By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(December 31, 2013) Dr. David J. Brooks, Product Group Director, Engines at Ricardo Engineering, may be British, but he isn’t some U.K. propeller head for whom future powertrains are an intellectual exercise. “When I moved to the States,” he says with a smile, “the first thing I bought was a Hemi-engined [Dodge] Challenger. If I was going to be living here, I had to check that box.”

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(December 19, 2013) Today’s safety technologies weren’t created in a vacuum, having arisen from other, sometimes seemingly unrelated, advances that made them possible. What follows are some of the major steps along the way to the automotive safety systems we have today.

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(December 15, 2013) When reduced to its basics, there are but four hybrid powertrain types. They are: 1) Micro hybrids; 2) Parallel hybrids; 3) Power-split, Two-mode or Series-parallel hybrids; and 4) Series hybrids. Series hybrids are more commonly known as an E-REV, or Extended-Range Electric Vehicle, and is best represented by the Chevy Volt/Cadillac ELR.

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(November 3, 2013) The idea was simple: Borrow a Passat TDI from the folks at Volkswagen, and see just how far you can reasonably expect go on a single tank of gas. Aware that this trip meant driving from the suburbs of Detroit to Clifton, Va. — not far from VW’s U.S. headquarters in Reston, Va. — it shook loose a top of the line, Tungsten Silver SEL-level model. Yes, we’d be traveling in comfort, but it would be a car that was not the lightest in the Passat TDI lineup.

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(October 7, 2013) The 2015 Mini will be an interesting vehicle. No longer a stand-alone in the BMW family, the Mini will share its structure and, most importantly, its front-drive drive system and powertrains with a new line of BMW vehicles.

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(September 29, 2013) Can anybody read the tea leaves? Does Anyone really listen? These thoughts ran through my head as I considered the state of racing in America, and the idea that Infiniti and Mercedes might add pickups to their U.S. lineups. Bear with me. It may even make some sense when I’m finished.

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(September 21, 2013) In the run-up to the Frankfurt Motor Show, Ford released information about its new S-Max and its plans to introduce a trim line for Europe that sits above the Titanium. It is resurrecting the Vignale name for this trim level, and creating Fords that are more luxurious than anything ever seen before. (The move also extends to a unique ownership experience that is suspiciously like Lincoln’s concierge service.)

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(September 15, 2013) Speculation on what form the 2015 Mustang will take is rampant. Rumors suggest a car much like the 2011 Evos concept could have moved to production had not Ford's plans for a global rear-drive platform fallen apart. It's not the first time the Mustang has taken a detour, nor will it be the last; as can be seen by the concepts and ideas that never made it intact into production.