New Car Prices and Reviews

For some people, it's not just about the look, and it's not always about the drive. For some people, it's about both! That is where the Subaru Legacy PZEV Sedan comes into play. People who would like the Subaru Legacy PZEV Sedan are the same people that know that it's not just about the destination, it's about the drive to the destination.The 2009 Subaru Legacy PZEV Sedan is one of those cars

Detroit may be in the doldrums, but Shanghai is swinging: the Chinese motor industry is growing rapidly, investing in design expertise and preparing to have a significant global impact in coming years.

And besides the domestic manufacturers, who are producing ever-more interesting concepts, the established European and Western car-makers are finding that they can't afford to ignore China, where new-car sales are rising exponentially. Here's the low-down on the most important cars of this year's Shanghai Auto Show.

Bertone Mantide

Based on the 620bhp Corvette ZR1, the insectile Mantide (Italian for 'praying mantis') is a one-off, road-legal creation from the Stile Bertone studio for a private client.

Designer Jason Castriota - the man behind the one-off Pininfarina P4/5 - says it's inspired by jet-fighter aircraft, and its fuselage-type body, butterfly-opening doors and canopy certainly make it look ready to fly away.

Though the underpinnings are Corvette, the extra-aerodynamic Mantide is some 100kg lighter, thanks to its carbon fibre bodyshell and interior - which help it to 217mph and 0-60mph in less than 3.5 seconds. Downforce is 30% better than that of the Corvette, thankfully.

Buick Business Concept

Chinese buyers love GM's Buick brand - they see it as the epitome of American luxury - and the Business Concept MPV is suitably kitted out with armchair-type seats, plush burgundy and cream suede upholstery and carpets, and high-tech LED displays.

The work of the GM-SAIC Pan-Asia joint research and development facility, it incorporates traditional Chinese patterns in its trim, and evokes Chinese crystal sculptures in its headlight design. It shares its hardware with the Chevrolet Orlando and thus also the upcoming new Vauxhall Zafira, and also previews a next-generation GM hybrid powertrain.
Source:http://www.channel4.com

The new 3.0-litre diesel is the pick of the Jaguar XF range. How can it not be? It's relatively low on emissions, it'll return 42mpg and the 271bhp version sprints from 0 to 62mph in just 6.4 seconds and then all the way up to a limited 155mph.


So why bother with a thirsty V8? The new £49,900 5.0-litre is also limited to 155mph, only beats the diesel to the 62mph benchmark by only 0.6s but can't come close to matching the 3.0-litre's fuel consumption managing a distinctly unimpressive 25.2mpg.


Factor in an additional £5,700 premium and the 380bhp 5.0 looks like an unnecessary luxury - until you consider the price of the XFR. At £10k less than the high performance XF, the 5.0-litre offers a lot of bang for your bucks.

Source:http://www.channel4.com

We last drove the Ralliart Sportback as a pre-production car and even then it was shaping up to be a good compromise for someone who can't stretch to an Evo.


The prototypes had their flaws, though. The Ralliart's auto 'box blunted the 237bhp 2.0-litre turbo's performance, while others complained that Mitsubishi had gone too far in softening the Ralliart to make it palatable for the Golf GTI buyers and the like.


Mitsubishi listened and got to work. The finished Ralliart still sprints to 62mph in 7.1 seconds, but now boasts better gear ratios. Even more significantly, engineers have found the 'box is strong enough to take the full 253lb-ft of torque without the need for the pre-production car's torque limiter on first gear, promising for harder acceleration.


If that's not enough, the brakes have been boosted, suspension tweaked and it's competitively priced from £21,649 - that's £7,000 cheaper than the cheapest Lancer Evo and about £1,300 cheaper than the five-door Golf GTI.

So has Mitsubishi succeeded in providing an appetising cut-price alternative to one of the fastest, most accomplished four-door saloons ever made? Read on to find out.
Source:http://www.channel4.com

The Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano won rave reviews in mid-2006, but to keep the car at the top of the exotic GT class the Italian company is now offering it with an optional handling pack and minor cosmetic changes for your £200,000 outlay.

Performance from the headline 620bhp Enzo-derived engine is unchanged. with 0-125mph achieved in 11 seconds, but work - mainly on reducing internal friction - on the engine has reduced CO2 emissions and improved overall fuel consumption from a scary 13.2mpg to slightly more socially acceptable 15.7mpg.



The real goal though was to make it an even sportier, faster-reacting car but not too much at the expense of ride comfort.


Wider front wheels, a new rubber mix from Pirelli for the PZero tyres, new calibrations for the suspension dampers and a 10mm drop in ride height to lower the 599s centre of gravity are the main changes.


Roll stiffness, up 19%, and pitch by 16% together with a faster (85milliseconds) paddle gearchange make the HGTE pack car 0.6 seconds quicker around Ferrari's Fiorano test track than the 'standard model.


Prices for the Ferrari 599 GTB equipped with the HGTE pack start from £207,194.

Two turbochargers, two more gears: The BMW 760i leads the V-12 game now, which is making world debut at the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show.

Each country makes its specific contribution to automotive greatness: Germany, for example, has the autobahn, where unlimited speed still rules. But with gasoline prices approaching the equivalent of $7.50 a gallon and more, it's no wonder that fuel-sipping technologies such as BMW's "efficient dynamics" are all the rage. This is where other markets, such as the U.S. or Asia, come in. They don't have much to offer in terms of high-speed, long-distance cruising, but thanks to status-conscious customers, ultra-powerful V-12 engines are in sufficient demand to warrant constant updates.
Huffing and Puffing

"We need a V-12 mainly for Asian and American customers," confirms a BMW engineer. And so, the Shanghai auto show will see BMW launch a new V-12 version of the new-for-2009 7-series. The 2010 760i and the long-wheelbase 760Li are powered by an all-aluminum, direct-injected 6.0-liter V-12, which, unlike its 439-hp predecessor, is force-fed by two turbochargers. The two compressors are placed in a conventional manner outside the cylinder banks, each feeding six cylinders. Output for the new engine is 536 hp at 5250 rpm, while 553 lb-ft of torque is available from as low as 1500 rpm.

BMW says the engine is an all-new design, but we can't help noticing that it retains the same displacement of its predecessor, which in turn is related to the 6.7-liter, naturally aspirated V-12 in the Rolls-Royce Phantom. A compression ratio of 10.0:1 is high for a turbocharged engine, but is manageable due to the cooling effect of injecting fuel directly into the combustion chambers. A 6.6-liter version of the new V-12 with up to 600 hp also is expected to make its way under the hood of the Phantom’s upcoming little brother, which will go on sale next year and was previewed by the 200EX concept at the Geneva auto show in March.

Transferring the power to the rear wheels is a ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic transmission. This gearbox, which also will be featured in the upcoming 2010 Audi A8, can skip through its ratios while engaging only one clutch mechanism, shortening shift times and allowing for multiple-gear downshifts. Additionally, it is configurable for hybrid-electric operation, which BMW will employ on several upcoming models, including the 7-series.

Movin’ the Metal

Twin-turbocharging catapults the biggest Bimmer into another league. Despite its considerable mass, 62 mph comes up in 4.6 seconds, BMW says, while fuel consumption is 18 mpg in the European cycle, which we believe is a tad unrealistic. The 760i also is ULEV II-rated in the U.S., but we are even more impressed by the flaps in the exhaust system, which BMW promises will let the normally silent V-12 sing when you apply sufficient pressure to the throttle.

We are also impressed by the fact that the model designation accurately reflects the vehicle’s engine displacement—something of a rarity in BMW's lineup, as well as Mercedes-Benz’s. Speaking of which, the new 760i should be a closer match for the Mercedes S600, which makes only 510 hp from its twin-turbocharged, 5.5-liter V-12 and in our hands has sprinted to 60 mph in 4.2 seconds. The top-level S65 AMG, however, remains in the lineup and is rated at 604 hp. Given BMW’s newfound openness to M-badged SUVs, though, a future M7 doesn’t seem like such a stretch.

Executive Status

The 760i comes with or offers every gadget currently available on lesser 7-series models, including standard electronic dampers, stability control, and front and rear air suspensions with a self-leveling function in the rear. Active steering and anti-roll bars are optional, as are safety nannies such as night vision, lane-departure warning, adaptive headlights, and active cruise control with stop-and-go capability.

While we don't have pricing yet, we expect the 760i will command a hefty premium over V-8 750i models, which start at $82,125. And to inform neighbors of your taste for luxury and power, the 760i’s somewhat obtrusive fender badge—common to all 7-series—bears a V-12 moniker, while chrome strips accent the quad exhaust pipes and the lower front bumper. The front kidney grilles also get larger chrome surrounds, with other unique touches including special 19-inch wheels, a nappa leather-lined instrument panel, and an Alcantara headliner.

It may not make much of an effort to save the world, but we can't wait to get the new 760 on an open stretch of autobahn and celebrate the result of all that multi-cultural input.

Working on the theory that saving fuel is most important in the vehicles that consume the most, General Motors has introduced the GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado hybrid pickup trucks.

Already out in Yukon and Tahoe SUVs, the two-mode hybrid was developed in a joint venture with Chrysler and BMW. The idea came about as a scaled-down version of GM’s hybrid bus drive train and is especially well-suited to vehicles that need some towing and hauling capability.

The system is distinct from most other hybrid systems because it can automatically run on straight mechanical power as well as pure electric or a combination of the two.

Based on the reengineered Sierra and Silverado pickups that debuted in 2007, the hybrids look the same as the crew cab versions of the base trucks with the exception of some hybrid badges, optional hybrid graphics and a standard tonneau cover that helps out aerodynamics.

The battery pack is underneath the rear seat, and the hybrid drive unit is about the same size as the transmission it replaces. It contains two compact electric motors (one reverses field to generate power) and four mechanical gears.

The two-mode hybrid system sees the most advantage in city driving, so GM planned an all-city driving route as the first demonstration for the press.

Starting off in a four-wheel-drive Sierra rated at 20 mpg n in both city and highway driving, I clocked an indicated average of 22.3 mpg over approximately 75 minutes of driving.

The small print in the EPA ratings do say 16 to 24 mpg is the “expected range for most drivers.” I was driving conservatively, but not to the extent of holding up traffic. My driving partner for the day nearly duplicated my efforts on the return trip with a 22 average mpg reading.

Like other hybrids, the engine shuts off when the vehicle is stopped so as not to idle unnecessarily.

When you start moving again, the hybrid pickups are capable of driving up to a stated 30 mph on electric power alone. The gasoline engine starts up automatically and seamlessly when it is needed.

As I had experienced previously in a GMC Yukon hybrid, it was difficult to start moving at a normal rate without the engine kicking in.

However, once it was rolling with a steady throttle input, the engine would turn off and we were able to run up to around 28 mph on electric power for a quarter mile or so at a time. Above that, engine power would do the driving duties.

Ideally, at the 35 mph cruising speeds we were getting, the truck would run on hybrid power, a combination of gas engine and electric drive, but this seemed hard to maintain unless we were on a longer stretch at steady speed.

When you back off the accelerator and coast, the batteries start recharging. The 6.0-liter V-8 engine will also automatically cruise in four-cylinder mode for extra fuel savings.

Next, two Sierra and Silverado hybrids were hooked to trailers and others were loaded with 800 pounds in their beds. We took a drive towing a 5,400-pound Sea Ray boat with inertia brakes on the trailer.

The hybrid was able to pull the boat in electric mode up to 15 mph. When briskly accelerating from a stop, the hybrid felt especially potent.

I asked lead development engineer John Turzewski what was the hybrid drive’s equivalent to first gear.

“You have infinite gear ratios,” he said “The 6.0-liter will do zero-to-60 in 8.4 seconds, plus you get the additional assist of the electric motors, which is instantaneous.”
In that regard, the hybrid might even be better for towing than a conventional truck, not to mention more fuel efficient. The short towing test loop resulted in a quite respectable indicated 15 mpg.

The Silverado and Sierra hybrids do deliver as promised, and the hybrid drive functions in a silent, seamless manner. However, their advantage can only be used to its full potential in a fairly narrow set of circumstances.

Extensive city driving, perhaps as a delivery truck or a longer stop-and-go commute are some areas where the hybrids would excel in efficiency.

On short trips, especially in cold weather, you won’t see any savings over a similar gas-only pickup with cylinder deactivation, as the engine must be fully warmed up before the hybrid drive starts functioning.

Yukon and Tahoe hybrid SUVs hit the market last year only fully loaded at upper-end sticker prices; GM has made the price of admission for the pickups more affordable with a decently equipped package starting at $38,995, including destination.

Probably not low enough to save money in the long run at today’s gas prices, but it’s still a compelling product and an impressive engineering achievement.