Indholdsfortegnelse for March 2008 i MotorTrend

■ Shocking Photos and Videos! Motor Trend’s “Future Shock” is just what enthusiasts salivate over-looks and specs on the hottest and newest sheetmetal. So after you’ve torn through the mag, go to motortrend.com for more visuals of the Cadillac CTS-V, Ford F-150, Hyundai Genesis, and Tesla Roadster, among others. If moving pictures move you, see our extensive video coverage of the 2008 Detroit auto show and our showdown between Subaru’s Impreza WRX STI and Mitsubishi’s EVO X at motortrend.com/multimedia/photos/gallery and motortrend.com/multimedia/videos MOTOR TREND…

IT MIGHT soon overtake the Corvette ZR1/Blue Devil as the most-photographed future car of recent times. It’s worth showing again, because in this color, with a bit more of the camouflage removed, the first production Porsche sedan is looking better. Power will come from the Cayenne’s direct-injection gas 4.8-liter V-8 with VarioCam Plus valve control, rated 385 horsepower naturally aspirated and 500 with twin turbos. The Cayenne engine has been significantly redesigned to fit under the Panamera’s low hood, and there will be a gas V-6, probably Audi’s 3.6-liter, and likely available in an electric hybrid drivetrain. (Porsche remains diesel-averse.) Not so certain is whether Porsche will add a sporty wagon version, although one is under consideration.…

THIS IS the wide-track Passat, VW’s Bonneville to its everyday Chevy Bel Air of a Passat sedan. The Passat CC that made its debut at the Detroit show is VW’s latest move upmarket, a sporty four-door coupe that bridges the gap between the Passat and the Europe-only Phaeton sedan and takes on the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class. It’ll come with all kinds of sport/luxury features, but not the Phaeton’s V-8 or W-12. Standard engine for the U.S. will be the GTI’s 197-horse, 2.0-liter TSI turbo four, with front drive and six-speed manual or automatic. The 3.6-liter FSI V-6, rated 295 horses and with 4Motion all-wheel drive only, will come with a six-speed Tiptronic automatic. The Passat CC comes with frameless doors. It has an integrated rear spoiler and a claimed 0.29 coefficient…

PRESIDENT BUSH has signed the Energy Bill passed in the House that sets Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards at 35 mpg for cars, import cars, and trucks. The bill came back to the House after the Senate removed language that established incentives for renewable energy production and use. Money for the incentives would’ve come in part from a $13-billion tax increase for oil companies. Instead, it’ll be the automobile industry that’ll bear the brunt of the bill’s provisions, although a requirement that oil companies blend 36 billion gallons per year of renewable fuels into gasoline by 2022 survived. While the Detroit Three quickly posted press releases praising the Energy Bill as soon as the House passed it, they’ll have 12 years, or two-and-a-half product cycles, to increase their CAFE numbers…

0:2 FORD’S had a tough few years and faces more of them in an increasingly competitive automotive landscape. But the Mustang is one of the company’s bright spots. The current-gen S197-platformed model has been a runaway sales hit since its launch in 2005, and its first serious freshening is on the way. The basics remain the same, but the workover will be thorough. Coupe and convertible body styles will still be offered, with V-6 and a variety of V-8 powertrains. Our Dearborn sources tell us model-rollout plans are still being finalized, but the current scenario is that 2009 will be an abbreviated model year, those cars being identical to the 2008. Then, the 2010s will be introduced in spring 2009, much as Ford did when it introduced the 1964½ Mustang…

0:8 JAGUAR HAS gone outside the box with nearly every aspect of the XF. Its look is fresh and bold. The interior design and technology are anything but retro. Unlike its competitors from Germany, there’s no six-cylinder “base” model sold in the U.S. Perhaps trying to focus more beginner buyers toward the updated-for-2008 X-Type, you’ll find no fewer than eight cylinders beneath an XF bonnet. Buy-in begins with the aforementioned 4.2-liter, 300-horsepower V-8. The XF Supercharged ups the ante to the same blown, 4.2-liter, 420-horsepower V-8 currently huffing away in the performance-minded XKR coupe/convertible and XJR sedan. But BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz offer their midsize sport/lux four-doors with 450 to 500 horses. So that’s where Jag is headed with the XFR. Our intel suggests the XFR V-8 will share certain…

0:11 YOU’RE looking at Dodge’s answer to the Porsche 911 GT3 RS or Lotus Exige, a road car you can drive to the track, hot lap all day, and drive back home, tires, brakes, and ego intact. The Viper ACR is raw. It’s wired. And it’s probably the best weekend racer yet from Detroit. The ACR has exactly the same power and torque as the regular Viper—600 horses and 560 poundfeet. The engine drives through a smaller dual plate clutch that reduces rotating inertia by 18 percent and the latest iteration of the Tremec T6060 six-speed that includes triple-cone synchros on first and second, and 10-percent-wider gears to manage the torque. The new GKN ViscoLok diff features its own sump to quicker generate the hydraulic pressure needed to actuate the…

presented by 2007 SEMA Show Celebrity Sightings Along with the over 130,000 professional automotive car and truck accessories buyers, exhibitors and industry professionals at the 2007 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas were celebrity musicians, actors, sport pros and automotive industry icons. After all, celebrities are just as crazy for vehicle accessories as the rest of us and they know that the best place to see the hottest trends and newest products is the SEMA Show.…

0:15 NISSAN’S in a strange place with the Murano. It sells more every year—annual sales are nearly double what they were after the Murano came out for the 2004 model year—but the Murano was getting stale. Plus, fresh new entries are overwhelming the segment: There were only a handful of crossovers five years ago; now there are more than 25, and that number could go up to 35 by the end of 2008. How does Nissan make the Murano better without changing what makes it sell? The new model adheres to the basic Murano theme—sporty drive, functional yet stylish cabin, wrapped in a unique-looking shell. The body is updated, though it looks much like the original. However, there’s a new front end, which uses a more angular grille, narrow, sportier…

0:18 A JET-LAGGED, carb-loaded mind is wander-prone, so while the Lexus rep described how the cross-linked variable-rate shocks use a spring-rate valve to help limit dive, squat, and roll in the new LX 570, improving its dynamic handling, I daydreamed first of hippopotami in ballerina skirts, then of the Rubenesque Motormouth Maybelle dancing to “Big, Blonde, and Beautiful” in the musical adaptation of John Waters’s “Hairspray.” This largest Lexus has no more business vamoosing through chicanes than it does scaling 45-degree slopes, fording two-foot-deep streams, or straddling nine-inch-tall rocks; yet it’s capable of doing all the above. In fact, it seems to have been optimized for such bushwacking, with innovations like Crawl Control (think three-speed downhill-assist that also works uphill), Active Height Control (which can tip-toe three inches above or…

0:27 HOOFING it out of the convention hall after Chevrolet’s press update on the Volt at the Los Angeles auto show, I came away feeling that I, finally, once-and-for-all, absolutely, had the future of the automobile figured out. No question about it: Plug-in hybrids like the Volt (or as GM prefers to call it, an extended-range electric vehicle) will be how we and our kids will get around in our looming $100-plus per-barrel-oil and climate-changing world. “The Volt’s on schedule,” they confidently stated, and its first set of development batteries—which arrived on Halloween at GM’s research center in Warren, Michigan—“turned out to be a treat not a trick,” their battery czar quipped. It’s nice when the light above the road to tomorrow is suddenly so brightly illuminated like this. The…

0:30 WITH ALL the attention on the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon 2-Mode Hybrids going on sale in January, some might wonder where the Cadillac Escalade is in all this. Isn’t it supposed to be the technology leader within GM? Although Cadillac says the Escalade was part of this rollout plan from the beginning, it won’t be getting this hybrid system until the summer, almost six months after Chevy and GMC. But don’t expect to find any of the same aero, body, or physical changes on the Cadillac that are part of its Chevy and GMC brothers. Cadillac says it’s not about compromise, so the Escalade will keep its full-size spare, steel rear hatch, glass release, and standard hood as well as all those cushy interior seats. However, it’ll most…

0:40 LAST YEAR, Mitsubishi recorded its best numbers in four years, with global retail sales up 15 percent. Much of this success can be attributed to the launch of its two new C-segment stars, the Outlander SUV and Lancer sedan. Both of these models receive additional pop from a torquey new 2.4-liter engine. For the Outlander, this adds a lower entry point to what was a V-6-only lineup, while the Lancer gets a “big block” in the top-level GTS trim. The new 4B12 engine is a bored-and-stroked variant of the all-aluminum, 2.0-liter engine that inaugurated the Lancer’s launch. Displacement is up 362 cc via an 11mm increase in piston stroke (to 97) and a 2mm increase in cylinder bore diameter (to 88). Like the smaller engine, the 2.4-liter version features…

WITH A LITTLE over 8000 miles on the odometer, the RDX transported photographer Brian Vance and a couple friends to Northern Nevada for a “helping of genuine off-roading” while in search of “a hot-spring tub in the East Walker River Canyon.” Though the RDX is more soft-roader than hard-core rock climber, it impressed Vance with its “gripping abilities,” which managed to maneuver the little luxury ’ute “off the beaten path and down a skinny, steep, rocky trail.” Unfortunately, “At one point, the terrain became more than the Acura bargained for. I stashed it on the side of the path and hopped into my friend’s Ford Ranger 4x4.” When not noting the RDX’s off-road abilities, Vance was keen to observe its “luxury aspirations (or lack thereof): The cargo area is poorly…

IT USED to be that Mercurys were more than badgified Fords. One of the most memorable Mercury dream machines was this futuristic concept, first shown in 1955. It bristled with whiz-bang, Buck Rogers design ideas and foretold a future model, the 1957-1958 production Turnpike Cruiser. The XM Turnpike Cruiser’s neatest feature was a different take on the notion of gullwing doors. Besides conventional, front-hinged doors, there were roof panels that flipped up. The panels were of tinted plastic and rose automatically when the doors were opened. They weren’t necessary, but looked interesting. Other unique design cues were dual exhaust pipes that exited through the rear fenders, four heavily chromed rocket-launcher-style bullets in the front bumper, and a back window that could be lowered. While the XM had single headlights, the…

HONDA’S 2009 Pilot crossover SUV was unveiled in “concept” guise at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show. True to form, Honda didn’t release actual photos of the eight-passenger crossover before the show, but instead teased with this high school notebook drawing. While it doesn’t tell much beyond the fact that the Pilot looks cleaner than its upmarket sibling, the Acura MDX, we’re told the Honda comes off as a more serious SUV, largely because it’s held its ground as a “medium-duty” off-roader, while softer crossovers have entered the market. Honda will likely upgrade its engine to 3.8 liters from the current 3.5 V-6, and the new Honda diesel will be added about one year after launch, for 2010.…

JOHN ROCK was a reporter’s dream and (mostly) a P.R. guy’s nightmare. He always spoke his mind and seldom toned down his language, making him perhaps the most quotable general manager in General Motors’s history. Rock was a lifer at GM who became general manager of GMC in 1984, where he predicted trucks would soon account for more than half the market. He ran Oldsmobile from 1992 until Ron Zarrella forced his retirement in 1997. I was lucky enough to interview him in 2006 for Motor Trend Classic (issue no. 5), where he was open, funny, friendly, and insightful. Rock died last November 16 in Hot Springs, North Dakota. He was 71. One P.R. guy not afraid of him was Gus Buenz, who worked with him at Olds: “He was…

letter of the month give me a brake This letter may fit in the stupid-college-student-doesn’t-know-better category, but I’ve had a lingering question nobody’s been able to answer: Why are people (meaning the automotive press) happy about parking brakes going electric? I concede the advantages include more cupholder space and no more burning brake-pad smell after not completely disengaging the brake before driving off. But batteries get discharged periodically. So let me summarize what battery failure now means: You’re locked out of your car (smart keys), you can’t pop the clutch to start it (auto-clutch transmissions), you have to find the radio-reset code (antitheft audio), you have to schedule a pricey dealer visit to clear that OBD fault code, and, oh yeah, your car might roll down that hill like a…

0:1 THIS IS IT. The fastest, most powerful Cadillac ever built. The fastest, most powerful American sedan in history, for that matter. Locked, loaded, and gunning for Europe’s heavy-hitting sport sedans—BMW M5, Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, Audi RS6. Read all that again. Now pinch yourself. No, you’re not dreaming. Motown—well, GM at least—has its mojo back. Meet Cadillac’s monster new CTS-V. Cadzilla, if you will. Here are the raw numbers: 550 horsepower at 6200 rpm. 550 pound-feet of torque at 4000 rpm. They’re only official “estimates,” but as the engine under the new CTS-V’s power-domed hood is fundamentally the same as the supercharged V-8 that’s credited with 620-plus horsepower and at least 600 pound-feet in the hot new Corvette ZR1, you can safely assume the real SAE-certified figures will be close.…

SUDDENLY IT’S 1970. A horsepower war has been raging for several years even as the nattering on global warming has grown in intensity and shrillness. Well, power-fiends, get ’em while you can. The cars on this page are all destined for production but there is serious cause for concern as to the likelihood they’ll be replaced by anything as ostentatiously powerful or gluttonous. The specter of a 35-mpg CAFE standard throws a wet blanket on this class of cars. Asked about Camaro’s long-range future, GM alpha car guy Bob Lutz responds, “I think anything in high volumes that falls well outside of 35 mpg is out of the question.” Translation: Niche players like the Corvette ZR1s and CTS-Vs have a future; 50,000-plus-selling Camaros and Challengers—not so much. Oh, sure, maybe…

0:9 IF IT doesn’t impress you that Hyundai is about to bring its first rear-drive sedan to the U.S., starting under $30,000 and rising to $36,000 to $40,000-plus with the optional all-aluminum V-8, think of General Motors and Ford. Think of what GM is going through to bring sub-Cadillac rear-drive sedans back to the market. Of how Ford Motor Company doesn’t have the cash to develop one. Think of how Chrysler got a lot of help from Mercedes-Benz to do it. And think of the Chrysler 300 and 300C, as well as Pontiac G8, Toyota Avalon, and Nissan Maxima, as the Genesis’s primary competition. “We’re not going to sell to the BMW buyer,” one insider admits. Except maybe to real estate investors who are looking to trade in BMWs for…

0:12 PERENNIAL member of the 100K sales club, the Chevy’s HHR has always maintained solid-citizen status among the ranks of the Bowtie Brigade. For 2008, the new SS gives it a long-overdue dose of attitude, as well. Created by GM’s Performance Division, this high-energy variant adheres to the new-era SS credo to “go, stop, and turn” with serious intent. And it pulls it all off in a surprisingly affordable manner. Building visual street cred for the SS starts with bolder fascia/grille/sill treatments set off by 18-inch forged polished alloys wrapped in W-rated 225/45 all-season Michelin Pilot HX MXM4s. Inside, unique trim complements deeply bolstered sport seats, a three-spoke sport wheel, A-pillar-mounted boost gauge, and a quicker shifter that’s moved up and forward to facilitate high-intensity grab-’n’-stab work. Manuals get new…

0:14 FOR MATT O’Leary and Pat Schiavone, P415 was just another assignment. To their bosses in Dearborn, though, P415—the internal codename for the 2009 Ford F-150—was almost certainly the Ford Motor Company’s single most important new-model design and development program this decade. The F-150 is a phenomenon: More than 33 million have been sold since the nameplate was launched in 1948, and the F-Series has been America’s best-selling truck for 31 years straight. Last year, one in three vehicles carrying the Blue Oval badge sold in America was an F-Series. On a world scale, the F-Series accounts for 13 percent of global Ford Motor Company sales—including Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mazda, the lot. This thing is a big deal in Dearborn. Chief engineer O’Leary and chief designer Schiavone seem remarkably…

0:16 PORSCHE has fashioned a new sports machine that comfortably seats four adults and hauls lots of luggage, but we’re not referring, yet, to the Panamera Gran Turismo sedan. It won’t reach showrooms until 2009, but, to the chagrin of the purists who still mourn the day Porsche began building trucks, the Panamera’s promised combination of performance and luxurious utility is available, right now, with the 2008 Cayenne GTS, our seat-of-the-pants choice as the best-handling SUV on the planet. With 405 horsepower from a freer-breathing version of the 4.8-liter V-8 in the 385-horsepower Cayenne S, the $70,195 GTS slots neatly between the S and the 500-horsepower Cayenne Turbo in engine output and price, but its dynamic prowess makes the GTS more than just a marketing exercise. A lower stance, Turbo-sourced…

THE traditional pickup is moving rapidly beyond its leafsprung, boxy boundaries, and what were once SUVs have been replaced with car-based, street-minded crossovers. The rules of building a truck, sport/utility, or crossover have been thrown out the window, and the future of this category is decidedly unclear. Will hybrid systems save full-size SUVs? Will diesel power trickle down the line from the heavy-duty truck set? Is everything going to be a crossover? Fuel-economy regulations are shaping many future trucks, and it’s no surprise that a high priority has been set on fuel efficiency and low weight. In fact, many of the upcoming models are based on the smallest truck(like) platforms these particular companies have to offer. Even the Explorer, the vehicle for which the term “sport/utility vehicle” was coined, may…

0:28 COMPARED with the dust-up between GM and Toyota over who’s got the better approach to hybrid and plug-in hybrid technology (i.e., Volt versus Hybrid Synergy Drive), the General has been positively genteel in its pursuit of hydrogen fuel-cell technology. There’s been, rather boringly, not a speck of mud slung between GM and Honda, which recently unveiled its impressive FX Clarity. Not only are GM’s and Honda’s fuel-cell teams perfect gentlemen when referring to each other, but their respective research-fleet vehicles will soon be equaniminously refilling at many of the same hydrogen stations. (Although they’d better; these stations are few and far between). Nonetheless, there’s a canyon of difference between the H2-fueled Clarity and Equinox. Where the Clarity is a future world, clean-sheet FCEV, GM pragmatically plugs its parts into…

AS THESE words are pecked out, our government is busy dragging its heels at the climate-change conference in Bali, but back home the fear of rising fuel prices and relentless media harping on global warming is beginning to motivate buyers to seek out more efficient transportation. And if the carrot of demand doesn’t work, Congress is sharpening a stick that’ll hike the long-standing CAFE standards to 35 mpg. For these reasons, the brightest minds at every major automaker are toiling on projects ranging from adding biofuel capability to existing car lines, to downsizing engines and adding turbos and direct injection, to developing hybrids and full electric vehicles, to moon-shot programs like Honda’s FCX Clarity hydrogen-fuel-cell vehicle (see page 100). Battery development is a key enabler to meeting customer expectations for…

0:41 SLAPPING a 9-3-style grille and mounting the ignition key on the floor of a GMC Envoy made an SUV that Saab dealers could sell as a stopgap measure against the Volvo XC90. Now, General Motors has learned how to better delineate various brands’ models through an “architecture,” and in roughly a year and a half will launch a new SUV whose Saab-ness goes beyond front-end styling and ignition key location. The 2010 9-4x will be much more of a Saab than the 9-7x simply because it’s baked into the crossover’s design, not added on after the fact. The 9-4x will be built on a new version of an existing platform called “Premium Theta.” Regular Theta underpins the Chevy Equinox, Pontiac Torrent, Suzuki XL-7, Saturn Vue, and Opel Antara. Saab…

LADIEEEEZ and gentlemen, welcome to the octagon for the main event, a grudge match of epic proportions pitting the top two contenders in the world for the title of all-wheel-drive, turbo four-cylinder champion. In the red corner, weighing in at 3356 pounds, is a black belt with the heart of a boxer: the all-new 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI. Wearing silver gray and also hailing from Japan is the 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution GSR, a 3546-pound track master capable of throwing down in conditions ranging from tarmac to gravel to snow. Like human mixed-martial artists, the Lancer Evolution and WRX STI are multi talented warriors that excel in all forms of combat. They both see regular competition around the globe in everything from rally to enduro racing, autocross to circuit…

THERE WAS a time when no German maker except Porsche produced supercars—Mercedes AMG, BMW M, and Audi RS versions of high-volume cars are different from a bespoke sports car. Now all that has changed, as Porsche is going up against the mass-makers with the Cayenne SUV and Panamera sport sedan. The mass-makers see no reason why they should stay off the 911’s turf. So AMG begins testing its new Mercedes supercar early this year for launch about 2010. Codenamed R197, it’ll be cheaper than the SLR McLaren, though considerably more expensive than a basic 911. Its gullwing doors are most striking, but the whole body is entirely different from that of any other Mercedes. Power comes from AMG’s 6.2-liter V-8, already rated at 500-plus horses, with turbos if the market…

CADILLAC is about to become General Motors’s technology leader. The parent company undoubtedly figured it should do that when accounting for the costs of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid. You can absorb more cost with the sticker price of a Caddy, and besides, there’s that old tradition of trickle-down. So with that in mind, Cadillac hinted at its 2010 small-midsize crossover with a high-tech concept named Provoq (referencing the XLR/Evoq, of course). No, the production model won’t be called that, and it won’t be called BRX, either. Provoq rides on GM’s E-Flex architecture and features a hybrid electric/hydrogen-fuel-cell drivetrain featuring a 70kW front motor and two 30kW rear motors. Cadillac says it’ll do 0-to-60 mph in 8.5 seconds, top out at 100 mph, and run for 280 miles between…

WHAT DO the 15 presidential candidates from the two major parties drive? It’s a great question, a suggestion from one of our readers, which isn’t so easily answered. While campaigning across Iowa and New Hampshire, all the Republicans, but only two of the Democrats managed to respond. (A third Democrat, Barack Obama, reportedly drives a Chrysler 300. We were unable to ascertain whether or not it’s a Hemi.) At presstime, one of the Republicans already had dropped out of the race: Rep. Tom Tancredo, from Colorado, who drives a Toyota Prius. Of the frontrunners, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has the biggest car connection. His father, George, who ran for the GOP nomination in 1968, was earlier chairman of American Motors. Mitt Romney’s sons bought him a car from when…

0:7 YOU’LL notice the heartbeat every time you enter the driver’s seat of the new 2009 Jaguar XF sedan. Not just your ticker—the car’s, too. Slide into the cockpit, and immediately your eyes are drawn to the keyless start/stop button on the center console: It’s beating a rhythmic red, as if the XF is coming alive. Press it, and the supercharged 4.2-liter V-8 twists into a muted whir, concealed air vents in the dash glide open, an innovative rotary shift knob—the so-called JaguarDrive Selector—rises out of the transmission tunnel. You’ve just witnessed “the Jaguar handshake,” the first of several servings of pizzazz that differentiate this striking new four-door from such classmates as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the BMW 5 Series. “You may recognize the grille as being inspired by the…

0:10 THERE’S NO V-8 for Hyundai’s rear-drive “BT” coupe. Although it’s based on the Genesis, it’s shorter and doesn’t have enough space under the hood to package the new Tau V-8. But Hyundai is wringing nearly 300 horses out of its 3.8-liter V-6, so the car could be a credible Mustang GT-fighter for less than $25,000. While the BT shares Genesis architecture, it’s 13.3 inches shorter on a 4.6-inch-shorter wheelbase, and it’s 4.2 inches lower. Width is up 1.6 inches. Of course, a six-speed manual gearbox will be available and the automatic is likely to be the same five-speed as in V-6 versions of the Genesis. The Hyundai coupe you see here is a concept, so don’t expect the 2009 production version out this fall to have the fins in…

0:13 LOTUS has long been known as a pure enthusiast’s car, but with its new 2008 Lotus Exige S 240, the company is showing it hasn’t forgotten about taking these vehicles to the streets of your own neighborhood. The Exige S 240 gets a power bump from 220 horses to 240, hence the name, and a torque increase from 165 pound-feet to 170. Along with this added oomph, Lotus upgraded the clutch plate cover to handle the extra twist, which is expected to be good for 0-to-60 in 4.0 seconds and 100 mph in just under 10 seconds. Also new for Lotus are variable traction and launch controls. The traction-control system lets you choose from 11 different settings. One through 10 allow you to control slip, one being the least…

0:17 AS WE go smaller and greener and move away from big, body-on-frame V-8 sport/utilities to more compact crossovers, Kia branches into a new segment with its V-8-powered, body-on-frame, seven-passenger Borrego sport/utility. It features the same powerful (about 375 horses!) 4.6-liter V-8 you’ll find under the hood of Hyundai’s new Genesis. Kia says the V-8 Borrego (Mohave in South Korea) will go on sale just ahead of the Genesis V-8. So let’s talk timing. When Kia began developing the Borrego some four years ago, gas was under $2 per gallon, automakers were still touting the sustainability of the big-truck boom, and Toyota was working on its huge new Sequoia. Good thing for Kia, the Borrego is closer to the Highlander in size and will come with a 260-horsepower, 257-pound-foot 3.8-liter…

0:26 SO HOW fast is the Tesla Roadster really? In a few seconds, we’re gonna find out because framed by its porthole-size windshield is a deliciously straight stretch of Skyline Boulevard, a knockout snake of a road we’ve never heard of before in the coastal hills above San Carlos, California. San Carlos, in case you’re not Google-Earthing at the moment, is the inviting, northwestern Silicon Valley ’burb where Tesla decided to settle its unpretentious research and development quarters about four years ago. Through the trees, we occasionally glimpse Stanford’s 285-foot-tall Hoover Tower some seven and a half miles away. Okay, then, I’ve got the brake pedal stapled to the floor. The mirrors are scoped for innocent traffic. Coast is clear. Dip into the accelerator and…remember that Mark Twain quip about…

0:29 ALTHOUGH they’d never admit it, the folks at GM learned a thing or two from Toyota. Not only did the Prius give Toyota a “greener” public image, it did a good job with the technology, too. Now, it’s GMs turn to shine. We recently got some time behind the wheel of a 2009 GMC Yukon 2-Mode Hybrid (on sale now, along with the Chevy Tahoe Hybrid) to see how it compares with a non-hybrid model. After just finishing up a 12-month, 20,000-mile tour of duty with a comparably equipped GMC Yukon SLT2 non-hybrid model, we can say the new 2-Mode system (co-developed by DaimlerChrysler, BMW, and GM) is nothing short of stunning. In large-SUV history, this just might be the single greatest leap forward in powertrain technology. So why…

0:39 “IN THE past, we haven’t gotten this [the Americanization of European models] thing right,” admits Don Straitiff, lead design engineer of the Saturn Astra—nee Opel Astra. “This time, our goal was to leave the Opel version virtually intact.” Cue the golden ray of heavenly light and the fingers sweeping over harp strings that should accompany such epiphanies. But would we really still swoon if smart-driving Eurocars were Xeroxed directly onto America’s potholed streets and speeds-trangled freeways? Because what we’ve got here is exactly what any of us who’s ever rented a basic car in Europe has silently pleaded for to ourselves: Please, please, import this little honey. Wish granted. GM has taken Europe’s second-best-selling car and done a minimalist twiddle to the nose to meet American headlight and front-impact…

LOOK AT what’s next from the world’s automakers. They weren’t waiting for the 2020 Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards or even stricter, looming European Union CO2 standards to design smaller, more fuel-efficient models. For cars, the most influential introduction of the new millennium has been the Mini Cooper, which proved that Americans do like small, premium-priced hatchbacks if they’re stylish, well-appointed, and offer lots of personalization. Compact and midsize cars that have grown larger every four or five years have paved the way for the Scions, Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, Nissan Versa, and soon, the European Ford Fiesta replacement, presented in concept form as the Verve and heading our way in a couple years. The Mini and Europe’s higher car prices combined with the ever-shrinking U.S. dollar paved the way…

AS THE automotive scene evolves, it’s getting harder find a neat, tidy category for every vehicle. This may have started with the minivan and sport/utility, but has continued from there with sport/utility trucks and, most recently, the crossover. Yet there’s a new category, one that currently only contains two vehicles: the compact minivan-like crossover wagon. For 2007, the Kia Rondo joins the Mazda5 in this exclusive group. The Rondo is based on the Optima sedan platform. Like a minivan, it seats seven (five is the base passenger layout), but, unlike a minivan, it uses standard doors in all four spots instead of two sliding ones along the rear sides. The minivan/crossover was such a standout at the 2007 Car of the Year event we decided to add one to our…

WE FIRST SAW how good the new GMT900 SUV platforms were two years ago when we had a pair in our 2007 Sport/Utility of the Year competition. Everyone was impressed with the stellar leap forward GM had made with the Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon. Risky, we thought, putting so much effort and money into a group of vehicles with so many issues working against it: The enviros hated them, crossovers were on the march, and the price of fuel was climbing daily. Regardless of how risky that business decision was, we still wanted a closer look at a GMC Yukon to see if these improvements were the real deal. GMC sent us an SLT with just about every option available, topping out our vehicle close to $50,000—premium pricing, but…