Hi, I'm John Davis and this is MotorWeek !

We're e-lated to get behind the wheel of the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class... Then, Dan Maffett helps us brush up on our sheet metal touch-up skills!

Stephanie Hart goes behind the scenes of America's automotive legacy... Then, it's back in the sun with the GMC Hummer EV SUV!

So, come drive with us, next!

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JOHN: The Mercedes-Benz E-Class has set the standard for midsize luxury sedans for more than 75 years now.

But things are changing rapidly in the auto industry, and even Mercedes-Benzes can't sit around and rest on their laurels.

So, a new E-Class has to be something truly special.

Well, let's find out if this one is.

♪ ♪ Few cars have as much history as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

Yet, it continues to play an essential role in moving the brand ever forward in terms of technology and new design elements.

2024 launches the 6th generation of this midsize luxury sedan.

It looks much like a scaled-down version of the flagship S-class, with stately proportions, fine details, and elegant lighting.

But that also means, it gets the same retractable door handles, which, to be honest, have outlived their novelty.

We get it, aero efficiency... wow factor... but sometimes it's a hassle waiting for them to deploy, not to mention wintertime when there's a fresh coating of ice covering them.

No such reservations inside, where an open airy feel, supple leather, and natural grain wood trim are just the starting points of a very luxurious journey.

Along the way, you're immersed in active ambient lighting that will have you feeling like you just got transported to some alternate universe every time you get behind the wheel.

Even with very high expectations going in, we were not disappointed in any way.

Rear seat room is plentiful, while fronts are more Euro firm than plush; the gauges look fantastic, and Benz's augmented reality navigation in the gauge cluster is still one of the best setups in the business.

Not to mention the available Superscreen, which not only gives the passenger their own screen but blends it all together into one amazing-looking dash-wide display.

It's all run by a new 3rd generation of the Mercedes-Benz User Experience, with virtually everything now software driven instead of hardware-based, meaning just about anything can be updated at any time.

It includes way more features and gadgets than we had time to fully explore, and, yes, that includes an in-dash selfie cam.

An E 350 is the base model, equipped with a 255 horsepower 2.0 liter I4 turbo sending power to the rear wheels.

This E 450 comes standard with 4MATIC all-wheel-drive, along with a 3.0 liter inline-6 turbo tuned to 375 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque.

Both engines are aided by a 48 volt mild-hybrid system and work with a 9-speed automatic transmission.

Thanks to comprehensive drive modes, the E-Class's ride can be as smooth or as sporty as any midsize luxury car out there, and it continued to impress when it came time to get some numbers at Mason Dixon Dragway.

Here, the "E" put some serious power down in a hurry, as we were off to 60 in just 4.2 seconds.

Great all-wheel-drive grip too, with almost immediate thrust throwing us back in the seat a little as the car pounced off the line with just a slight chirp of the tires, and it kept pulling strongly all the way down the track.

Automatic shifts were very aggressive at first, but they seemed to smooth out in higher gears towards the end of the track, with our best quarter-mile run coming in at 12.8 seconds and 109 miles per hour.

The 450 did great in our handling course too; turn-ins were quick and direct with all-wheel-drive delivering plenty of grip, feeling highly composed and classy throughout the whole exercise.

If stability systems or torque vectoring were happening, it was so far in the background that it was hardly noticeable.

What we could really notice is the 4-wheel steering.

It leaps into action with urgency at times, pivoting you much quicker than you may be expecting.

It's part of an optional Airmatic package which also includes active dampers.

Those dampers aided in delivering very calm and stable stops from 60 in our panic braking test, averaging just 99 feet with minimal nosedive.

Government Fuel Economy Ratings with the 6-cylinder are 22 City, 31 Highway, and 25 Combined.

We averaged a good 28.2 miles per gallon of Premium.

Rating an average Energy Impact Score, using 11.9 Barrels of Oil yearly, with 5.9 Tons of CO2 Emissions.

E-Class pricing starts with the 350 at $63,450, the 450 4MATIC begins at $69,250.

So, the new E-Class, and specifically our 2024 Mercedes-Benz E 450 4MATIC, does not exactly present a bargain scenario, but it is a perfect example of "you get what you pay for" situation.

With 75 years of setting the standard in the midsize luxury sedan field behind them, Mercedes-Benz is not looking back, they're pushing the brand forward with new levels of luxury and tech.

All to make the premium Mercedes-Benz experience more desirable than ever.

♪ ♪ The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan is well-known for showcasing milestone innovations in American transportation.

But there's much more to The Henry Ford than first meets the eyes.

Our Stephanie Hart had a chance to venture underground and explore the museum's secret storage areas filled with an eclectic mix of rarely seen cars.

♪ ♪ STEPHANIE HART: This is the Driving America exhibit here at the Henry Ford museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

While, it's fantastic, this is actually not what we're here to see.

We're here to check out about 150 or so cars in this secret storage area adjacent to the museum.

A lot of these vehicles haven't been seen in years.

It's definitely cool to be underground surrounded by 100 years of automotive history.

Immediately, this rare 1953 Ford X-100 concept car caught my attention.

It looks very futuristic for its time and back then it was called a "laboratory on wheels."

MATT ANDERSON: It's interesting to note that some of the styling cues did make it into production.

The front end looks a lot like Lincoln's from the later '50s and if you look at the rear end, uh, you can see some Thunderbird.

1953 was the 50th anniversary of Ford Motor Company, so they wanted to celebrate by building a concept car with what they describe as 50 new innovations.

STEPHANIE: Some of them, like heated seats and the telephone, eventually became standard.

Some did not.

Well, some of those new innovations didn't quite catch on like the electric shaver in the glove box and the Dictabelt recorder in the center console, the idea being that the driver could dictate a letter, for example, on his way to work.

MATT: My favorite, uh, idea in the car though: It actually has hydraulic jacks built into the four corners, so if you get a flat tire you don't have to mess with the screw jack.

The car just lifts itself up off the road.

STEPHANIE: One of the most unusual concept cars here is the 1962 Budd XR-400.

It was based on a Rambler Ambassador chassis, but with a powerful V8 engine and a sporty looking body.

MATT: You'll recognize this as the same formula that Ford used with the Mustang, uh, putting a sporty body on the Falcon.

And it's interesting to wonder what would have happened if Budd had, uh, convinced AMC to put this thing into production.

AMC passed, ah, they just thought the car was a little too small.

I think they also, frankly, didn't have the financial resources to take a big gamble like that, but, uh, it's a cool car nevertheless and a great what-if question.

STEPHANIE: Many people don't realize that electric vehicles were on our roads at the turn of the 20th century, cars like this 1912 Baker Electric Victoria model, and range anxiety was an issue back then too.

MATT: They had range of, oh, probably about 30, 35 miles in-- in real world conditions, though, uh, some manufacturers advertised range up to 70 miles on a charge, which is pretty impressive thinking about 1910 or so.

STEPHANIE: Another significant car in the collection is this 1923 Copper Cooled Chevrolet.

It's powered by an air-cooled engine.

MATT: There are advantages to that.

You don't have to carry coolant or...or water around.

You are going to be, you know, free of the engine, uh, cracking or the block cracking if you forget to drain the water in the winter time.

But unfortunately, Chevy just kind of rushed into production a little too quickly, so the cars began to overheat, and of the 759 or so that they built, uh, all of them were recalled.

STEPHANIE: This one is rare because it was purchased by Ford Motor Company engineers to size up the competition.

This secret storage facility also includes luxury cars.

This one stuck out to me.

Can you guess why?

MATT: One of the more luxurious cars in our collection is a 1926 Rolls Royce New Phantom that was built for J.P. Morgan Jr., son of the famous financier and uh, you look at this car, it feels like it's about one and a half times life size.

STEPHANIE: You probably notice it has an elevated roof.

That's because very tall hats were in style back then.

All of the cars in this secret storage facility eventually make their way upstairs to the museum's main floor so everyone can enjoy them.

Each one tells an interesting story about the evolution of the automobile while empowering us as we steer toward the future of transportation.

JOHN: Touch-up paint: It isn't just about keeping your finish pristine.

It can also prevent tiny rock chips from turning into massive rust spots; but there is an art to this delicate job as Dan Maffett is about to show us on MotorWeek's "Your Drive."

♪ ♪ DAN MAFFETT: No matter what car you drive, if you have it long enough, eventually you're going to have to deal with dings, dents, scratches or even rust.

Now, there's plenty of ways to go about fixing it.

Most people are going to jump to a body shop, but that can be thousands of dollars.

You can get replacement panels like this, or patch panels, but they're all going to need to be color-matched.

You can find junk yards that have some old stuff for you, but they're going to be pretty banged up.

Now, we got lucky, a quick search on the Internet, we found a scrap yard that had this exact year, make, and model...same paint color.

So, we were able to get the fender for a fraction of the cost and with a little bit of touch-up paint, it's going to be brand new."

Now, we're at the fender with our touchup pen.

Now, not all touchup pens are created equal.

I always try to get one that has this nib on the front.

A lot of people don't realize that this is a sander.

So, to start, you want to go through each one of these little nicks that we have and use this sander to smooth out the edges of the paint so there's nothing sharp, and it's going to give a nice surface for this touch up paint to flow into and stick.

So, that's what we're going to start with.

Now, it might not feel like it's doing much, but that is a very aggressive grit.

One important thing to note is that you're not trying to dig any paint out.

You really just want to focus on smoothing the edges, so that nothing is sharp.

A lot of people use this and just go to town and it creates way more damage than what was there.

So, once you've gone through and you've sanded out your edges, there's two applicators.

There's a pen tip, which is a very fine tip, and then there's a brush tip inside.

Um...we're going to start with the pen tip on some of these smaller spots, and just flood it in with some paint, move to the next spot.

Just do a little bit at a time.

Move around a little bit, so it can set up.

You can always go back and clean it up.

Now, when you get to a bigger area like this, I like to step it up to the brush just to have a little bit more control of the flow.

Now, I like to put it on a little bit thicker than you normally would, but that allows you to go back and cut and buff it down a little bit and help that blend.

Now, I'm going to let these all tack up, and then go, uh, back again and make sure we don't have any holes anywhere.

So, once you've got your touch-up paint on, and it's cured for a good amount of time, you want to go back with a top coat.

Now, these pens, on the opposite side, have a top coat applicator.

And just like before, you want to just drag it across your touchups, and that's going to add a nice layer of protection against UV and just seal those little touchups in.

Now, it's ok if it looks a little bit blobby.

You can go back with some wet sanding, smooth it out.

Speaking about paint and buffing, we're going to take this, buff it, get it to match the luster of this car behind us, and then we're going to put it on, swap out that rusty one.

Now, as always, if you have any questions or comments, hit us up right here, at MotorWeek .

JOHN: Nothing keeps us from getting behind the wheel, even if it's just for a QuickSpin!

♪ ♪ JESSICA RAY: Just in time for the resurging interest in hybrid motoring, the Honda Civic Hybrid is back.

Absent for a decade, the 2025 Civic Hybrid joins the lineup amidst an 11th gen mid-cycle refresh.

To be fair, the overall Civic refresh is pretty mild with updated lighting and a revised front fascia.

The big changes to this front-driver are all under the hood.

Last year's 1.5 liter turbo is no more.

All non-hybrid sedans and hatchbacks, that means LX and Sport trims, are now powered by a naturally aspirated 2.0 liter I4 rated at 150 horsepower, paired up with a CVT.

The new hybrid powertrain is standard in the aptly named Sport Hybrid and Sport Touring Hybrid grades.

Two electric motors work with an eCVT for a total output of 200 horsepower and 232 pound-feet of torque.

Even more impressive is the Honda-estimated 50-city, 47-highway, and 49-combined miles per gallon rating.

So, you'll save some fuel and have some fun gripping the wheel, as we did in Montreal, Canada.

The powertrain in this hybrid is so good.

The additional power, the additional torque makes this so much nicer to drive on the daily.

Everything comes together so well in this vehicle from the suspension, because in this Sport Touring Hybrid, it's really soft and incredibly comfortable for a vehicle at this price point, which is just over $30,000.

So, really impressive there.

The non-hybrid 2025 Honda Civic has a starting price of about $25,000.

Built in Honda's plant in Alliston, Ontario, and arriving at dealers now, the revised Honda Civic lineup continues to offer solid solutions for value and fuel conscious consumers.

We'll have a full Road Test and more QuickSpins...soon!

♪ ♪ GREG CARLOSS: It's time for the first Long-Term update on this full battery-electric 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ, owned by one of our associates.

With about 1,000 miles on the odometer, the results so far are music to our ears.

The initial high note is the powertrain itself.

The rear-wheel-drive single electric motor quietly hums to the tune of 340 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque; not as extreme as some other EVs, but extremely pleasant and plenty for daily workouts.

Driving this LYRIQ on a daily basis, the first thing we notice is, ironically, something we barely notice at all: road noise.

It's really quiet in here.

In addition to sound deadening materials, Cadillac uses active noise cancellation.

So, they fight sound with sound and it does a really nice job of adapting to various frequencies to keep road noise consistently low.

Also, low is our range anxiety, reaching the advertised 312 miles of range from the 102 kilowatt-hour battery.

The onboard Super Cruise suite takes even more stress out of commuting, and the bliss of electric propulsion lives up to the ethos of luxury motoring, as do the exceptional materials and 33 inch curved screen, adding to the inviting atmosphere.

That screen is home to just about all vehicle functions, and above it is a crystal-clear rear camera mirror.

Digitally, this cabin is top rate; and like Baltimore's own Lyric Opera House, the Cadillac LYRIQ is built like a work of art inside and out.

We'll have plenty more to say soon enough, but not before an update on our 2024 Nissan Sentra on the next MotorWeek Long-Term Road Test Update.

JOHN: The reborn GMC Hummer all-electric pickup delivered all the off-road chops we expect from a Hummer, plus, the supercar-like acceleration of a high-performance EV that we didn't expect.

Well, now things have come full circle, as the Hummer is once again an SUV.

So, let's burn up some rubber, and some electrons, and learn what's next for Hummer.

♪ ♪ What a roller coaster the Hummer has been on.

In seemingly no time at all it went from aspirational military-inspired ruggedness, to the poster boy for excess and environmental irresponsibility; and then just as quickly, it disappeared altogether as a casualty of GM's 2009 bankruptcy.

Well, then under the GMC banner, the 2022 Hummer EV Pickup flipped the script by becoming the ultimate pollution-free EV at a time when EVs were just becoming mainstream.

Since this 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV more closely resembles the original, it looks like we've come full circle.

Most of the same stuff that made the pickup version so unique and so awesome are here: interactive LED lighting, Crab Walk, Super Cruise, Extract Mode, Watts to Freedom... just slightly less of it as the SUV version has four fewer modules in its double-stacked battery assemblies that make up this Ultium platform.

This 3X uses the same three-motor arrangement as the pickup, one up front and two in the rear, but "only" 830 horsepower here, due to the smaller battery; though 11,500 pounds of torque is plenty enough for any land-based automotive task we can imagine.

As to range, if you opt for the Extreme Off-Road package, which comes with mud-terrain tires, you'll be limited to just 298 miles; but the standard setup here is rated for 314.

We saw as much as 305 available in the gauge display, so we planned a 302 mile road trip and still had an indicated 46 miles remaining at the end of it, putting us on pace for a range of 348 miles.

With a 9.0 inch-shorter wheelbase, the SUV's tidier package makes for better off-roading agility; that is, if you're comfortable hammering through trails in your six-figure EV showpiece.

And the SUV has also brought a few new things to the Hummer portfolio such as satellite-based trail mapping as part of the myGMC app and a Power Station onboard generator that gives you 19.2 kilowatt of power for charging things out on the trail, including other EVs.

Much like the Hummer EV Pickup, it can be a handful when you give it a foot-full, as Watts to Freedom launches are no joke.

Then, only 3.6 seconds to 60 for a borderline cinematic experience with unique displays and sounds along for the ride.

Nothing is held back here.

Full power is unleashed whether there's enough grip for it or not, so you tend to get pulled in different directions as you take off and, for the most part, the whole way down the track.

We cleared the quarter in 12.3 seconds at 112 miles per hour as power never really lets up.

It's easy to say that an 8,500 pounds vehicle probably shouldn't be moving that fast, but a few trips through our handling course reveals it has more than enough stuff to handle that weight.

If you're not afraid of some body roll, you can push it quite hard, and it will turn in without issues; the 4-wheel steering clearly helps.

And it dealt with that weight just fine in panic braking runs too, stopping us from 60 in a respectable 130 feet with no drama.

With everything forward of the rear seats the same as the Hummer Pickup, the interior is very familiar.

There's plenty of comfort and space for three in the rear seats...plus, lots of flexibility.

Cargo area is accessed through a side-opening, power-operated door that reveals 35.9 cubic-feet of space, which expands to 81.8 cubic-feet with the seatbacks folded; and of course, there's also 11.3 cubic-feet in the front under hood cargo area.

But even with the shift to battery power, this Hummer remains very thirsty, using 63 kilowatt-hour of energy per 100 miles.

Pricing for this 3X starts at $106,945, the two-motor 2X at $98,845.

Both the same as the Pickup.

While, it can seem more ridiculous than practical, it's hard not to love the reborn Hummer.

Not only is it a purely unique automotive experience, but it's a rolling example of what's possible with battery power, while at the same time being incredibly fun and surprisingly easy to drive.

The 2024 GMC Hummer EV SUV delivers much the same macho bravado of the original Hummer H1, but does it for a new era.

Well, that's our show, I hope you enjoyed it.

Now, for more MotorWeek , including daily news updates, podcasts, and even complete episodes, cruise on over to PBS.ORG/MOTORWEEK.

And I hope you'll join us next time when we see what's new and what's not with the redesigned BMW 5-Series, then drop into a Porsche 718 GT4 RS, Manthey style!

Until then, I'm John Davis.

We'll see you right here on MotorWeek !

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TireRack.Com is proud to support MotorWeek !

First, there was the wheel.

Then, the tire.

"We'll call it TireRack."

Forty years later, we're not slowing down.

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