Porsche Cayenne GTS 2009

The V-8 Cayenne sprouts a six-speed stick and actually ups the fun factor.

Just a blink back, the 21st century arrived, and a lot of people were wondering if someone had slipped a little acid into Porsche’s breakfast cereal. Excuse me? Who, exactly, is willing to pay a lot of money for a Porsche sport-utility vehicle?

The laughter has died way down. The Cayenne SUV is now Porsche’s bestselling vehicle, accounting for about a third of all sales: exactly 10,061 of a total 29,140 Porsches sold in the U.S. through October 2007. Porsche says it’s making all the Cayennes it can, 180 a day.

The Fourth in a Bestselling Lineup

When the fish are biting, you want to take advantage, and that’s why Porsche has been churning out new variations of the Cayenne. There are now four of them. The base Cayenne, with a 290-hp V-6, goes for $44,295. Sporting an updated 385-hp V-8, the Cayenne S starts at $58,795. The monster Cayenne Turbo, with a 500-hp twin-turbo V-8, checks in at an eye-crossing $94,595. That left one slot for a fourth model, the $70,195, 405-hp GTS you see here, which goes on sale in February.

Like all Porsches, the Cayennes have long options lists intended to give the automaker the greatest per-car profit. Mission accomplished. It’s ridiculous. What car company sells fewer than 100,000 vehicles per year worldwide and makes a pretax profit of $8.5 billion (helped along by a $759 million reevaluation of its 22-percent stake in Volkswagen)?

That’s Right, a Proper Manual Transmission in a 405-hp SUV

Move in closer. What really makes this newest Cayenne particularly interesting is that Porsche has seen fit to arm the 5300-pound truck with a six-speed manual gearbox—something apparently no other V-8–powered sport-ute maker thinks is a wise idea. So in early November, we arrived in southern Portugal to see if a two-and-a-half-ton truck and a six-speed manual make sense.

The first thing that makes the manual an entertaining idea is that there are 405 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque on one end of it. That’s a 20-hp premium over the output in the same-size V-8 in the step-down Cayenne S. Imagine the wrinkled brows and clucking tongues of all those Porsche engineers: That’s a horsepower-to-weight ratio of about 13 pounds per, compared with the crushingly fast Turbo’s rate of 11.3 per horsepower. The only thing that materializes to us as competition is a supercharged Range Rover, which boasts an even 400 horsepower and a $93,600 sticker, or if you have a sense of humor, a 393-hp Hummer H2 that is stuck lugging around almost 17 pounds per horsie.

Get This: It’s Actually a Hoot to Drive

In addition to the horsepower boost, the GTS gets huge footprints (21-inch wheels and tires are standard), permanent all-wheel drive, and all sorts of anti-roll chassis voodoo and stability control—it’s there to keep this truck from behaving like a big goofy, slobbering truck. And that’s just what it does. At that point, the only thing missing is some high-school kid’s idea of very loud pipes. That, and a 4.1:1 axle ratio. Funny you should ask: The GTS has both.

When you climb aboard, the Cayenne’s seat and layout tell you you’re not occupying someone’s dining-room chair. There are various damper settings to choose from, with the car hunkering down and tightening up in three stages. Push the sport button, and amusingly, the clearly hot-dog rap of the dual exhausts gets louder—majorly loud—causing a kind of giggling frenzy in the cabin as if you’d been transported back to your last cafeteria food fight. They are about the rudest bad-boy pipes we can recall in years, if you don’t count a Viper’s ridiculous yowling.

Team that exhaust note with this truck’s volatile current of evenly delivered power—it just surges all over the power band—on some mostly empty roller-coaster countryside that shows no sign of uniformed authorities in the weeds, and the effect is exhilarating and hypnotizing, and it makes your cheeks tingle. It’s as if you should be wearing a big orange hat with the word “FUN” on the front. It’s not an idle claim when Porsche boasts that this is unlike any other SUV. It is. Given a little time, we could probably identify a handful of prominent sports cars this brute would blow by.

With the shorter rear end, first gear gets gobbled up quickly during tire-yelping starts, but the moment the clublike shifter clicks crisply into second, the thrust is superbly impressive. But the force always comes on in a controlled, fluid manner, so there’s no squirrelly behavior.

The Cayenne GTS is easy to drive, and easy to slip gracefully into three-digit speeds without those little hairs on the back of your neck standing up. Porsche says the GTS will get to 60 mph a couple 10ths quicker than the S model (in the high fives), but that’s not why you’ll be slobbering all over yourself. It’s up in the middle ranges, where second gear starts and third ends. That’s where the excitement is. Roll the windows down, and let it go. Claimed top speed is 157 mph.

It’s hardly a monumental declaration to say this is one of the best-handling, most-rip-roaring SUVs we’ve driven, and the six-speed’s smoothness means you’ll never find yourself in the awkward position of kangarooing clumsily down the road. The clutch is not at all a workout for your left calf muscle, with takeup as simple as it is in a Honda, shockingly simple, in fact. The real effort is in controlling the driver.

One would presume that money is not an issue for someone who buys a Cayenne of this accomplished rank, nor is gluttonous fuel economy. Indeed, Porsche did not get in the position of being able to write a check for the Volkswagen works by passing out discount vouchers for 911s. The base price of the Cayenne GTS is $70,195 when it goes on sale in the U.S. in February, and, as noted, the options list is absolutely lascivious. The GTS is also available with a six-speed automatic, but be sure to check out the manual.

9:11 AM | 0 comments | Read More

Performance Tests 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8

We finally slap our test gear onto the potent Challenger SRT8 to see if it’s actually up to the challenge.

With so much presale buildup, we’ve told you bit by bit pretty much everything about Dodge’s old-meets-new Challenger SRT8. By now, the fundamentals should be familiar. The SRT8 is essentially a Charger SRT8 sedan with four inches cut from the middle and two fewer doors; it’s powered by the same 425-hp, 6.1-liter Hemi V-8 found in other SRT8 models in the Chrysler family; and it looks spectacular in orange. It also outguns the R/T and SE Challenger models that will be added for ’09.

What you might not know are some of the finer details. The 2008 SRT8 is the only Challenger to be designated as an ’08, and each of the 6400 U.S. cars—they are already sold out—gets a numbered plaque, orange seat stripes, and faux-carbon-fiber hood stripes. Also, the Challenger SRT8 debuts SRT’s brake “knock back” system that ensures the pads stay close to the discs during spirited driving as well as a “Performance Features” readout on the dashboard that displays acceleration, braking, and handling achievements for the driver’s amusement. The Challenger SRT8 starts at just over $40,000.

But until we shot up Angeles Crest Highway in the SRT8 at the press program in Pasadena, California, we hadn’t been able to log any significant drive time. Soon afterward, we got our paws on one at home in Ann Arbor and took it to the test track to get the numbers. Would the Challenger’s bad-ass attitude be backed up with genuine muscle-car street cred, or was Chrysler unable to mask the family sedan beneath the retrospective skin?

More Than Just Another Square-Jawed Muscle Car

The answer? Both. Thanks to that monster motor and a short first gear, the Challenger does earn a dollop of street cred, hitting 60 mph in 4.8 seconds, charging through the quarter-mile in 13.3 at 108 mph, and running to a drag-limited top speed of 168 mph.

But the Challenger SRT8 is more than just a drag-strip junkie. Its LX platform, for all its heft, does bring with it a sophisticated suspension that made easy work for Chrysler’s Street and Racing Technology team to engineer a combination of decent ride quality and tenacious grip, neither of which is a strong suit of muscle cars from bygone years (or, for that matter, of the current Ford Mustang). So, like any SRT8 product, it may be inescapably a family car in many ways, but it’s a fast and capable performance car, too.

Seriously Capable, but Where’s the Feel?

The multilink front and rear suspension is tuned for amazingly flat cornering, something vividly apparent on Angeles Crest Highway, where we flogged it left and right but watched the horizon that was the big, long hood stay level with the ground. Coupled with the sticky optional Goodyear F1 Supercar summer tires, the suspension imparted the Challenger with some pretty astonishing grip in corners. On the skidpad in Michigan, which admittedly was described as “really slippery” that day, the Challenger pulled a respectable 0.86 g with moderate understeer that can be corrected by the pedal on the right. But alas, with a curb weight of 4189 pounds, Chrysler was unable to mask the LX platform on which it’s based.

Missing from the equation was a great sense of steering feel that is somewhat slow to respond off-center despite its quick, constant-ratio rack and 2.75 turns lock-to-lock. Technical editor Mike Austin attributes the lack of steering feel, ironically, to the lack of body roll; when there’s no sense of heave-ho, set, and then bite, there is little impression of the car responding, even though it is, he explained. Then again, the lack of feel is strangely appropriate, if only for this car. “It’s an unintended throwback to the ’70s,” said Austin.

The same can be said for the brakes. Stopping a big, heavy coupe from 70 mph in an impressive 170 feet—the length of just four Greyhound buses—is no simple feat. Thank you, Brembo, for your help on each of the SRT8’s four corners. But as with the steering, feedback is another thing, and somewhat absent here, too. Our test car in L.A. had a good inch or so of pedal travel before anything at all happened, and our tester in Michigan was little better. We have to issue one caveat: These both were well-worn press cars, and not all cars at the California event suffered thusly. But here’s the obvious warning to future owners: These brakes can get worn out under constant abuse.
Unfortunately, this meant that we really couldn’t tell you whether or not Dodge’s new brake knock-back system is worth a darn. We appreciate the intuitiveness of the concept: When the g-sensor detects dynamic forces of more than 0.50 g, the brake pads are moved closer to the rotors to quicken brake actuation when ultimately called on. We’ll have to get a fresh car soon and lap a track with, say, a Dodge Charger SRT8 to see if there is a measurable difference.

Performance Features Display—Very Informative, Very Addictive

Another interesting—and seriously cool—new bit is the Performance Features display, which is part of the multi-information screen nestled into the gauge cluster. Several steps beyond the lateral-g meter available in the Chevy Corvette, Performance Features measures 0-to-60-mph, 1/8-mile, and 1/4-mile acceleration times, 60–0 braking distance, and g-forces in all four directions (either peak or real-time). At several points during our drive in California, we saw readings of 0.99 g left and right, but it’s worth noting that those were peak g-forces, not steady-state g as measured on a skidpad.

We did not have the opportunity to measure the Challenger’s readout against our test equipment for braking and acceleration, but we have verified the relative accuracy of such systems currently available in the aftermarket, so there’s no reason to believe that the Mopar system shouldn’t be accurate. A similar system is already in the Caliber SRT4, and we expect it to spread to other SRT products in the near future.

Also, expect your license to take a hit or two along what will certainly turn into a constant quest for a new personal performance best. Keep your eyes on the road. They hide in the bushes.

Oh, That Glorious Engine

Besides, they’ll hear you coming. Particularly under full tilt, the throaty, 6.1-liter engine is loud and furious. Wide-open throttle bathes all occupants in nearly 84 decibels of symphonic, mechanized glory characterized by crispness as well as volume. Around town, on the other hand, it is very calm and refined—rather quieter than we expected, especially at its 49-decibel idle.

It’s an engine that keeps on giving. Its 425 horsepower peaks at 6200 rpm, just 200 revs shy of its 6400-rpm redline. Torque is all over the place but peaks at a relatively lofty 4800 rpm. In other words, go ahead and hold that gear above where you’d normally shift in a Mustang, because there’s more power to come.

Too bad there aren’t more gears. The five-speed AutoStick automatic is a throwback to the DaimlerChrysler days, and with a shortened first gear for acceleration and a relatively tall fifth gear for fuel economy (its 168-mph top speed is achievable in fourth), the gears are simply too spread out. Indeed, on Angeles Crest and even on the track at Willow Springs, there were many moments when we wished third came a little closer to second, and fourth to third, if only so that we wouldn’t be dumped into a completely different part of the power band when shifting. At least the shifts themselves are very quick—thanks, SRT. Next year, a six-speed manual will be available in the SRT8 and R/T Challengers, and needless to say, we can’t wait.

Too Late for ’08

Speaking of next year, that’s the soonest you’ll be able to get one. Dodge is making just 6400 Challengers for 2008, all of which are SRT8s and all of which are sold. Dodge claims to have more than 10,000 orders for the SRT8, and certainly, many buyers will be willing to wait until the 2009 model year, which, incidentally is when the less powerful and less expensive Challenger R/T and SE models will join the party. Pricing is—or was—$40,158 to start, with fully loaded examples coming in around $42,000, including a sunroof, MyGIG entertainment with navigation, and the $50 summer-tire upgrade for those sexy 20-inch wheels.

We don’t expect pricing to change much for ’09, but the carbon-look hood stripes will become matte black, the orange seat stripes will become red, and the numbered plaque commemorating the first-year model will disappear.

2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 Specs

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 2-door coupe

PRICE AS TESTED: $40,208 (base price: $40,158)

ENGINE TYPE: pushrod 16-valve V-8, iron block and aluminum heads, port fuel injection

Displacement: 370 cu in, 6059cc

Power (SAE net): 425 bhp @ 6200 rpm

Torque (SAE net): 420 lb-ft @ 4800 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 5-speed automatic with manumatic shifting

DIMENSIONS:

Wheelbase: 116.0 in Length: 197.8 in Width: 75.7 in Height: 57.0 in Curb weight: 4189 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS:

Zero to 60 mph: 4.8 sec

Zero to 100 mph: 11.4 sec

Zero to 150 mph: 30.8 sec

Street start, 5–60 mph: 5.1 sec

Standing ¼-mile: 13.3 sec @ 108 mph

Top speed (drag limited): 168 mph

Braking, 70–0 mph: 170 ft

Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.86 g

9:09 AM | 0 comments | Read More

mitshubishi lancer evolution IX wgon

Y PETER LYON

A new species of wagon discovered in Japan.

This simple silver vehicle may look like an average compact wagon with a few sporty body panels thrown in to make it a bit more muscular. That couldn’t be further from the truth. With the Lancer Evolution IX wagon, Mitsubishi has wrought a comfortable five-door family car that, when pushed to its limits, would put more than a few sports cars to shame.

As the name implies, this is the wagon version of the ultra-high-performance Evo IX sedan that recently debuted. It is the first-ever Evo wagon, the Evo line having survived without a wagon since its inception in 1992. (We’ve only had Evos stateside since 2002.) In Japan, Mitsubishi has added a wagon version to the lineup for those drivers who grew up with Evolutions over the past decade but have now evolved into family men and women and can now have their cake and eat it, too.

From the outside, the wagon looks almost identical to the Lancer Sportback, now out of production. There’s a Volvo-like rear end and a chunky, heavily vented, sharp-edged Evo nose. Inside, the wagon doesn’t really differ from the sedan—grippy Recaro seats and a Momo steering wheel put the driver in the right mood. What really gets one going is the variable-valve-timing-equipped 286-hp 2.0-liter from the Evo IX sedan.

It’s the use of the revised engine that really lifts the wagon’s performance. Bottom-end torque is available earlier in the rev range (about 2500 rpm), and the engine pulls hard all the way to the 7000-rpm redline. The on/off turbo lag of the Evo VIII is largely absent, and the new car is as happy trundling around town as it is on a racetrack. There are three transmission choices for the wagon: five- and six-speed manuals and a five-speed automatic.

When most people imagine a wagon, it’s likely nothing like this one. Large 18-inch wheels fill the fender wells, the chassis is identical to the one in the sedan, and large Brembo brakes are in place. The wagon is also available with the MR package, which adds lighter wheels and Bilstein dampers that smooth out the ride considerably compared with lesser Evos.

The wagon does get the sedan’s active and adjustable center differential, but it doesn’t get the sedan’s “super active” yaw control that attempts to keep the handling safe and understeer in check. One engineer we asked suggested that the cost of the system would raise the price of the wagon considerably, but we feel the wagon doesn’t really need the yaw control. The wagon has an extra 150 or so pounds over the rear wheels that balance out the Evo’s usual front-weight bias.

Corner quickly, and the wagon turns in fast as the extra mass over the rear wheels maximizes their traction, although the front-mounted helical limited-slip differential and the active center differential pull the front end around the corner. This is quite likely the fastest-cornering wagon on the planet. The fact that you can take it through corners faster and more easily than just about any supercar out there makes you feel as though you’re Colin McRae.

Unfortunately for North America, the wagon version of the Evo will not be exported out of Japan. The 2500 or so wagons that will be built this year will all stay for home-market consumption. You can chalk up another Japanese rocket that missed the boat.

Vehicle type: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon
Estimated base price (Japan): $28,500
Engine type: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, iron block and aluminum head, port fuel injection
Displacement: 122 cu in, 1997cc
Power (SAE net): 286 bhp @ 6500 rpm
Transmissions: 5-speed automatic,
5- or 6-speed manual
Wheelbase: 103.3 in
Length/width/height: 179.9/69.7/58.3 in
Curb weight: 3450 lb
Performance ratings (C/D est):
Zero to 60 mph: 4.8-5.5
Standing 1/4-mile: 13.5-14.5
Projected fuel economy (C/D est):
EPA city driving: 18-19 mpg
EPA highway driving: 25-26 mpg

9:05 AM | 0 comments | Read More

AUDI RS 6

Delicious—580 horsepower…in a wagon!

Power wagons have never really caught on in the U.S. Too bad, since Audi is taking the craft of wagon-roiding to an unforeseen—unfathomable, really—level with the 2009 RS 6 Avant, Audi’s most powerful production car ever.

No Excuse for Being Late to School

The RS 6 Avant is powered by a twin-turbocharged version of Audi’s Lamborghini Gallardo–derived V-10 with direct injection. We’ve heard about this mill for a long time, but now we know just how potent it will be: 580 horsepower at 6250 rpm and 479 pound-feet of torque, the latter available over what may be the fattest torque plateau in the business: 1500 to 6250 rpm.

As with every hi-po Audi, the RS 6 Avant will feature Quattro all-wheel drive, which, in this case, directs 60 percent of the engine’s torque to the rear wheels in its basic setting. The only transmission will be a modified, quick-shifting six-speed Tiptronic unit.
Steering and suspension components, including three-stage dampers, have also been retuned to accommodate the superwag’s heightened performance potential.

So how fast will it be? Audi claims 0 to 62 in 4.6 seconds—only 0.3 tick off the last R8 we tested—with a top speed predictably set at 155 mph.

Sexy Bod, Big Brakes

The RS 6 Avant’s speed is complemented by added sex appeal. The interior is gussied up in much the same way the S6 sedan is, and the body wears numerous aero mods, including a new front clip and a diffuser-endowed rear bumper.

Each of the widened fenders is filled with standard 19-inch wheels and powerful disc brakes or, as an upgrade, 20-inch wheels around a set of those increasingly popular and fantastically fade-resistant carbon ceramic brakes. The headlamps feature an underscoring of LEDs to tell the world that this ain’t no ordinary A6.

Sedan? Yes. U.S.? No.

Yes, an RS 6 sedan will be available eventually, but not until sometime after the Avant’s European introduction in April 2008.

Want one? Pack up the family and find an EU address, because Audi has no intention of bringing either RS 6 variant to North America. To say that we’re disappointed is an understatement.

9:02 AM | 2 comments | Read More

2008 Mercedes-Benz C-class Estate and C63 AMG Estate

Europe gets this snazzy little utilitarian runabout, but all the U.S. gets is the GLK.

Sooner or later, it seems that gas prices here in the U.S. might catch up to those in Europe. If that happens, we’ll all be fleeing our SUVs and crossovers as though they were wired with dynamite. What will be there to shelter and transport us, our children, and all those fabulous Ikea scores we had stashed in the Exploder?

If our minds were more open to wagons, we’d be able to plop merrily into the new C-class wagon that Mercedes will unveil in Frankfurt and motor on, with all the above onboard. But given America’s peculiar aversion to wagons, this is another hauler that you won’t see unless you rent one while vacationing on the far shores of the pond.

Too bad. Based on Mercedes’ new C-class sedan, the new C-class estate promises to be a sportier drive than the taller and—no doubt—heavier upcoming GLK crossover.

With 18 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats and 53 cubes with the rear seats folded, Mercedes insists the C-class estate will carry four golf bags with trolleys (pull carts for those who can’t walk and carry clubs at the same time) or 44 drink crates each holding six one-liter bottles of…juice. We can see what two people—a driver and a passenger—might be doing with 44 crates of one-liter bottles, but what are two people going to do with four sets of golf clubs? Perhaps have a bad round and snap a couple of sets each over their knees?

Your engine choices for the C-class wagon are nonexistent. (Remember? You can’t get one.) But should you move in with your third cousin, Günther von Wurstundbier, over in Sindelfingen, you’d spend your sleepless nights deciding whether to put one of two gasoline four-cylinders, two diesel four-cylinders, three gasoline V-6s, or a diesel V-6 in your new wagon.

8:58 AM | 0 comments | Read More

test infinity FX50

Infiniti’s original FX moon buggy debuted in 2003 intending to be a sports sedan wearing a fanny pack. It handled well, accelerated smartly with the optional V-8, and looked particularly glam on its optional 20-inch wheels. It also rode as if its axles were welded directly to the body. Averaging 23,000 sales per year, the FX reached a small, mostly male audience willing to be pummeled in the name of fashion.

The redesigned 2009 Infiniti FX35 and FX50 stick to the original recipe but strive to offer a more luxurious interior and softer ride and thus to appeal to a wider audience, including the fairer sex. Although the basic platform remains the same ubiquitous FM chassis (for “front mid-ship,” the basis for everything from the Nissan 350Z to the GT-R to every Infiniti save the QX56 to CEO Carlos Ghosn’s chaise longue), this FX has mostly new parts, says Infiniti.

They include a new 5026cc V-8 making 390 horsepower in the FX50, a boring-out and stroking of the previous 4.5-liter V-8 with 80-percent new parts. There’s also a new seven-speed automatic, a first for Infiniti, that is standard across the line. The base 3.5-liter V-6 in the FX35 gets more muscle, up 28 horsepower to 303. As before, the FX35 is offered in rear-wheel- and all-wheel-drive configurations. The FX50, which now rolls on available 21-inch wheels, is exclusively AWD.

Quicker Than a Mustang GT

This new V-8 packs a mega-punch. We saw 60 mph flash past in 5.0 seconds in our FX50S, with the quarter-mile dispatched in 13.6 seconds at 104 mph. That’s quicker than a Mustang GT through the quarter-mile, and within 0.1 second of our quickest BMW 335i. Are we moving past the point of sanity with ever-quicker SUVs? The FX generated 0.87 g on the skidpad, and braking from 70 mph was completed in a scant 161 feet. Those are platinum-plated numbers—ones the average Porsche wouldn’t be ashamed to deliver.

Prices are not yet finalized, but Infiniti hinted that base prices for the FX35 and FX50 should rise slightly to about $40,000 and $54,000, respectively, with the loaded-up prices inflating to more than $60,000 because of new options packages, including an FX50 Sport package that includes rear-axle steering, sport seats, adjustable shock absorbers, and a red S on the car’s rump.

Although there’s more horsepower, there are also more size and weight. This FX gets another 1.4 inches in the wheelbase, mainly by moving the front axle forward for better weight distribution. It has sexier styling and extra not-so-sexy crash protection. It’s longer by almost two inches; width and height stay about constant. Seating accommodations are better in the front and rear, and we even found some extra usable space in the cargo area despite official capacity ratings that have decreased.

Pounds were shaved using aluminum door skins, aluminum suspension arms, and a plastic hatchback, but the curb weights still rise from 150 to 200 pounds, depending on the model—our loaded FX50S weighed 4648 pounds. It’s thus an achievement that EPA-rated fuel economy improves by 1 to 3 mpg, although our observed average of 14 mpg isn’t anything to brag about.

More Appealing to Women?

Reason numero uno that female shoppers rejected the old FX was its poor ride quality, says Larry Dominique, Nissan and Infiniti’s vice-president of product planning. The front suspension was therefore changed from struts to unequal-length control arms, with longer travel and lighter components to cut unsprung weight. Front-track width is also up 1.7 inches. In back, the shocks were relocated to allow more wheel travel.

Over test miles through the Southern California hills, the FX50’s ride proved less harsh but still plenty active, heaving and bucking in big head-tossing strokes over imperfect pavement. The huge 21-inch wheels and low-profile 265/45 summer tires are partly to blame. More sane (if less fashionable) shoes are fitted to the FX35, which has 18-inch rims, 60-series tires, and a better ride as standard equipment.
The FX’s interior finish improves several notches with diamond-pleated leather detailing and hockey-stick-shaped accents of real wood on the doors. Navigation with real-time traffic info, a four-quadrant exterior video monitor, and a 9.3-gigabyte hard drive for music files are standard on the FX50, optional on the FX35.

With its many options and high-technology fandangles, it can be said that the 2009 FX has replaced the defunct Q45 sedan as Infiniti’s flagship model.

TLAs Up the Yin-Yang

There’s also an alphabet soup of optional safety widgets, including LDW, LDP, ICC, DCA, IBA, and AFS. It’s a veritable high-water mark for TLAs (three-letter acronyms).

AFS (adaptive front lighting system): Turns the headlights in sync with the steering wheel left or right up to 17 degrees to illuminate corners.

DCA (distance control assist): Maintains following distances in tight traffic by automatically applying the throttle and brakes and can self-apply the brakes all the way to a full stop.

IBA (intelligent brake assist): Automatically supplies braking power to slow the car when sensors detect that a crash is imminent.

ICC (intelligent cruise control): Works the throttle and brakes automatically to maintain the desired speed while adjusting for traffic detected by its sensors.

LDW (lane departure warning): Monitors lane markings with cameras mounted to the side-view mirrors and beeps a warning when the car is over the line.

LDP (lane departure prevention): Individually brakes the rear wheels to turn the car and keep it in lanes. (Look, Ma, no hands!)

2009 Infiniti FX50 Specs

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon

ESTIMATED PRICE AS TESTED: $61,900 (estimated base price: $54,000)

ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection

Displacement: 307 cu in, 5026cc

Power (SAE net): 390 bhp @ 6500 rpm

Torque (SAE net): 369 lb-ft @ 4400 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 7-speed automatic with manumatic shifting

DIMENSIONS:

Wheelbase: 113.6 in Length: 191.1 in Width: 75.9 in Height: 65.0 in Curb weight: 4648 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS:

Zero to 60 mph: 5.0 sec

Zero to 100 mph: 12.6 sec

Zero to 140 mph: 32.4 sec

Street start, 5–60 mph: 5.4 sec

Standing ¼-mile: 13.6 sec @ 104 mph

Top speed (governor limited): 155 mph

Braking, 70–0 mph: 161 ft

Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.87 g

8:52 AM | 0 comments | Read More

trucks terbaik tahun 2008

2008 Mercedes-Benz GL Class

Last year, the Mercedes GL450 emerged as the most desirable luxo ute in a very desirable field. Facing an equally strong challenge for 2008, Mercedes responded by expanding the GL-class from a class of one to a family of three. For those who seek thrift and torque, there’s the GL320 CDI turbo-diesel, an impressive powerplant that’s currently creating compression-ignition converts in service with our long-term test fleet. And for those who find the GL450’s 335 horsepower and 339 pound-feet of torque a bit too tame, there’s the GL550, with a 5.5-liter V-8 generating 382 horsepower and 391 pound-feet.

Power is always welcome in vehicles weighing upwards of 2.5 tons, but in this class there are other important factors. Packaging, for example. The GL-class provides useful three-row seating and comfortable accommodations for seven in a wrapper that’s shorter, lower, and not quite as wide as most of the luxo leviathans. Those accommodations are posh, as you’d expect in this realm, and that wrapper is also stylish.

Another GL strong suit is refinement. The GL is exceptionally quiet, the seven-speed automatic is at the top of the charts for seamless operation, and ride quality is creamy, surprisingly so for a vehicle that’s extraordinarily responsive by large-SUV standards. None of the foregoing comes cheap, of course. But luxury is as luxury does, and the GL does it best.

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 7-passenger, 5-door wagon

BASE PRICE: $53,775–$77,750

ENGINES: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve 3.0-liter V-6 diesel, 215 hp, 398 lb-ft; DOHC 32-valve 4.7-liter V-8, 335 hp, 339 lb-ft; DOHC 32-valve 5.5-liter V-8, 382 hp, 391 lb-ft

TRANSMISSION: 7-speed auto with manumatic shifting

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 121.1 in Length: 200.3 in Width: 76.0–76.9 in Height: 73.4–75.6 in
Curb weight: 5450–5550 lb

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city driving 13–18 mpg

2008 Chevrolet Silverado

High fuel prices have softened the market for pickup trucks, especially full-size pickups, but even so, there are more contenders in this formerly all-American arena than ever before. Which makes the Silverado’s preeminence all the more impressive.

So what gives the Silverado its edge? In a word, structure. The GMT900 truck platform, shared with the General’s full-size SUVs, set a new standard—make that the standard—for chassis rigidity, the essential starting point for ride, handling, big payloads, and hefty towing capabilities. And don’t forget durability.

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