Innehållsförteckning för May 2005 från MotorTrend

THIS STUNNING cadillac coupe is real. It exists in detailed, full-size clay model form in GM’s design studio in Detroit and is the topic of fierce debate at senior levels within the company. The key argument: Do we do it? GM product supremo Bob Lutz sees this car as central to maintaining the momentum of Cadillac’s so far successful rehabilitation from Florida retirement home transport to fast, edgy, all-American BMW alternative. What’s more, he’s convinced with a coupe like this Cadillac could even play in cut-price Bentley territory, tempting buyers who can't stretch to a Continental GT. The 551-horsepower W-12-powered Conti GT is one of Lutz’s personal benchmark cars. He thinks the $160,000 coupe’s combination of supercar performance and traditional luxury is a winning formula that Cadillac could emulate for…

SAAB IS IN a conundrum. General Motors needs to “grow the brand,” as they like to say in Detroit. GM figures itcan do that by playing up Saab’s weirdness—the floor-mounted ignition switch and all. But part of that weirdness is Saab’s low-volume exclusivity. The SportCombi, something between a hatchback and a wagon, is expected to add just 2000 to 4000 units in the U.S., but in Europe and the U.K, the SportCombi is poised to become Saab’s best-seller. The car launches here in the fall with a new, optional 250-horse, 2.8-liter turbocharged V-6 to be offered throughout the 9-3 line (the 210-horse turbo four remains the base engine here). The 60-degree V-6 is from GM’s all-aluminum high-feature engine family and boasts 258 pound-feet from 1500 to 5500 rpm. it has…

Cue the Wagner… M-B ’05 S65 AMG MERCEDES’S ROCKET-POWERED bank vault ishere. The S-Class gets AMG’s 65 treatment, with the 604-horsepower, 6.0-liter twin-turbo V-12 that makes 738 pound-feet of torque. Mercedes claims a 4.2-second 0-to-60 sprint, adding that it’s being “conservative.” Other goodies include ABC active suspension and AMG spring struts with firmer damping, reworked stability and traction-control systems, eight-piston disc brakes with compound brake rotors, and 19x8.5-front and 19x9.5-inch rear wheels. Extended Family RXT Pickup WHEN YOU MAKE theworld’s largestproduction pickup truck—the International CXT (Motor Trend, January)—there’s nowhere left to go but down or, more correctly, smaller. International is looking to create an XT family, and the newest plus-plus-size member is the RXT pickup. Offered in two-wheel drive and using International’s own VT 365 V-8 turbodiesel, rated 230 horsepower…

LIKE A PAIR of sumo wrestlers, Lexus and Infiniti have been going head-to-head in the US. market for approximately 15 years. They often chase the same buyers, but in different ways and often with different maneuvers, and both profess to be inspired by the success of European blue-bloods. As the Japanese move into midluxury V-8 rear-drive territory long held by the Europeans, BMW’s propeller logo appears in the crosshairs as many competitors target its products as segment benchmarks. Lexus executives have already stated that its future products will have more focused dedication to high performance and handling akin to what BMW has achieved. Infiniti had the BMW 3 Series under the microscope when it developed Motor Trend’s 2003 Car of the Year, the G35, and Nissan’s premium division shone a…

THE SUN SHINES prignty off the white stone buildings, a smooth and lightly traveled road winds along granite cliffs that jut from a glassy Mediterranean. We stop for a photograph of the Dodge SRT4. Click. Minutes later we're plunging down through the corkscrew at California’s Laguna Seca circuit, closing on a remarkably well-driven Nissan Primera 2.0 that looks about as out of place here as the Dodge did in Italy. Of course, it’s all as imaginary as SpongeBob’s sex life. Our assignment is to evaluate America’s latest weapons in the hot-rod econobox wars, but Sony’s new video game, Gran Turismo 4, is distracting us. Everything in the game looks real, and the vehicle dynamics are tailored to match track tests of real cars. Drivers in GT4 start with limited funds…

IT'LL HAUNT YOU, the new BMW M3 Competition Package. Haunt you, and taunt you. You'll drive it knowing that, with the V-8 powered E90 M3 in the works, it’s possibly the last in a line of ultra-high-performance six-cylinder BMW coupes that stretches back to 1972 and the storied 3.0 CSL. And you'll come away wondering why America once again gets decaf; why we're just allowed a sniff of the Euro-spec M3 CSL rather than the doppio espresso version, with its carbon-fiber roof, stripped interior, and headbanging 360-horsepower (DIN) straight-six. They think we're soft or something? Actually, BMW says the cost of certifying the high-power engine for the U.S. simply wouldn't be justified given the expected sales volume. Plus there’s the cost of that trick carbon-fiber roof. The Ms CSL sells…

LET’S BE BOLD tere ana assume you're secure in your manhood; that you can forget about going to Las Vegas in a Lincoln Town Car, because that’s what everyone else is driving; and that you've grown out of spelunking from casino to casino in the greasy back seat of a clapped-out Crown Vic cab. With all apologies to recently departed gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, we're here to tell you that a minivan is a great way to go to cash in on the American Dream. First off, you sit up higher in a minivan than Thompson did in the Great Red Shark, but not too high, and you've plenty of glass area to take in the desert panorama, A mini-van’s den mother persona also makes it a? excellent cloaking…

IT’S EASY to think of the muscular new C350 as an SLK350 in a three-piece suit. The sedan (which packs a stout strut/multilink suspension, is longer, taller, with different proportions) shares an engine and two transmissions with the roadster. So you can enjoy most of the driving fun—if not the open-air aspect—of an SLK and carry twice the people at a lower price. The beefier C’s 3.5-liter V-6 and seven-speed automatic add desperately needed power to the non-AMG C-Class models. The new powertrain replaces the previous 3.2-liter V-6. If you want a C-Class Sport Coupe, by the way, move quickly, as that price-leader hatchback retires at the model year’s end. Stuffing an engine with 53 more horse-power and 29 more pound-feet of torque (the latter available at a lower rpm…

IT WAS with great anticipation that we took the keys of our long-term BMW Z4. After all, the shark-nosed roadster with the flame-cut flanks was the controversial replacement for the Z3 and was touted as more aggressive and technologically advanced. Of course, it also meant we'd have a bright-red drop-top to get up close and personal with for a year’s duration. Add the turbine-smooth 3.0-liter, 225-horse-power inline-six, and we couldn't go wrong, right? Well…almost. We wanted to evaluate the new Sequential Manual Gearbox transmission offered for the first time in a standard BMW (available only in the M3 previously), so we chose that instead of BMW’s six-speed manual or five-speed Steptronic manumatic transmission. The SMG uses an electrically actuated clutch, but no third pedal, and provides “fascinating new things for…

IN A PRODUCT rollout move that surprises no one—but will delight Ferrari enthusiasts, customers, and dealers the world over—Maranello has chambered the next round of the F430’s evolution. The F430 Spider is exactly what you'd expect, a convertible version of the Berlinetta introduced last year. Other than the chassis changes required to fit the one-touch, fully automatic, self-covering top, there are no other mechanical updates. That means the coupe’s 483-horsepower V-8, updated F-1 transmission, Manettino-integrated chassis-control system, electronically managed rear diff, and optional ceramic brake rotors can now all be orchestrated al fresco. Final specs for U.S. models are still pending, but the Spider’s weight increase will likely be 50 to 100 pounds, which shouldn't negatively impact the F430’s impressive performance. As the car uses an aluminum space frame chassis,…

DON’T LIKE the look of the new 3 Series? Bored with the C-Class Benz? Can't get on with the Audi A4’s nose-heavy handling? The all-new Lexus IS could be just what you're looking for. Unlike the current IS, originally conceived as a Toyota (it’s sold in Japan as the Toyota Altezza), the new model is a Lexus from the wheels up. Toyota is amping up its so-called L-Finesse design direction, first seen on the new GS, as radical. In truth the compact, wedgy IS comes across as a safe take on BMW’s 3 Series. The profile, with its aggressive, almost coupelike glasshouse, is the best angle: the rear end is too Bangle-lite, while the front end lacks presence. The new IS is 90mm longer overall and 75mm wider and rolls…

MCLAREN HAS FALLEN victim to Eckhardt Cordes’s icy touch. The new Mercedes boss has put several upcoming car projects—including the smart for more—on hold, pending proof of each project’s profitability. For McLaren, 40 percent owned by DaimlerChrysler, the same has happened to its mid-engine supercar, codenamed P8. It was to have been a Ferrari F430/Lamborghini Gallardo rival with an all-carbon-fiber body and AMG engine. Last year, Mercedes carried out an intensive feasibility study. Ron Dennis talked about building 2000 cars per year, which was too much for the McLaren factory where race cars and the SLR are built. He spoke of subcontracting the P8. Dennis still claims that the study showed it would have turned a profit. But now, most ofthe engineers have been laid off. Even Gordon Murray, designer…

horse race Angus MacKenzie was blowing smoke when he stated that Denny Hulme had 1000 horsepower in his McLaren Can Am (“Editorial,” February). I watched several of the McLaren team engines being dynoed, and they were more in the range of 750 horses. If they had 1000, they might've been competitive with the great 917-30 Porsche, The McLaren Can Ams were wonderful to watch, so why overstate the power? Bruce Cambern Madera, California skewed perspectives Are you mad? You think that “at $51,295, the 2005 Cadillac CTS-v ("Trio Grande,” February) tops this group in price, but it’s still a bargain…”? I'll show you a bargain. Wait two years until its jaw-dropping depreciation has settled and the previous owner has dealt with GM’s notorious reliability problems, Then let’s talk bargain. Peter…

CARROLL SHELBY’S force-fed 1966 GT 350 was the first Mustang in history to have a supercharger. Shelby claimed the GT would run 0-to-60 mph in five seconds flat, its Paxton centrifugal blower reportedly delivering a 46-percent power increase over Shelby’s carbureted HO 289 V-8, raising output from 306 horsepower to about 440. But in our August 1966 issue, the supercharged GT 350 mustered only a 6.0-second 0-to-60-mph sprint. Hit the fast-forward button to 2005, and ponycar fans are rejoicing over the all-new Mustang GT. Just like the 1966 GT 350, the 2005 Mustang’s fastback roof incorporates a pair of rear side windows (the windows were a one-year-only option on the Shelby), but there’s no supercharger option under the hood—yet. Well, you don’t have to wait for Ford’s in-house tuner SVT:…

IT WAS A PURE O.C. moment: “Is that, like, a Rolls-Royce?” yelled the woman in the red Mustang convertible as we cruised side by side through Huntington Beach in the sparkling So-Cal winter sunshine. “No, it’s a Chrysler.” “A what?” “Chrysler.” “It’s beautiful.” Memo Dieter Zetsche: You simply cannot afford not to, like, do this car. There’s a lot about the ASC Helios that screams no-brainer. The Chrysler 300C is not merely the hottest sedan in American right now, but the perfect raw material for the first four-door convertible since the 1967 Lincoln Continental: linear, muscular, confident, with a smooth Hemi under the hood and a nicely balanced rear-drive chassis. The technology behind it is simple and effective and backed by ASC’s 21 years’ experience engineering and building convertibles for…

IT’S JUST AFTER 9 A.M. on a weekday morning, an hour when many Angelenos have only begun sipping their venti chai soy lattés, but in a graffi: splashed warehouse near the runways of Los Angeles International Airport, already the trance music is turned up so loud my jeans are vibrating down my waist: Apparently energized by the relentless boom-boom-boom, a crew of pierced and — tattooed mechanics in blue work shirts is swarmin like hungry ants over a gutted Car carcass. Crowded with them onto the vast work floor are shop tools, strange auto-body parts in various Stages of completion, and a mélange off our-wheeled to Curiosities—including a brand-new Bentley Arnage T stretched to Proportions, a one-off Chrysler 300C convertible with TV screens for rearview mirrors, a Ford pickup on…

ONE OF the downsides to living out here in Munchkinland, apart from the occasional actual size lesson in plate tectonics or the risk of over-dosing on arugula, is that L.A. is to great cars what Rio is to thongs. Driving a Mercedes-Benz along Sunset Boulevard is like wearing an Armani suit and a pair of arc-welding glasses to the Oscars: Sure you look good, but so does everybody else. What if you want to stand out-say, turn heads like Flavor Flav at a PTA meeting? In that case, you might want to scrutinize the new 2006 CLS500, perhaps the most unapologetically fashion-driven Mercedes-Benz ever built. Yes, Mercedes: that relentlessly rational, engineering-obsessed German maker whose historical precedent for cutting loose was letting Fangio race with the top button of his polo…

AT THE FIRST deep probe of the throttle on an introductory drive of the Highlander Hybrid 4WD, my passenger said to me with eyes wide, "Geez, this thing’s fast.” Six-point-six-seconds-to-60-mph_ fast, an elbow-scratching 2.5 seconds quicker than the 3.0-liter V-6 4WD example we tested two years ago (an engine since expanded to a 3.3-liter, but you see the point). As Highlanders go, the hybrid’s a bullet. Begging the question, um, why? Has Toyota’s Highlander hotline really been flooded with demands for C2-snapping acceleration? Welcome to the rare-as-bird's-teeth phenomenon of trickle-down performance. For production efficiency, the Highlanders powertrain is identical to that developed for the Lexus RX 400h—or rather, its HO performance-aware __ clientele who'll expect premium acceleration for the hybrid’s $4000-$5000 price premium. Yet, even in the high-voltage world of…

WHEN IT bowed as a 1995 model, the Kia Sportage sport/utility was on the primitive side (94 horsepower, no airbags). It was a straightforward, rugged, body-on-frame SUV. A good bargain, especially in 4x4 form, the Sportage gradually gained civility until leaving the Kia lineup after 2002. Now the Sportage is back. To create the new 2005 model, Kia kept most of the Sportage’s best traits and reengineered the rest into a platform joint-ventured with Hyundai. Gone is the funky two-door convertible version, and the spare tire has been moved inside, under the cargo area. A new unibody structure replaces the old ladderframe chassis; it’s larger in most measurements and more refined than the original. Output from the base 2.0-liter four is up from 130 horsepower to 140. Newly optional is…

GAUGING the value of classic concept cars and design studies is difficult. Some of these cars were timeless classics that inspired significant production models; others were forgotten the minute the auto show spotlights moved on to the next bit of news. This 1954 Oldsmobile F-88 was designed during the Harley Earl era and explored how other GM-branded cars might be built around themes established by the 1953 Corvette. Like Chevy’s then-new sports car, the Olds concept employed a fiberglass body, but was powered by a V-8. Pontiac built a similar dream machine, called the Bonneville Special, that had a glass canopy roof. The F-88 hit the three million-plus jackpot at the Barrett-Jackson auction in January 2005 and will star at anew automotive museum to be built in Colorado. After 51…

THIS ONE’S A WINNER— The design for the new GTO coming to Pontiac showrooms in 2007 as a 2008 model. The big, rear-drive sport coupe will be designed and built in the U.S., possibly at GM’s Hamtramck or Wilmington plants, and it’s likely to show up in concept form at a 2006 auto show, probably Detroit in January. Internally called the GMX282, the 2008 GTO will be built on GM’s new Zeta platform, now under development in Australia by GM’s Holden subsidiary. The Zeta platform brings new suspension all around, with a more sophisticated independent rearend promising better traction and even sweeter handling. The wheelbase has grown marginally to 110 inches. The next GTO will carry over the 6.0-liter, 400-horse LS2 from the current car as well as the six…

LOOKING LIKE Toyota’s 2003 FJ Cruiser concept with real-world wheels and tires, the production FJ Cruiser is set for early 2006 launch. Under the hood, though, the concept’s 250-horsepower Toyota Racing Development-massaged 3.4-liter V-6 will be replaced with a 4.0-liter V-6 making 245 horses, Everything else from the concept is there, including the upright windshield and the white-cap lid atop the wrap-around rear window and thick C-pillar. No other paint scheme for the top will be available—this is a retro model evoking the FJ40 of the 1960s and 1970s. The modernized retro look will extend to the interior, as well, although Toyota is still sweating the details. It’s planning 40,000 units, all for the North American market and all coming from Japan, initially production could eventually switch to this continent.…

HONDA SELLS more than 300,000 Civics in the U.S. annually, but this year its sales are falling behind Toyota’s Corolla/Matrix. Younger enthusiasts, who turned pre-2001 Civics into a sport-compact icon, have stayed away, and the 2002 Si hatchback became the first Honda here to go straight to incentives. So the 2006 Civic Si is Honda’s most critical new car in, well, forever. The Si is a coupe again, with 200 horses from a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter inline-four that revs to 8000 rpm. The chassis and suspension are tuned for excellent handling and useable performance. The production Si makes its debut at the SEMA show at Las Vegas in November, where Honda becomes the first Japanese automaker to be the aftermarket extravaganza’s featured marque. On sale: Fall 2005, Civic; later for…

LAMBORGHINI calls this split-cabin Gallardo design study "an extreme interpretation of an open car." Penned by Lambo design chief Luc Donckerwolcke and unveiled at the Geneva show, the Concept S features two low, cut-down windscreens. The space between the two seats acts as an additional air inlet for the midship engine, and the driver can electronically control a central rearview mirror. Front and rear spoilers and a large rear diffuser optimize the car’s aerodynamics. The powertrain remains the Gallardo’s current 500-horsepower V-10. Expect a slightly less radical production version sometime in 2006. '06 Mercury Mountaineer CHECK IT OUT: power hideaway runningboards. It’s the latest SUV gim-mick, but one that makes sense, and it’s the most distinctive element of the 2006 Mercury Mountaineer’s new exterior look, which otherwise is hard to…

cavalier behavior I suppose the new Cavalier SS (sorry, Cobalt) has Chevy fans all excited (“2005 Chevrolet Cobalt SS,” February)—until they realize that, for the same base price, the Neon SRT4 kicks its fugly butt, a base Mustang GT goes for about the same as the as-tested price Cavalier (sorry again, Cobalt) and kicks its butt even harder. For a couple thousand more, a Mitsubishi Evo RS reminds the guy behind the wheel of his new Cobalt SS that all he’s really driving is…the new Cavalier. Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin write us at 6420 Wishire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048 e-mail us from motortrend.com letter of the month wins! Matt wins this Spotlight Jumpstarter. Stay tuned for next month’s winner.…

WITH ALL DUE RESPECT to the Mustangs developed and sold by Ford Special Vehicle Engineering and the Special Vehicle Team between 1993 and 2004, Cobras are two-seat roadsters built by Shelby American during the 1960s. Anything else is something else-no matter how promiscuous Ford was with that hallowed badge over the last three decades. This is the reason the highly sought Mustangs sold from 1965 through 1970 that bear Shelby’s name never were called Cobras, even though that trademark snake logo appeared all over them. And this is the same mindset that underpins the naming and development-of the first new, legit Shelby Mustang in 35 years. You'll find snake (and SVT) logos all over this one, too-but, officially, it’s the Ford Shelby GT 500. No misapplied Cobra branding in sight.…

WYNTON MARSALIS isafine horn player. Hand him a Bach or Handel trumpet concerto, and he'll hit each note, clean and precise. But does Marsalis have the chops for jazz improvisation like his heroes, Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis? The 2006 Lexus GS may be the Wynton Marsalis of cars. It’s a fine, highly polished sedan that wants to be a BMW—and it succeeds, at least in tech and spec terms. Yet even a perfect interpretation of the luxury sport sedan can leave one hungry for the last-generation 5 Series, much like the outstanding Marsalis can make you crave late-1950s Miles. The formula does work, as Marsalis sells a lot of CDs, and Lexus has sold a ton of the GS. The GS 300 and GS 430 have returned, even though…

WITH SO-CALLED segment-busting vehicles sprouting up everywhere and niches created daily, Honda is betting that the Ridgeline-an urban truck with sport/utility tendencies-is exactly what you need, no more and no less. It’s the result of a concept researched and designed by Honda, with people, toys, and flat-box furniture buyers in mind who'd never consider buying a truck. Do such urban-truck buyers exist? Are they this rational? So much for philosophy, let’s look at the hardware. On paper, the Ridgeline meets or exceeds many of its closest, medium-size four-door pickup competitors' capabilities-it even outdoes some full-size trucks. It'll carry just over 1500 pounds of cargo in the steel-rein forced composite bed. Its 255-horse V-6 and all-wheel drive can tow up to 5000 pounds. There’s no V-8 available, nor is there a…

THE TWISTING handling track at Mitsubishi’s Okazaki proving ground—a riot of chicanes, decreasing/increasing radius corners, and yes, a §50-mph jump—has been used to test and tune each Lancer Evo from 1993 on. And after just one lap, you understand why the 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX leaps out of corners, doesn't bottom out when you jump it, and flicks. so controllably through a chicane. This car is perfectly adapted to this environment. Evolution: It’s how you improve the breed. Even in Version 9.0, the Evo formula remains a familiar one: a lightweight Lancer sedan donor car, with a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine and idiot-resistant all-wheel drive. But power has been increased beyond the old 276-horse limit (according to the so-called gentleman’s agreement among Japanese automakers) to a new official 286 horsepower…

STUTTGART?’S true-blue purveyor of sports cars has just released the convertible version of what enthusiasts are still calling "The New 911.” The drop-top gives up little performance or structural integrity compared with the coupe version, the upside being open-air sports-car motoring. Porsche developed the cabrio with the coupe from the beginning, so drop-top enhancements—such asstructural adhesives in the rockers, bulkhead, and junctions—could be built in, not layered on ad hoc afterwards. The new cabrio weighs just 188 pounds more than the coupe, even with the additional weight offloorpan gussets, double-thickness steel members, and convertible-top mechanism. Porsche shaped the insulated softtop with aero-dynamics in mind, so the cabrio achieves the same 0.29 coefficient of drag as the coupe. For the first time, the cabrio is introduced with a choice of two…

"The LR3 takes the on-road/off-road compromise to a Whole new level"Angus MacKenzie FRESH from our 2005 Sport/Utility of the Year competition comes the winner, the Land Rover LR3. This model replaces the Discovery, which endured a less-than-stellar reputation in the U.S. in reliability and resale value. We ordered a top-of-the-line HSE ($49,995), along with the Cold Climate Package for $1050, which includes a heated front windshield, heated front-and second-row seats—even heated washer jets. The Heavy Duty package includes active locking rear differential and full-size spare tire/alloy wheel ($625). And the Rear Seat package (another $1250) adds second-row fold-flat seating (35/30/35 split), third-row fold-flat seating, and third-row side-curtain airbags. The HSE model offers a navigation system that drops electronic breadcrumbs to help you find your way out of the rough. Finally,…