Innehållsförteckning för August 2010 från MotorTrend

FOR ITS first six generations, the Honda Civic was on a four; year lifecycle. Mk 7 went to five years, still better than most its competition. And that’s what was supposed to happen with the current model (pictured), which we named 2006 Car of the Year. The Mk 8 Civic’s styling still is cutting edge compared with most other compacts, like the Toyota Corolla, Nissan Sentra, and two cars soon to be replaced, the Chevrolet Cobalt and Ford Focus. So what’s the problem? The Civic’s replacement has been delayed a year to the 2012 model, placing the current car on a six-year cycle. Some reports have blamed a last-minute redesign and that Honda wants to cut back on its ever-growing length. That’s not possible: Bumper fascias are designed early in…

AS FUEL-ECONOMY pressures on supercar makers grow, Ferrari has no intention of squelching its line of ultra-extreme supercars. In the same month the 599GTO launched, Ferrari confirmed a limited edition “New Enzo” in 2012 and a 458 Scuderia in 2013. The Enzo is certainly due a successor, as it was introduced back in 2002. The new car will drop the high-revving V-12 layout used in the Enzo and F50. Instead it goes to a V-8 with turbos—the configuration of the 288GTO and F40. The all-new unit will feature direct gas injection and push out somewhere north of 700 horsepower. Engineers already are at work on the engine’s sound, conscious that turbos usually dull the note. The transmission is a super-fast seven-speed sequential manual. We understand Ferrari will switch to a…

BECAUSE Hummer limos are so 2007: Royale Limousine Manufacturers/Cabot Coach Builders of Haverhill, Massachusetts, has built about 100 of these Ford Fusion Hybrid L models since late last summer, says Jeffrey DeMarco, director of operations. Cabot lengthens the wheelbase by six inches, making the Ford a full-size hybrid by EPA standards. The stretch adds just 65 pounds, and DeMarco claims “clients aren’t losing anything,” in terms of fuel efficiency. “Everybody says this is what the industry needed” At $40,900, the Fusion hybrids are a couple grand more expensive than the lame-duck Lincoln Town Car, although one Boston limo service that runs 21 hybrids figures it’ll recoup the higher price within a year and a half. DeMarco says it’s not certain whether Royale will switch to the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid when…

WHEN YOU HITCH UP YOUR TOY BOX and set the navigation system for a good-time destination, it’s good to feel secure. In the heavy-duty pickup category, you’d like to have some assurance that safety and occupant protection, along with driver assistance are high priorities. Chevrolet engineers came to a similar conclusion while developing the new Silverado heavy-duty pickups. StabiliTrak electronic stability control and trailer sway control are standard on single-rear-wheel models. Commensurate with the larger loads these trucks will bear, front and rear brake rotors have been increased to the size of pie plates—14.0 inches in diameter. Four-wheel, four-channel ABS is standard on single-rear-wheel models, and dual-rear-wheel models are equipped with a three-channel system. And to give the brake pedal a firm, reassuring feel, both the travel and the booster…

FOR YEARS, the Z06 was the baddest factory-built Corvette that General Motors had to offer. That is, of course, until the introduction of the almighty ZR1. It’s 2010 and GM is going with a less is more mentality for its all-new Z06 Carbon Limited Edition Corvette. You get the look, feel, sound, and most of the capabilities of the ZR1 without the six-figure price tag. The carmaker starts out with a 505-horsepower 7.0-liter V-8 from the Z06 and adds the wheels, tires, and brakes from the ZR1. The Carbon’s body kit includes black headlamp surrounds and black mirrors along with a ZR1-style body-color spoiler, a carbon-fiber raised hood, black carbon-fiber rockers, and a front splitter with a carbon-fiber roof available as well. With 133 horsepower less than the ZR1, the…

ON ONE LEVEL, this is a completely pointless comparison. You see, the folks with the Benjamins to splurge on the $308,350 Rolls-Royce Ghost we show here, or the $226,485 Bentley Continental Flying Spur Speed and $209,500 Aston Martin Rapide that accompany it, are unlikely to sweat the mundane details the rest of us do when choosing between a Ford or a Chevy, or a Honda or a Toyota. Stuff like gas mileage and resale values and whether one might be a couple tenths quicker to 60 than the other are mostly irrelevant. Even the price difference between the Rolls and the Aston—money that will buy you a house in many parts of America—is of little consequence. The people who buy these things usually own six or seven other cars; opening…

WHAT WOULD Issigonis think? Sir Alec Issigonis was the irascible genius behind the world’s most famous motorized munchkin, the original 1959 Mini. And standing next to its comparatively enormous descendant—the new Countryman—left me feeling sort of like Jon Stewart recently on “The Daily Show” when he held an iPad to his head, as if he were on an iPhone. “I actually just use it to pretend to my children that I’m shrinking,” he quipped. How big can a Mini get before the FTC steps in to investigate it as a misrepresentation? A car capable of wearing BMW 5 Series rolling stock is a big automobile to be called a mini-anything. And yet… At a length of 161.3 inches (a daring 97 mm beyond the 4.0-meter length Mini previously considered its…

BOASTING blistering acceleration times of 0 to 60 in 4.5 seconds and the quarter mile in 13.3 at 101.3 mph, the Subaru Impreza WRX is one formidable four-door. Problem is, if you frequently need to transport adults in the back seat or haul a jumbo load of gear in the trunk, it’s less than ideal, due to 33.5 inches of rear legroom and 11.3 cubic feet of cargo capacity (WRX sedan). Luckily, Subaru has just the showroom solution. The all-new Legacy 2.5GT gets the WRX’s 265-horse turbo flat-four (mated exclusively to a six-speed manual), but bumps rear legroom to 37.8 inches and cargo load to 14.7 cubic feet Overall interior volume jumps from 93.0 cubic feet in the Impreza to 114.7 in the Legacy. To top it off, NHTSA awarded…

PERFECTION. That’s what we experienced over nearly 30,000 miles behind the wheel of our 2009 Truck of the Year, the Ford F-150 pickup. Nothing broke. No pieces fell off. No smells or noises or missteps from the drivetrain. Our hard-working F-150 simply did its job day in and month out, all the while racking up kudos from our drivers nearly as fast as it rolled on the miles. It was early 2009 when we took delivery of our…take a good breath…F-150 4x4 SuperCrew Cab Lariat Styleside—painted in Royal Red clearcoat and trimmed with tan leather captain’s thrones. Total tab, including 310-horse, 5.4-liter V-8 and six-speed automatic: $46,135. Yours truly put on some of the little big rig’s first miles, a blissful 300-mile trek from the snows of Mammoth, California, back…

AT THE confluence of GM paying off its initial federal loans (which doesn’t count the $52 billion in U.S. Treasury funds in exchange for 60.8 percent of the company) and Bob Lutz’s retirement as the automaker’s chief car guy, the latest buzz is Cadillac has revived work on designing a flagship. The project has been on again/off again since Cadillac showed its V-16-powered Sixteen concept (pictured) at the 2003 Detroit show. Obviously, a big, low-volume Cadillac flagship wasn’t the car to work on as GM was emerging from bankruptcy. Now that the Chevrolet Volt is essentially complete and nearly ready for its debut, GM may be able to free up design and engineering resources for the other end of the automotive spectrum. Cadillac needs a low-volume flagship to define the…

MASERATI is to build a rival to the hot sedans in the midsize segment, BMW 5 Series and M5, Mercedes CLS/AMG, Jaguar XF/XFR, and Cadillac CTS/CTS-v. The car is smaller than the Quattroporte, which will continue. It will go on market about 2014, probably as a ’15 model in the U.S. Although it’s in the product plan, there’s no frozen design, and running prototypes would be years away. Maserati wants to become a “relevant player” within its chosen luxury segments. Adding the new model would allow it to strengthen dealer coverage and brand visibility. The all-new car is part of Maserati’s 2010-‘14 business plan, which Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed to investors. Two variants are envisaged. The entry version, Maserati says, would be priced just above $68,000 (based on…

AMERICAN artist Jeff Koons personally chose the buildup track for the reveal of his BMW Art Car in Paris. Around four minutes of Led Zeppelin’s “Bring It On Home” filled the lobby of the French capital’s famed modern art museum, the Centre Pompidou, before a sheet of silver fabric was hauled back to reveal the Koons-decorated M3 GT2 racer. Then, after a trial with a sheet of paper, he lay on the floor behind his colorful creation to put his signature on its bumper with two strokes of a broad black marker pen. Unlike some earlier Art Cars, Koons’ creation does look winningly quick when standing still. BMW Motorsport director Mario Thiessen says Koons’ treatment depicts the flow of air around the front and sides of the racer, and the…

THIS IS HOW Ferrari intends to manage its four mainstream model lines: At four years old, an M or modificato model will replace the original, with revised design and powertrain and chassis improvements. The completely new model comes four years beyond that. With four models in the range, one all-new or M model will be launched every year, plus such variants as Scuderia or Spyder. There will be a new top-end Enzo-type car once a decade or so. Ferrari says its basic four-model range is how the company will continue: two “versatile” GT models (currently the convertible California and the four-seat 612) and two “extreme performance” cars (458 and 599). The marketers and engineers intend to widen that differentiation in future. So the 612 Scaglietti replacement, codenamed F151 and due…

WITH BUICK enjoying a surprising renaissance in the American market, it’s a good time to take a look at the brand’s most iconic design cue. Officially called “ventiports,” but better known as portholes, Buick uses them to signify the number of cylinders under the given model’s hood. The Lucerne Super has four ventiports on top of each front quarter-panel to signify its V-8 engine, while the V-6 LaCrosse, Enclave, and Lucerne have three on each side. Four-cylinder models Regal and base LaCrosse have two on each side. So how do you explain the three- and four-porthole models from 1949 to 1958, when all Buicks had either inline-eight or V-8 engines? Here’s how: 1948: Claiming fighter-plane inspiration, Buick designer Ned Nickles cuts holes in the sides of his personal 1948 Roadmaster…

ONLY A NINNY WOULD POUND TACKS with a sledgehammer. Selecting the right tool for the job is the first step on the road to success. When there are tough jobs to be done or serious recreation on the agenda, picking the right truck is fundamental. A minivan won’t haul your heavy stuff or tow a mighty trailer. And there are times when America’s beloved workhorse, the half-ton pickup, is too small for the task. That’s why Chevy offers a full line of heavy-duty pickups. Since both our jobs and our vacation aspirations continue to grow, the bow-tie brand keeps upping the ante on what a heavy-duty pickup can do. Enter the 2011 2500HD and 3500HD, the best-dressed heavy-duty Silverados that money can buy. Engineering any car or truck is a…

ATTIRED IN sport coats, faces twisted into the same, pathetic “we’re players” expressions assumed by all male humans when prowling the Las Vegas Strip, the three of us cut through the bustling, AAA Five Diamond-winning Bellagio hotel and casino and grab a table in the Petrossian Lounge, the sort of gilded neo-classical haven where a man can kick back after a long, hard afternoon driving 500-horsepower, air-conditioned supercars and soothe his aching fingertips with an icy cocktail and the warm view of a hostess who probably moonlights as Heidi Klum. “I’m driving the Gullwing first tomorrow,” says Ed Loh, leaning back, libation in hand. “I need seat time to decide whether the V-8 sounds more like the engine room of the USS Nimitz, or KISS playing Wagner during a thunderstorm.”…

MARC GENÉ doesn’t speak “cooldown.” We’ve just stormed Italy’s wicked Mugello race circuit in the new 2011 Ferrari 599 GTO—the fastest road-legal prancing horse ever built. But when you’re the winner of the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans and a Ferrari test driver, “take a cool-down” apparently means “message garbled.” Gené twirls the GTO’s wheel-mounted manettino control, switching from Race (light chassis-electronics intervention) to CST-Off (canceling all traction and stability systems). And almost instantly we’re sideways. Roaring into Mugello’s second-gear, right-hand Turn One, the Spaniard tromps on the throttle and we drift around the bend like J. Lo riding a Tilt-A-Whirl, tail out all the way. “The best way to drive this car is in Race mode,” Gené says. “In CST-Off, you have to drive so concentrated, you know?…

FOR 23 YEARS, Saab’s problem was that General Motors was trying to boost popularity for a brand whose equity hinged on its appeal to a small circle who like it for being rare and different. Now that a much smaller, even more idiosyncratic automaker, Spyker Cars NV, has bought and resuscitated Saab, it faces an equally perplexing problem. How do you convince loyal customers you’re the idiosyncratic company you once were and offer up as proof your latest flagship, a model designed and developed during the GM years? The car Saab is counting on to relaunch the brand at its product-starved dealerships, more than 200 of them in the U.S., is built on GM’s Epsilon II architecture. The top-of-the-range Aero XWD (all-wheel drive) is the launch model and features a…

SOME VEHICLES pass through our comparison tests with little more than a “Next!” from the judges. One exceptionally worthy vehicle wins. Often, though, our tests include a few standouts that generate serious buzz—admiring glances, praises in editors’ notebooks, approving comments during our evening dinner discussions. Such was the case during last January’s “Four of a Kind” comparo, in which Hyundai’s revamped Tucson crossover—though it finished second—emerged as one of the leading “buzz-getters” of the quartet.. Now we’ve got a 2010 Tucson Limited AWD in our long-term fleet. In top Limited trim, the Tucson overflows with standard goodies right off the showroom floor—including 18-inch alloys, leather seats (heated in front), keyless entry, tire-pressure monitoring system, dual-front auto climate control, and a nice audio system with XM Satellite Radio and iPod/USB input…

THE GTO’S RACE record is remarkable, having competed at Sebring, Le Mans, and every other major sports car racing venue that mattered. It was enough to garner the World Manufacturer’s Championship for Ferrari in 1962, ’63, and ’64. In today’s marketplace, Ferrari GTOs sell for $20 to $25 million each, depending upon condition, provenance, and race history. Which means this gathering of 20 GTOs at the Monterey Historic Auto Races (since renamed the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion) a few years back is worth between $400 and $500 million or so, give or take a few mil. This photo includes several earlier “Series I” examples and a few of the wider-looking, squatter Series IIs. They’re all rare, fabulous, and crazy expensive. Along with the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, many consider the original…

VOLKSWAGEN AG has agreed to buy 90.1 percent of VW Golf designer Italdesign-Giugiaro SpA to beef up the German automaker’s design staff. The Italian studio will become part of VW’s Lamborghini brand, the automaker said in a statement from Wolfsburg, Germany. Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani founded Italdesign in Turin, Italy, in 1968. It now employs about 1000. Family owners of the closely held company will keep the 9.9 percent VW isn’t buying. Financial terms of the deal were not released. VW wants to expand globally and in North America over the coming decade. It’s working to overtake Toyota permanently as the world’s largest automaker by volume and has set a goal of 800,000 units in the U.S. market by 2016 from about 300,000 currently. It will rely on Giugiaro…

IT’S EASY to spend Lincoln money on a Ford these days. And we’re not just talking about the Shelby GT500. The Taurus SHO, with Ford’s premium 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6, starts at $38,545 and quickly reaches Lincoln MKS territory, though the EcoBoost MKS base price is some 10-large higher than the SHO. The top of seven trim levels for the F-150 is the Platinum edition, designed to take the place of the failed Lincoln Mk LT pickup. The F-150 Platinum was originally designed to be a new Lincoln pickup, until Ford decided not to make an extra truck grille. Now comes the 2011 Ford Flex Titanium, a special package on top of the erstwhile high-end Limited trim level. It revives the early 2000’s word "bling." The Titanium features a tuxedo black…

be vewy, vewy quiet I found one of the options on the Audi A8 in your May issue, to be curious. You mentioned that the Audi comes with “infrawed” night vision. Now is that an option that senses commitment-minded women on foot or on bikes and then warns the driver to turn around? Or perhaps the option was developed by someone at Audi whose last occupation was hunting wabbits. Katie Fiore Mesa, Arizona write us at 831 S. Douglas St. El Segundo, CA 90245 e-mail us online at motortrend.com or send an e-mail direct to motortrend@motortrend.com ▀ letter of the month Nice catch, Katie, although we must point out you mistakenly transcribed our shameful error (infrarwed). To keep you sharp for future typo and wabbit hunts, we’re happy to send…

WHEN YOU HIT THE ROAD WITH A KING’S RANSOM in horse flesh or a home mortgage’s worth of landscaping gear, the last thing you need to fret over is whether your truck has enough stamina. Both Silverado HD power-trains—gas and diesel—are engineered to provide the performance necessary to tow heavy loads along with improved fuel efficiency and longevity. The new 6.6-liter Duramax is the diesel without the smoke, rattle, and roll that still plague some of its competitors. This diesel V-8 delivers an astounding 765 lb-ft of torque at 1600 rpm, the most available in any heavy-duty pickup. The 397 horsepower at 3000 rpm produced by this turbocharged and intercooled engine is also best-in-class. Thanks to the application of various new technologies, NOx exhaust emissions have been reduced by 63…

TWO THICK walls of trees guide us down a gentle, two-lane road. The sky is a deep blue, streaked with long, faint clouds. It’s typical North Carolina spring—hot and moist. The radio’s off. A gentle rumble is the only backing track, one that barely acknowledges the 550 horsepower just a few thousand rpm away. Our 2011 Ford Shelby GT500, wearing Race Red paint and narrow, white racing stripes, jumps out of the vibrant green Carolina countryside. We’ve just picked it up in Durham, telling Ford we’d assume the arduous task of driving it back home to Detroit. Of course, we never said how long we’d take, or what we’d do along the way. This GT500 is lighter and faster than the 2010 model, which itself places quite high on MT’s…

IT’S THE automotive equivalent of a booty call. Lexus rings us one Tuesday afternoon to see if we’d like to flog an LFA. The catch is we have less than 72 hours to seal the deal. After that, the car gets sent back to Japan, never to be seen again. For the uninitiated, the LFA is Toyota’s $375,000, V-10 powered, F-1-derived superexotic, of which only 500 will be made. It represents over 10 years and millions of dollars in R&D costs. It’s the fastest, most expensive production car to come out of Japan. Are we interested? Ha—as if we’re that easy. We arrange to hook up the next morning. Switching metaphors from twilight trysts to controlled substances is as easy as asking what $375,000 buys you: Roughly 3562 pounds of…

JEEP LOVERS CAN BREATHE A SIGH OF RELIEF. CONSIDER the pressure. Fiat chief Sergio Marchionne calls the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chrysler’s first all-new model since Daimler ownership, its most important launch this year. More important than the Fiat 500, which goes on sale in North America this fall, displayed alongside it at the April 2009 NewYork auto show. The hard-core Jeepinisti who consider upside-down “If you can read this, turn me over” window decals basic equipment have never forgiven Daimler for the Jeep Compass and Patriot, and they’re bound to be apprehensive of a new Grand Cherokee built on Mercedes’ M-Class platform. The Grand Cherokee remains a two-row five-passenger SUV, while the 2012 Dodge Durango on the same platform takes the Commander’s place in Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge/Ram dealerships as a three-row…

BILLED as the sportiest Volvo ever (which may come as some surprise to owners of the C30 hatchback), the new 2011 Volvo S60 sedan will be the first Volvo launched under Chinese ownership when it goes on sale in the U.S. this October—if all goes as planned they’ll be signing the final release papers from Ford to Geely ownership early this fall. The S60’s design, like so many new sedans recently, adheres to the “four-door coupe” aesthetic. But make no mistake; this Volvo is a relatively spacious, four-door sedan with more room for rear seat passengers than its predecessor offered. Its trunk can swallow a couple of big Samsonites no problem, and thanks to the S60’s distinctive bowed-roof shape, there’s headroom to spare, although the sloping roof rail is likely…

THUS FAR in its tenure at Motor Trend, the Insight has garnered more unfavorable than favorable comments. From the meager power and loud road noise to the challenged A/C and lack of a fully electric drive mode, Honda’s Prius lookalike has struggled to endear us. Executive editor Edward Loh, however, spent a week with the Insight and came away with some positive, um, insight. “I found the Insight to be a perfectly fine weekday commuter car for my 45-mile (one way), mostly freeway commute to my lady friend’s house. On city streets, the Insight is light and easy to maneuver. It’s not fast, but you’re never struggling to cut into that line for the 405 south. At the end of the on-ramp, it merges to freeway speeds with ease and,…