I Like Cars!

Keep the badge, change everything else. They mean it when they call this SRX all-new.

BY DAVID GLUCKMAN

We’ve been fans of Cadillac’s SRX crossover since it went on sale in 2004, naming it to our 5Best Trucks list for three years straight. A new SRX is being unveiled at the 2009 Detroit auto show, though only the badge will continue on with most everything else changing around it.

For starters, things have been turned around with standard drive wheels in front instead of the rear—all-wheel drive continues as an option, gaining the ability to apportion torque side-to-side in the rear via an electronic limited-slip differential. The SRX has also been downsized (or is that rightsized?) for these changing times and the available engines have likewise shrunk. Compared to the current model, the SRX is smaller in length and wheelbase, but wider by about two and a half inches. Underpinnings are now shared with GM’s other mid-size crossovers, including the Saturn Vue and recently redone Chevrolet Equinox.

No More V-8

Two engines will be offered in the 2010 SRX, both of which are smaller than the current base SRX engine, a 3.6-liter V-6. The standard motor will be GM’s new direct-injection 3.0-liter V-6, which puts out 260 hp and 221 lb-ft of torque and bests the output of the previous standard mill. Offered as an option will be a 2.8-liter turbocharged V-6 that produces 300 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque and nearly matches the 320 hp and 315 lb-ft afforded by the 4.6-liter Northstar V-8 in current SRXs. The turbo six, plucked from the Saab 9-3, is notable as the first turbocharged engine offered in any North American Cadillac. Six-speed automatic transmissions with manual shift control are paired to both engines, regardless of front- or all-wheel-drive layout.

Keep Reading: 2010 Cadillac SRX - Auto Shows

Ford did a swell job invigorating the new 2010 Mustang. But is the magic scalable to the mighty GT500?

BY STEVE SILER

It’s been scarcely two months since we got our first look at the 2010 Ford Mustang at the Los Angeles auto show, and Ford is already showing us what else it can do with its redesigned pony car. The new 2010 Mustang Shelby GT500 is being introduced at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show (NAIAS).

As with the outgoing Shelby GT500, the new super Stang wears muscled-up bodywork to reflect its superior status within the Mustang lineup. Most evident is the even scarier two-story grille bracketed by HID headlamps set deep beneath the canted brow. The hood domes high over the big engine and features redesigned, industrial-strength heat extractors. Other than the requisite Cobra badge and lower trim stripes, the bodysides are common to lesser Stangs, while the rear end features a diffuser-esque bumper treatment and a rear spoiler that protrudes several inches off the decklid. Filling out the coupe’s wheel wells are a set of 19-inch alloys (convertibles get 18s) that could be the best-looking rollers ever offered on a Mustang, shod by Goodyear F1 Supercar tires specially formulated for the car. Ford has also made the 2010 model year the first since the late 1960s that the GT500 convertible may be ordered with factory racing stripes. Well, there goes the aftermarket.

Throwing Power at a Weight Problem: Will It Work This Time?

Lending some credibility to those racing stripes is a supercharged and intercooled 5.4-liter DOHC V-8 tuned to produce the same eye-watering 540 hp and 510 lb-ft of torque as last year’s limited-edition, K Mustang GT500KR, an increase of 40 horses and 30 lb-ft compared with the previous GT500. The rear axle goes from 3.31:1 to 3.55:1, which ought to bring 0­–60 times into the low four-second range. The six-speed manual is also upgraded, with more robust innards and taller fifth and sixth gears for a claimed two-mpg improvement in fuel economy.

Keep Reading: 2010 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 - Auto Shows

Closing out the year with the hardest-launching rides to wear our test gear in ‘08.

2008 saw the car market go in the tank and efficiency become the new buzzword, but that didn’t stop us from testing a whole slew of cars capable of distorting the senses with a heavy prod of the throttle pedal. Amongst the plethora of vehicles—both exotic and mundane—that graced our office, many of which posted stellar performance figures of their own when fitted with our testing equipment, it takes a special combination of power and control to be recognized as one of the quickest vehicles of the year. But here they are, and notice that all easily can run 11-second quarter miles, with two dipping well into the 10s. Including a stable of American muscle cars, several exotics—both tuned and untouched—the return of the Nissan GT-R, and the almighty Bugatti Veyron, this grouping represents some of the most rapid ground transport available today. For this purpose, we first look at 0-to-60-mph sprints, which for this lot ranges from 3.7 seconds to a blistering 2.5. If those figures are identical, the car that best keeps its pace through the quarter mile advances up the list.

Keep Reading: The 10 Quickest Cars of 2008

How’s this for a convenient truth? Priuses spew out 78 times as much CO2 as Ferraris.

BY STEVE SILER

Amid the huffing and puffing on Capitol Hill and elsewhere about jacking corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) for new vehicles to 35 mpg by 2020 (or up to 50 mpg if you happen to live in California) while reducing tailpipe emissions to the level of an ant fart, it seems the world has overlooked this surprising statistic: Toyota Priuses are78 times more toxic to the environment than Ferraris. Furthermore, they consume 78 times the amount of gasoline.

The Math

That’s right. While we’re sure to be called out on this by our more persnickety readers, the math breaks down thus:

Since the beginning of the 2004 model year, when the current Prius debuted, Ferrari has sold roughly 7900 cars in North America. Annual mileage for the average Ferrari is tough to estimate, as some are destined to remain zero-mile collectors’ items while others are daily drivers, but according to a Ferrari spokesman, Ferraris sold in North America get driven “right around 5000 miles per year for V-12 models, less with the V-8s.” Assuming, then, that the average Ferrari is driven 4500 miles per year, the total fleet mileage for this fresh herd of prancing horses is 35,550,000 miles per year (all too few of them with our hands on the reigns).

The average Ferrari CO2 emissions level hovers somewhere near 400 g/km, or 644 g/mile, according to Ferrari. Over the 35 million or so miles that the fleet of North American Ferraris will travel in the next year, they will be responsible for approximately 23 million kg of CO2. Fuel consumption, at an average of about 14 mpg combined for the Ferrari fleet, will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 2.5 million gallons of gas. Sound like a lot?

Keep Reading: Save the Earth: Drive a Ferrari

What’s new, highlights, and safety info for the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta.

Introduction

The Jetta shares much of its underpinnings with the Rabbit/GTI hatchbacks. It sits between the Rabbit and the Passat in Volkswagen’s lineup. The Jetta is the only non-luxury German small sedan and wagon for sale in the U.S., and offers a stiff chassis, sporty handling, and clean styling inside and out. The Jetta SportWagen—that’s VW-speak for station wagon—is new this year.

Both body styles are available in S, SE, and SEL trims. All such sedans and S and SE wagons use a 170-hp five-cylinder engine; all S and SE Jettas can be had with either a five-speed manual or an optional six-speed automatic transmission with manual shift mode, but the SEL sedan is automatic-only. The inline-five returns fuel economy of 20 city/29 highway mpg with the automatic and 21/30 with the manual.

If you want more punch for your Jetta, step up to the 2.0-liter turbocharged gasoline four-cylinder, which pumps out 200 hp and 207 lb-ft of torque. It’s a wonderfully responsive engine, and it’s available in the Jetta GLI—basically a sedan version of the much-loved, 10Best-winning GTI—and the SEL trim level of the SportWagen. Transmission options include a standard six-speed manual and an optional six-speed dual-clutch automated manual (called DSG) with launch control. The punchy turbo four is relatively economical, too, with fuel economy coming in at 21/31 in manual form and 22/29 with the DSG. In its most recent comparison test appearance, a Jetta GLI placed first in a pack of fun-to-drive, everyday sedans, beating the likes of the Acura TSX, Honda Accord, Mazdaspeed 6, and Pontiac G6. With a 0-to-60-mph time of 6.4 seconds, the GLI is easily the quickest of the Jettas, while its sporty suspension won our praise in the twisty bits.

Returning for 2009 is the diesel-fueled Jetta TDI, which is available as a sedan or wagon. The TDI packs a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine that produces 140 hp and an impressive 236 lb-ft of torque. It can be mated either to a six-speed manual or VW’s six-speed DSG transmission. Perhaps most impressive, however, is the TDI’s ability to wring at least 40 miles out of every gallon of diesel on the highway: the EPA rates the Jetta TDI at 29/40 with the DSG and 30/41 with the manual. Sophisticated emission-control devices allow the TDI to be sold in all 50 states.

Keep Reading: 2009 Volkswagen Jetta Sedan and SportWagen - Review

The Z car continues to offer kick-butt bang for the buck, and Nissan SHIFTS_its marketing message.

BY STEVE SILER

However ready Nissan was to unveil its 2009 370Z coupe at the 2008 Los Angeles auto show, it wasn’t ready to tell us how much it planned to charge for it. Indeed, Nissan waited until the day the 370Z went on sale to finally announce pricing for the latest—and perhaps greatest—Z car yet.

With just two trim levels in place of the five offered on the 350Z coupe, the 370Z coupe starts at ,625 for a base model equipped with the six-speed manual and ,925 with the seven-speed automatic. The better-equipped 370Z Touring starts at ,155 with the stick and ,455 for the automatic. That’s a jump of nearly 00 from the 2008 coupe’s ,205 sticker, but considering the magnitude of improvements made inside, outside, and under its brazen new skin, the 350Z’s bang-for-the-buck appeal remains without question.

Keep Reading: Nissan Announces 2009 370Z Coupe Pricing and New Corporate Tagline - Car News

For Suzuki, selling pickups in the U.S. represents a new frontier—literally.

BY STEVE SILER

The first question we asked was “Why?”

Why did Suzuki and Nissan apparently agree that a re-grilled Frontier belongs in Suzuki showrooms? The answer, of course, is that Suzuki doesn’t sell a pickup in the U.S. (never has, actually), and Nissan evidently needs some A-segment cars in other countries.

But doesn’t Suzuki build trucks for other markets it could bring here? “Nothing in the displacement category that Americans demand,” according to a Suzuki spokesman. Cribbing the Smyrna-built Nissan is also a handy way to avoid the decades-old “chicken tax” that levies a huge tariff on trucks built outside the good ol’ U.S. of A.

Who’s going to buy it from Suzuki when Nissan has better dealership coverage, more practiced mechanics, and a wider array of model offerings? Well, Suzuki hopes that some 10 percent of Suzuki’s 200,000 or so annual ATV and motorcycle customers will be loyal/gullible enough to want to stay with the brand when time comes to buy something to haul those toys. Fair enough—it’s sort of like buying your TV and DVD player from the same company in hopes that you only need one remote to work them.

We presume, however, that most such active lifestyle types will be able to pick out the Nissan within, even if the Toyota Tacoma–esque headlights throw them off for a minute, so it really comes down to a matter of saving the customer a trip to the Nissan store. The Equator also has a standard seven-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty—two years and 40,000 miles more than the Nissan is willing to offer on its own version. That’s the most compelling reason we’ve heard so far to choose the ‘Zuk.

Keep Reading: 2009 Suzuki Equator - First Drive Review

Upfront.

Audi’s new S5 and A5 cabriolets eschew the retractable-hardtop trend in favor of a fabric roof. The new Audi two-doors replace the A4/S4 convertibles and go on sale this spring starting at an estimated ,000 for the A5 and ,000 for the V-8–powered S5 ragtop.