five days with a Mako Blue McLaren 650S – barf bag poised in lap – is a much more gratifying prize. Its new lines are far more distinctive than its predecessor, which was cleanly styled but a bit paint-by-numbers supercar. McLaren's MP4-12C, launched in the middle of 2011, was a superb sports car. Unfortunately, many who drove it felt that it lacked the final bits of polish, and a sharp, emotional edge, to push it ahead of its Ferrari 458 Italia and Lamborghini Gallardo competition. Not content sitting in the cold shadows of its rivals, McLaren went back to its engineering team and had them diligently rework dozens of components. What emerged, under the quartz lights of the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, was this 650S. The basic architecture, a Formula One-like carbon-fiber tub with front and rear aluminum crush extrusions, was unchanged from the 12C, but the new model debuted fresh styling, refined suspension tuning, more potent brakes and a healthy boost in power. Mako Blue isn't our first choice from McLaren's nearly unlimited color palette (orange and yellow are stunning), but standing face-to-face with the carbon-fiber-bodied coupe reveals that this paint provides an optimal way to show off the car's P1-inspired styling. Compared to the 12C, the 650 appears more aggressive and decidedly more threatening – both necessary in this emotion-driven segment. Most importantly, its new lines are far more distinctive than its predecessor, which was cleanly styled but a bit paint-by-numbers supercar.