Navigation On Topic Complete Directory About Us Add-site Link to Us MerchantStore Shopping	Advertisement 318 Automobiles and Automotive - Reviews Resources 100 Top Auto Sites View this week's top 100 auto sites hand picked by our editors to provide the best selection on the Internet. View Source   Provides Information 1967 Mazda Cosmo Sport 110S - Orange Blossom Tour, Florida The whole notion of heading to sunny Daytona Beach, Florida, on spring break never appealed to me, not even when I was in college in the cold, gray Northeast. The all-night parties, bad dancing, and inordinate amount of vomiting wasn't my idea of a good time. View Source July 2, 2010 Provides Information 2008 Infiniti 2008 Infiniti EX35 AWD Journey - Four Seasons Wrap-Up When you look at the Infiniti EX35, what do you see? A low-slung, sporty crossover vehicle, or a tall-bodied hatchback sport sedan? During its yearlong stay at 120 East Liberty Street, our 2008 EX35 AWD Journey was perceived as both. View Source March 23, 2010 Provides Information 2009 BMW 2009 BMW 750Li - Four Seasons Wrap-Up - July 2010 It's no surprise that this limousine-sized BMW 750Li spent the last year serving as our favorite escort to formal events. It attended three weddings and a funeral, even acting as the matrimonial limo for one happy bride and groom. But those trips alone account for only part of the 38,739 miles this large barge gobbled up during the last four seasons - a far greater number of miles than we put on most sedans. View Source July 1, 2010 Provides Information 2009 Dodge 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 - Four Seasons Wrap-Up In the days and weeks leading up to April 30, 2009, Chrysler executives and their government shepherds scrambled to create a future for America's ailing third-largest automaker. Since Chrysler spent the last decade building products that often were mediocre at best, it was difficult to imagine the company succeeding in a more competitive, lower-volume market. View Source August 12, 2010 Provides Information 2009 Honda 2009 Honda Fit Sport - Four Seasons Wrap-Up If there was ever a perfectly timed vehicle launch, it was the one for the 2009 Honda Fit. Just as gas prices had reached their zenith and the economy was entering its nosedive in the summer of 2008, Honda introduced the redesigned edition of its already strong-selling subcompact. View Source April 21, 2010 Provides Information 2009 Hyundai 2009 Hyundai Genesis 4.6 - Four Seasons Wrap-Up In 1986, Hyundai entered the American marketplace with the subcompact, $4995 Excel, which was based on a Mitsubishi Mirage and was so far below the radar that it was deemed unworthy of mention by a fledgling Automobile Magazine. It wasn't until 1995 that the company sold a U.S.-market car - the new Accent - that was all-Hyundai and didn't have a Mitsubishi engine or underpinnings. View Source June 7, 2010 Provides Information 2009 Nissan 2009 Nissan Cube SL - Four Seasons Update - August 2010 The Cube spent the month of August on the east coast in the care of senior editor Joe Lorio and East Coast Bureau Chief Jamie Kitman. Lorio didn't waste any time enlisting the Cube for kid-hauling duty. "I had three kids, ages ten to twelve, in the back seat for a trip to an aquarium in Connecticut, and they were perfectly happy back there. View Source August 30, 2010 Provides Information 2009 Volkswagen 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI - Four Seasons Wrap-Up When our 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI arrived at the office back in September 2008, the timing couldn't have been better. Fresh off a two-year sabbatical during which it received a cleaner, more powerful, and more efficient engine, the diesel Jetta was ripe for time in the spotlight with a market that demanded practical, economical automobiles. View Source March 8, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Audi 2010 Audi Q5 - Four Seasons Update - July 2010 Our Audi Q5 has reached the three-quarter mark in its four-seasons test and it is leaving quite a good impression with our office. A couple of lengthy service visits aside, the Q5 has proven to be the real deal in the compact luxury SUV segment. View Source August 3, 2010 Provides Information 2010 MTM Audi S5 Cabriolet (First Drive) As delivered by the factory, Audi's S5 Cabriolet makes for a charismatic convertible. Although lacking the V-8 grunt of its fixed-roof sibling, it offers an enticing combination of power and style, yet is comfortable and benign enough to use as a daily driver. Is there any way to improve upon Ingolstadt's invention? View Source August 26, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Acura 2010 Acura MDX Even with nineteen-inch wheels, the MDX rides surprisingly well, much better than our Four Seasons Audi Q5. Acura's 300-hp V-6 powers the chunky MDX with authority, and it sounds good doing so. This vehicle is a little more annoying to get into and out of than the Audi, particularly in back (with a high step-in and narrow door aperture), but cabin space is good. View Source March 23, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Acura RDX Tech What a quick little crossover! Honda's first-ever U.S.-market turbo is a pretty good one, generating gobs of mid-range torque and providing a swift kick in the back when taking off from a light. I'm not so fond of the RDX's inability to put down all this power, as evidenced by frequent wheel spin at launch accompanied by a bit of torque steer. View Source March 16, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Acura TL SH-AWD 6MT (Driven) What is it with Acura giving up on great names? This car should, by all rights, be called the Legend Type-S. Except that Acura has abandoned both of those monikers. Acura TL SH-AWD 6MT? That sounds like something an inebriated math teacher would mutter before drifting into unconsciousness. View Source March 12, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Acura TL SH-AWD vs 2010 Audi S4 (Comparison) Growing up doesn't have to suck the fun out of driving. You don't have to sell your soul -- and your Mitsubishi Lancer Evo -- and buy a life-sucking, automatic-transmission, front-wheel-drive sled just because you landed a real job and produced offspring. View Source July 16, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Acura ZDX - Four Seasons Introduction As Acura approaches its twenty-fifth year of existence, it finds itself looking up at a glass ceiling. The brand has grown well beyond its "Honda plus" roots, and yet it still trails competitors such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Lexus in both sales and prestige. View Source June 25, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Acura ZDX - Four Seasons Update - July 2010 You can bet that if one of us had purchased the Acura ZDX for ourselves, it would now wear a custom license plate saying "BANG HEAD," because that's what everyone seems to do getting in and out of our refrigerator-white Acura. View Source August 3, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Aston Martin 2010 Aston Martin DBS UB-2010 Special Edition (First Look) It’s been nearly a decade since Dr. Ulrich Bez assumed the helm at Aston Martin, but instead of awarding its CEO a jewel-encrusted tie-tack, the folks at Gaydon crafted a better gift to celebrate his milestone: a special-edition DBS. View Source March 3, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Aston Martin Rapide The Aston Martin Rapide will instantly draw comparisons to the Porsche Panamera Turbo sedan, but these two are as different as asparagus and ice cream. Even though the automakers tell us that the Panamera is only 44 pounds heavier, the Aston feels so much lighter. View Source June 28, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Audi 2010 Audi A3 TDI FWD S-Tronic Premium It's rare to have an Audi without Quattro pass through our garage. As all-wheel drive has become synonymous with the brand, it seems a front-wheel example of any Audi is an oddity. I happened to take this front-wheel-drive A3 TDI home on the night of Michigan's biggest winter storm. With a set of Michelin winter tires on, though, I hardly noticed that I had only two wheels to power through the slippery spots. View Source March 11, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Audi Q5 3.2 - Four Seasons Update - April 2010 This has been an interesting month for our Q5. Not because of where it has gone, but rather why it has hardly gone anywhere. Its 1088 miles recorded in the past four weeks is well off the pace for our mileage-hungry six-month veteran. View Source May 4, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Audi TTS Coupe Premium Much as we car enthusiasts like to whine about being underappreciated and underserved by profit-driven automakers, there are a ton of really good sports cars to choose from these days. That's good for enthusiasts but might be a problem for the Audi TTS. View Source May 20, 2010 Provides Information 2010 BMW 2010 BMW 128i Coupe Every carmaker with noble aspirations should buy one of these to store in a hermetically sealed case labeled Gold Standard of Driving Excellence. Withdrawal would be authorized for any employee hoping to understand the notion of entertainment behind the wheel. View Source June 14, 2010 Provides Information 2010 BMW 135i Coupe I had the opportunity to drive a BMW 335i coupe and 135i in a three-day span (with a Mitsubishi Lancer in between, to cleanse the palette). It's a tough decision between them, but for me at least, the 135i is smart choice. View Source July 6, 2010 Provides Information 2010 BMW 335i Coupe This is about as close to driving nirvana as semi-affordable cars venture. The powertrain, chassis, and operator interfaces are honed to near perfection. The 2+2 accommodations are functionally useful, the trunk is amply sized and well proportioned. View Source June 25, 2010 Provides Information 2010 BMW 750i xDrive The combination of a rich, luxurious interior; a smooth, powerful engine; and truly refined road manners make it hard to top a BMW 7-series when it's time to embark on a road trip, so I was more than happy to sign out the 750i xDrive for my journey to Michigan's west coast for the weekend. Because the occasion was a high-school reunion, I plugged in my iPod and chose a classic rock playlist so that I could aurally transport myself to the late 1970s. View Source June 18, 2010 Provides Information 2010 BMW 750Li xDrive Sedan It's amazing how a few visual tweaks can totally change the character of a vehicle. Whereas our Four Seasons 7-series is an old world Q-ship with its beige paint and smallish eighteen-inch wheels (yes, I just called eighteen-inch wheels "smallish" - welcome to 2010), this particular model looks like a taut four-door sports car. M-sport twenty-inch wheels visually shrink the body, while the gunmetal gray paint brings out the 7's high-tech, modern side. I also prefer this model's darker interior, as it again hides the car's girth. View Source April 5, 2010 Provides Information 2010 BMW Concept Gran Coupe (First Look) BMW is the quintessential example of an automaker filling every imagined gap in its lineup, no matter how small or wacky that new segment might be. View Source April 23, 2010 Provides Information 2010 BMW M3 Coupe From the hood scoop to the chiseled sheetmetal, the new M3 coupe is both restrained and extroverted, in true German style. The Melbourne metallic red paint-a reasonable $550 option-two pairs of chrome tailpipes, and a carbon-fiber roof complete the subtle yet conspicuous high-performance look. The options boxes were liberally checked on this car bringing the price to just over $66,000. View Source May 17, 2010 Provides Information 2010 BMW X5 xDrive35d The diesel engines we've been promised for the past few years are finally hitting the U.S. market. Anyone who has travelled to Europe probably noticed that about half of the vehicles on the road were powered by diesel engines. The current crop of European diesels headed to America are incredibly clean and refined with virtually no noticeable diesel traits other than superior fuel economy. View Source March 18, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Buick 2010 Buick LaCrosse I-4 (First Drive) Buick's latest LaCrosse is one of the new General Motors' best success stories. Sales of the nameplate have increased dramatically, and more than one-third of all buyers are new to the General Motors family. Better yet, transaction prices are up by a whopping $8500, despite the fact that sticker prices haven't significantly increased. View Source March 25, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Cadillac 2010 Cadillac SRX Turbo AWD Premium General Motors has to have the most underrated navigation system in the business. We have other automakers advertising various touch pads, voice recognition systems, and scrolling wheels that are supposed to make finding a destination on the fly easier - assuming the vehicle doesn't lock out the nav screen altogether when you're moving. View Source March 22, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Chevrolet 2010 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ The Malibu's only major shortcoming, as I see it, is the lack of a navigation system. Chevy likes to point out that its OnStar service provides turn-by-turn directions, and that's true. But the competition, Ford in particular, has done an excellent job branding its uplevel electronics as more than simply GPS. In cars like the Fusion and the Nissan Altima, attractive LCD screens do more than display maps -- they're lifestyle centers. View Source June 16, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Chevrolet Traverse LTZ The Chevy Traverse was the perfect vehicle for me to take six friends to a Detroit Red Wings game. The seven-passenger setup is easy to navigate thanks to the second row captain's chairs, making third-row accessibility an easy task even for adults. View Source April 25, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Chevrolet Volt MPV5 Concept (First Look) Cadillac's Converj concept may be not be headed to production, but that isn't stopping General Motors from finding other uses for its"Voltec" plug-in hybrid powertrain. The Chevrolet Volt MPV5 concept, which debuts at the Beijing auto show, suggests the automaker is looking at stuffing the advanced driveline into a compact MPV. View Source April 22, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Dodge 2010 Dodge Caliber Rush If I had a working means of time travel, I'd set the machine to 2004 and loan it to Chrysler's engineers. That was the point when Chrysler (er, DaimlerChrysler) decided to end the collaboration with Mitsubishi on what would become both automakers' next generation of small cars. View Source August 9, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Dodge Challenger SRT-8 Limited Edition As someone who is too young to have been around for the first round of muscle car wars, I sometimes forget that these beasts started out as rather crude vehicles that were nothing more than an excuse to buy an enormous engine that made an otherwise less than stellar car exciting. Now that virtually every car on the market is actually safe, reasonably fast, and dependable, these dinosaurs make much less sense. View Source April 12, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Dodge Charger SRT8 It's a good thing this car appeals to a wide range of people, because this extroverted torch red Dodge Charger SRT8 isn't easy to hide. Onlookers ranging from a senior citizen to a toddler pointed and stared at this modern-day Mopar muscle car as I idled down Main Street in Ann Arbor. View Source April 27, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Dodge Viper ACR-X With the Viper's uncertain future -- not to mention sales figures that are well below what we saw in its prime -- one might not expect Dodge to roll out anything new wearing the snake badge. But it turns out that where there's a will (or parts), there's a way (or bored engineers). Enter the 2010 Dodge Viper ACR-X, a factory turn-key race car that will compete in the upcoming Dodge Viper Cup spec-racing series. View Source June 7, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 Coupe As a thinly camouflaged Fiat 500 made its way down Ann Arbor's Main Street yesterday, crowds pointed and young boys cheered, "nice car!" A rather encouraging sign for a car that's supposed to rejuvenate Chrysler's image, don't you think? Only one small problem: they weren't buzzing about the little Fiat. View Source July 7, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Ford 2011 Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson (First Look) Relationships may come and go, but it appears the bond between Ford and motorcycle manufacturer Harley Davidson is still as strong as it was ten years ago. After pumping out no fewer than seventeen different special-edition pickup models, the companies have partnered again to produce the 2011 Harley-Davidson F-150. View Source August 10, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Ford F-150 Powertrain (First Look) Traditionally, pickup trucks were sold with a combination of brand bravado and bragging rights. That paradigm, however, seems to be shifting. According to Ford, seventy precent of full-size truck buyers wish for an improvement in fuel economy, and a whopping thirty-two perecent are willing to abandon their loyalties and buy another brand. View Source August 11, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor As cool as the Raptor was when it debuted last year, there wasn't a whole lot to appreciate under the hood. Massive suspension modifications were enough to make the Raptor a hit among the niche set of off-roaders that wants to go fast in the sand but doesn't really want to build their own trucks. View Source July 20, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor 6.2 Liter What's the saying? If it ain't broke, don't fix it? Surely this cliché holds true of most things, but the men and women at Ford SVT managed to pull off the improbable: taking the impressive SVT Raptor pickup and making it an even meaner off-road machine. How? With more power, from a brand-new engine. View Source May 18, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Ford Flex EcoBoost I was on the Ford Flex EcoBoost launch in Boulder, Colorado where we got to steer these crossovers around mountain bends. The low ride height gives the Flex a serious handling advantage over the other crossovers in this class. The turbocharged Flex offers some serious grip and power. Of course, this is still a big, heavy crossover riding on relatively soft springs, so it does lean in turns. View Source May 28, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Ford Mustang GT Premium The new 2011 Mustang GT with the 5.0-liter engine is nothing short of amazing. I really feel bad for 2010 Mustang GT owners, and if I were one, I'd want my money back. The upgraded power is ridiculous with 412 ponies now stuffed under the hood and a short-throw six-speed manual gearbox. View Source July 23, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Ford Start Concept (First Look) When it comes to addressing the need to design eco-friendly urban transportation, automakers have proposed everything from bubble cars or automated pod-like appliances. Ford's approach, exemplified by the new Start concept, is near and dear to our hearts: create an ultra-small hot hatch. View Source April 23, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Ford Transit Connect Electric (First Test) Ready or not, the electric propulsion age has begun. New battery-powered vehicles are about to travel where GM's EV1, the Tesla Roadster, and a few other low-volume demonstration projects dared to venture. Thanks to the availability of more efficient battery systems, electric cars you can actually buy are finally available. View Source August 24, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Ford Transit Connect XLT Wagon I was part expecting and part hoping that the Transit Connect with rear windows and five seats would become a cult family vehicle for a small subset of the American population. Having driven the cargo version, I should have known better. The wagon variant is slightly more livable than the hauler with marginally reduced wind noise and far better visibility. View Source March 9, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Honda 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour AWD EX-L The Honda Crosstour's styling appears unconventional today, but, what with vehicles such as the Toyota Venza and the BMW 5-series GT becoming more common on our roads, it looks as if convention might be changing. View Source June 2, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Honda Accord Coupe V-6 (Driven) Acura doesn't offer a two-door car right now, and that's probably a good thing. With a rich leather interior and surplus of electronics, the Accord V-6 EX-L we recently spent some time with makes any Acura coupe redundant. View Source July 14, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Honda Accord EX-L V-6 Coupe I was pleasantly surprised by the manual Accord coupe. It's a good example of Honda's knack for building vehicles that appeal to the mainstream consumer but still offer a bit of enjoyment for the enthusiast. The light steering is effortless in daily driving but it also provides enough feedback to be rewarding on the curvy stuff. View Source July 9, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Honda Civic Si Coupe I've spent four nights jumping between the Volkswagen GTI and this Civic Si, cars that, arguably, cater to the same demographic and that cost about the same. After all this back and forth, I think I'd take my $22,000 to the VW dealer. View Source August 27, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Hyundai 2010 Hyundai Sonata SE I spent a weekend with the 2011 Hyundai Sonata SE and found it to be just as appealing as the more expensive 2011 Hyundai Sonata Limited that we recently had in the fleet. As the mid-priced Sonata model, the SE gets a mid-line but still appealing interior; it features seats that are upholstered with both cloth and leather. View Source April 30, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Hyundai Tucson Limited FWD/TD> Wow, another great Hyundai interior! And another reminder of how Hyundai is breathing heavily down Toyota's neck. Why? I just drove a Toyota RAV4, and it was priced at $28,761, slightly more than this Tucson at $28,090. View Source April 13, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Infiniti 2010 Infiniti FX50 AWD As I approached the Infiniti FX50 in the parking garage, I was relieved to see Bridgestone Blizzak snow tires mounted to the massive twenty-one-inch wheels. With six to ten inches of snow expected that night, I wanted a vehicle capable of dealing with the white stuff and the long trip home. View Source March 12, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Infinti G37 Sedan Journey Anniversary Edition So, what makes this G37 an Anniversary Edition? Well, it has a Premium package, a navigation package, a sport package, and four-wheel active steering. View Source July 29, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Jeep 2010 Jeep Liberty Renegade At the Fiat-Chrysler business plan meeting on November 4, 2009, the Jeep Liberty was said to be getting a refresh for 2010. So what's new? Larger floor mats, a cabin air filtration system, an "ECO" lamp in the instrument cluster, and an auto-up passenger window. The most significant changes are leather seat trim, heated seats, and Bluetooth for the Limited model. In my book, those changes don't amount to a refresh. They're the normal tweaks that Jeep should be making every new model year. View Source August 17, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Land Rover 2010 Land Rover Range Rover Sport Supercharged When I emerged from my apartment this morning, a few neighbors could be seen grimly scraping their windows and preparing for another slushy, icy commute. Poor peasants. I simply climbed into my Range Rover Sport, flipped on the front-windscreen heater (not to be confused with a lowly defroster), provided a squirt of heated washer fluid, and turned the Terrain Response dial to snow-and-gravel mode. View Source March 19, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Land Rover Range Rover Supercharged I used the Range Rover to tow my race car and trailer to the track over the weekend. The supercharged 5.0-liter V-8 engine did really well considering the extra 4500 pounds attached to the rear end. View Source August 20, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Lexus 2010 Lexus ES350 The main thing one needs to know about the Lexus ES350 is that it isn't intended to be an enthusiast car. The average age of Lexus buyers is in their mid- to late-50s, and while there are certainly enthusiasts in that age bracket, the vast majority of Lexus ES350 buyers are looking for cars that are comfortable, dependable, and possess the amenities of a luxury car without the full-boat luxury price. View Source April 15, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Lexus GS450h The Lexus GS450h is proof that there is such a thing as too much torque. The hybrid system teams up with the 3.5-liter V-6 to produce V-8 levels of power to the tune of 340 horses. The problem is that the accelerator pedal is so sensitive that the torque is available at the slightest -- and I mean the slightest -- twitch of a toe. View Source May 6, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Lexus GX460 Premium The GX is a very good choice if you're looking for an extremely well-equipped, luxuriously appointed, and genuinely capable off-roader. In other words, a Land Rover that won't ever break down. View Source April 6, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Lexus IS-F This is the high-performance import sedan for those who march to the beat of a different drummer. It's decidedly different from the longtime category leader, the BMW M3, from the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, or even the Cadillac CTS-V. View Source August 31, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Lexus LS460L Given the LS has always been the ultimate Lexus, I've come to expect nothing less than the utmost in luxury, refinement, and technology at a reasonable price tag. I didn't, however, expect it to be a relentless force in deep snow. View Source March 17, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Mazda 2010 Mazda 3 S Sport 5-Door - Four Seasons Update - June 2010 As our Four Seasons Mazda 3 prepares to pull out of our garage one last time, the odometer has rolled over the 26,000-mile mark. During its twelve months with us, the Mazda 3 has shown faultless reliability and has aged gracefully. Other than regular maintenance stops at 7500-mile intervals, our red Mazda was always ready to go. View Source June 25, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Mazda MX-5 Miata The 2010 Mazda MX-5 Miata is an absolute blast to drive, but tech options lag behind the pack. View Source August 5, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Mazda RX-8 R3 To some people, the sound of a rotary engine revving at 9000 rpm is like nails on a chalkboard. Not me. But its constant, high-pitched hum sounds similar to that of a busy beehive. It's one of the most distinct sounds in the automotive world and has experienced great success both on the road and on the racetrack. View Source April 28, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Mercedes 2010 Mercedes-Benz Brabus E V12 Coupe (First Look) The Black Baron is back. After stupefying us at last year's Frankfurt show by stuffing an insanely powerful V-12 into a Mercedes-Benz E-class sedan (and dressing it like the Batmobile), German tuner Brabus announced they're offering the same prescription for the new E-class Coupe. View Source March 3, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Alcantara trim. Love the fabulous cream-colored sport seats over a black interior. Love the engine and the sounds it makes. Love the downshift blips from the seven-speed automatic. View Source August 23, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Mercedes-Benz GL350 Bluetec The Automobile Magazine test fleet has been blessed with a variety of diesel vehicles lately. From the mighty Ram 2500 with a Cummins down to a mere Jetta TDI wagon, we've sampled the vast majority of vehicles currently on sale in the U.S. with diesel engines since January. Although the GL is at the top of the list in terms of price, it comes in mid-pack in terms of the overall experience. View Source March 15, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Mercedes Benz S400 Hybrid Despite the fact that it debuted way back in 2005, the lovely Mercedes-Benz S-class remains at the very top of its class. And the new hybrid model happens to add a (slightly) more responsible version. Pleasantly, the S400 Hybrid is also the least expensive S-class for sale today, with a base price of $88,825 versus the S550's opening rate of $92,475. View Source April 1, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Mercedes-Benz Shooting Break Concept (First Look) English tradition typically classifies a four-door station wagon as a “break,” while a two-door wagon – often resembling a sports coupe with a hatch grafted on for practicality – is usually deemed a “shooting brake.” Perplexed? Mercedes-Benz is ready to further your stupor, as the concept you see above – a crossover between those two worlds – is deemed a Shooting Break. View Source April 19, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG: Panamericana Refined and Revisited Sometimes it's important to ignore your instincts. Say, for instance, you're going 130 mph down an empty stretch of highway in a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG wearing European plates, and suddenly you see blue lights flashing in your rearview mirror. Instinctively, you're going to breathe in sharply and let off the gas. Which is silly. View Source May 12, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Mini Clubman 2010 Mini John Cooper Works Clubman Despite having only $1600 worth of "options," this John Cooper Works Mini Clubman costs a whopping $33,300. Given a price like that, I really wonder what the fate of the Clubman will be once the new Mini Countryman, Mini's first crossover SUV, goes on sale. View Source April 9, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Mini Cooper 2010 Mini Cooper Camden When it comes to talking cars, talk always turns to KITT, the feisty Pontiac Trans Am from the 1980s TV show Knight Rider. So when a talking Mini Cooper showed up in our office, we immediately gave it the Knight Industries treatment, injecting a little attitude and William Daniels for the complete KITT transformation. View Source May 19, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Mini Camden Edition The first thing I noticed about this Mini is its adorable cream, black, and silver color scheme, which I love. The second thing I noticed is that this Mini Camden Edition talks to you! Start the car and a male/female trio starts chatting through some unseen speaker. It all starts as soon as you insert the flat round key and push the start button. Usually the woman chirps in first with some sort of comment like "All systems go!" and an admonition to fasten your seatbelt. View Source May 4, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Mini Cooper JCW Convertible First, allow me to state the obvious: $35,000 is a silly amount of money to pay for a front-wheel-drive convertible with two usable seats and few luxury options (no leather, no nav, no automatic climate control). If someone were to ask me to recommend some smart ways to spend $35,000, the Mini Cooper JCW convertible would fall somewhere between "patent leather suit" and "old General Motors Corp stock." And yet, if I wanted some wind in my hair, I'd probably give the Mini some consideration. Why? One word: Fun. View Source September 1, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Mitsubishi 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS I haven't driven a Mitsubishi Lancer in quite a while and, because the Lancer Evolution lacks seat-height adjustment, I was prepared to be a bit uncomfortable behind the wheel when I signed out the GTS for the night. Fortunately for shorter people like me, this less-focused-but-still-sporty Lancer model comes with the full array of seat adjusters. In fact, overall this entire package is far more enjoyable as a daily driver than the high-strung Evo. View Source July 13, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Mitsubishi Outlander 3.0 GT S-AWD I know this sounds like the petulant whine of a performance junkie, but why do Mitsubishi's high-performance Lancers (Ralliart/Evo) get supremely advanced, powerful four-cylinders while the Outlander is stuck with this asthmatic 3.0-liter V-6? Step on the gas, and you hear it furiously pumping air, but don't get a commensurate push in the back. View Source March 24, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Nissan 2010 Nissan 370Z The 2010 Nissan 370Z is a distinct-looking dedicated sports car that is a joy to drive, especially when it is equipped with a manual transmission. View Source April 27, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Nissan Altima 3.5 SR The most outstanding feature of the Altima is its powertrain, as the continuously variable transmission smoothly transmits the substantial 270 hp produced by the V-6 engine to the pavement. The exterior styling is nice but doesn't stand out in any meaningful way, and much the same can be said of the interior. View Source May 12, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Nissan Altima Coupe 3.5 SR Very mixed feelings about this car. On the one hand, it's hard not to really like something this pretty - it's a convincing Infiniti G37 knockoff - and this quick. And believe me, it is quick. The six-speed manual transmission is well worth the $2330, as it wakes up the ol' VQ and turns a well-mannered family car into a snorting, rorting beast capable of some very impressive second-gear pulls. View Source July 16, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Nissan Altima Coupe 3.5 SR (Driven) It's easy enough to be wooed by the svelte form of the Infiniti G37 coupe, but its $36,915 entry price isn't exactly an easy hurdle for all consumers to clear. Perhaps G37 fans on a strict budget may be intrigued by the 2010 Nissan Altima 3.5 SR Coupe. View Source July 28, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Nissan GT-R - Four Seasons Wrap-Up The Nissan GT-R is not warm and cuddly. Perhaps that's to be expected of a car that is widely known as Godzilla. The GT-R's fearsome legend grew during the years it was sequestered in far-off Japan, but its awesome prowess came to be known worldwide thanks to its long-running feature role in the Gran Turismo video game series. Finally, the GT-R's international stardom proved so great that Nissan developed the sixth-generation model for a worldwide market, including North America. View Source July 30, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Nissan Maxima 3.5 SV Contrary to Nissan's "4DSC" marketing campaign, the Maxima is no four-door sports car in my eyes. It's definitely a sporty four-door, but it feels too heavy to be a true sports car. The 290-hp V-6 does make the front-wheel-drive Maxima quite peppy, but a consequence of this is that there's a fair amount of torque steer under hard acceleration. View Source July 21, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Nissan Murano SL AWD Nissan's 3.5-liter V-6 and the continuously variable transmission work well here. Hammer it from a standstill and the initial acceleration won't blow you away, but the Murano builds speed smoothly, and it's kinda cool to watch the tachometer needle move toward 6000 rpm without a single hiccup, by which point you're going 80 mph. Nissan has its CVT technology pretty well figured out. View Source June 3, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Nissan Rogue S Color me impressed. Nissan's Rogue is going on four years without any major revisions (a mild face-lift is due in 2011), but there's still a lot to like, especially if you're in the market for a comfortable little sport-utility. View Source August 25, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Nissan Versa 1.8 SL Hatchback The bright blue hue and upright profile of this Versa reminded me of our Four Seasons Honda Fit Sport, but I'd argue that the similarities end there. Both cars run roughly $19,000 and include navigation, but the Versa has the little Honda outclassed. At this price point, Nissan adds other features like a sunroof, satellite radio, Bluetooth phone connectivity, and keyless entry/ignition. View Source May 21, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Nissan Xterra S 4x4 The 2010 Nissan Xterra's 4x4 system and beefy 4-liter V-6 make it a pretty good off-roader. 4WD LO setting is great for low-speed rock crawling and icy conditions. Cavernous rear storage and standard roof rack give users plenty of space to stow things. View Source March 12, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Opel 2010 Opel Meriva (First Look) Nearly two years after appearing at the 2008 Geneva auto show in concept form, Opel has recently revealed its second generation Meriva. Called a "small, affordable monocab" by the GM's European arm, the Meriva boasts what Opel calls "FlexDoors," more commonly known here in the U.S. as rear-hinged suicide doors. They open 84 degrees, providing more room for passengers when entering and exiting. A standard B-pillar maintains chassis rigidity and side-impact safety. View Source March 2, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Porsche 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo This black-on-black 911 Turbo looks menacing at first glance, but it's anything but scary once you sit behind the wheel. In fact, this would be an extremely easy car to live with every day. The 911 Turbo has awesome capabilities-500 hp, 480 lb-ft of torque, 0 to 60 in less than 4 seconds -- but there are few apparent compromises to everyday driving comfort. View Source July 30, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Porsche 911 Turbo S (First Look) If you were wondering whether Porsche's premiere 911 Turbo S model was going to make a return in 997 guise, you can now sleep easy. Porsche has announced that it will bring back its popular 'Turbo S' variant for the 2010 911 range and the car will make its debut at the Geneva motor show. View Source March 2, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Porsche Panamera S I sometimes pick up my buddy Jim at his house on Monday evenings and drive him to a core-training class we've been taking. One time recently, I picked him up in a Jeep Compass. As the owner of a first-generation Volkswagen R32 and an Audi A4 Avant, he was not impressed. So you can imagine his delight when I pulled to his curb in this topaz brown metallic Porsche Panamera. He leaped into the front passenger's seat and said, "Now THIS is more like it!" View Source May 11, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Rolls Royce 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost The twin-turbocharged V-12's 563 hp and 575 lb-ft of torque are massaged for gentle yet firm delivery through the eight-speed automatic. The engine never feels aggressive, yet there's always jet-like thrust at the ready. View Source June 23, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Saab 2010 Saab 9-5 Aero (First Drive) The new Saab 9-5 might not be the most-anticipated new car this year, but it is perhaps the longest anticipated. It replaces a model that had lingered for thirteen years, a glaring testament to Saab parent company General Motors' fecklessness with regards to its Swedish ward. "Saab was at the bottom of the food chain at GM," says the brand's new CEO, Victor Muller, he of tiny exotic carmaker Spyker, which pulled off an eleventh-hour purchase/rescue of Saab in February. View Source June 4, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Scion tC 2010 Scion xB Both the Scion xB and the Nissan Cube are funky, boxy compact hatchbacks, but the two manage to feel significantly different on the road. The Cube is more relaxed in busy city traffic, but it can grow tiresome on the open highway. The xB, however, drives like a much larger car. I was fairly impressed with the Scion's demeanor over a 150-mile trip this past weekend. View Source May 24, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Spyker 2010 Spyker C8 Aileron Spyker, the ten-year-old Dutch automaker, is one part plucky and four parts crazy. Its first effort, the C8 Spyder, was something of a rich Dutchman's Dodge Viper - a rough-edged brute of a sports car with an interior inspired by World War I fighter planes. Having built about 260 cars without showing a profit, Spyker went out and bought a notoriously troubled premium car company, Saab. View Source March 17, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Subaru 2010 Subaru Impreza 2.5i Premium It was 12:45 a.m. and I was bounding down a very dark two-lane country road. Traffic cleared and I hit the high beams. View Source May 10, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Special Edition With only 125 of these special edition STIs produced in Aspen white and barely 1,000 miles on the odometer, I was a little cautious about what we did with this Subie. Unfortunately, it also meant I was susceptible to a cruel April fools joke by a fellow staff member involving a picture of the car, a tree, and Photoshop. View Source April 14, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited - Four Seasons Update - August 2010 The northern reaches of Michigan are no Australian Outback, but our Four Seasons Subaru Outback has recently proven to be a popular companion for visits to the region that Michiganders affectionately call "Up North." View Source August 20, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Suzuki 2010 Suzuki Grand Vitara Limited V-6 Suzuki's Grand Vitara has to be the most under-the-radar vehicle on the market. Despite that, this is a credible entry for small SUVs. The driving experience is by no means class-leading, but it meets expectations. View Source March 25, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Suzuki Kizashi SLS AWD - Four Seasons Update - August 2010 Seasons may change, but our Four Seasons Suzuki Kizashi doesn't. The all-wheel-drive sedan remains popular for long road trips, where it continues to win friends and change notions about the Japanese automaker. View Source August 30, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Suzuki Kizashi SLS - Four Seasons Update - May 2010 We closed the last 4 Seasons update on our 2010 Suzuki Kizashi by suggesting the affable sedan would soon become a popular choice for summer road trips. We were correct - indeed, the little Suzuki soon found itself on a cross-country haul, as the Kizashi set out for a lengthy trek from Michigan to Wyoming. View Source May 28, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Suzuki SX4 SportBack I admire the Suzuki SX4 for having a ride that's more solid and composed than the Honda Fit's. Over bumps, the Fit often feels like the cheap car it is, while the SX4 feels like something larger and more comfort-oriented, along the lines of a family sedan. The tradeoff is that the SX4 occasionally feels too loose and soft when it's worked hard on rough roads. View Source May 3, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Toyota 2010 Toyota FJ Cruiser Even though the FJ Cruiser is a stale model in Toyota's lineup, it's still fun to slap on a new package that appeals to the off-road enthusiast crowd. This particular FJ is wearing the Trail Teams Special Edition package ($6695 mind you), which consists mainly of exterior features like: unique Sandstorm paint, blacked-out hood, sideview mirrors, and grille. View Source June 15, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Toyota Venza AWD The Venza is a perfectly nice five-passenger tall wagon, as far as space, appointments, and utility are concerned. I just don't understand why Toyota is building it. The company already had an overfull quiver of hatchback crossover things, so why add the strange-looking Venza to the bunch? View Source March 10, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Toyota Venza AWD The Venza is a clear case of a good design that has been ravaged by cost cutters. Toyota nailed the basics: the Venza drives like a mid-size sedan (albeit a boring one) and offers as much utility as larger crossovers. It even would even be attractive save for its overly fussy front fascia. What kills the Venza is its inexcusably cheap interior. View Source June 7, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Volkswagen 2010 Volkswagen CC Sport I really admire the Volkswagen CC's premium interior, practical-yet-engaging powertrain, and reasonable price. Well equipped in its base trim and starting at $28,560, I think of the CC as an Audi A4 with a $5000 discount. View Source May 25, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Volkswagen Golf R (Driven) Volkswagen's GTI is the only car in this magazine's history to be voted Automobile of the Year twice. And now there's a hotter version, called the Golf R, on sale in Europe. Volkswagen of America hasn't officially said whether the Golf R is coming here, but that didn't stop us from taking one for a spin. View Source April 5, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Volkswagen Golf TDI Wow, this clutch is vastly superior to our departed Four Seasons Jetta TDI's. There's good feel, although I could do without the pulsating sensation that comes through the pedal all the time, and it's easy to take off smoothly, which was never the case with our Jetta. View Source May 13, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Volkswagen GTI - Four Seasons Update - July 2010 Midway through its Four Seasons test, our two-door GTI has quietly piled on a ton of miles: more than 18,000. View Source June 25, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Edition If you're in the market for a Jetta TDI sedan and like to drive, this is your car. The firmer GLI suspension, larger brakes, and upgraded antiroll bars go a long way towards making the Jetta sedan exciting to drive. Of course those upgrades do nothing to address the modest horsepower of a TDI engine, but we're especially sensitive to the TDI's horsepower output because we've been driving the superb VW GTI for a few months. Anyone considering a TDI vehicle understands the lack of hp is more than made up for by the car's incredible 41 mpg highway rating and insanely long cruising range. View Source June 22, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Volkswagen Routan SE There's not much new to report on the VW Routan, a rebadged Chrysler Town & Country that was foisted on Volkswagen of America by a previous executive regime. Volkswagen's U.S. dealers have no choice but to hold their noses and try to sell the darn thing. View Source May 7, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Volkswagen Tiguan SE 4Motion This was my first time driving the Volkswagen Tiguan; I think my expectations may have been too high. I always imagined the Tiguan to be a GTI with more ground clearance, but it's not. View Source June 17, 2010 Provides Information 2010 Volkswagen Touareg V-6 TDI It's not a Mercury, but I can't help but think this Touareg is a bit of a cougar. You know full well that it has received plenty of cosmetic surgery over the past decade, but it's hard not to find the end product-especially with this monochromatic paint scheme-at least somewhat attractive. I'm not the only one, either; before I even left our parking garage, two bystanders commented on the Touareg TDI's good looks. View Source May 14, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Acura 2011 Acura TSX Sport Wagon (First Look) Acura's MDX caters to customers shopping for a midsize SUV, while its ungainly new ZDX reportedly aims at those who seeking something more carlike. What, then, does Acura offer buyers who want a car, but with just a little more cargo space? View Source March 31, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Alfa Romeo 2011 Alfa Romeo Giulietta (First Drive) "This Giulietta is probably a lot faster, and a lot easier to drive fast, than its namesake siblings. I can't wait to try it myself." View Source April 22, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Aptera 2011 Aptera 2e (First Look) Given the rash of fly-by-night electric vehicle start-ups, we understand if you're at least a little skeptical of the new Aptera 2e. 200-mpg? 100-mile range? A $25,000 price tag? Is this for real? View Source April 15, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Aston Martin 2011 Aston Martin V12 Vantage (Driven) Looking at it in pictures and on paper, it may be difficult to really get excited about the Aston Martin V12 Vantage. Sure, it's gorgeous and has a beautifully balanced V-12 under the hood, but it's also the final homogenization of the Aston Martin coupes: three models with the same look, the same architecture, and now the same engine. View Source May 31, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Audi 2011 Audi A8 L W12 (Driven) Despite the precariousness of the economic recovery, oil tycoons and financiers still have lots of money to spend, and they are getting sick of not spending it. To wit, sales of ultra-luxury goods like Louis Vuitton bags are gaining momentum. View Source August 3, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Audi Q7 (First Drive) For 2011, Audi will jettison its V-6 and V-8 engine in the Q7, and replace them both with its supercharged 3.0T V-6, in 272-hp and 333-hp strengths. Although this strategy might leave you scratching your head, the idea is to simplify the powertrain lineup while still preserving the idea of a base engine and a more powerful step-up offering. View Source June 2, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Audi RS5 (First Drive) Although Audi of America has not yet confirmed it, the stunning new RS5 coupe that debuted at the Geneva auto show in March will indeed be imported to the United States, and even though it probably won¹t arrive until late 2011, we've already driven it. The last RS models to come here, as you may recall, were the RS4 sedan and cabriolet that were discontinued some time ago. View Source April 12, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Audi R8 5.2 FSI Spyder (First Drive) I’ve spent a lot of time behind the wheel of a V-8 Audi R8 coupe, so getting into the all-new, 2011 Audi R8 V-10 Spyder roadster created a flood of both familiar and totally new impressions. Gone is the iconic “side blade” that could be had in contrasting color or carbon fiber on the coupe; in its place is a new composite-plastic fender. View Source March 4, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Audi TT Coupe (First Drive) Audi’s TT has always been a great looking car with peppy engines and respectable driving characteristics, but we’ve never quite put it on the same page as the coupes and roadsters from BMW and Porsche. To improve the TT’s street cred, Audi brought the 265-hp TTS to market. View Source May 13, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Audi TT (First Look) You knew it was coming. Audi's heavily revised 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder has been marching around its lineup, and to virtually no one's surprise, the 2011 Audi TT is the latest model to get the new engine. It's one of several changes made to Audi's two-seater for the 2011 model year that should help it better take on its German rivals. View Source April 7, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Bentley 2011 Bentley Continental Supersports Convertible (Driven) It seems that everything you hear about the Supersports version of the 2011 Bentley Continental convertible concerns its 198-pound weight loss and 21 additional horsepower. View Source August 16, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Bentley Mulsanne (First Drive) Having made its entrance in the rarified environs of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and its worldwide public debut at last fall's Frankfurt auto show, the Bentley Mulsanne is now ready to hit the streets. We've had a chance to do just that, but in this case the streets were the narrow village lanes, undulating country byways, and wide-open dual carriageways (divided highways) of Bentley's home turf, in the U.K. The car won't be rolling onto U.S. roads until sometime this fall. View Source May 3, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Bentley Mulsanne - True Blue Blood Having made its entrance in the rarefied environs of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and its worldwide public debut at last fall's Frankfurt auto show, the Bentley Mulsanne is now ready to hit the streets. We've had a chance to do just that, but in this case the streets were the narrow village lanes, undulating country byways, and wide-open dual carriageways (divided highways) of Bentley's home turf in the U.K. The car won't be rolling onto U.S. roads until sometime this fall. View Source June 21, 2010 Provides Information 2011 BMW 2011 BMW 135i coupe Who says you can't appease the slushbox-loving American public while still providing some manual control over gearchanges? Those skeptics likely haven't driven a properly tuned dual-clutch gearbox, like the one in this 135i. For 2011, BMW dumped the six-speed automatic option in the 135i, and instead pairs this seven-speed doppelkupplungsgetriebe to the new, single-turbo N55 engine. View Source August 4, 2010 Provides Information 2011 BMW 135i DCT (First Drive) BMW launched the 1-series just a few years ago, but the company's smallest current model isn't immune to the engine update that is spreading across the BMW lineup for the 2011 model year. Accordingly, the '11 135i is now offered with the new single-turbocharged "N55" six-cylinder engine, which features BMW's Valvetronic technology and direct fuel injection. View Source June 8, 2010 Provides Information 2011 BMW 5-Series Touring (First Look) BMW's unique 5 Series Gran Turismo may combine the passenger space of an executive sedan with the versatility of a wagon, but there are still some customers who simply desire a standard wagon. View Source March 15, 2010 Provides Information 2011 BMW 535i - Four Seasons Update - August 2010 Two months after heading out to Ann Arbor from its corporate home in New Jersey, our BMW 535i made a return trip east to spend a brief sojourn in New York. Except for the direction, the eastbound trip was almost an exact repeat of Rusty Blackwell's trip out, several months earlier, when he first picked up the car. View Source August 23, 2010 Provides Information 2011 BMW 535i and 335is Coupe (First Drive) We were already pretty familiar with the sixth-generation 5-series sedan before we drove it. The eight-speed automatic, the single-turbo in-line six, and the chassis design shared with the 7-series were all present in the Gran Turismo hatchback that we reviewed in the December 2009 issue. View Source March 26, 2010 Provides Information 2011 BMW 740Li (First Drive) The addition of a six-cylinder engine to BMW's flagship 7-series lineup might let the recession's sour taste seep into the mouths of some Bimmer fans, but it shouldn't. After all, the 7-series was a six-cylinder-only model from its U.S. introduction for 1978 until 1988, when the twelve-cylinder 750iL debuted. View Source May 20, 2010 Provides Information 2011 BMW Alpina B7 xDrive (First Look) Alpina debuted the new B7 sedan at this year’s Chicago auto show and the big news was the car’s availability in either short- or long-wheelbase configuration. The previous B7 was only available as a SWB car in the U.S. and ended up stepping on the M5’s toes as a result. View Source March 31, 2010 Provides Information 2011 BMW Alpina B7 (Driven) Congratulations to the budding Warren Buffetts and the junior Steve Jobses who preserved their slice of the entrepreneurial pie while the world's economy crumbled. Those of you anticipating a reward for a job well done are shopping on the appropriate page. View Source May 4, 2010 Provides Information 2011 BMW M3 Frozen Grey Coupe (First Look) You won't find it noted on most calendars, but 2011 is a milestone for BMW enthusiasts: come next year, the vaunted M3 will have been in production for 25 years. To celebrate, the Bavarian automaker has crafted this: the 2011 BMW M3 Frozen Grey coupe. View Source June 17, 2010 Provides Information 2011 BMW X3 (First Look) Despite essentially inventing the compact luxury SUV segment with its X3, BMW watched as the competition quickly countered with a flurry of similar offerings. Munich is finally fighting back with the reworked 2011 BMW X3. Will the updates be enough to get it back to the top of the class? View Source July 14, 2010 Provides Information 2011 BMW M3 Sedan A couple months ago, I had the opportunity to drive an M3 very much like this test car on the Lightning course at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Driving on a racetrack is always a fun, but good God, the M3 was amazingly fantastic and super fun at NJMP. The V-8 engine is so rev-happy, so powerful, and it sounds incredible. The dual-clutch gearbox (although a pricey option at $2900) is a thing of beauty, and that comment comes from a guy who adores traditional manual transmissions. The steering is telepathic, and the chassis is near perfect. View Source August 26, 2010 Provides Information 2011 BMW X3 (Web Driven) No longer the premium compact crossover class's penalty box. View Source June 4, 2010 Provides Information 2011 BMW X5 (First Drive) How will you know a new, 2011 BMW X5 when you see one? You probably won’t. The second-generation X5, introduced for 2007, has received its mid-cycle freshening, but even the most hard-core BMW fanboys will be hard-pressed to tell it apart from the 2007-2010 models. View Source April 19, 2010 Provides Information 2011 BMW X5 xDrive35i (Driven) The vehicle that established the sporty-SUV subsegment bolsters its position for 2011 with a minor update that sends more power to the engine room. View Source June 29, 2010 Provides Information 2011 BMW Z4 sDrive35is Roadster (First Drive) It's appropriate that BMW has bestowed perhaps the most extreme example of its ridiculous new naming convention upon the most extreme version of its Z4 hardtop roadster, the sDrive35is. Suffice it to say that the "s" at the end of the newest Z4's name stands for "sport" and is accompanied by a lot more than a cute little body kit. View Source May 25, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Buick Regal CXL (Driven) As soon as Joachim Winkelhock burst out of the pits and toward Hatzenbach, it was clear that this was not going to be one of those tame exercises where a racing driver leads a procession of journalists at a funereal pace around the track, trying to familiarize them with every corner and desired racing line in a boring game of follow-the-leader. View Source June 28, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Buick 2011 Buick Regal At The Nurburgring (First Drive) Today was the fourth time I've driven on the Nurburgring Nordschleife, the famously challenging, 13-mile racetrack in the Eifel Mountains of Germany. I had only two laps, but they were among the best I've had there, and they were in the unlikeliest of cars: the new 2011 Buick Regal. Yep, a Buick at the 'Ring. Who woulda thunk? View Source April 27, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Cadillac 2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe The 2011 Cadillac CTS coupe goes on sale in August 2010, thirty-one long months after a thinly disguised concept-car version of it debuted at the 2008 North American International Auto Show. View Source August 18, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Cadillac CTS coupe (Driven) The Cadillac CTS coupe is a car for realists. Sure, it looks like a concept car that took a wrong turn leaving the convention center, but, in fact, it's an entirely logical and even conservative step in a brand renaissance that's changing course. After a decade in which Cadillac reached for the stars with sexy halo models and pie-in-the-sky concepts like the Sixteen, General Motors' luxury division is adjusting its ambitions to reflect new realities. View Source March 17, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe (First Drive) Charles de Gaulle airport is a confusing mess, but I forgive it its trespasses because it is, after all, the portal to Paris, one of my favorite cities in the world. On this particular day, having arrived on Air France's overnight flight from Detroit, I am even more keen than usual to arrive in the City of Light. View Source July 9, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon (First Ride) Occasionally automakers ask members of the press what direction to take future products. The response is something like, "We need at least 500 hp, rear-wheel drive, a six-speed manual transmission, lots of Alcantara, and a station wagon body to hold it all." Normally automakers get this type of feedback and literally laugh out loud. Cadillac decided to build one. View Source August 6, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Chevrolet 2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco and Cruze RS (First Look) As smaller cars become ever more important to consumers, Chevrolet’s environmentally friendly 2011 Cruze Eco and sporty (looking) RS on display at the 2010 New York auto show are designed to further expand the new compact sedan's marketplace appeal. View Source March 29, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Ford 2011 Ferrari 599 GTO (First Drive) Ever notice how anyone driving slower than you is a moron and everyone passing you is a maniac? Funny, me too. That same logic tends to show up in car reviews - any easy-to-tame car is brandished as boring. Worse, if the driver runs out of talent before the car runs out of grip, it's an evil bastard. View Source May 5, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Ford Edge (First Drive) It’s tempting to forget about the Ford Edge. After all, the Blue Oval’s exhaustive lineup of crossovers includes far cooler (Flex) and more capable (new Explorer) offerings. A quick gander at the sales chart, however, reveals that the Edge is Ford’s second best-selling crossover/SUV, trailing only the fleet-favorite Escape. View Source August 23, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Ford Explorer (First Look) Once the poster child of the traditional-SUV segment, the Ford Explorer is now a front-wheel-drive, four-cylinder, unibody crossover -- at least in base trim. It may be a strange and dramatic departure from the Explorer of yesteryear, but Ford execs are confident the new strategy can halt the icon's cliff dive from 445,157 sales in 2000 to 31,864 through the first six months of 2010. View Source July 26, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Ford F-250 King Ranch 4x4 This thing is a total workhorse. I must have put 500 miles on this truck during my time behind the wheel and put it through all kinds of scenarios. One weekend I hauled my race car, trailer, and equipment to the track; the next weekend I crammed the cab full of people and the bed with their camping gear for a weekend trip to Michigan International Speedway for the NASCAR race. View Source June 29, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Ford F-Series Super Duty (First Drive) The engineers at Ford know there’s a lot at stake with the unveiling of their new 2011 Ford Super Duty. Last year Dodge came to market with a hugely revised Ram HD pickup with great success. View Source March 8, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Ford Fiesta (Driven) No offense to CNBC junkies, but the people who love cars - and most car buyers - don't really care about exploiting synergies, maximizing verticals, or any of the other corporate jargon that comes from the business side of the car business. At best, all consumers want to know is: Is it well-engineered? View Source June 28, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Ford Fiesta (First Drive) This little Ford Fiesta is big news, especially for the cynics in the room. Not because cynics prefer small cars -- although perhaps they do -- but because the Fiesta's arrival in the U.S. puts to rest any lingering suspicion that Alan Mulally was full of beans when he promised his company would quit slapping new styling on the same old sleds and marketing them as all-new cars. View Source April 25, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Ford Mustang V-6 Coupe With all the hoopla surrounding the launch of 300-plus-hp pony cars (Camaro, Genesis, Mustang) that have recently hit the market, you'd think there was no reason to opt for a V-8 other than bragging rights. I don't want to be seen as the codger bemoaning the loss of carburetors and bias-ply tires, but it's worth buying a V-8 Mustang or Camaro for the engine's sound alone. View Source July 14, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Ford Mustang V-6 vs. 2010 Honda Accord Coupe V-6 (Comparison) Just as it was in 1967, the 2011 Ford Mustang and 2011 Chevrolet Camaro are natural rivals, not only in their design and performance, but also in showroom sales. So we didn't need Ford to tell us that the Camaro is the most cross-shopped vehicle for Mustang buyers. We were surprised, however, when Ford revealed the second most cross-shopped vehicle. View Source July 7, 2010 Provides Information 2011 GMC 2011 GMC Sierra Denali Heavy Duty (First Look) GMC has always been about "Professional Grade" trucks, but the Denali trim level takes it up a notch or two -- it's the package for people who work hard but like to do it in style, too. Now, the folks in the big trucks will get their own pampering as GMC reveals the new 2011 GMC Sierra Denali Heavy Duty. View Source March 10, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Honda 2011 Honda CR-Z (First Drive) Is the 2011 Honda CR-Z a new CRX? Well, the CRX's influence is not only obvious in the CR-Z's name (which stands for Compact Renaissance Zero) but also in its truncated tail and horizontally split rear window. The triangular taillights bear a strong family resemblance to Honda's current (and pretty dorky) Insight, but the CR-Z is lower, wider, and certainly cooler. View Source June 18, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Honda CR-Z (Identity Crisis) Honda's CRX is something of a legend, one of those cars about which everyone seems to have memories. Fond memories at that, usually involving an ultracool college-age dude who drove the wheels off one. The first-generation Honda Insight, on the other hand, is a car that the in crowd probably doesn't even remember, but it was pure dork delight. With an aluminum unibody, it was the first hybrid to reach the U.S. and posted the highest EPA combined fuel economy number of all time: 53 mpg (49/61 mpg city/highway). View Source August 25, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Honda Pilot Touring The Honda Pilot is one of those vehicles that you know are popular but that you never really notice. Its mission is one of practicality, not flashiness, and as such it's been very successful for Honda. (In fact, in the month of May, the Pilot outsold the entire Acura division.) Its boxy exterior is anything but eye-catching, and its interior is pleasant but not overly fussy and is filled with lots of useful storage bins. View Source June 23, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Hyundai 2011 Hyundai Equus (First Drive) The 2008 introduction of the Genesis sedan has been the exclamation point to Hyundai's rapid ascension from bargain brand to mainstream automaker. View Source July 26, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Hyundai Equus (First Look) Hyundai's Korean-market Equus flagship first landed at the New York auto show in 2009, allowing the automaker to "test reaction" to a premium sedan above the Genesis. It seems reaction was plenty positive, as Hyundai is gunning for the likes of Lexus with the new U.S-spec 2011 Equus. View Source April 1, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T (First Drive) Hyundai is relatively inexperienced when it comes to turbocharging gas engines, and that showed with the company's last boosted powerplant, in the Genesis coupe. In addition to providing relatively tepid performance, the coupe's turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder is sluggish and abrasive. View Source July 12, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T (First Look) Tradition holds that there's no replacement for displacement, but Hyundai's challenging that logic with its latest Sonata sedan. By strapping a turbocharger onto a four-cylinder, Hyundai can offer greater fuel economy, horsepower, and torque than most competitive midsize V-6 sedans -- but will customers buy into the logic that the buying less will, in fact, get you more? View Source March 31, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Hyundai Sonata (By Design) Five years ago this month, I wrote about the 2006 Hyundai Sonata, saying, "It isn't beautiful, elegant, or at all innovative, but neither is it ugly, clumsy, inelegant, or embarrassing," and I concluded that, "One more generation of Sonatas, if the designers continue in this trajectory, should see Hyundai becoming downright desirable." View Source April 8, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid (First Drive) Hyundai's corporate work ethic and frugality have resulted in a strong emphasis on developing and manufacturing key components in-house. By avoiding the hybrid technology used in the Sonata Hybrid's chief competitors-the Ford Fusion, the Nissan Altima, and the Toyota Camry-the company has smartly dodged the licensing fees of patented technology and tapped existing hardware for its first gasoline/electric car. View Source July 19, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid (First Look) By ditching V-6 engines in favor of improved four-cylinder engines, Hyundai's clearly making fuel economy a chief priority with its 2011 Sonata -- but customers who want the utmost in fuel savings will likely look past the standard sedans and shop the new 2011 Sonata Hybrid, which makes its debut at the 2010 New York auto show. View Source March 31, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Hyundai Sonata Limited Well, now I understand what all the fuss is about: With one stroke, Hyundai has transformed the Sonata from rental-car, bottom-of-the-heap status to a legitimate threat to the kings of the lucrative and all-important mid-size-sedan segment, the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, and Nissan Altima. View Source April 8, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Hyundai Sonata SE - August 2010 (Four Seasons Update) During the lazy months of summer, the only thing harder to obtain than a paid day off at the beach was the key fob to our Four Seasons Hyundai Sonata SE. Since it arrived in Ann Arbor at the beginning of July, editors and friends of the magazine have collectively piled on nearly 8000 miles. View Source September 1, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Hyundai Sonata SE - Four Seasons Introduction Ambling by 120 East Liberty a year ago today, you could have stumbled upon a snarling Nissan GT-R, hormonal Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, massively seductive Audi R8, sumptuous BMW 750iL, and the hauling champ we knew as the Dodge Ram. View Source July 8, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Infiniti 2011 Infiniti G25 Sedan (First Look) Sometimes the rumor mill doesn't quite fire on all cylinders. Months ago, gossip swirled around a forthcoming Infiniti G25, an entry-level luxury offering that would purportedly utilize a four-cylinder engine. After Infiniti pulled the wraps off a series of new products at the 2010 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, we can report the 2011 G25 is fact, not fiction -- but we can't say the same for that I-4. View Source August 13, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Infiniti Performance Line G Coupe (First Look) Infiniti has been upping its game at Pebble Beach in recent years, and once again has something unique to share at this year's event. Pebble Beach is the place to make dramatic unveilings, and coming fresh out of the oven are the Infiniti Performance Line and the 2011 Infiniti Performance Line G Coupe. View Source August 13, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Infiniti M56 The new Infiniti M56 is a masterpiece of style, both inside and out. The great curves over the front wheels give way to an opulent cabin with wonderful leather and wood in a spacious, airy package. This Infiniti interior is essentially my definition of luxury. I find the controls easy to use, but it seems that by now the rotary controller should be located on the center console, not a full arm's length away perched atop the center stack. View Source July 2, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Infiniti QX56 4WD The new QX56 is a huge beast, but it's also incredibly useful and luxurious. You could say the same about previous-generation QX, too, but the new model also adds a great deal more refinement, slick styling (rather than a simpler, truck-like look), more available features, and significantly more power. View Source July 22, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Infiniti QX56 (Driven) If you thought Infiniti was going to abandon the full-size luxury SUV segment just because most people are segueing toward smaller, more fuel-efficient, less ostentatious crossovers, think again: the smell of money is in the air. View Source July 20, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Infiniti QX56 (First Drive) Believe it or not, people are still buying full-size luxury SUVs, even in this age of increased "green" concerns and our dismal economy. Although full-size luxury SUV sales peaked at nearly 300,000 units in 2006, the market has settled into a 100,000-unit rhythm in the United States, which Infiniti expects to continue for the life cycle of its all-new, second-generation QX56 that goes on sale in July 2010. View Source May 20, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Jaguar 2011 Jaguar XJ The styling of the 2011 Jaguar XJ doesn't excite me, but I also don't find it offensive. Get behind the wheel, though, and the XJ elicits strong emotions. The 470-hp supercharged V-8 is so smooth and so authoritative. As usual, though, Jaguar's expertise in chassis tuning is what really shines. View Source July 19, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Jaguar XJ (First Drive) Here's one reason not to judge a book by its cover: the outgoing Jaguar XJ8. You look at it and think, "It's a hundred years old." View Source March 2, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Jaguar XKR175 (First Drive) In honor of Jaguar's 75th anniversary, the company has worked up a limited run of XKR coupes, dubbed XKR175. The "175" stands for 175-car, the total production -- except that Canada gets another 15, but maybe Canada doesn't count. What the 175 should stand for is the car's top speed. The standard XKR is electronically limited to 155 mph, but the XKR175 raises that speed limit all the way to...174 mph. Uh, come on, guys. You couldn't bump it up 1 more? View Source August 18, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Kia 2011 Kia Forte 5-Door (First Look) Kia took the wraps off a third Forte model, a sleek-looking hatchback that will join the coupe and sedan this summer. Compared to the sedan, the new body style trims seven inches from the overall length, but height, width, and wheelbase remain the same. The two-engine lineup mirrors that of today's Forte, with a 156-hp, 2.0-liter in the base car and a 2.4-liter, 173-hp unit powering the sport version. Either engine offers the choice of a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic with shift paddles. View Source April 1, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Kia Optima (First Look) Kia's Optima has never exactly stood apart from the crowds of midsize sedans sold here in North America -- but all of that changes with the new 2011 Kia Optima, which makes its big debut at the 2010 New York auto show. View Source April 1, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Kia Sorento EX AWD The Sorento's strengths lie in its interior and its powertrain. The exterior styling doesn't do much for me, and the chrome wheels, part of the Limited package, are garish. The exterior isn't offensive, but it utterly lacks distinction. View Source May 26, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Kia Sportage Image is everything. Fifteen years ago, the Sportage was one of the first products imported to the U.S. by a relatively unknown Korean automaker. That five-door cute-ute not only launched the Kia brand but helped establish it as a manufacturer of basic, affordable transportation. View Source June 24, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Kia Sportage (First Look) Having made its world debut in Geneva, the 2011 Kia Sportage will share top billing on the Kia stand at the New York Show in a few weeks' time along with the new Optima sedan. View Source March 2, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Lamborghini 2011 Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera (First Look) Lamborghinis have long stood for sheer, menacing speed, usually courtesy of a monster engine. It's a solid formula, but any engineer will tell you that you eventually reach a point of diminishing returns. How, then, do you make an even more insane Lamborghini? Make it lighter. View Source March 1, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera LP 570-4 (Driven) If only my high school guidance counselor could see me now. I'm roaring down the front straight at the Monteblanco Circuito at a cool 160 mph in the new Lamborghini Superleggera LP 570-4, and part of me was wishing I had his phone number. View Source April 2, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera LP 570-4 (First Drive) Duck your head, limbo in, probe the footwell for legroom, lower yourself carefully into the Sparco tub, stretch out, breathe out, and relax if you can. No, the Gallardo cockpit is not made for tall fatsos whose Gold's Gym membership expired in 1972. View Source March 25, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Land Rover 2011 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque (First Look) Forty years ago, Land Rover took a capable off-road chassis, draped it in stylish duds, and crafted what became known as the Range Rover. The company used this same process to create the new 2011 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque -- although it may favor tarmac instead of dusty trails. View Source July 1, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Lincoln 2011 Lincoln MKT: Overview The 2011 Lincoln MKT sees no major changes following its introduction for the 2010 model year. MKT is a midsize crossover SUV that seats up to 7 and shares elements of its basic design with the Ford Flex. Two models are offered. The Base comes with front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. It uses a 270-horsepower 3.7-liter V6 engine. View Source June 2, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Lotus 2011 Lotus Elise (First Look) It's hard to believe, but Lotus' pint-sized sports car has soldiered on with only minor changes for the last 10 years. For 2011, more small changes are on the way to give the Elise a fresher look for the new decade. View Source March 2, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Mazda 2011 Mazda 2 Touring I drove both the automatic and manual Mazda 2 within days of each other and while both cars impressed me, the manual 2 is, in my mind, the much better package. On the highway, the four speed-auto runs out of gears causing revs to consistently stay up over 3000 rpms. View Source August 11, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Maserati 2011 Maserati GranTurismo Convertible - Mare e Monti In the lofty niche of high-end four-seat convertibles, few stars shine brighter than the new Maserati GranTurismo. With the heater on high, the bum warmers on max, and the polished twenty-inch wheels shod with go-anywhere Pirelli SottoZero tires, it was a real pleasure to thumb a nose at winter from behind the wheel of this drop-dead gorgeous Maserati. View Source March 23, 2010 Provides Information 2011 McLaren 2011 McLaren MP4-12C Supercar (First Look) At a press conference at its ultra-modern facility in Woking, England, McLaren Automotive took the wraps off its MP4-12C supercar -- actually, it was Vodafone/Mercedes/McLaren F1 team drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button who did the honors. The two have already test-driven prototypes [see video below], and put in orders for their personal cars. Being an F1 driver has its perks. View Source March 18, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Mercedes 2011 Mercedes-Benz C-Class: Overview The 2011 Mercedes-Benz C-Class is largely unchanged. Four models continue in this lineup. The C300 Luxury and C300 Sport have a 228-horsepower 3.0-liter V6 that can run on E85 ethanol-blended fuel. The C350 Sport has a 268-horsepower 3.5-liter V6. The C63 AMG is tuned by Mercedes' performance division and has a 451-horsepower 6.2-liter V8. View Source June 2, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG and CL65 AMG (First Look) World-class luxury and mind-altering performance, a rate combination of traits that few automakers are capable of bringing to the table. Mercedes-Benz is one such automaker and its latest creations, the AMG versions of the new 2011 CL-Class, certainly fit the bill. View Source July 25, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Mercedes-Benz CL550 4Matic (First Look) With the arrival of the 2011 CL-class, Mercedes-Benz has the opportunity to show off its latest advancements in powertrain, luxury, and safety, all wrapped in a two-door package. The big news for Mercedes' freshened coupe is under the hood of the CL550 4Matic, with the introduction of a new 4.6-liter V-8 producing 429 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, coupled to a seven-speed automatic transmission. View Source July 2, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Mercedes-Benz E350 4matic Wagon It's hard to justify the cost of a luxury wagon when an SUV gives you more room, is cheaper, and in some cases, drives better. The Mercedes-Benz E350 4matic wagon is a nice car, but with a $66,775 price tag, it's not very logical. View Source July 26, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Mercedes-Benz E350 4Matic Wagon (First Drive) Some people refuse to get with the program. They will not go with the flow. Ignoring trends, they do-and buy-what they want. When it comes to cars, no group swims against a stronger tide than the people who buy station wagons. So while the arrival of a new Mercedes-Benz E-class wagon is an absolute non-event for the vast majority of America's new-car buyers, for one tiny, independent-minded group of traditionalists, it is no doubt a reassuring symbol of constancy in a fast-changing world. View Source July 15, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Mercedes-Benz E350 Cabriolet Sadly two of my three days in this car were pouring rain, and all three days saw unseasonably low temperatures. Still, I made the most of it, making sure the top was down whenever possible. View Source May 27, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Mercedes-Benz R-Class (First Drive) The Mercedes-Benz R-class was introduced in 2005 amid high expectations, but sales have been disappointing-particularly recently. In 2009 the Mercedes GL-class SUV outsold the R-class five-to-one, and the M-class outsold it by a factor of nine. View Source June 10, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Mercedes-Benz R-Class (First Look) Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but few who witnessed the original 2005 Mercedes-Benz R-class professed it to be a design masterpiece. Designers crafted an unusual creation by merging a sharp, pointed nose -- not unlike that of the 2002 F400 concept -- to what otherwise looked like an elongated SUV. View Source March 29, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG (First Look) Mercedes-Benz’s AMG performance division unveiled its new twin-turbo, direct-injection V-8 engine today in the S63 AMG Showcar, at its headquarters in rural Affalterbach, in the hills outside Stuttgart. View Source March 1, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Mercedes-Benz SL550 It's always exciting to have a convertible in the spring when the sun is shining and the temperature starts to climb. With a Mercedes, you can actually enjoy top-down driving even if the temperature is in the 40s thanks to heated seats, good aerodynamics that help push wind around the passengers, and the Airscarf feature. View Source May 5, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG My evening with the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG began when Mike, the car geek who mans the tollbooth in our parking structure, gave the SLS the once-over. View Source July 12, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Mini 2011 Mini Countryman (First Drive) The Countryman is a big one for Mini - in size, certainly, but even more so in concept. As Dr. Wolfgang Armbrecht, Mini brand manager, explains: "For Mini it's a huge step - four doors, four-wheel drive, higher seating position. We weren't sure it was the right direction." View Source May 21, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Mitsubishi 2011 Mitsubishi ASX (First Look) Hope you like that Lancer nose, because it's here to stay. It's already spread to the Outlander and the Europe-only Colt and now it's spread to the new Outlander Sport compact crossover that premiered today in Geneva as the European-spec ASX. View Source March 3, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport (First Drive) Mitsubishi recently allowed us to sample preproduction versions of its forthcoming small crossover, the Outlander Sport. The Sport is slated to go on sale this October with a base price of under $19,000. Mitsu hasn't yet finalized pricing, but we're told to expect fully loaded models to hit showrooms with a sticker price of less than $26,000. And that's with navigation, keyless entry, heated seats, four-wheel drive, a 710-watt sound system, HIDs, and a CVT automatic. View Source July 7, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport (First Look) With the 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport making its U.S. debut at New York, Mitsubishi has a crossover it can offer starting at less than $20,000. At a length of 169.1 inches, the Outlander Sport is more of a Lancer-alternative than a true compact crossover along the lines of class leaders like the Honda CR-V and Ford Escape. View Source April 1, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Nissan 2011 Nissan Juke (First Drive) Every once in a while, a car comes along that makes you scratch your head a little. Look at the pictures of the 2011 Nissan Juke and stop scratching your head. If you've ever complained about all cars looking alike, here's your big, Nissan-badged can of shutyourmouth. View Source May 28, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Nissan Juke U.S.-Spec (First Look) Nissan's Juke crossover certainly caught our eye at last month's Geneva motor show, though not necessarily for all the right reasons. There's no doubt the Juke will turn heads and split public opinion at both the New York auto show and when it reaches American roads later this year -- and that's just what Nissan wants. View Source March 30, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Nissan Micra (First Look) Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn unveiled the company’s all-new Micra today at the 2010 Geneva motor show. Although the Micra itself will not be coming to America, it is built on an all-new global small-car platform known within Nissan as the V-platform. View Source March 2, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Nissan Murano (First Look) The Nissan Murano skipped a model year back in 2008 but came back to us recharged and revitalized for 2009. It hasn't been long since its refresh, but the contemporary midsize crossover will once again be altered with changed looks and a new SV trim. View Source August 23, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Nissan NV (First Look) For the past decade the commercial van segment has been idle with the same stale vehicles: Ford E-series, Chevrolet Express, and Mercedes-Benz (formerly Dodge) Sprinter. So the addition of another player to the game with a whole new model is big news. View Source March 10, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Porsche 2011 Porsche 911 (Deep Dive) Once upon a time, the 911 was Porsche's bread-and-butter product, but these days, the Cayenne and now the Panamera are easily outselling the sports car icon. View Source August 11, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid While we knew Porsche was planning a hybrid Porsche Cayenne for the Geneva show, news of a hybrid 911 admittedly caught us a little off guard. But the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid race car, which will join the Cayenne on Porsche's Geneva stand, is a far cry from your conventional hybrid. View Source March 3, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid Concept (First Look) Officially it’s only a concept, but there’s no doubt that project XG10 -- or the 918 Spyder concept -- will pave the way for the next Porsche supercar. And what a supercar it is going to be: in addition to the normally aspirated, high-revving, 3.4-liter V-8 good for 500 hp, the striking 918 Spyder has three electric motors onboard that add another 218 hp to the tally. Says Wolfgang Dürheimer, board member in charge of R&D: “This car can lap the Nürburgring faster than the Carrera GT. At the same time, it averages 78 mpg when driven gently. Are we going to build it? We will definitely bring some blank sales contracts to the Geneva show, but it’s too early to talk pricing, production volumes, and timing. View Source March 1, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Porsche Boxster Spyder Let's skip over the marketing puffery about the Boxster Spyder "taking an idea back to the basics" and talk about the real reason this lighter roadster exists: testosterone. You see, the regular Boxster and Boxster S are very good vehicles -- nearly perfect vehicles, actually -- but they're often dismissed as chick cars. View Source August 2, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid First an SUV. Then a sedan. And now a hybrid. It may be another gut punch for purists, but Porsche's foray into volume products and new segments continues with a hybrid model for the new, second-generation Porsche Cayenne. View Source July 6, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid (First Drive) It may be another gut punch for purists, but Porsche's foray into volume products and new segments continues with a hybrid model for the new, second-generation Porsche Cayenne. However, the Cayenne S Hybrid isn't just an overweight Toyota Prius. Both the hardware and the software feature unique - or at least unusual - approaches to hybrid execution. The result is that the Porsche Cayenne doesn't drive like any other hybrid. View Source May 21, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid (First Look) With the pending CAFE standards on the horizon even sports car manufacturers like Porsche are looking for ways to improve fuel economy. Enter the 2011 Porsche Cayenne Hybrid, which shares its mechanical underpinnings with the Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid. That means a 333-horsepower supercharged V-6 from the Audi S4 and a 47-horsepower electric motor can be found underhood, paired by a decoupling clutch to allow each to run independently. Combined, the two power sources make a solid 380 horsepower and 428 pound-feet of torque and run through an eight-speed automatic transmission. View Source March 31, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Porsche Cayenne Turbo (Driven) Eight years ago, when the first Cayenne was introduced, the concern among the sports car community was whether an SUV should wear the prestigious Porsche badge, whereas Porsche's main concerns seemed to be making sure the Cayenne had Porsche-like performance and real off-road capability. Today, we've either accepted or become inured to the idea of a Porsche SUV, and Porsche's focus for the Cayenne also has changed View Source June 16, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Scion 2011 Scion tC (First Drive) It can be argued that the tC is Scion's most successful model in every way. Even though we tend to associate Scion with the square-box xB, it's actually the tC that steals the thunder. Not only is it Scion's best seller, accounting for over 40% of the brand's sales, but its buyers are also the youngest in the industry, at an average age of 26. View Source August 6, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Scion iQ (First Look) When Scion unveiled its tricked-out, Toyota iQ-based microcar concept at last year's New York auto show, executives insisted it was there to test America's appetite for ultra-small commuter vehicles. Apparently we're hungry for tiny transportation, as the automaker is using this year's show to publically unveil the 2011 Scion iQ. View Source March 31, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Scion tC (First Look) Six years without any significant upgrades takes its toll on a car's sales volume. Take, for instance, the Scion tC: largely untouched since its debut in 2004, sales peaked at 80,000 units in 2006, but plummeted to 18,000 in 2009. Obviously, it's time for a chance, and Scion hopes the new 2011 tC, which debuts at this year's New York auto show, will help reverse this freefall. View Source March 31, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Shelby 2011 Shelby GT500 Coupe For 2011, the Shelby GT500 is just plain awesome. Really, it was awesome last year too. But now it's 200 pounds lighter than the 2010 model, thanks mostly to an aluminum engine block, and has 10 more horsepower squeezed out of the blown 5.4-liter V-8. The powerplant now makes an unbelievable 550 hp -- 45 more than a Chevrolet Corvette Z06. View Source August 5, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Subaru 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX (First Look) As the performance gap between the standard Subaru Impreza WRX and the racy Impreza WRX STI continues to close, so too will the appearances of the two cars as Subaru updates the less-powerful car with the more-powerful car’s bodywork for 2011. View Source March 31, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI I could do without the big wing perched on the trunk lid, but as a whole, I rather like the way the new STI looks, what with its protruding wheel wells, strong shoulders, sparkly yet purposeful wheels, and rally blue paint. Nice. View Source August 24, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Limited The Subaru Legacy and its wagon counterpart, the Outback, share a lot of mechanicals, yet these two vehicles are quite different in how they drive. The Legacy sedan handles and steers much better, with noticeably less float. The continuously variable transmission is a bit of a drag, however. If you peg the throttle from a stop, it's painful to watch how slowly the tachometer needle climbs to its redline. In most situations, you run out of road before the needle reaches 5000 rpm. View Source August 19, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Subaru WRX STI Sedan (First Drive) During the economic nightmare that was 2009, carmakers watched their sales slide off a cliff -- all carmakers but one that is: Subaru. Instead of plunging sales, 2009 marked the third consecutive year of Subaru sales growth; giving it a record market share in the process. So far in 2010, Subaru has done even better. View Source July 19, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI Sedan (First Look) The 2010 WRX STI Special Edition doesn't make much sense as a business plan. With an upgraded suspension and a slightly decontended interior, it's a better handling STI for less money. Unless you just have to have HIDs and a trunk-shaking sound system, there's no reason to look higher up Subaru's performance hierarchy. View Source April 1, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Toyota 2011 Toyota Sienna XLE As a child of the minivan era, I've always respected these vehicles for their excellent versatility. To wit, I used the Sienna to pick up a new dining table and six chairs, still boxed, and the Toyota swallowed all contents fairly easily and without having to fold the middle-row seats (which can't fold down into the floor anyway). View Source June 4, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Volkswagen 2011 Volkswagen Amarok (First Look) The 2011 Volkswagen Amarok mid-sized pickup, officially revealed in December, made its first stop on the auto show circuit at an event put on by the Volkswagen Auto Group the night before the start of the 2010 Geneva Auto Show, a few months before the truck's European launch this summer. View Source March 2, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Volkswagen Jetta The 2011 Volkswagen Jetta SEL makes for decent, if unexciting, transportation and includes a good suite of cabin electronics. View Source August 25, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Volkswagen Jetta (First Drive) If you think about it, it's really quite surprising that we, as a country, love the Volkswagen Jetta as much as we have. It's been VW's most successful car here for thirty years, and yet it's been an afterthought this whole time. View Source July 21, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Volkswagen Jetta Revealed After months of talking about Volkswagen's NCS (New Compact Sedan), the car that would replace the Jetta was revealed today, and it is: The new Jetta. Happily, Volkswagen is nowhere near foolish enough to throw away a nameplate that has tremendous recognition, having been in constant use for three decades. View Source June 14, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Volkswagen Passat (Sneak Peek) A new Passat is due to be revealed at the Paris auto show this fall, but just how new is it? Look for it to get fresh sheet metal and a restyled cabin, but the DNA beneath the sleeker skin remains largely unchanged. View Source May 19, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid (First Drive) The Volkswagen Touareg has always been a bit of an odd man out in the world of SUVs. It arrived to the party a bit late, and since it plays in a segment of the market that's not exactly luxury, but certainly not entry-level, it doesn't exactly have any direct competitors. View Source March 8, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Volvo 2011 Volvo S60 (First Drive) Ask most Americans what single word comes to mind when they think of Volvo, and they are likely to say, “safety.” No other automaker has so burned the safety message into our brains than Volvo has over decades of advertising and brand management. View Source June 11, 2010 Provides Information 2011 Volvo V60 (First Look) We all know wagons aren't exactly flying off dealer lots in the United States, but it's still an important segment for Volvo, even more so in its native European markets. Weeks after killing the slow-selling V70 in the U.S., we've been given our first glimpse of the all-new 2011 Volvo V60 station wagon, which will debut at the 2010 Paris motor show in September. View Source July 6, 2010 Provides Information 2012 BMW 2012 BMW 135i M Coupe (Sneak Preview) They were tempted to badge it M1. But the original M1, codeveloped with Lamborghini, was a much more special machine, a successful brand-shaper, exquisite and expensive enough to qualify as a true supercar. The 2012 BMW 135i M coupe is, on the other hand, a straightforward 1-series derivative -- more straightforward, in fact, than M3, M5, and M6, all of which boast a bespoke engine. View Source July 30, 2010 Provides Information 2012 Ford 2012 Ford Focus Wagon (First Look) When Ford unveiled the much-anticipated 2012 Ford Focus hatchback and sedan at the 2010 Detroit show, it held back the Focus wagon version for Geneva instead. Why wait? It’s no secret wagons are much bigger in Europe, and with roughly a year before the new Focus actually hits the road, Ford needs to keep the hype machine rolling. View Source March 1, 2010 Provides Information 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca (First Look) Dial your odometer back to 1969, one of the most contentious years in the battle between the original ponycars, the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang. By that year, Ford president Semon "Bunkie" Knudsen had poached designer Larry Shinoda from General Motors to massage the design that would house the Mustang's GT40-derived, 290-horsepower V-8. View Source August 13, 2010 Provides Information 2012 Ford Taurus and Explorer Police Interceptor (First Look) For those of you who always obey the speed limit and come to a complete stop, the following information probably won’t be of much interest. But those of you who might occasionally bend the rules should listen up: We’ve got the skinny on Ford’s newest police vehicle offerings. You’d better start scanning the landscape for shapes other than the familiar Crown Victoria, which is no longer being sold. View Source September 1, 2010 Provides Information 2012 Ford Taurus Police Interceptor (First Look) Ford's aging Crown Victoria is barely relevant to most consumers, but cabbies and police officers across the country will bemoan its demise once production ceases next fall. The Transit Connect van may satisfy the livery fleets, but to appease law enforcement officers, Ford crafted its new 2012 Police Interceptor. View Source March 12, 2010 Provides Information 2012 Infiniti 2012 Infiniti M35h (First Drive) Nissan's first in-house-developed hybrid will be on sale in the spring of next year in the form of the 2012 Infiniti M35h. The Nissan Altima Hybrid, which is available only in a handful of states, borrows Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive technology. View Source August 10, 2010 Provides Information 2012 Mercedes 2012 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe (Sneak Peek) Remember all the fuss over the E-Class Coupe? How it was really a C-Class-based car that had been pushed upmarket? Well, there was a reason for all the subterfuge: Mercedes-Benz plans to offer a C-Class Coupe as well. And yes, it's based off the same hardware. The 108.7-inch wheelbase is identical to that of the C-Class sedan and E-Class Coupe. The engineering hardware isn't dramatically different, either. Talk about splitting a niche. View Source April 1, 2010 Provides Information 2012 Mercedes-Benz SL-class (Deep Dive) The next Mercedes-Benz SL, codenamed R231, is new from bottom to top. Loosely based on the rear-wheel drive components set of the E-class, the hardtop-coupe gets a longer wheelbase to facilitate entry and egress for a graying customer base. There's also more room for passengers and luggage. Inside, we find a more user-friendly cockpit with better ergonomics, extended memory functions and new seats developed and built together with BMW. View Source August 17, 2010 Provides Information 2013 Audi 2013 Audi A2 (First Look) Audi is determined to become the world's number one premium carmaker, and the only way the brand can reach this goal is by entering new segments of the market which generate plenty of added volume. View Source May 17, 2010 Provides Information 2013 BMW 2013 BMW 3-Series (Sneak Peek) BMW will begin to roll out its next generation 3-series, codenamed F30, in 2012. The car will be built on BMW's new MSB architecture, which means it will share its strut front end layout with the next-gen 1-series (codenamed F20) rather than use the double wishbones of the 5, 6, and 7-series cars. View Source March 22, 2010 Provides Information 2013 BMW Megacity Vehicle (First Look) BMW's Megacity Vehicle is finally taking shape with these official sketches that tease the electric car well before its 2013 arrival. View Source July 1, 2010 Provides Information 2013 Volkswagen 2013 Volkswagen E-Up! Headed For U.S. Market The Up!, Volkswagen's ambitious new minicar, has not been earmarked for North-America. But in the most recent planning round, we find the E-Up!, also known as NSF BEV (New Small Family, Battery Electric Vehicle), scheduled to hit select U.S. cities for 2013. View Source June 30, 2010 Provides Information 2014 Chevrolet 2014 Chevrolet C7 Corvette (Sneak Peek) It is clear that, in his appearance before the Corvette faithful in Bowling Green on May 1st, Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter regretted speaking as freely as he did to our reporter, industry veteran and Corvette owner Don Sherman. Mr. Juechter can spin his comments all he wishes, but a careful reading of our story, which is reprinted here, reveals that 75% of the story consists of verbatim quotes from Mr. Juechter himself. View Source May 10, 2010 Provides Information 2015 Volkswagen 2015 Volkswagen Passat Convertible (Sneak Peek) If you're not crazy about the Volkswagen Eos, you're not alone. The convertible was signed off by VW's old management, and according to the company's new leaders, it combines the worst of all worlds -- a retractable hard top along with the old family face sporting a chrome grille and teardrop headlamps. View Source June 22, 2010 Provides Information 2016 Land Rover 2016 Land Rover Defender What do the Land Rover Defender and the Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen have in common? Answer: They date back to an era when passive safety and exhaust emissions were only vague terms instead of strict norms. Although various exemptions have helped to extend the life for these and other golden oldies, the grace period granted by the European Union ends for certain in 2015 View Source June 28, 2010 Provides Information A Alfa Romeo Giulietta (First Look) Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has finally laid out his plan to integrate Fiat and Chrysler and bring Alfa Romeo back to the United States (see sidebar). The new Alfa Giulietta, just now going on sale in Europe, will be one of the models headed stateside (but not before an update in 2014). The car is also a harbinger of a whole series of promising front-wheel-drive cars yet to come from the combined Fiat/Chrysler team. View Source June 21, 2010 Provides Information Alfa Romeo's Centennial Anniversary - What's it all about, Alfa? This August, Alfa Romeo will celebrate its centennial at Pebble Beach, where it is a featured marque at the Concours d'Elegance. Rumor has it that the Italians will cap off the festivities by unveiling the 4C, a compact, lightweight sports car concept. Says one insider from parent company Fiat's headquarters: "The 8C has been a very successful halo car. What we need next is a more affordable follow-up model that spreads the message over a wider customer base." View Source March 9, 2010 Provides Information Aston Martin Cygnet (First Look) The Aston Martin Cygnet, a tiny four-seat city car based on the Toyota iQ that's making its public debut at the 2010 Geneva show, is said by Aston to encompass the creativity and prestige of the luxury brand while exhibiting an environmentally conscious approach. View Source March 2, 2010 Provides Information Audi A7 (First Look) Over the past five years, just about every German automaker has rushed to combine the body styles coupe and sedan, with varying levels of success. Not Audi. The automaker from Ingolstadt has more or less sat coolly on the sidelines as its rivals launched all manner of so-called four-door coupes, sport-activity vehicles, and four-door-coupe-hatchback supercars. View Source July 26, 2010 Provides Information Audi A8 Hybrid (First Look) Though Audi still believes hybrid vehicles are merely a stopover on the way to full-electrification, the company is somewhat reluctantly building several hybrid models that it hopes will lead the way to full-electric vehicles in the future. View Source March 3, 2010 Provides Information Audi R5 e-tron: Finding Mimo The Audi e-tron show car introduced in Detroit is powered by a couple of electric motors. But this blue beauty does not portend electric propulstion. If this car does go into production, it will most likely be fitted with a turbocharged five-cylinder, and it will be one of an exciting family of mid-engine cars. View Source July 21, 2010 Provides Information B BMW 550i Gran Turismo vs. Porsche Panamera S With the simultaneous launch of the 5-series Gran Turismo and the Panamera, BMW and Porsche have created a new vehicle category. No, the segment doesn't require the vehicles be ugly, that's just a side effect. Instead, the new breed is characterized by sporty driving dynamics, luxury equipment, rear-seat opulence, and a slanted back that is as much about style as it is about functionality. View Source May 14, 2010 Provides Information BMW-PSA (Peugeot-Citroen) Partnership Currently, BMW and PSA are connected via the Mini. The Mini's four-cylinder engines were joint a venture development between the two companies. The recent announcement of enhanced ties between Daimler and Renault-Nissan has increased speculation that BMW and PSA might extend their partnership, but so far the companies do not seem to be moving in that direction. View Source April 25, 2010 Provides Information BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept Heads For Production In 2013 (Deep Dive) BMW's striking Vision EfficientDynamics concept, which debuted at the 2009 Frankfurt auto show, is headed for production as the 300-hp halo car for the company's Project i lineup. And then there's the M version. View Source August 20, 2010 Provides Information BMW's Front-Wheel-Drive Future (Sneak Preview) Almost two years before the first front-wheel-drive BMWs arrive, we've dug up enough information to put together a detailed idea of what the model range will look like. BMW will develop its front-wheel-drive portfolio simultaneously with the next-generation Mini lineup on the UKL1 architecure. The collaboration will result in three BMW-Mini pairings with each set distinguished by a unique door arrangement. View Source August 23, 2010 Provides Information C Cadillac XTS Platinum Concept (By Design) Cadillac's 110-year trek from its initial existence as the Detroit Automobile Company has been a long, hard trip. From rising to be the "Standard of the World" it fell to the depths in the Cimarron era and is again on the way up, attaining, if not yet the pinnacle of the motor industry, at least genuine respectability. View Source March 18, 2010 Provides Information Chevrolet Corvette Racing Then and Now This June marks a golden anniversary in Corvette lore: fifty years ago, the first Chevy sports cars took on the epic challenge of racing twice around the clock at LeMans. View Source March 15, 2010 Provides Information Chevrolet Cruze Prototype (First Drive) The folks at Chevrolet aren't hiding from the truth. They know that the Cobalt (and Cavalier before it) never met the small-car standards set by the likes of the first-generation Ford Focus, the Honda Civic, and the Toyota Corolla. Now Chevrolet is aiming to establish its car as the segment standard with the all-new global compact car, the Cruze. We recently drove several preproduction cars to preview the Cruze that will go on sale this fall. View Source April 21, 2010 Provides Information Chrysler and Lancia - How It Will Work Sergio Marchionne, the omnipotent chief of the Fiat Auto and Chrysler groups, will soon announce the detailed long-term product strategy for all seven brands now under his aegis. View Source March 23, 2010 Provides Information Collectible Classic: 1959 Pontiac Bonneville As this issue goes to press, General Motors is busily off-loading its last 450 new Pontiacs, most of them G6s. It's hardly a fitting final act for a brand that gave us some of the twentieth century's most memorable cars - the GTO, the Trans Am, and the Grand Prix, to name but a few. View Source March 19, 2010 Provides Information Collectible Classic: 1984-1993 Ford Mustang LX 5.0 Americans have never been much for the metric system. We love our country miles and our cups of sugar, and we're happy to tell you what an ounce of prevention is worth. There's one metric measurement, however, that's as American as the ten-gallon hat, one that sets aflutter the hearts of Ford Mustang aficionados coast to coast: 5.0 liters - "five-oh" to the faithful. View Source July 2, 2010 Provides Information Collectible Classic: Iso Grifo Some cars are derisively said to look like refrigerators, but the shapely Italian automobiles built by Renzo Rivolta's company, Iso, are actually descended from refrigerators-or, more accurately, the refrigerator business. Iso (originally Isothermos) made refrigerators in Italy starting in 1939. In the postwar years, the company began building motorbikes, scooters, and then minicars, most notably the Isetta bubble car, which was also licensed to other manufacturers, including BMW. View Source August 5, 2010 Provides Information Comparison: 2010 Jaguar XF Premium vs. 2011 Infiniti M56 Sport When it comes to $50,000 luxury sports sedans, there is the German triumvirate, and there's everybody else. Of the others, two in particular take a surprisingly similar tack in presenting an alternative. One is Jaguar. View Source August 9, 2010 Provides Information Comparison: 2010 Subaru Outback, 2010 Mitsubishi Outlander, and 2010 Suzuki Grand Vitara   View Source March 17, 2010 Provides Information Current Trends in Small Cars - Small is Big Haven't we seen this movie before? Carmakers bring out a flurry of new small entries in response to a sudden rush of demand driven by spiking gas prices. TV talking heads intone that "gasoline is not going to get any cheaper," but then it does, and U.S. car buyers, whose collective memory is about as long as a snail darter's, revert to form and embrace size and power again. View Source March 24, 2010 Provides Information D Daimler and Renault-Nissan Alliance Product Plans More than twelve months ago, Mercedes-Benz and Renault-Nissan agreed on a joint program to develop the next-generation Smart. But despite several attempts, a more widespread, all-encompassing global cooperation agreement has yet to be signed. View Source April 6, 2010 Provides Information E Edmunds.com Car Reviews View Source   Provides Information F Ferrari 458 Italia (First Test) With the lowly Corvette ZR1 and a fresh Porsche 911 Turbo yapping at its hooves, the prancing horse rises to the asphalt-kicking cause. Ferrari's 458 Italia not only eclipses the performance of every challenger save the Bugatti Veyron, it lifts the normally-aspirated bar to heights that will probably never be topped. View Source August 27, 2010 Provides Information Ferrari 599 HY-KERS Hybrid Concept (First Look) Ferrari's HY-KERS concept, shown at the 2010 Geneva auto show, is a bit tough to swallow. The world's most iconic sports car marque, known for screaming V-8s and V-12s, is playing around with the gas-electric technology epitomized by the Toyota Prius. Yet it gets even more dramatic than a hybrid concept. Eventually - maybe ten years from now - all Ferrari's will be saddled with batteries and an electric motor. Hybridization or electrification of the Prancing Horse lineup is inevitable. View Source March 2, 2010 Provides Information Five High-Riding, Sports Car Beating Tuner SUVs High-performance SUVs seem to be the answer to a question no one asked. An ultrafast vehicle with a center of gravity higher than some sports cars' rooflines and weighs as much as several sports cars combined? View Source July 28, 2010 Provides Information Five Supercharged Tuner Camaros Chevrolet may be working on a hot Z28 Camaro, but for those who are sick of waiting for General Motors to launch the beast, we've come up with a few alternatives. View Source July 6, 2010 Provides Information Ford Fusion, Mercedes-Benz ML, Lexus RX - Powertrain Comparison Over the past few years, hybrid and diesel powertrains have become available in many different cars. Usually, they're version is more expensive than the standard, gasoline engine. We wondered, do you actually recoup their extra cost, and if so, how long does it take? View Source May 28, 2010 Provides Information Ford S-Max Titanium X Sport (Driven) You can't buy Ford's S-Max people mover, nor are we likely to see one of these highly versatile crossovers cross our shores for at least three years. That's a pity because this Belgian-built five-door wagon is one of the hottest shots in Ford's global arsenal. View Source August 20, 2010 Provides Information G GM EN-V Concepts (First Look) World's Fair events traditionally offered exciting idealistic takes on what the future may hold. So far, it looks like Expo 2010, which opens in Shanghai this summer, will carry on that tradition with a theme of "Better City, Better Life." According to GM, this trio of new urban mobility concepts that will be shown at the Expo 2010 in Shanghai this summer is one part of the equation. The first public debut of these EN-V concepts will be at the Beijing auto show next month. View Source March 24, 2010 Provides Information H Hispano Suiza (First Look) Switzerland's latest limited-volume production car made its world debut in Geneva (where else?), reviving a storied name that once adorned some of the world's most expensive cars. Striving not to break that tradition, the new car lists for 700,000 Euro ($949,300 by today's exchange rate). At first glance, that seems excessive, considering that it is largely based on the Audi R8 5.2, which tops out at 163,210 Euro ($221,300) in Germany. View Source March 3, 2010 Provides Information Hybrid Kinetic Motors Ambition is essential for any new enterprise. If that were all it took to succeed, Chinese-American start-up automaker Hybrid Kinetic Motors would be a sure thing to outsell General Motors - which is, in fact, one of its goals. View Source April 28, 2010 Provides Information I InternetAutoGuide.com Research new cars, or browse used cars for sale and auto sales. View Source   Provides Products J Jaguar/Land Rover: Premium Lightweight Architecture (PLA) At long last, Range Rover and Jaguar have found a common denominator in the sophisticated aluminum spaceframe technology recently introduced on the new XJ, and which will be shared with the next Range Rover (in 2012) and the follow-up to the Range Rover Sport (coming in 2013). View Source April 27, 2010 Provides Information L Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera and Porsche 911 GT3 RS: Extreme Sports That’s a typical sequence of mind-sets one is likely to go through when approaching two no-holds-barred supercars like the wild Porsche 911 GT3 RS and its equally exciting new soulmate, the Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera. Even Walter Röhrl, the lanky superstar who can beat God around the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife, freely admits that the sharpest street-legal scalpels still stir his stomach whenever he approaches them, ignition key in hand. View Source May 11, 2010 Provides Information Land Rover 101 - The Range of Rover The mere mention of the name Land Rover conjures images of a utilitarian, boxy, moss-green off-road vehicle slowly passing kangaroos as they stalk their prey on the mosquito-riddled frozen wetlands of the Kalahari Desert. And if you're paying attention, you'll have already made a beeline for your computer to correct us. Relax! We know that scenario is ridiculous - the Defender, the model we were envisioning, hasn't been sold in the States since Britney Spears was a virgin. Silly us. View Source April 13, 2010 Provides Information M March 2010 Auto Sales Analysis Attempting to put its recalls and unintended acceleration imbroglio into the rear-view mirror, Toyota called upon its deep reserves of cash, launching a bonanza of incentive spending in March which, naturally, obligated other carmakers to do the same. View Source April 5, 2010 Provides Information Mansory Rolls-Royce Ghost (First Look) We thought owning a Rolls-Royce Ghost would be a privilege in itself, but if that’s not exclusive to you, renowned tuner Mansory may have just the solution. View Source March 3, 2010 Provides Information Mercedes-Benz SLM AMG (Sneak Peek) We've reported recently that Mercedes-AMG was working on a smaller, cheaper SLS spin-off called the SLV, which would share the Gullwing's front-engine layout. That plan is now on the back burner. Mercedes is still interested in a derivative of its new halo model, but that prospect is currently being referred to internally as SLM. The M stands for mid-engine, as captured in the proportions of our spy illustration. View Source June 29, 2010 Provides Information Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell Prototype (First Look) Yes, the all-electric Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG E-Cell Prototype has slightly less horsepower than its gas-powered sibling. But it still has a very impressive 526 horsepower and 649-pound-feet of torque -- the latter available from the moment you mash the pedal to the floor. When you do stomp the E-Cell's accelerator, it will blast 60 mph in four seconds, according to the Benz AMG folks. View Source June 21, 2010 Provides Information Mitsubishi's 2010 Snowball Run: AWD Mitsubishis on Ice Mid-February in northern New Hampshire is idyllic winter wonderland that is a perfect destination for winter sports of all kinds. Mitsubishi chose this location to host a snow- and ice-driving event to showcase the all-wheel-drive systems on its Lancer Evolution MR, the Outlander GT, and the Lancer Sportback Ralliart. View Source March 22, 2010 Provides Information Mitsubishi i-MiEV (Driven) In about a year, Mitsubishi will join the electric-car club by offering its i-MiEV city car to US consumers. The first 'i' in the name is a play on the Japanese word for 'love' and has been used on a conventional-powered mini (kei) car that debuted in 2003 and has been sold in Japan since 2006. The remainder of the name is an acronym for Mitsubishi Innovative Electric Vehicle. View Source August 19, 2010 Provides Information Morgan Roadster (By Design) You may think that the Porsche 911 (now in its forty-sixth year) is long-lived. If you're into automotive esoterica, you'll know of India's Hindustan Ambassador, resplendent with the clumsy curves established in 1956 by Austin-Morris. But the Ambassador is a mere gawky adolescent compared with the doyen of currently available cars, the Morgan roadster, which came to market seventy-five years ago. View Source June 23, 2010 Provides Information N New Mercedes-Benz People Movers - The Space Race As the sleek Mercedes-Benz CLS is to regular four-door sedans, so is the recently unveiled Shooting Break concept related to traditional "shooting brake" station wagons. Never mind the concept label: this low-slung, high-style wagon will be a companion model to the redesigned CLS four-door coupe that debuts this fall. The production version of the Shooting Break should appear one year later, but U.S. sales are unlikely. View Source June 15, 2010 Provides Information O On Patrol in a 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Most right-minded people agree that the Ford Raptor is a sweet ride. View Source July 13, 2010 Provides Information P Peugeot SR1 Concept (First Look) The SR1 concept for the 2010 Geneva show is the latest in a string of hybrid show cars from Peugeot, but this roadster might just be the most attractive of the bunch. View Source March 3, 2010 Provides Information Porsche 911 GT2 RS and BMW M3 GTS (First Drive Twofer) Driving pleasure doesn't get much more involving than this. The Porsche 911 alerts your sixth sense even in basic Carrera form, but you can, of course, upgrade according to your budget: Carrera S, Turbo, Turbo S, GT3, GT3 RS. Last in line is now the GT2 RS, which musters an awe-inspiring 620 hp. View Source July 22, 2010 Provides Information Porsche 918 Spyder (By Design) It took 110 years for the Porsche car company to revisit its founder's concept of a hybrid powertrain with an internal-combustion engine plus electric motors. The Porsche 918 Spyder is one of the most astonishing concept cars ever presented, by anyone. View Source July 8, 2010 Provides Information Porsche, Volkswagen, and Audi Clash Over Small Sports Cars Could internal politics endanger the Volkswagen Group's trio of mid-engine compact sports cars -- the Porsche 356, the Audi R5, and the VW BlueSport? VW launched the mid-engine BlueSport concept at the 2009 Detroit auto show. The car was a runner, the engineers had done much more than their routine homework, and, in principle, marketing had given it a thumbs-up. Almost eighteen months later, however, the two-seater is still on hold. View Source June 21, 2010 Provides Information R Rinspeed UC? Concept (First Look) Ladies and gentleman, brace yourself for the next generation of metro mobility, at least in the eyes of Swiss boutique automaker and tuner Rinspeed and its mad scientist, Frank Rinderknecht. As Rinderknecht's company does every year, it will use the hometown 2010 Geneva Motor Show to debut its newest concept vehicle called the UC? -- short for Urban Commuter? or You See? -- an electric-powered microcar that aims to combine individual and public transport. View Source March 3, 2010 Provides Information S Saab's Suddenly Bright Future Meet Victor Muller, 50, the new owner of Saab. The founder of Spyker Cars is tall, fit, fashion-conscious, outspoken, and, quite obviously, rather rich. View Source June 25, 2010 Provides Information Smart ForTwo Electric Drive (First Drive) "Electric mobility is the true nature of Smart," says brand manager Marc Langenbrinck. We have to agree that the Smart ForTwo certainly looks like it should be an electric car. The tiny two-seater, with egg-like styling and plastic body panels, is so wildly different, it's sort of a let-down to find out that it's powered by a conventional gasoline engine. But the ForTwo, which first came to market (in Europe) in 1998, had been around for nine years before the first Smart EV was unveiled, in 2007. View Source June 17, 2010 Provides Information Subaru AWD Systems: A Subaru Kind of Day If ever there was a car company whose success was born of mud and snow, it's Subaru. It first got going in the United States in the 1970s, with awkward-looking little front-wheel-drive cars - back when front-wheel drive was still a novelty - and soon achieved notoriety with its four-wheel-drive wagons. The combination of traction and toughness made Subarus particularly appealing in areas of the country that see lots of snow and mud. View Source April 5, 2010 Provides Information Sport Coupe Comparison: War of the Sports Car Worlds Once upon a time, before globalism became a favorite buzzword, cars really said something about the countries that produced them. The frugality and reliability of a Honda subcompact spoke to the ingenuity and determination of post-war Japan. View Source June 28, 2010 Provides Information T Tall Wagon Comparison: 2010 Toyota Venza vs. 2010 Honda Accord Crosstour vs. 2010 Nissan Murano For nearly two decades, the Toyota Camry, the Honda Accord, and the Nissan Altima have been slugging it out atop the mid-size car segment. After so many years of close combat, it's only natural that the feud has spilled over into a new arena -- tall wagons. View Source June 1, 2010 Provides Information Tesla Roadster 2.0 Sport: Charging Expectations If small cars are particularly adept at changing direction, you might assume that small car companies can react to customer demands quickly, too. In the case of Tesla Motors, that assumption is correct. A host of updates to the Tesla Roadster addresses almost every concern we had after spending a week with the electric sports car - this Silicon Valley company is clearly listening to what people have to say. View Source March 11, 2010 Provides Information The Ford Explorer: A Retrospective In late 1990, the Ford Explorer made its debut, effectively defining the sport-utility vehicle segment that it would over for the decade that followed. Based on the Ford Ranger pickup, its mechanicals didn't exactly set the world on fire, but the concept of a versatile, off-road-ready family hauler did. View Source July 23, 2010 Provides Information Triumph Dolomite Sprint vs BMW 2002tii - The 2002 We Never Knew I still remember the day in 1968 when the genus "classic sports car" died. View Source April 7, 2010 Provides Information U U.S. Debut: Lexus CT 200h Hybrid Though we’ve already seen the Lexus CT 200h at the 2010 Geneva auto show, Lexus decided to bring the little hybrid over to bolster interest in the vehicle before it’s U.S. launch. View Source March 31, 2010 Provides Information V Volkswagen and Suzuki: Establishing a new low-cost connection Now that Suzuki has become part of the Volkswagen Group, the importance of the relatively small Hamamatsu-based player is bound to increase dramatically. By joining the VW fold, Suzuki gains access to the r&d pool of the world's most advanced volume car manufacturer. View Source April 12, 2010 Provides Information Volkswagen to increase stake in Suzuki (Deep Dive) According to the Wolfsburg grapevine, the Volkswagen Group is set to increase its 19.9 percent share in Suzuki by ten percent annually over the next four to five years. What for? We've already learned that VW might be interested in building a low-cost, Japanese version of the Up! but now it seems that the Germans are also eyeing Suzuki's crossovers, particularly the next generation of the SX4. View Source July 22, 2010 Provides Information
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