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Email Address The pandemic lockdowns have reduced CO2 emissions and given us more room to walk, bike, and—for those of us able to go outdoors—breathe. For speed freaks, though, this morbidly idyllic state of affairs immediately presented a different kind of open space. Almost as soon as California issued the first stay-at-home order in the country on March 19, super speeders took to the roads. The Highway Patrol issued 87 percent more citations for triple-digit speeds in the thirty days following the order. The same insanity followed lockdowns across the country. Overall, traffic fatalities jumped 75 percent per mile driven. Somewhat unbelievably to those who have reacted to Covid with panic, anguish, depression, and anger, three new cross-country records—known colloquially as Cannonball Runs—have been set in quick succession since March. A team of three drivers holds the current record: twenty-five hours and thirty-nine minutes from Manhattan to LA at an average speed of 110 miles per hour. These records are self-reported because, of course, the entire exercise is illegal. Racers deploy countermeasures ranging from radar detectors to advanced scouts to elude the police. Even if they are caught, they hope to receive sympathetic treatment by rank-and-file highway patrolmen who share their love of speed and appreciate displays of driving skill.
The Year in Pictures: Car and Driver's Best Photos of 2020 Smoky burnouts from a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat? Check. Righteous jumps over sand dunes in a Ford F-150 Raptor? Check. An illustration of the perfect car? We did that too. Greg PajoCar and Driver Why did the last 366 days feel like 366 weeks? We all know why, but it's almost over now. So rather than dwell on the the worst, let's remember the best parts from 2020 by going through our very own Car and Driver photo album. This year we delivered 12,000 calories worth of food to hungry DoorDash subscribers. We tested the quickest production pickup ever. We ferried to remote islands in Michigan's Great Lakes to test all-terrain vehicles. And although it wasn't too hard to pretend the world was ending, we debated the best way to spend the last gallon of gas. Here's what the year looked like, either from behind the camera, or illustrated.