Over the past couple of decades we’ve reviewed several impressive European Ford models that are not available to American buyers. Now, at last, here is one that will be coming to the U.S., the first product of CEO Alan Mulally’s “One Ford” global car policy: the new Fiesta. Launched in Europe this fall, it will be built in Mexico and sold in the U.S. in 2010. Although the emphasis in the U.S. will be on the sedan version, Ford plans to offer the five-door hatchback as well, currently the most popular version of the car in Europe.
Since the last pill-shaped F-body Camaro rolled off the line in 2002, the long-fought, often contentious pony-car game has been one of solitaire, played solely by the Ford Mustang. The Mustang went all retro in 2005, and the ensuing craze prompted Dodge and Chevy to rouse their own dormant nameplates (and fans) to take on the foeless leader. Dodge was first in 2008 with its resurrected Challenger, and now—just as Ford is launching its significantly updated 2010 Mustang—Chevrolet has finally commenced production of its reborn Camaro, completing the new-age pony-car trifecta.
At 86 years old, Carroll Shelby should consider putting his name on something more appropriate. Bags of prunes, perhaps? But there it is, pasted across the rump of a 540-hp, Corvette-priced, mega-Mustang. The faithful rejoice. The 2010 Shelby GT500 goes on sale in May at a base price of $48,175, replacing the 2007–2009 Shelby GT500, as well as the limited edition, $80,000 2008–2009 Shelby GT500KR.
Hybrids are supposed to be supremely boring torture chambers, the vehicular equivalent of watching a documentary on the color brown while sitting on a giant-ass cactus. So what happened here? It’s true that the Mercury Milan hybrid, all-new for 2010, isn’t going to incinerate your synapses with adrenaline-laced excitement, but neither will it make you want to give up driving forever. It’s actually sort of fun, and taken with the mechanically identical Ford Fusion hybrid, it’s the best mid-size hybrid sedan on the market today.
For years, the Opel Vectra has been the stalwart for General Motors in Europe. In 2005, this mid-size family sedan, which is also sold in the U.K. as a Vauxhall, was given an extensive face lift. At the same time, GM decided to adopt the European style of Opel for its Saturn brand in the U.S. So, superficially, the Saturn Aura is a lot like the Opel Vectra.
Don’t let the badge mislead you. The Jeep Commander commands its brand only in name. It is among the youngest nameplates in the Jeep lineup, and its sales figures command little more than an exasperated groan. From a 2006 high of over 88,000, yearly sales fell to 28,000 in 2008. Like the disaster that beset another beleaguered commander, General George Custer, at Little Big Horn, what happened to the Jeep’s sales is well chronicled: The price of gas bloated, killing demand for SUVs; and then the value of everything else imploded, killing demand for cars of all types.
The Ford Focus RS is the world’s best hot hatchback. A sweeping statement, to be sure, but if you look at Car and Driver’s favorites among these sporty but practical small cars—the Mazdaspeed 3 and the Volkswagen GTI—the latest and greatest Focus beats them in all respects. Except one: You can’t buy it here. Yet.
The arrival of the MKS sedan last year spurred hopes that it might revitalize Ford’s historically uncompetitive luxury brand, helping Lincoln to better compete with Cadillac, Lexus, and other aspirational marques. Most of the hype stemmed from the stunning MKR concept that debuted at the 2007 Detroit auto show; it floated the idea that future Lincolns wouldn’t be dowdy, livery-service specials like the current Town Car.
Ford has been touting its EcoBoost engine technology for more than two years now. The buildup began when the Lincoln MKR concept debuted at the 2007 Detroit show, hinting at the automaker’s plan to employ smaller engines equipped with turbochargers and direct fuel injection. In the same timeframe, early adopters such as Audi, BMW, and Porsche have been much praised for how the technologies have improved the power delivery, fuel economy, and emissions of many of their vehicles.
Whenever General Motors has too little cash to serve too many divisions, the result is too much badge engineering. The 2010 GMC Terrain doesn't suffer badge engineering like its predecessor, the Pontiac Torrent. Based on the second-gen Chevrolet Equinox on sale soon, the Terrain has distinct sheetmetal and a slightly upgraded interior featuring lots of red ambient lighting, including along the center-stack-control outline, the CD player opening, and in the door handle openings.
Last year, Chrysler showed the automotive press an interior-free fiberglass mockup of its long-awaited Jeep Grand Cherokee, an icon of the late '90s and early '00s. It looked like little more than vaporware at the time. At the 2009 New York International Auto Show, the audiences will be the international press, Fiat Auto and U.S. Treasury and the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee is no longer a mockup.
As a general rule, adding weight to a car is to be avoided if at all possible, as it's a detriment to performance and fuel economy. Adjust your goals, though, and it becomes a reasonable tradeoff. Take for example the 2009 Infiniti G37x S, an all wheel-drive version of Infiniti's star entry-luxury car.
As with all our Sport/Utility of the Year winners, the 2009 Subaru Forester received an invitation to join our long-term fleet and, naturally, it rsvp'd yes. Rather than sample the available turbocharged 224-horsepower engine, we opted for the naturally aspirated version for a few reasons: First, we have played extensively with the more powerful 2.5-liter turbo in our long-term Impreza WRX and felt the standard flat-four would be a nice change of pace, so to speak. Second, the N.A. Forester is Subaru's volume leader, so why not get a taste of what most people are living with?
Chrysler completely redesigned its Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivan twins for 2008, and as regular readers will know, we've become quite familiar with the Chrysler variant. Our Inferno Red Town & Country Limited long-termer now has over 23,000 miles on the clock, and the odometer isn't about to stop spinning anytime soon.
After our May 2008 story on the Cadillac CTS coupe, $4.50/gallon gas brought down sales of big, powerful cars and trucks. Then the most dismal financial crisis since the Great Depression brought down sales of virtually everything else, from pickups to Priuses to iPods. Amid the mayhem, General Motors delayed the production CTS coupe to at least summer 2010, three years into the life cycle of the sedan on which it is based. Meanwhile, President Obama says he's willing to grant California a waiver on Assembly Bill 1493, proposing stricter-than-federal fuel economy and CO2 standards. GM has procured $13.4 billion in federal loan guarantees. And it must present to Capitol Hill a financial turnaround plan by March 31.
We all guessed it! The 2010 Ford Taurus SHO derives none of its surplus oomph from Yamaha-motorcycle-inspired rev-happiness. This one is all Dearborn-designed, and distinct from other 3.5L EcoBoost V-6 applications (like the MKS) in some meaningful ways. The need for bragging rights necessitated a boost in peak output, so horsepower is up ten from the MKS, to 365.
Ford is wasting no time rolling out variations on its perennially popular ponycar, and the restyled and revamped 2010 Ford Shelby GT500 aims to trump its newfound competition with 540 hp and 510 lb-ft of torque -- that's the same 40-horse, 30-lb-ft bump the old GT500KR enjoyed over last year's GT500. In fact, the engine is little changed from KR duty, although the addition of two knock sensors allows the timing to advance a bit, and a cold-air induction system improves breathing (the intake snorkel's location in the grille is responsible for moving the Cobra badge to the opposite side).
Cadillac makes no bones about attempting to set a new design standard for every segment it competes in, and the 2010 Cadillac SRX aims to up Caddy's style game in the all-important luxury crossover business. Its sights are set squarely on the Lexus RX350 this time around, and the proportioning has been altered toward that end. Gone is the third-row seating option that gives the current-gen SRX a slightly stretched look. Also gone is the rear-drive architecture.
Buick won't recapture its glory days, which hearken back to the late 1930s to mid-1950s -- far too long ago for target buyers -- with the 2010 Buick LaCrosse. Still, the LaCrosse represents a nice second step in its renaissance, begun two years ago with the Enclave crossover. The Buick LaCrosse is General Motors' first North American car based on its second-generation Epsilon platform, shared only with the Opel Insignia, for now.
There was the 1986 Ford Taurus, Motor Trend Car of the Year and pioneer of the modern jellybean sedan. In the subsequent 22 years, leading-edge styling and modern technology were overcome by Hertz-lot anonymity.
Two years ago, the only non-GM truck eligible for our annual Truck of the Year event was the Ford Explorer Sport Trac. That year, the Chevrolet Silverado walked away with the coveted golden calipers, but since then, competition from cross-town rivals Ford and Dodge has heated up. Chevy hasn't been resting on its laurels, though. The company has rolled out more and more options for Silverado buyers, doing everything it can to stay one step ahead of the pack.
If you're considering a 2010 Ford Fusion but want something more exclusive, you might like the 2010 Mercury Milan. Like the new Fusion, the Milan benefits from fresh styling and upgraded powertrain options, starting with a 2.5L four-cylinder engine producing 175 hp and mated to a six-speed automatic or manual transmission.
Strafing along a straight-as-a-string highway at about a buck-fifty, confusion struck. Were we in America aboard Pontiac's forty-or-so-grand, Pontiac G8 GXP circa 2008, or flogging a previous-generation BMW M5-a car that cost $70,000 eight years ago-on a German autobahn? Not sure. There's plenty of high-speed stability here, yet nice ride quality.
The utility of a crossover with the economy of a sedan! That's the boast being made by Chevy's second-generation 2010 Chevrolet Equinox, and the claim does not come attached to any expensive hybrid or diesel technology. Instead the base Equinox gets a spanking new 2.4L four bristling with variable valve timing on both cams and direct fuel injection.
It's been five years since we've revisited the Chevrolet Avalanche, our 2002 Motor Trend Truck of the Year. Since that time, Chevrolet has addressed the few problems we found with the winner and subsequent one-year test vehicle, including adding more power, ditching the unnecessary plastic body cladding, and upgrading its options. For 2009, the Avalanche adds a host of technological improvements to its already versatile package.
Strafing along a straight-as-a-string highway at about a buck-fifty, confusion struck. Were we in America aboard Pontiac's forty-or-so-grand, Pontiac G8 GXP circa 2008, or flogging a previous-generation BMW M5-a car that cost $70,000 eight years ago-on a German autobahn? Not sure. There's plenty of high-speed stability here, yet nice ride quality.
Until gas prices started going through the roof, the Impala was one of the few cars that was selling well for General Motors. Essentially, it offers a lot of bang for the buck, with a cavernous interior, plenty of standard amenities, and powerful, moderately responsive engines. The Impala comes in four trim levels, with three different engines. The base LS comes only with a 211-hp, 3.5-liter V-6 engine mated to a four-speed automatic transmission. The LT comes with the same powertrain but is also available with a 224-hp, 3.9-liter V-6 engine. The fancier LTZ has the 3.9-liter engine as standard, and the sportier SS is available only with a 303-hp, 5.3-liter V-8 engine. All Impalas have front-wheel drive.
he 2010 Lincoln MKZ's mission is twofold: distinguish itself from its Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan relatives, and get the attention of entry-level luxury sedan buyers. On both counts, the new split-wing grille is serious progress. The 2010 MKZ now resembles the Ford Taurus-based MKS, a car that, at least so far, is outselling the less-expensive MKZ. In back, the MKZ takes a cue from the MKX crossover, with long LED taillights that frame a large Lincoln insignia and the camera from the reverse camera system.
The new Dodge Challenger is, arguably, the American muscle car of the year. The SEMA show is, unquestionably, the American muscle tuning event of the year. Put them together, and you’re guaranteed fireworks. Big smoky fireworks. This is the Challenger SRT10, an official concept from Dodge which’ll be shown off in Las Vegas at the end of this month.
We know, we know: poring over 40-year-old American classics up for auction is all a bit What Pipe and Slippers magazine. But this one is a cracker. Really. This is the 002 chassis Corvette Grand Sport from 1963, set to go up for auction in Arizona early next year.
