Innehållsförteckning för October 2004 från MotorTrend

> BMW DRAWS PAIR OF SIXES > MERCEDES-BENZ DRAWS THREE-OF-A-KIND > SAAB DOUBLE DOWN WITH SUBARU > SPIED! 2006 CHEVROLET HHR HYUNDAI PLANS REAR-DRIVE SPORT SEDAN Who would’ve expected to see those six words in the same sentence? Not satisfied by attacking Toyota and Honda, Hyundai is planning its own BMW—or at least its own Lexus or Infiniti. The South Korean automaker is working on a rear-drive sport sedan for 2008 or 2009. The car replaces the large Dynasty front-drive home-market sedan. But this replacement will be sold in the United States. COP TIRES, COP SUSPENSION, COP HEMI Recalling the glory days of Nixon-era Dodge Polara cop cars (and less gloriously, of Reagan-era Diplomats), police will be able to get their doughnut-clutching hands on the Dodge Magnum Police Package for…

Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvador! won Le Mans in an Aston Martin in 1959, and the marque hasn’t been a force in motorsport since. That may change with the introduction of the Prodrive-developed DBR9, which will contest several international races, including Le Mans, beginning next year. The selection of Prodrive to make the new DB9 into a race car is likely a good one: They’re the same folks who built and ran Petter Solberg’s 2003 World Rally Championship-winning Subaru STi and made the Ferrari 550 Maranello a Le Mans GT-class victor in 2002. We hope to see the DBR9 show up in the ALMS or Grand Am series, too, as the U.S. is an important sales market for the production version.…

BMW has just unleashed two all-new inline-sixes, its signature configuration. We’ll get the R6 3.0-liter gas engine in the 2006 330i (pictured) next spring. It’s a stunning advancement: the first six with throttle butterfly-free Valvetronic infinitely adjustable valve timing and aluminum Vanos butterflies, a magnesium/aluminum composite crankcase, hydroformed cams, and an electric water pump. The engine employs a lot of lightweight magnesium, aluminum, and composites, including a mag cylinder-head cover. The R6 makes 258 horsepower at 6650 rpm and 221 pound-feet at 3500 rpm. Redline is 7000 rpm. BMW claims it’s the world’s lightest six-cylinder engine, and, at 355 pounds, it’s 22 pounds lighter than the M54 3.0 it replaces. BMW is even more proud of the RD6 3.0-liter twin-turbo, calling it “the sportiest diesel engine of all time.” Who…

LOOKS TESTS DRIVES I was well clear of the cockpit, but the valet at the Beverly Hills Hotel just stood there, smiling. I cleared my throat “I’m supposed to get a stub?” The smile broadened. “You don’t need one, sir. We’ll keep the car right up front here for you.” Ah, the exalted primo parking spot at the famed “Pink Palace.” In this rarified oasis, where Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Astons, and assorted celebrity wheels regularly roll up to battle for maximum groveling, my Neptune Blue Bentley Continental GT had just been crowned Automobile of the Moment by LA’s most qualified jurors. (No doubt Julia Roberts’s car sat banished away somewhere behind a palm tree.) The attentiveness wasn’t surprising, though: Few cars have recently fueled as much pretest anticipation…

Honda’s current Odyssey blew everyone out of the water when it was introduced as a 1999 model. It’s been a vibrant seller, but others have since advanced the state of the minivan art. So the company fired up its drawing board and now brings a nearly 100-percent-new Odyssey to market as a 2005 model. Although it casts about the same shadow as the outgoing generation, it finds a few important inches of cargo and people room inside and is brimming with new features and technology. Among the minivan firsts achieved by the 2005 Odyssey are cylinder deactivation on the uplevel i-VTEC V-6 (resulting in 20/28 EPA ratings), the use of active noise-cancellation technology from the audio system to quiet the cabin, and a nav system that takes address and location…

Luxury cars with strong personalities have a way of sneaking their own cards into the driver’s personality deck. In the case of Jaguar’s latest, the Super V8 (a performance version of the new, long-wheelbase XJ sedan), a few seconds gripping the glistening walnut steering wheel and staring through the rearview mirror at the opulently expanded rear seat can trigger a desire to don a chauffeur’s cap and ferry around one of those English soccer stars who has a pop-star girlfriend and needs a fast machine like this to escape all those bloody paparazzi. “I think we shook ’em, gov’ner,” you mutter to your real-world passenger, who’s staring at you, wondering where you got the hat and the accent. The Super V8 is certainly super in two specific respects. Under the…

We hear you Yanks like your Evos and STis. But check out a limited-edition pair we get in the U.K. They may be the quickest point-to-point cars on the planet. An Enzo might be faster on paper, but in the real world, where there are corners, rain showers, and groceries to be carried, nothing else comes close. The Impreza WR1 and Evo FQ340 are the latest, hard-core evolutions of the format. Both are products of rivalries: The FQ promotes Mitsubishi’s resurgent rally team, and the WR1 was produced to celebrate Petter Solberg’s 2003 WRC driver’s title. The former is the work of Ralliart, based in the U.K. and home to the Mitsubishi Rally squad. The latter is the baby of Prodrive, the people responsible for the Subaru WRC squad. The…

The Mercedes SL has always been a stylish conveyance for the well-heeled, but its role as Richard Gere’s ride in the 1980 film “American Gigolo” certainly enhanced the SL’s reputation as a sexy car. While evolving from the original racebred 300SL Gullwing of the 1950s, the SL grew in size and luxury, but continued to deliver sports-car levels of performance. The fourth-generation car (1990-2002) cuts a more aerodynamic figure than the car it replaced and still has some of the most advanced safety features of any open car on the road. The 300SL and 500SLs arrived with six- and eight-cylinder engines, respectively, and each came with a power softtop and a removable aluminum hardtop. During the 1990s, the V-12 600SL was added, the 300SL became the 320SL, and the numbers…

I breathed easier when Bryan Herta wrapped up his final 200-mph run for the exotic-car story in this issue. He was a hero, stepping into cars whose preparation he knew little about, then ripping along inside the steel Armco barrier surrounding the five-mile, high-banked speed bowl at Ford’s Arizona Proving Ground. Calm, quiet, and professional, the Indy Racing League star focused on the task at hand and did his job, piloting some of the fastest, most sophisticated production automobiles on the planet to the highest velocities they could generate. This was perhaps a lower-intensity exercise than Bryan’s usual drive—hurtling around tighter tracks at higher speeds, his tires mere inches away from those of a bunch of other guys doing the same thing—but it still wasn’t exactly a snooze in the…

The latest evidence of Ford and Carroll Shelby’s desire to build cars together again is this rakish design study called the GR-1. Although it shares its V-10 powertrain and underpinnings with the Cobra concept unveiled at January’s Detroit auto show, Ford doesn’t badge it or refer to it in any way as a Cobra. The “GR” reference stands for Group Racing. While early inspiration may have come from the gorgeous FIA GT championship-winning Cobra Daytona coupe of four decades ago, the GT-1 is hardly retro. If anything, it looks more like a cousin to the Aston Martin Vanquish, and the design language is modern and exciting. That long nose blankets an updated version of the 2004 Cobra concept’s 6.4-liter V-10, rated at 605 horsepower and about 500 pound-feet of…

GM’s global Delta platform (Saturn Ion, Chevy Cobalt) will underpin the new “Heritage High Roof” compact wagon. Power comes via a 170-horse, 2.4-liter Ecotec four, although we expect a GMPD performance version with at least 205 to follow 12 to 18 months after the model’s fall 2005 intro. The HHR’s design inspiration was a combination of late-1940s Suburban and current-day SSR. With price points in the low $20K range, the front-drive HHR’s most obvious competition is the PT Cruiser.…

Mercedes-Benz will show its new G-, M-, and the production version of its R-Class crossover at January’s 2005 Detroit auto show. This trio demonstrates just how serious Mercedes is about playing in the SUV and crossover segments. Biggest news is the new G-wagen, which gives up its SubZero-on-wheels look for a sportier, more rakish design. Based on the next M-Class, but sharing few parts, it reportedly delivers the same off-road-warrior capabilities as the outgoing military-derived truck, and it’ll be built in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for the first time. The G-wagen and the long-wheelbase R-Class will be seven-passenger models. The new M-Class and short-wheelbase R will be five-passenger models.…

425 horsepower. That tells you most of what you need to know about the Chrysler Street and Racing Technology gang’s latest road-burner. The square-shouldered Chrysler 300 has been a marketplace hit so far, and we told you an SRT-ified version of the Hemi V-8-powered 300C wasn’t far behind. It can’t get here soon enough for us. Staying true to the classic “no replacement for displacement” theorem, the Hemi gets a bore increase (from 3.92 inches to 4.06) taking it from 5.7 liters to 6.1, or 370 cubes in musclecar speak. Redline arrives at 6400 rpm, (as opposed to 5800 for the standard Hemi), with a torque peak of 420 pound-feet at 4800 rpm. So it’s a revver, not just a grunter. The block, heads, intake, crank, exhaust system—even the oil…

For years, nothing. Then, suddenly, the compact-pickup-truck market is awash in new products: the 2004 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon and, for 2005, a new Dodge Dakota, Nissan Frontier, and—for the first time in 10 years—an all-new Toyota Tacoma. As it did originally, the Tacoma shares a platform and an engine with the Toyota 4Runner, in this case the gutsy 4.0-liter, 245-horsepower, aluminum-block DOHC V-6. Standard is a new 2.7-liter, 164-horsepower four-cylinder, which replaces the current 2.4- and 2.7-liter fours. There are four transmission choices: a four-speed automatic and a five-speed manual for the four-cylinder, and a five-speed auto and a six-speed manual for the V-6. The manuals and the five-speed automatic are new. The chassis is substantially more rigid than before, with seven crossmembers and a fully boxed frame…

Top-speed testing is serious business, requiring meticulous preflight inspections, maximum driver skill and safety apparel, a testing facility with adequate room and requisite barriers, and crew standing by. With all these factors in place, we stood on the go pedal of a GEM e4 not knowing what to expect. Just 20.7 seconds later, we’d shattered several Motor Trend records. The e4 achieved its top speed in less time than any car we’ve ever tested—it took a Lamborghini Murciélago 10 seconds longer to reach only 88 percent of its 193-mph top-speed. The GEM also is the only vehicle we’ve ever tested to run the quarter mile, slalom, and skidpad at its terminal velocity. Before you jump to conclusions, realize the GEM e4 is limited to traveling at twice the speed of…

Now that you can get one, are the Mini and the H2 still hip? Your humble servants here at Motor Trend have sailed the choppy seas of modern-car culture in search of the answer. We drove a 2004 Hummer H2 and 2004 Mini Cooper S to our Michigan offices closest cultural outpost—Chicago—hunting for truth and beauty in the modern automotive world. Imagine two models, one wearing a miniskirt, the other wearing designer army fatigues. Who’s in style? Who gets all the attention? We began by asking Stephan, owner of the hottest night club in Chicago that no one can get in to, the Sound Bar, which of our extreme duo he would valet park out front. “Neither of them, because we get a lot of Lamborghinis and Ferraris. So the…

Next to buying a house, signing on the dotted line to take home a new car ranks as the second-most-expensive purchase a lot of people make. And even though cars are depreciating investments for the most part, they’re still smart ones. Today’s automobiles are cleaner-running, better-built, more roadworthy, safer, and more feature-laden, dollar for dollar, than ever before. What’s the best car to buy? Well, that really depends on your wants and needs. We figure you have an idea what features are important to you and how much you want to spend. So we’ve boiled down the facts on 162 different models into 28 info-packed pages to help you decide what’s best. Convertibles, sedans, coupes, hot hatches, and wagons, it’s all in here. We’re only happy to help. If your…

2004 NISSAN TITAN 4X2 SE Nissan waited a while to join the full-size pickup party, but, boy, did they bring it when they did. The Titan was a strong contender in our 2004 Truck of the Year competition, and we knew we had to have one for a one-year test. We ordered our Crew Cab draped in a color called Red Brawn. The Off-Road package added $950 and drops the wheel size from the standard 18 down to 17, equipped with BFGoodrich off-road tires. This option includes skidplates, Rancho shocks, a shorter final-drive ratio, foglamps, and tow hooks. We opted for the Big Tow package ($850) for a Class-IV hitch with wiring harness, extendable tow mirrors, heavy-duty battery, transmission-temp gauge, and Vehicle Dynamic Control. The Utility Bed Package ($900) added…

T.C. Browne would have qualified handily for one of those Most Unforgettable Character profiles a that we all recall from our parents’ copies of the Reader’s Digest. T.C. was a truly unforgettable character, a man determined to live life by an altogether different set of rules and regulations from those of the rest of us. He was a squinty-eyed guy of medium size who wore a flamboyant RAF moustache and often spoke of arcane international conspiracies in a loud, braying voice. T.C. is perhaps best remembered as publisher of Sports Car Graphic and as an on-again, off-again Motor Trend staffer and contributor, although I knew him best as one of those nomads of the 1960s who would—with the girlfriend of the moment—set off to the far corners of the earth…

Saab is developing a new ignition key that’s so good, it’s scary. The “Alcokey” concept has a small mouthpiece in the key fob with a transponder that tells the car’s electronic control unit how much its driver has been drinking. Using existing antitheft technology, it’s triggered when you unlock the Saab doors with the keyfob. After clicking “unlock,” the driver blows into the mouthpiece, and the breath sample passes down a small internal tube with a small semiconductor. If a red light appears on the keyfob, it triggers the engine immobilizer, and you’re calling a cab. If it shows green, you’re good to drive. Saab demonstrated the system at an August safety seminar in Sweden. It estimates that commercial production would cost about $300 per car. The technology is early…

Chrysler 300, Toyota Prius, and Chevrolet Malibu are hot this year. Will they keep this pace next year? Mini Cooper sales are maxing along in the car’s second full year, while the Hummer H2 has cooled way off. A sampling of 20 cars and trucks that have created a buzz recently—some for good reasons (i.e., 350Z), others for bad (i.e., Aztek)—show demand can drop off quickly. The Prius and 300 all are in their first full year, while the BMW Z4 and Honda Element, for example, have dropped off severely in their second year. Some models, like the Cadillac Escalade and Chrysler PT Cruiser, continue cruising in popularity. U.S. sales volumes are for calendar-year January through June 2004 and January through June 2003. Source: Manufacturers, J.D. Power and Associates…

It sounds like Sunday morning on Speed, this l/20nd-of-an-Fl-grid for your driveway. The E60 M5 (Bimmerphiles love codenames) doesn’t rev as high as, and falls about 400 horsepower short of, the Williams FW23’s P83 V-10. But if its exhaust note is any indication, the 2005 M5 will be one helluva ride. M’s new V-10 makes BMW’s foray into the avant-garde gel more than it has up until now. Chris Bangle-era design, and heaven help us, even iDrive, make sense with this engine. This is Marcel Duchamp, Salvador Dali, and Ornette Coleman wrapped up in a 90-degree vee of magic and metallurgy. Engine stats are 5.0 liters, 500 horsepower at 7750 rpm, 384 pound-feet of torque, and an 8250-rpm redline. Its seven-speed sequential manual gearbox has five automatic and six manual…

The Blind Spot Information System, Volvo’s new safety innovation, is optional on the 2005 S60 sedan and V70/XC70 wagons. But more on this latest acronymic addition to the automotive vernacular after a look at what else Volvo has massaged on its midsize lineup. Changes for 2005 include noticeable appearance refinements plus an increase in performance and handling. For the S60 sedan and V70 wagon, contrasting side trim and lower valances are out, body-color pieces are in. Together with revised grilles and front/rear bumpers, the exteriors now present a more unified look. The AWD XC70 Cross Country retains its signature contrasting bumpers, wheelhouse extensions, and lower body-line areas, but gains larger skidplates front and rear. The S60 and V70 T5 models get 10 more horsepower and 15 additional pound-feet of torque.…

IN THIS EXCLUSIVE FIRST INSTRUMENTED TEST, WE LAUNCH ALL THREE TOWARD THE MAGIC 200-MPH BARRIER-AND REVEAL WHICH IS THE FASTEST OF THEM ALL If you wanted to visit an American city reminiscent of Le Mans, France, your first choice probably would not be Yucca, Arizona. There are no quaint outdoor cafes crowded with fashionable Europeans amid the cactus plants and tumbleweeds in this dusty, mountain-ringed barbecue pit 130 miles southeast of Las Vegas. Also, in Yucca it’s very hard to find croissants—though in the height of summer you could bake some without an oven. Yet soon after our entourage of test drivers, editors, photographers, mechanics, and support staff arrives at 5 a.m. at Ford’s Arizona Proving Grounds (APG), the connection to Le Mans becomes palpable. Arrayed outside a cluster of…

We love a good feud: Hatfield-McCoy, Blond-Brunette, Yin-Yang, Beatles-Stones, Ferrari-Porsche, Ford-Chevy. It’s rivalries like these that make arm-wrestling the passionate sport that it is, that add the suds to beer. A good rivalry helps define one’s priorities, revealing each opponent’s strengths, and, if you look close enough, imperfections and weaknesses. If you’ve been keeping up on your automotive rivalries, you know about the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution and Subaru WRX sedans. You probably also know they’re both currently produced in order to compete in the World Rally Championship. This time around, we’ve managed to get an exclusive first test of each maker’s highest-performance model: Mitsubishi’s all-new 2005 Evo MR Edition and the updated 2005 Subaru WRX STi. You won’t find this test anywhere else (at least not for another month or…

TRUCK TREND Super heavy-duty Although technically a midmodel update, the 2005 Ford Super Duty offers significant changes: More power, a stronger frame, and an integrated trailer-brake system that makes towing safer and easier. We drive the revised Super Duty line of trucks—is it a new benchmark for the Ram, Silverado, and Sierra? In addition, we take the two newest diesel torque monsters (and a selection of transmissions) and run them head-to-head: Ford Power Stroke 6.0-liter V-8 versus Dodge Cummins 5.9-liter I-6. Get Involved Please vote for your favorite truck concepts from a select group of readers’ designs. Likewise, we’ll be making our yearly call for our upcoming Readers’ Rides special issue. Fill out the form, send us a photo of your rig, and look for your vehicle in a future…

Porsche is the evolutionist’s car company. It doesn’t come out with new designs that frequently. Then, when it does, it sticks with them—often for decades—constantly tweaking, improving, and expanding the ’ lineup. One interesting mix-and-match 911 model was the Carrera “Turbo Look” of the mid-1980s, which blended the Turbo’s bulging fender flares, beefier wheels and tires, and whale-tail rear spoiler with a naturally aspirated 3.2-liter engine and a lower-than-Turbo sticker price. Turbo-Look Carreras are now among the most highly sought classic-era 911s. Porsche employed a similar formula when it brewed up the Carrera 4S for the 2003 model year. The C4S combines the Carrera 4’s all-wheel-drive chassis and 3.6-liter, 320-horsepower, non-turbo flat-six with the wide rear fenders, larger rolling stock, and other body-style revisions normally reserved for the 415-horse Turbo.…