Innehållsförteckning för January 2011 från MotorTrend

“WE NOW DELIVER THE MOTOR TREND EXPERIENCE IN WAYS ROBERT E. PETERSEN COULD SCARCELY HAVE IMAGINED AS HE PASTED UP THE FIRST ISSUE OF HIS NEW MAGAZINE MORE THAN 61 YEARS AGO.” “MAY YOU LIVE in interesting times.” That phrase is thought to be an old Chinese saying that can be seen as a blessing or a curse, though no one can prove its origins. No matter. These are interesting times. And I prefer to think of that as a blessing. For starters, our 2011 Car of the Year, Chevrolet’s Volt, is a vehicle that will not only change the way we think about cars, but the way we use them, and how we power them. As you’ll read elsewhere in this issue, we believe the Volt is a real…

AUTO AND FINANCIAL industry pundits were sure to jump to the conclusion that GM’s non-binding memo of understanding with SAIC Motor Corporation on “strategic cooperation” was proof the Shanghai-based automaker would be buying up huge portions of newly issued GM stock. Wrong. The deal, if completed, will give SAIC access to GM platform and powertrain technology to move into the next auto market frontier, India. GM is the inverse of Ford Motor Company in these emerging markets, in that GM is strong in China and virtually absent in India. To take advantage of India’s emerging middle class, GM needs low-emissions, low-cost powertrains. Its Opel/Vauxhall European unit can provide the low cost, but not the low emissions. The GM-SAIC memo is designed to ensure GM doesn’t lose out on India, which…

WE’RE NOT OUT of the woods yet. The global economy is still fragile, and automakers are still cautiously evaluating the new world order after the shocking bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler; Toyota’s precipitous fall from grace following its poorly handled unintended acceleration fiasco; and Ford’s fire sale of its Premier Automotive Group brands. Can a leaner, meaner GM claw its way out of government ownership? Will the Chrysler-Fiat marriage really work? Can Toyota win back the cast-iron consumer confidence it spent 50 years building? We don’t know yet. We don’t know, either, how Jaguar will fare under Indian management; what Volvo’s future is now that it has Chinese owners; and how Mazda will survive as a stand-alone automaker. What we do know is that the field assembled for the 2011…

WE LIKE: Quick, powerful, and quiet at speed; segment’s only traditional manual transmission. WE DON’T LIKE: Heft and dependence on electronics disconnect the driving experience. “ULTIMATE,” as an adjective, means “last or last possible, final,” says the Oxford American Dictionary. Of course, BMW’s marketing wizards were thinking about “ultimate” as a noun (“best achievable or imaginable”) when they wrote The Ultimate Driving Machine tagline, which applies nicely to E39 5 Series of two generations ago. The 2011 F10 5 Series, which includes the hatchback GT and four-door sedan, continues in the tradition of the E60 that followed the E39. The F10 is essentially a shortened 7 Series. A multilink front suspension replaces the struts used in Bimmer sedans for 46 years. It’s still available with a manual, with six speeds…

WE LIKE: Manual gearbox, handling potential, tadpole-position styling. WE DON’T LIKE: Too much of a compromise; performance tradeoff for marginal green gains. HONDA’S CRX won our Import Car of the Year (separate until 2000) award in 1984, and the CRX Si won it in 1988. Hondanisti were hoping for a new-age CRX with the similarly shaped, two-seat CR-Z Integrated Motor Assist hybrid. They didn’t even get the hyperefficiency of the two-seat 2000-06 Insight, which scored adjusted EPA mileage ranging from the 40s to the low 60s. The CR-Z’s numbers are low enough to make us wonder whether it would lose much efficiency by ripping out the IMA battery pack and running it as a lighter-weight, gas-powered car. “Honda just needs to ditch the idea of this thing as a sporty…

WE LIKE: Inspired styling, quality interior, surprising extras like heated and cooled front seats. WE DON’T LIKE: Uninspired chassis, artificial steering, aggressive electronic nannies. THE OPTIMA dives into our annual fray replete with new bodywork, interior, engines, and well-positioned pricing—traits it shares with platform-mate Hyundai Sonata. Base models get a direct-injected 2.4-liter inline-four with more power and better EPA fuel economy numbers than its predecessor. The upgrade is not aV-6, but a similarly direct-injected four, only with 2.0 liters of swept displacement and a turbocharger good for 274 horsepower. Six-speed transmissions are now the norm, and a hybrid is destined to round out the line. An extensive list of standard features further strengthens the Optima’s case in theory, but judges found faults concealed beneath the sheetmetal. Critics bestowed adulation upon…

WE LIKE: Brisk acceleration, all-wheel-drive composure, sharply tailored sheetmetal. WE DON’T LIKE: Slow six-speed, hefty price tag, conspicuous GM parts sharing. ALTHOUGH THE third-generation 9-5 is the first offering to be released under Spyker ownership, it was more or less a finished product by the time the Dutch took the reins. As a result, Saab’s flagship enters the U.S. market with numerous GM parts, most notably a turbocharged 300-horseV-6 and Epsilon II architecture. Dubbed Aero Turbo6 AWD, the introductory 9-5, replete with Haldex all-wheel drive, starts at $48,490. Our tester came with navigation ($2395), harman-kardon audio ($995), and 19-inch alloys with summer tires ($750), bringing the total to $52,530. The 9-5 enthralled a majority of our staff with an edgy, functional, and roomy interior, not to mention a contemporary façade…

WE LIKE: Euro styling, athletic chassis, new direction for Buick. WE DON’T LIKE: Underwhelming acceleration, frustrating transmission. BUILT AND SOLD in Germany as the Opel Insignia, and originally destined to be the next Saturn Aura here in the States, the sport/luxury sedan you see on this page has finally made it to America… as a Buick, resurrecting the Regal name, which last appeared in 2004. The new-for-2011, 190.2-inch-long four-door looked poised to make a run at this year’s Golden Calipers with a hard-fought victory in Round 1, something the BMW 5 Series, Hyundai Equus, and Saab 9-5 can’t claim. So what did we like about the newest and sportiest Buick? “The Regal sets a new and proper direction for the brand, with great design inside and out,” said Theodore. “Interior…

WE LIKE: Sensual sheetmetal, ferocious power, neoclassic cabin. WE DON’T LIKE: Glare from interior chrome, an ungraceful ride at times. WITHIN THE FIELD of any given Car of the Year judging, it’s rare for the longest vehicle to also be the quickest. But that’s exactly the title the Jaguar XJL Supercharged held within 2011’s field of 21 nameplates. Measuring 206.6 inches long, the XJL S/C stretched 3.7 inches beyond the next longest, the 202.9-inch Honda Odyssey. Yet, with a 470-horsepower blown 5.0-liter V-8, the 4355-pound Jag sprinted from 0 to 60 mph in 4.0 seconds—or 0.8-second sooner than the next quickest, the BMW 550i and Infiniti M56X—and through the quarter in 12.3 at 116.3 mph, a full tick ahead of the aforementioned two. For such a large luxocruiser, the XJL…

WE LIKE: Excellent handling, roomy second row, attractive exterior. WE DON’T LIKE: Cheap-looking interior, so-so performance. VOLKSWAGEN HAS taken the Jetta in a new direction. In the recent past, it was seen as a costlier upmarket alternative to the Corolla, Civic, and Focus, but the new model has been redesigned to compete in the heart of the market. You wouldn’t know that by looking at the shared dimensions of the sedan and wagon. After all, it’s rare that a car that costs less than the model it replaces and offers a roomier interior on a longer wheelbase. But that’s the case here—base price is down to $16,765 for the base trim level, and it’s 2.9 inches longer overall. It’s also said to weigh 110 pounds less than the 2010 Jetta.…

WE DROVE 21 different cars during Car of the Year testing. Counting variants and a second Volt, the total actually came to 31. Lots of metal, no? Now, obviously there’s only one winner. But still, we collected reams of data on every single car. You should see our logbooks. I personally recorded more than five paragraphs on how much I love the sounds that came out of the Jag. A great deal of our observations eventually got filtered into the Contender and Finalist capsule reviews on the preceding pages. But not all of them. First, we have limited space. That’s the nature of the magazine biz. Second, it’s called editing. Not every scene can make it into the movie. Think of these bits as scraps from the cutting-room floor. For…

UNTIL this year, the two-tone, 1955 Buick convertible Randy Newman drives in his 1983 music video “I Love L.A.” might have been the last non-rented Buick to cruise Century Boulevard. But now that Buick can claim to be outselling Audi, Acura, and Infiniti with 42 percent conquest sales (mostly Enclave), it’s taking on the town of Lexus and BMW. Buick will introduce two new submodels at the Los Angeles International Auto Show in November: the much-anticipated Regal GS and the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid-fighting LaCrosse with eAssist. Buick estimates a sub-7-second 0-60 mph time for the ‘12 Regal GS, courtesy of a high-output Ecotec 2.0-liter turbo four making 255 horses and 295 pound-feet of torque, with a six-speed manual gearbox. A six-speed automatic with Driver Shift Control launches later. Other GS…

WE LIKE: Thoughtfully designed interior, European styling and driving dynamics. WE DON’T LIKE: Lackluster powertrain and cramped rear seat; gets pricey when optioned out. THE CHEVROLET CRUZE is the latest global offering from GM, and possibly its most significant one to date. It’s a gigantic step for the automaker. Already on sale in numerous other countries with different badging, Chevrolet hopes the all-new Cruze will help set the stage for General Motors becoming the automotive superpower it once was. From the moment you first see the Cruze, you notice the global influence, styling, and design cues are much more in line with European vehicles than ever before, and not just on the outside. The interior, as many editors noted, is quite handsome with a good mix of colors, build materials,…

WE LIKE: High end materials and good build quality reinforce the idea of Hyundai and luxury. WE DON’T LIKE: Unrefined ride and body motions; not enough power for the segment. THE KEY TO understanding the new Hyundai Equus is this: There are no options. You can choose from two trim levels, Signature and Ultimate, but there are no boxes to check. This means two things. Customers get essentially every piece of whizbangery available under the sun for a (relatively) low price. And it means the Equus is cheap to build for Hyundai. That’s how the automaker can sell a car with $100,000 worth of features for just $65,400. But is it a real luxury player? Hyundai comes closer with the Equus, but it’s not there yet. First and foremost is…

WE LIKE: Quite a few thoughtful flourishes, comfortable ride, and attractive interior. WE DON’T LIKE: Exterior, grabby brakes, and still too much badge engineering. AS WAS the case with the Ford Fusion, the Lincoln MKZ also received a dramatic update for 2010. Among the improvements are a new front end, a redesigned interior, and the addition of a hybrid. While the Ford Fusion, which shares platforms with the MKZ, comes with a four-cylinder, V-6, and hybrid, until 2011, the MKZ was offered only with the six. Now a hybrid joins the lineup, and yes, it’s the same one as the Fusion hybrid uses. There are some differences, but they are subtle. Lincoln had an extra year to work on its hybrid, and it shows. Loh said, “The MKZ is better…

WE LIKE: Tons of interior room and quietude, surprising quickness thanks to a powerful engine. WE DON’T LIKE: Questionable exterior styling, forgettable driving experience. FOR 2011, Toyota has made lots of little changes to the Avalon, its full-size sedan. From nose to tail, there isn’t much that hasn’t has been slightly tweaked or changed. The nose, tail, and wheels have all been freshened, though some testers found the new exterior styling a push as to whether they liked or disliked it. The grille is wider with new headlamp housings, while the foglights have been integrated into the front bumper. The rocker panels have also been redesigned, along with the side mirrors. The terms “melted sheetmetal” and “sagging skin” were used by more than a few editors. The interior is a…

WE LIKE: The interior, comfortable-for-adults third row, the highly stylized sheetmetal. WE DON’T LIKE: The five-speed automatic, the highly stylized sheetmetal. HONDA’S ODYSSEY is all new for 2011, and it’s kind of a big deal. True, the fourth generation kiddie-hauler grew a little in length and girth, though it dropped about 75 pounds. But because the minivan segment is so ultracompetitive, any time a new player arrives, it’s a big deal in and of itself. Especially as there are only three volume players: Chrysler’s vans, the Toyota Sienna, and the Honda Odyssey. The Odyssey’s pretty good. There’s room for eight people (really, just six adults), the interior is the class of the class, and some COTY judges really liked the looks. Kiino went so far as to scribble, “Elegant styling.”…

WE LIKE: Macho styling, Cement paint, budget-conscious pricing. WE DON’T LIKE: Rough interior, lackluster driving dynamics. DESPITE BEING more of an update than completely new, the 2011 tC starts with positive first impressions. Its new macho styling draws admirers wherever it goes, especially when paired with that pale, primer-like Cement paintjob. (“I want a rat rod in that color,” said Gale.) Even better, the now 180-horse, 2.5-liter inline-four has this budget-priced coupe nipping at the heels of serious sport compacts. And look at that flat-bottom steering wheel—it’s thick enough to make M3 owners envious. To which Loh asked, “Trying too hard?” When taken apart, these updates would make any enthusiast happy—as fast as a Civic Si for $4000 less? But combine them with a less-than-engaging drive, and the package gains…

WE LIKE: Fantastic handling, handsome design inside and out, excellent adaptive cruise control. WE DON’T LIKE: Higher-speed wind noise, road noise on rough surfaces, no wagon version. SIMPLY PUT, we haven’t driven a Volvo in a heck of a long time that’s delighted us as much as this S60. After climbing out of it, there were whispers among the staff comparing it to a certain feisty German sport sedan. Said Lago, “It’s not pretending to be a 3 Series killer on a racetrack, but I’d wager it’d be close.” Loh agreed. “Wow. Could be the biggest surprise here. Amazing grip and speed.” Kiino asked, “Where did this Volvo come from?” To a large extent, from the S80’s chassis underpinnings—though you’d never know it. Yet again, crafty development has trumped the…

GEN 1: Chevrolet Electrovair and Electrovan, from GM’s Advanced Engineering Group. Electrovair I was based on a 1964 Monza sedan, with its rear doors welded shut to provide more structural rigidity and handle the weight of the silver-zinc batteries mounted under the hood and trunk. GM built it to determine whether the batteries it could package in the car would provide enough battery-mass fraction to power it. The Electrovair II, built in 1965 (and often cited as a ’66 model) was on the even flexier, new four-door hardtop Corvair body. It was painted Bill Mitchell’s favorite bright metallic blue, with 60-spoke Dayton wire wheels and knockoffs, and Lucas Flamethrower high-beam headlamps. The silver-zinc batteries cost a total of about $160,000 in '66 dollars. At 532 volts, its 115-horsepower AC induction…

DODGE’S next-generation Nitro (remember that model?) will be more urban-oriented than the current, badge-engineered Jeep Liberty-derived model, with a lowered ride height. It’s very likely the 2013 Dodge Nitro, and thus the next Jeep Liberty, will be built off a transverse-engine Fiat platform, with front-drive and all-wheel-drive/four-wheel-drive variants. EAGER to take advantage of Volvo, his new acquisition, Geely CEO Li Shufu has called for the Swedish automaker to quickly develop a car above the S80 sedan to compete with the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class. So, would that be rear drive? Doesn’t matter. Volvo chief Stefan Jacoby, fresh from a demanding job at Volkswagen, put the kibosh on the Volvo 7 Series (S100?) and said it’s too early to move the brand that far up the luxury ladder. Good…

“MANKIND NOW PRODUCES ENOUGH CEMENT EACH YEAR TO POUR ONE CUBIC METER OF CONCRETE FOR EVERY MAN, WOMAN, AND CHILD ON EARTH.” I’VE USED this page to examine lots of promising technologies aimed at shrinking the carbon footprints of our cars and trucks, but did you know that producing the concrete with which we build our roads, bridges, and buildings generates about as much CO2 each year as what comes out of our tailpipes? That’s right. According to a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study, mankind now produces enough cement each year to pour one cubic meter of concrete for every man, woman, and child on earth. Heating limestone and clay powder up to 2700 degrees to make these 2.35 billion tons of cement generates as much as 10 percent of…

WE LIKE: Upscale interior trim, premium feature content, bigger-car ride. WE DON’T LIKE: Balky shifter, compromised packaging, busy body styling. FUN IS this car’s first name, and thanks to savvy social-media marketing, early sales results have probably given rise to some dancing in the cubes at FoMoCo World Headquarters. Americans—like Europeans—are buying the smallest Ford with lot$ of option$ on it. It’s undeniably attractive, especially to young people (though most of us thought it looked like 10 pounds of “styling” in a 5-pound package). “Styling is somewhat overwrought, but is probably what youthful buyers want,” observed Theodore. Relative to its platform sibling, the Mazda2, also on hand for the COTY festivities, the Fiesta feels way more substantial (even its minispare is bigger), and boasts tech-savvy features galore, like Sync with…

WE LIKE: All the goodies you want, wait—they fit how big an engine in there? WE DON’T LIKE: Tail-happy driving dynamics, Steve Zissou styling. ASSAULTING the BMW 5 Series is a challenge, no matter how sour an impression the new model leaves. What’s Infiniti to do? Be different. The new M, which comes inV-6 andV-8, and rear- and all-wheel-drive configurations, attempts just that, but not always in the right way. Design is a most radical step—and arguably in the wrong direction. On first look, our two examples—a rear-drive 37S with summer tires and an all-wheel-drive 56x with a massive 5.6-liter mill—didn’t warm the judges. “The M looks like a largemouth bass,” said Theodore. “The interior is a sea of waves that crash together without aesthetic or functional reason.” Most repeated…

WE LIKE: Bubbly character, slick shifter, and honest, irrepressible driving fun. WE DON’T LIKE: Low-rent interior, the ride is a bit rough, and honestly, it’s pretty slow. THE COTY bell curve begins with the Mazda2. It’s the bizarro Jaguar XJ: smaller, lighter, and offering the least amount of power in this group. And yet, our Hulk-green tester was a top contender in the driving enjoyment category. Testers finished their drive loops with big grins and exuberant notes: “You can toss this thing anywhere; it’s confidence inspiring,” wrote Theodore. “This just runs away from the Fiesta in the fun-to-drive department,” said Lassa, starting the inevitable comparison. In brief: The Mazda’s dash feels cheaper, though its intuitiveness beats the Ford’s starship-esque flight deck. But the Mazda’s suspension is less sophisticated: one editor…

WE LIKE: Stealth speed, sumptuous interior, eggnog-creamy eight-cog tranny. WE DON’T LIKE: Fussy shifter, fiddly ergonomics, perhaps too mild-mannered. ELEGANCE DOESN’T come much more understated than this in the large-sedan realm. Especially in white, Audi’s latest flagship limo seems desperate to blend in with its A4 kid brother. But slip inside and the senses are overwhelmed by swathes of rich wood and brushed metal splashed across not only the dash and door panels, but the front seatbacks as well. The engineers exerted themselves as hard as the designers did inside, introducing a revolutionary handwriting recognition feature designed to simplify tasks like destination entry (especially in Chinese). We were prepared to be dazzled, but it didn’t work on our car, except for selecting radio presets. Nor were we particularly thrilled with…

WE LIKE: Stylish design, availability of a hybrid version, six-speed transmissions. WE DON’T LIKE: Turbo engine needs refinement to match its power; hybrid lacks “EV-ness.” THE SONATA is a classic example of how high expectations can trip you up. With Hyundai’s trajectory being so steep recently, it was presumed the dramatic-looking new Sonata would be the next remarkable data point on Hyundai’s spectacular product-curve. Instead, think of it as a improvement triple off the wall when everybody expected an outta-the-park homer. Part of the problem was that our deliberations included the Sonata’s two newest powertrains. While the base, 2.4-liter with 190-200 horses remains a perfectly likeable mill, the new 274-horse, 2.0-liter turbo managed to curb our enthusiasm. And the technically intriguing hybrid (an engine/motor combo that uniquely features a clutch…

WE LIKE: Sportiness of SE, handling, ease of use of the cabin. WE DON’T LIKE: Can get pricey, so-so cabin plastics. FOR THE LAST few years, minivan manufacturers have been trying to win back sales from defectors to SUVs and crossovers. Toyota’s recent ad campaign for the new Sienna is evidence of that, using YouTube to post videos of the youngish mom and dad, and their Swagger Wagon. And it’s a challenge to get buyers to look beyond the stigma associated with minivans as being mommy-mobiles. But for anyone carrying a lot of people—with or without sippy cups—the minivan is the quiet champion. The Sienna adds a four-cylinder engine for 2011, along with new styling, new interior amenities, and a new sporty trim level (SE). For Car of the Year,…

“HANDS-DOWN THE MOST SIGNIFICANT VEHICLE THIS YEAR, AND A HUGE STEP IN THE HYBRID/EV CAR WARS.”—ROAD TEST EDITOR SCOTT MORTARA “AT THE END OF ALL THE NOISE, THE VOLT DELIVERS EXACTLY WHAT GM PROMISED. THE SURPRISING PART IS THAT IT WORKS SO DAMN WELL.”—SENIOR EDITOR JONNY LIEBERMAN “I EXPECTED A science fair experiment. But this is a moonshot.” Chris Theodore is a wily veteran of the auto business, a seasoned development engineer whose impressive resume includes vehicles as thoughtfully executed as the Chrysler minivan and as tightly focused as the Ford GT. As one of the consultant judges on this year’s COTY panel, Chris brought the deep insight and professional skepticism you’d expect of someone who’s spent his entire working life making cars. But our 2011 Car of the Year,…