Innehållsförteckning för September 2009 från MotorTrend

■ More, More, More Sheetmetal! Every month, we cram as many reviews of the latest and greatest sheetmetal as we possibly can onto the pages of Motor Trend, but with literally hundreds of vehicles launching a year, unfortunately there’s only so much we can present to you. But at MT.com, space is never a concern, and we’re cranking out a never-ending stream of reviews, comparisons, and tests to augment our magazine coverage. Among the latest to hit the Web are a showdown between the new Cadillac SRX and the Lexus RX, a test of the hot Jaguar XFR, and a tire-smoking romp in the tuned-up Roush 427R Mustang. Find it all here: www.motortrend.com/roadtests…

AS WE predicted last year, Toyota is preparing its tiny iQ 3+1 city car for North America, badged as a Scion. The car could arrive late in 2010 as an ’11 model, or in early 2011 as a ’12. Under Scion’s revived one-model-and-out strategy, the iQ would be replaced with something different after a single five-year cycle. It’s less than 118 inches in length, yet seats three adults and has qualified for a five-star rating under the recently toughened European NCAP safety assessment program. Clever packaging innovations enable the passenger to sit further forward than the driver, so an adult can sit behind. A child can squeeze behind a sub-six-foot driver, making the car a 3+1. Chief engineer Hiroki Nakajima says the tiny car is central to Toyota’s global carbon…

VOLKSWAGEN is preparing a new Touareg SUV for European launch next spring, with U.S. sales months later as a 2011 model. Targets for the new model are better economy, both through significantly more efficient powertrains and lighter overall weight, plus the incorporation of a third row of child seats. The design will reflect VW’s new Walter da Silva-mandated approach: emphasis on horizontal lines and a nose characterized by a wide grille between oblong lamps. It’ll retain SUV-like cues too. The hood and body sides have fewer, crisper feature lines and a greater simplicity of surfacing, which should well suit a sport-utility. The Touareg has always had immense off-road capability, outfitted with a dual-range transfer case, locking differentials, and huge wheel articulation. That stuff is heavy and expensive, and many customers…

fallout I was a little disheartened when I read your ponycar war report (June). I’ve been waiting for just such a comparison on my three favorite forms of American Muscle, but I would’ve figured the stakes would be a little more fair. I figured when the project was run, it would’ve tested the high end of all three vehicles, not just of the Camaro. I’m all in on a head’s-up challenge among the three, but the heads should have been on a more even playing field. If testing the SS, the GT500 and the SRT8 should’ve been allowed to vie for their fair share. Of course, the Mustang and the Challenger are going to falter next to the Camaro when they’re pitted against a top-end version. Shawn CaskeyPampa, Texas I…

1989-1991 The original idea was merely to have Yamaha design DOHC heads for the venerable Vulcan V-6, but the idea never got off the ground. Anticipating 20,000 annual sales, an entirely new engine was designed, featuring dual-length intake runners to broaden the torque curve. The engine was said to be good for 8500 rpm, but redlined at 7000 revs to preserve the accessory drive. A Mazda-sourced five-speed manual served as the only transmission offering, and its action drew copious complaints. Sport suspension tuning attempted to impart BMW-like moves, while Thunderbird SC seats upgraded the interior and unique body-color fascias and side cladding told the world this Taurus was something special. Total sales: 32,737. 1992-1995 A major restyling extended the nose and tail and the SHO was further differentiated by fitting…

IT’S THE NOISE. I got into the Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport feeling cynical, wondering how Bugatti could justify charging $280,000 on top of the Veyron coupe’s $1.7 million—plus local taxes and delivery—for a convertible with less than half the stiffness of the closed-cockpit car, weighing 224 pounds more and running a couple tenths slower to 60 mph. And then I pressed the starter button. One of the many astonishing things about the Veyron is the way it takes such an extreme power output—way in excess of a modern Formula 1 car—and puts it into a docile, driveable, reliable package. But you don’t realize just how well-insulated the coupe is until you start the Grand Sport with the roof off. The driveline is unchanged, but at standstill and at low speeds…

WHEN THE second-generation TSX made its debut, offered solely with a 201-horse, 2.4-liter four-cylinder, we were a bit let down. Not because it’s a disappointing engine, but because the TSX’s sporty chassis seemed capable of shouldering a lot more oomph. Which is why we hoped Version 2.0 would have offered the RDX’s 240-horse, 2.3-liter turbo, but that was not to be. Fortunately, the TSX had a different power boost on the back burner. We’re of course talking about the 280-horse V-6 from the $35,765 TL. As in the TL, this 3.5-liter in the TSX works exclusively with a five-speed automatic offering both sport and manual modes, as well as steering wheel-mounted shift paddles. Most important, it helps scoot the TSX down the dragstrip with alarming alacrity—0 to 60 takes…

AS FRESH generations of cars come to fruition, often displayed in substantially larger dimensions, it’s sometimes difficult to maintain a brand’s core values. With the launch of its fifth-generation Legacy, though, Subaru has managed to do just that. Subaru’s 2010 flagship doesn’t look considerably bigger than its predecessor, but with a wheelbase stretched 3.2 inches and width pushed 3.6, it boasts 9.5 cubic feet of additional passenger volume, 3.9 inches of extra rear legroom, and 3.3 cubic feet of added cargo space. Engineers incorporated copious high-strength steel, a new control-arm rear suspension, and framed windows, making the 2010 the strongest, quietest Legacy yet. At $20,690, the base 2.5i gets a 170-horse flat-four mated to a six-speed manual. Standard equipment is aplenty—keyless entry, stability control, and electronic parking brake with hill-holder;…

ABOUT SIX months after it annihilated a field of 17 vehicles and won our 2009 Car of the Year, the Nissan GT-R has finally landed in our long-term fleet. As you may know, it is COTY protocol for a winner to return to us in factory-fresh form for a year-long test, to see firsthand if our love wanes or grows and if our judgment was sound or—gasp!—flawed. And if you’re wondering why it took half a year for us to get our hands on one, well, the answer is threefold: Low volume (about 2000 per year), high demand (the 2009s sold out about as quickly as the GT-R hits 60), and the fact that Nissan wasn’t exactly clamoring to lend a supercar to a bunch of lead foots for 12…

RESIDENT BMW aficionado, photographer Brian Vance, spent some Q.T. in the 335d and notes, “With so much low-end torque and RWD, it’s hard to resist the occasional smoky burnout—just hold the DTC button for four seconds until it goes into stage-two deactivation, then power-brake the car, and instantly the rear rubber breaks free of asphalt grip, proving this diesel has numerous performance tricks up its sleeve.” Vance also raves about the fuel-economy trick. “I drove it for five days, with lots of heavy throttle applications, as well as a photo scouting trip from L.A. to Newport Beach, and the tank is still plenty north of gas-light activation. You sure can’t do anywhere near that in a 335i.” Associate Web producer Rory Jurnecka is “not thrilled by the price—perilously close to…

TRUCK TREND Web producer Melissa Spiering spent some time commuting in the TL and logs, “Once you’re inside with the doors shut, you almost forget about the misshapen exterior looks because the interior is so enchanting. The all-black dash is powerful with the ‘perforated aluminum’ accents, the gauges are easy on the eyes and have a three-dimensional look at night, and the front seats feel sportier than I expected, hugging your backside nice and snug.” Nits? “The integrated radio head unit and nav are legible but they incorporate too many buttons. And the power is plenty adequate, but not as outstanding as I expected.” Overall, the TL’s smart interior and sporty but forgiving suspension endeared Spiering. “I can see why buyers would overlook the ‘face only a mother could love’…

THE NEW PANAMERA is the first Porsche four-door sedan to make it to market, but it’s hardly the first time someone had the idea. Porschefiles will remind us of the Concept 989, drafted in the late 1980s by Harm Lagaay at the behest of now-Aston Martin chief Ulrich Bez. Like the Panamera, it was to be a front-engine, V-8-powered machine and bears more than a little resemblance to the Lagaay-designed Type 996 Carrera born 10 years later. But one Dr. William Dick, a Texas Porsche dealer, trumped them all by decades. In 1967, he contracted with master fabricators Troutman and Barnes to build this one-off 911 sedan. T&B was a well-known “Thunder Alley” race-car builder at the time. Even though it was a comprehensive and complicated build, this project was…

ALFA ROMEO has been looking for affordable rear-drive architecture to help relaunch the brand in North America. And now it’s found the parts it needs in parent company Fiat’s new acquisition, Chrysler Group. Parts from the LY architecture underpinning the 2011 Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger will form the basis for Alfa’s next flagship sedan, the 169. It replaces the current FWD 166. Chrysler also will contribute the 169’s V-6 engine. The 166 uses a 3.2-liter version of General Motors’ 3.0/3.6-liter “high-feature” V-6. The linkup with Chrysler means Alfa can pick from Mopar’s new Phoenix engine lineup codeveloped and shared with Mercedes-Benz. The next 300/Charger, as well as the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, will feature a new DOHC 3.5-liter V-6 from the engine family. While a rear-drive 169 has been…

ASTON Martin’s packaging engineers must have played a lot of Tetris. They’ve squeezed the company’s snarling 5.9-liter V-12 under the pert little hood of their smallest car, the Vantage. Despite devising a new crash structure, sump, induction and cooling system, they didn’t meet North American crash regulations, so the 1000 examples they’re building will go elsewhere. A shame. This is one special Aston. It’s a compact little missile, endowed with performance akin to casual violence and face-bending cornering ability. No need to fuss about which gear you’re in. They are relatively close, and the torque curve is generous. In third gear, a 60-mph corner converts to a 100-mph straight in a sneeze. The V-12’s intake and exhaust music is as aristocratic as you’d hope, though by no means taxingly loud.…

forward, back, and round and round Enough with the self-righteous proclamations that forward for downshifts and backward for upshifts is the “correct” way to orient an automatic transmission’s manual shift mode. This is a fairly new technology and works well either way. There is no “correct” or “incorrect” way to do it. Sure, BMW does it this way, but that doesn’t make it right or better in real-world conditions. I happen to prefer the reverse configuration in my Volkswagen GLI with DSG. I liken the backward downshift to pulling in the reins to slow a charging horse. A third to second gear downshift in a manual mimics this movement and is arguably as satisfying, if not more rewarding than the second-to-first-gear downshift (or fourth-to-third shift) the “BMW Way” replicates. Considering…

LET’S CUT to the chase: The 2010 Porsche Panamera is big, fast, and comfortable—a genuine four-passenger Gran Turismo capable of loafing across continents in giant 130-mph bounds, leaving you relaxed and refreshed at the end of a day at the wheel. Press a few buttons, stiffening the suspension, quickening the seven-speed PDK transmission’s responses, allowing the deep-throated dual exhaust to breathe easier, and the Panamera is ready to tackle a snaking mountain pass with the panache of…well, a Porsche. Is it, as some purists grumble, another Porsche too far, another detour from the company’s core values, like the Cayenne SUV? Well, the front-engine, V-8-powered Panamera is certainly not a four-door 911. The big, luxurious Panamera has a personality all its own. Yet Porsche DNA seeps from every pore. The Panamera…

WHILE other automakers are mired in the muck of one of the worst auto slumps in history, Kia is busy going about the business of reinventing itself. Flush with confidence after the recent successful launch of its all-new Soul, the maker has reloaded and is firing another shot across the bow of its competition with the 2010 Kia Forte, its new bread-and-butter car that serves as the replacement for the Spectra. Make no mistake: The Forte is much more than just a badge swap. It bears no resemblance to nor shares a platform with the outgoing Spectra. Kia made it clear that this is a new car, inside and out. The Forte’s sheetmetal, penned at the Korean maker’s California design studio, are neatly pressed and feature a version of Kia’s…

“ONE FORD” debuts with the 2010 Transit Connect, sold globally with minor regional variation, six months ahead of the Fiesta. While this isn’t the best time to launch a new van, its success in the market could become a leading economic indicator. If you see these in your neighborhood delivering and fixing things, it means the economy should be rebounding. The Transit Connect is designed to modernize local fleets, with 22/25-mpg fuel mileage and more than twice the cargo capacity of a Chevy HHR panel van. And it’s easier to make a back-alley U-turn in than a Dodge Sprinter. Base price is $21,475 for the XL model. The XLT adds power windows and mirrors and remote locking, but the important options are the $1395 in-dash computer (plus Sprint monthly fee)…

WORLD’S SINGLE greatest car? Seriously? Yes—the new BMW M3 is unquestionably a contender. Probably no other car combines so many virtues—speed, handling, good looks, roominess, practicality—into one package. Driving the new BMW M3 is an absolutely blissful experience, flooding your brain with dopamine as if you were arriving to courtside seats at the Lakers game with Jennifer Connelly on your arm. The M3 fits as if it had been hand-cut and sewed by a Savile Row tailor for automobiles. The huge aluminum dead pedal provides a perfect brace for the left foot. The beefy, leather M Sport steering wheel is just the right diameter, and it feels great in your hands. The paddle shifters for the dual-clutch transmission move with the wheel—as they should—and sit just behind the rim, an…

WITH JUST over 16,000 miles on the odometer, the Mini’s maintenance light came on, indicating that the initial service was due. Given Mini’s 3-yrs/36,000-miles no-cost maintenance program, the oil change/inspection/tire rotation/cabin air filter replacement were covered for $0. Assistant Web producer Nate Martinez had the Clubman for a few days and notes, “My friends and family loved the Clubman’s styling. I found myself explaining the Clubman model philosophy numerous times, as a result.” Despite its Mini name, the Clubman offers maxi room. “Over the weekend, I had puppies, people, bags, and various shopping goodies in the Clubman,” says Martinez, “and its third door proved once again to be greatly useful. I say give it a fourth!” ◼ Months/miles in service 11/17,127 ◼ Avg econ/CO2 26.2 mpg/0.74 lb/mi ◼ Unresolved problems…

“GET THE Nissan 370Z out of my Infiniti luxury SUV,” says assistant Web producer Carlos Lago. “I expect ride harshness and road noise from a two-door sports car, but not from the FX50. Throttle tip-in is much too aggressive; leaving a stop without getting all herky-jerky is much too difficult.” Sensitive throttle aside, Lago likes the 5.0-liter V-8 a lot. “It’s potent and fun when you row the gears yourself. The engine note sounds great. The roar on start-up echoed through my apartment complex’s parking area, leaving me satisfied, and I hadn’t even moved.” Inside, Lago appreciated what technology the FX had to offer. “The infotainment system works well, with easy-to-use nav and iPod controls. The interior feels elegant, and Around View is the coolest piece of new tech since…

AH, WHAT a difference a year makes. When we introduced our long-term Subaru WRX in May 2008, the heat from the new model’s launch was just beginning to dissipate. Back then, much ado was made about the turbo Impreza’s larger body and softened styling. Many a Subie fan shouted into the dark vastness of the Interwebs about how horrid the new car looked and how nasty it must drive. Now it’s time to say farewell, and when we’re reminded of the WRX’s inauspicious inauguration, we say, “Heh?” That’s because after 371 days and 20,421 miles (we started with 41 miles on the odo), we’ve come to accept and celebrate many of the sedan’s controversial features—even the styling. Perhaps familiarity also breeds contentedness. Subaru pocket-rockets are a staple in and around…

YOU’LL recognize the 2010 Jaguar XJ’s nose as a more upright follow-up to last year’s sensation, the XF. On the bigger XJ, which is about the same size as the more formal-looking sedan it replaces, the rectangular grille is even more resolved and the cat’s-eye headlamps are even sleeker. As with the XF, there’s no Leaper hood ornament, though it will be offered in North America, in case you’re considering an aftermarket vinyl top as well. Surface tension in the profile pays homage to Chris Bangle’s “flame surfacing” as does just about everything new in the car biz today. While the roofline suggests a “four-door coupe” in the idiom of Mercedes-Benz’s CLS-Class, rear-seat headroom is quite good. The XJ is a bigger car than it appears to be. Controversy kicks…

MOTOR TREND has learned Chrysler will design two replacements for its Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan, due about the 2013 model year. One will be a conventional replacement for its large, North American-market minivan and the other will use many of the same components, but will be built with a narrower track and shorter wheelbase for Fiat to sell in Europe. Timing is up in the air. Chrysler was on a five-year cycle with its minivans, but the current models, designed under Daimler’s ownership, were launched for model year 2008, seven years after the previous model. With Fiat running things, many product cadences are changing. Chrysler listed no replacements for its minivans in the otherwise comprehensive reorganization plans it submitted to President Obama’s automotive task force before filing…

GENERAL MOTORS’ would-be spoiler, Fiat SpA chief Sergio Marchionne, tried to pick up majority interest in Opel AG to become the world’s second-largest automaker. Marchionne suggested that only big makers would survive the emerging new economy and that a Fiat-Opel tie-up would create immense cost savings between the two automakers, which already share underpinnings for the Fiat Punto and Opel Corsa. While Marchionne lost Opel to parts-maker Magna, a Russian bank, and Russian automaker GAZ, he isn’t alone in his assessment that the global automotive market will soon be run by companies “too big to fail.” Which is why it’s surprising that GM was able tentatively to sell three of its troubled divisions, Hummer, Saab, and Saturn—and that the industry’s smartest enthusiast-businessman, Roger Penske, is buying the brand with the…

where do you read motor trend? E-mail digital photo(s) of you and Motor Trend to: motortrend@gmail.com or mail them to: Motor Trend, c/o Mail, Readers on Location, 6420 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048 FIFTIES FAVE: Leonard Milano, Rome, New York, reads MT in Korea 56 years back, while he was mechanic and motor sergeant in the U.S. Army, 45th division. We thank him for his service (and his extended readership of Motor Trend). Do you have an historic shot for us to run in our anniversary year? See above.…

IN 1989, Detroit’s sexiest and best-selling family sedan got a potency “enhancement” far more effective than the ones clogging your spam filters these days. So smitten were we by the performance-envelope enlargement a rev-happy twin-cam Yamaha V-6 engine and starchy suspenders provided that we actually described the Taurus SHO as “America’s BMW.” That may sound like the sort of hyperbolic overstatement one came to expect from a Craigslist erotic-services listing, but indeed most SHO track-test numbers approximated the BMW 535i’s for well under half the price. While the SHO’s restrained Q-ship exterior drew praise, the rest of the car was boy-racer brash—all snarling engine, harsh impacts, and wiggling torque steer. Over 10 years of development and 106,465 sales, the refinement improved steadily, but even the final V-8 variants still treated…

THERE WAS a time long ago, boys and girls, when all telephones had cords, music could be purchased only on cumbersome black discs, and cigarettes were advertised on TV as a digestive aid. Back in those blurry, black-and-white days, well-off professional Americans in the prime of their careers aspired to own Buicks. The brand became known as “the doctor’s car,” because it provided most of the creature comforts, quiet performance, and gravitas of a glitzy Cadillac without causing patients or clients to question their house-call charges. Today we have earpiece phones, Napster, and the Surgeon General’s Warning, but most Buick customers are still old enough to remember those “More doctors smoke Camels” testimonials from 1949 and the scrubs set now buys its low-profile luxury from Lexus. Might this car lure…

CHEVROLETS at their best offered “more than expected.” Consider the Tri-Chevys, early Chevelles, and downsized Caprice. By the 1980s, “more than expected” gave way to “good enough for Chevy,” resulting in segment placeholders. While the original Equinox epitomized “good enough,” the 2008 Malibu and now the 2010 Equinox signal a return to “more than expected.” The pushrod V-6 and the DOHC 3.6-liter Sport are dead. Direct injection is now the order of the day, for both the standard 2.4-liter four and optional 3.0-liter V-6. Either engine is available with front or all-wheel drive. The 3.0 makes the same horsepower as the old 3.6-liter V-6, but with 1-mpg-better city and highway fuel economy (in FWD form). The I-4 is the volume engine. It features an Eco Mode that upshifts the six-speed…

JAMES BOND’S current motor of choice has gone al fresco. While the DBS coupe can be had as a 2+2 or a pure two-seater with a package shelf aft of the seats, the new DBS Volante is served 2+2 only. Front and rear chassis sheer panels have been revised in the name of maintaining structural rigidity, and the DBS-level suspension has been retuned for open-air duty. The rest is standard DBS fare: 5.9-liter, 510-horsepower V-12 up front, backed by your choice a of Graziano six-speed manual or ZF six-speed automatic transaxles. The bodywork is largely aluminum, plus a few carbon fiber bits. Pizza pan-size carbon ceramic brake rotors. Lots of hand-stitched leather and milled-aluminum trim. We always squint at cars that have lost their lids, as structural rigidity nearly always…

“I HAVE TO ADMIT,” says assistant Web producer Scott Evans, “the Evo isn’t nearly as bad at long hauls as I expected it to be. In fact, it really wasn’t bad at all. Sure it’s a stiff ride, but it isn’t exceedingly harsh or violent. The Recaro seats are actually comfortable on lengthy drives, and the Rockford Fosgate stereo is fantastic.” What about the mileage? “People used to joke that fuel economy for large SUVs should be rated in gallons per mile rather than miles per gallon. I’m starting to think the Evo should be rated this way as well. That said, and though no one believes it, I have the documentation to prove that the Evo pulled off 24 mpg on the freeway.” Overall, the Evo is getting 18.7…

“SIMPLY PUT, the IS F has too many gears,” claims Evans. “While it’s nice to see the revs under 2000 at 70 mph and the accompanying fuel economy, downshifting to pass becomes a chore. To get to the real power, you have to drop the car four gears and then run back up through them. While making a pass on the freeway, my brother actually asked me what all that clicking was and I had to explain I was running down to fourth gear and back up to eighth. Even for less aggressive passes, you’re often skipping at least one gear. Giving credit where it is due, the transmission is quite smooth and shifts very quickly, so the problem isn’t the box itself but the number of gears it contains.”…

“WHILE I’M not one to drive a car for attention (at all!),” logs Jurnecka, “I have to say, this car does get more looks than the Evo does. Every trip I take in it, I get at least a few admiring stares. The other night, a pretentious-looking guy in a brand-new BMW 335i rolled down his window to gush over our long-termer. I was pretty impressed. That said, as Lago points out, it doesn’t seem to attract the wrong kind of attention. Honda-driving hooligans tend to be cordial rather than challenging—if they notice the car at all.” Any other pros? “I was able to use the STI to haul a set of old-school mag wheels to the tire shop, drag home a 46-inch LCD television, and easily handle my massive…