2006 Lamborghini Gallardo Se on 2040-cars

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A car writer's year in new vehicles [w/video]

Christmas is only a week away. The New Year is just around the corner. As 2014 draws to a close, I'm not the only one taking stock of the year that's we're almost shut of. Depending on who you are or what you do, the end of the year can bring to mind tax bills, school semesters or scheduling dental appointments. For me, for the last eight or nine years, at least a small part of this transitory time is occupied with recalling the cars I've driven over the preceding 12 months. Since I started writing about and reviewing cars in 2006, I've done an uneven job of tracking every vehicle I've been in, each year. Last year I made a resolution to be better about it, and the result is a spreadsheet with model names, dates, notes and some basic facts and figures. Armed with this basic data and a yen for year-end stories, I figured it would be interesting to parse the figures and quantify my year in cars in a way I'd never done before. The results are, well, they're a little bizarre, honestly. And I think they'll affect how I approach this gig in 2015. {C} My tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015 it'll be as high as 73. Let me give you a tiny bit of background about how automotive journalists typically get cars to test. There are basically two pools of vehicles I drive on a regular basis: media fleet vehicles and those available on "first drive" programs. The latter group is pretty self-explanatory. Journalists are gathered in one location (sometimes local, sometimes far-flung) with a new model(s), there's usually a day of driving, then we report back to you with our impressions. Media fleet vehicles are different. These are distributed to publications and individual journalists far and wide, and the test period goes from a few days to a week or more. Whereas first drives almost always result in a piece of review content, fleet loans only sometimes do. Other times they serve to give context about brands, segments, technology and the like, to editors and writers. So, adding up the loans I've had out of the press fleet and things I've driven at events, my tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015, it'll be as high as 73. At one of the buff books like Car and Driver or Motor Trend, reviewers might rotate through five cars a week, or more. I know that number sounds high, but as best I can tell, it's pretty average for the full-time professionals in this business.

Are supercars becoming less special?

There's little doubt that we are currently enjoying the golden age of automotive performance. Dozens of different models on sale today make over 500 horsepower, and seven boast output in excess of 700 hp. Not long ago, that kind of capability was exclusive to supercars – vehicles whose rarity, performance focus, and requisite expense made them aspirational objects of desire to us mortals. But more than that, supercars have historically offered a unique driving experience, one which was bespoke to a particular model and could not be replicated elsewhere. But in recent years, even the low-volume players have been forced to find the efficiencies and economies of scale that formerly hadn't been a concern for them, and in turn the concept of the supercar as a unique entity unto itself is fading fast. The blame doesn't fall on one particular manufacturer nor a specific production technique. Instead, it's a confluence of different factors that are chipping away at the distinction of these vehicles. It's not all bad news – Lamborghini's platform sharing with Audi for the Gallardo and the R8 yielded a raging bull that was more reliable and easier to live with on a day-to-day basis, and as a result it went on to become the best-selling Lambo in the company's history. But it also came at the cost of some of the Italian's exclusivity when eerily familiar sights and sounds suddenly became available wearing an Audi badge. Even low-volume players have been forced to find economies of scale. Much of this comes out of necessity, of course. Aston Martin's recent deal with Mercedes-AMG points toward German hardware going under the hood and into the cabin of the upcoming DB11, and it's safe to assume that this was not a decision made lightly by the Brits, as the brand has built a reputation for the bespoke craftsmanship of its vehicles. There's little doubt that the DB11 will be a fine automobile, but the move does jeopardize some of the characteristic "specialness" that Astons are known for. Yet the world is certainly better off with new Aston Martins spliced with DNA from Mercedes-AMG rather than no new Astons at all, and the costs of developing cutting-edge drivetrains and user interfaces is a burden that's becoming increasingly difficult for smaller manufacturers to bear. Even Ferrari is poised to make some dramatic changes in the way it designs cars.

Lamborghini Huracan gets incremental upgrades for 2016

Lamborghini is rolling out a series of upgrades for the Huracan. And minor as most of them may be, they'll likely only further the desire among enthusiasts to get behind the wheel. Chief among the enhancements is a new cylinder deactivation system system that drops from ten cylinders to five under light loads. Lamborghini refers to it as the first such system to be implemented on a naturally aspirated V10, though it should be noted that is corporate cousin – the Audi R8 – incorporates a similar setup. Apart from selectively shutting down one of its cylinder banks, the 2016 Huracan benefits from a retuned all-wheel-drive system that promises "a neutral and even more improved driving behavior." The rest principally comes down to trim, including matt-black air vents and more leather inside, along with available cruise control and other convenience features. There's a new ten-speaker Sensonum audio system available, along with the global rollout of the optional sports exhaust, and an extension of the Ad Personal personalization catalog. Finally, buyers will also be able to show off even more than before with new carbon-fiber engine bay trim, a transparent cover, and even LED lighting. Although the options stand to inflate the price significantly, the base price with all of the standard upgrades remains the same. They're being applied to both the coupe and the recently revealed Spyder for the new model year. The Raging Bull marque is also tipped to be preparing a new rear-drive version that's expected to be unveiled later this month in Los Angeles. Related Video: Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4: Model Year 2016 Product Updates Sant'Agata Bolognese, 06 November 2015 -- Following its successful market introduction in 2014 the Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 is now available to order with a number of updates. The new contents focus on efficiency, drivability and luxury and are already available with the 2016 model year. The price of the Huracan LP 610-4 remains unchanged at 169.500 Euros + tax. As standard, both the Huracan coupe and newly-launched Spyder version include cylinder deactivation to improve engine efficiency; the first time this function is included in a naturally aspirated V10 engine. When full engine capacity is not required, five of the ten cylinders are temporarily deactivated by switching off one cylinder bank.