New Car The BMW X6 2009

The mounds of cladding are off, giving us our first good look at the new car BMW X6 that is essentially a crossover that tries to look like a coupe, but with four doors. We’re not sure we really get it.

Presumably, this new car BMW has decided there are customers who want the look and performance of a 6-series but with off-road capability and a hatch and the cargo space associated with an SUV. The plunging roofline after the B-pillar means tall passengers should ride shotgun—or not at all—and we are leery as to how much gear can easily be stowed in back.

Some suggest the new car BMW X6, caught here by our spy photographers, has Dodge Caliber tendencies, something we doubt the Teutonic automaker was striving for. The new vehicle is obviously lower than the X5, whose platform it shares, but the X6 is said to be longer.

Source : www.caranddriver.com

New Car Mazda 6 test drive

The next version of one of the best and most prolific family cars in the Ford Motor Company’s recent history—the New Car Mazda 6—has been spotted testing in the United States. From the look of things, the talented mid-sizer stands to become even better than the current car, which remains one of our favorite offerings in the most highly contested class in the car business even six years after its launch.

So what’s new? In a word, everything. From what we can make out from these shots, which show V-6 and four-cylinder models, the car will grow quite a bit, and its already aggressive styling gets even more aggressive. Specific details we like include the multi-element headlamps and taillamps, the protuberant hood (it now dips down below the grille), and the steeply raked roofline. The latter is definitely great-looking, but we worry that it may make the rear seats less than accommodating for tall passengers. The blue tint on the front and rear ends is merely a masking element, but some of us think it would be cool if the production head- and taillamps actually had a funky blue tint like that. Hello, SEMA?

Inside, things are looking good, too. The center-stack controls combine the style of the RX-8 with an ergonomic arrangement that appears to be inspired by the Toyota Camry. That’s no bad thing, especially if the 6 still drives like a Mazda.

Source : www.caranddriver.com

Chrysler 300 Changes Plants 2007

Magna is undergoing quite the turnover of product, mostly at the hands of Chrysler and BMW.

Chrysler has announced it is consolidating production of the Chrysler 300 at its Brampton, Ontario, Canada, plant, including roughly 27,000 right-hand-drive and diesel versions annually for international markets that currently are built, under contract, by Magna Steyr at its plant in Graz, Austria.

Chrysler is investing $500 million in Brampton to tool up to build European-market 300s in Canada starting in 2010.

The automaker is investing another $1.2 billion in Brampton in preparation for LY, which is the next-generation of the LX family of rear-drive cars: the 300, Dodge Magnum and Charger, and the Dodge Challenger (LC) that is coming in 2008.

Dropped from the lineup is the Chrysler Imperial luxury sedan that was to slot in at the top of the lineup, but the program has been cancelled because of concerns about fuel economy. Members of the Canadian Auto Workers union had voted to accept concessions to get the Imperial work in Brampton, but suspicions were raised when confirmation of the sedan kept being delayed.

Source : www.caranddriver.com

Ferrari 430 Scuderia 2007

It’s no secret that we like Ferrari’s F430—in three comparos, it has won three times—so when Ferrari confirmed a newer, lighter version, we got very excited, indeed, as this is in fact the replacement for what we thought would be called the Challenge Stradale. As we cool our heels awaiting the eventual F430 replacement, a lightweight F430 sounds just fine.

The 430 Scuderia takes all the best parts of a regular F430—the screaming 4.3-liter V-8, upped 20 horsepower to 503, a quick-shifting sequential-manual, and carbon-ceramic brakes—and subtracts 220 pounds. We’re not exactly sure how Ferrari cut the weight, but we assume it involves lots of carbon fiber.

At an expected 3100 pounds, this lightweight version of the already-fast car will carry just 6.2 pounds per prancing pony, and that’ll make for a seriously quick ride. By comparison, a stock F430 weighs in at 6.9 pounds per horsepower and an Enzo has just 5.0 lb/hp. It also appears to be Ferrari's response to Lamborghini's Gallardo Superleggera, which also dropped weight to gain track supremacy.

Source : www.caranddriver.com

Volkswagen Jetta Clean Diesel 2008

I'm just clearing customs on my way home from Europe when my cell phone rings. It's Keith Price, our favorite Volkswagen product rep, calling. He's on his way to Ann Arbor in a 2004 Jetta, and he wants me to drive it. A 2004 Jetta? Keith is obviously up to no good, so I immediately agree to meet him.

He volunteers to rendezvous at my house, since I'm not going into the office, and I rush home. A few minutes after I get there, a blue Jetta pulls into my driveway and sits there, idling. I walk outside meet them - it's Keith and Norbert Krause, director of the Engineering and Environmental Office. They're both smiling.

A few seconds pass, and I realize they're smiling because I haven't figured out what's going on yet. I listen carefully, and I can just barely hear the faint clatter of a diesel. This particular car might be a few years old, but under the hood is something brand new: next year's 2.0-liter, sixteen-valve Clean Diesel.

The last Jetta TDI sold here was the 2006 model, which had a 1.9-liter four-cylinder with 100 hp that was rated at 30 mpg city, 38 highway. That's not bad mileage - and it was significantly better than the gas engines - but that diesel's technology is nearly ten years old.

Beginning early 2008, the Jetta will again be available with a diesel - a 2.0-liter unit that pumps out 140 horsepower and 235 lb-ft of torque - but this time, it comes with all new technology. (Incidentally, though it's the same displacement as the 2.0T FSI, the engines don't share any major components.)

The new engine's fuel injection system uses piezo injectors and operates at up to 1800 bar - that's a staggering 26,000 psi. The ultrahigh pressures help ensure that the diesel atomizes and combusts completely, maximizing power and minimizing pollution, smoke, and noise. Air is force-fed into the cylinders via a variable turbine geometry turbocharger that helps minimize turbo lag.

More importantly, the Clean Diesel is 50-state legal, meeting the ultra-strict BIN5 ULEV2 standards. It uses a selective catalytic reduction system that is maintenance-free for 120,000 miles, and no urea injection is needed. Despite the big bump in horsepower, the new engine produces a staggering 60 percent fewer emissions than the old 1.9-liter.

Source : www.automobilemag.com