Toyota’s Land Cruiser is reborn for 2008, it’s equipped with 10 airbags, including side curtains for three rows of passengers, not to mention acres of interior leather. Like the Tahoe, the Cruiser is a step-way-up sort of SUV in which you sit high, well above the cowl and window sills.
Layers of insulation and isolation cloak the machinery, in no small part to justify a $6985 jump in its base price to $63,885. CRAWL is a computer program that manages off-road throttle and brake modulation according to your choice of ooze, creep, or slink settings. Of course, the all-wheel-drive system has traction control, and the transfer case shifts into low range at the click of a rotary knob on the dash.
The 5.7-liter V-8 and the six-speed automatic are shared with the Tundra pickup, where they serve as the top option. Output is a velvety 381 horsepower, giving the 5900-pound Cruiser an active lifestyle—read “0 to 60 in 6.5 seconds. Read the rest of this entry »
This Pontiac is spacious, fast, and agile. It’s a looker, and it’s surprisingly affordable. It’s the best thing to happen at Pontiac since KITT the gabby Trans Am.The G8 lives within a narrow price band, and the optional furbelows are few. Just $27,595 puts you into the base G8, with a 256-hp, 3.6-liter four-cam V-6 and the 5L40 five-speed automatic. The GT, with its 361-hp, 6.0-liter V-8 and six-speed 6L80 Hydra-Matic, starts delivering 5.3-second barrels to 60 mph for $29,995. With all options, the GT rises to $32,745. A Hemi-equipped Dodge Charger R/T starts at $31,430 and offers more checkable boxes, including all-wheel drive.
The G8’s skeleton is all-new and 100 percent Australian-developed. At 114.8 inches, the wheelbase is 5.2 inches shorter than a Charger’s and the overall length is four inches less; the width and the height are within a few 10ths of the burly Dodge’s. Read the rest of this entry »
The Q5 will ride on the A4/S5’s longitudinal-engine, “transmission-forward” platform. Concept engine is a 240-horsepower, 369 pound-foot longitudinally mounted six-cylinder turbodiesel with an ultra-low emission system that Audi says will meet the European Union’s 2014 standards. U.S.-spec Q5s will probably launch with the 3.2-liter V-6.
The Cross Cab is shown with a full-time quattro system and electronic ride adjustment. At 181.2 inches long and 75.2 inches wide, it’s about the size of the A5/S5 coupe.
Overall height of the concept is 64.2 inches, on the low side of small crossover ride heights. Gee-whiz features include Google Earth software for the navigation system, which has a high-resolution display and 3-dimensional maps. It comes with an internet connection so that drivers can tune in on traffic, weather and air-quality information.
Will hybrid systems save full-size SUVs? Will diesel power trickle down the line from the heavy-duty truck set? Is everything going to be a crossover?
Fuel-economy regulations changed the way we think about future cars and there is no surprise that the priority has been set on low weight and fuel efficiency. Many of the upcoming model are based on the smallest truck platforms and even the Explorer may be a crossover in the future.
Next lets see the face of trucks, SUVs and crossovers in the future.
Read the rest of this entry »
Hi, first let me say this is the first article and I am glad to write it.
I am an addicted. Yes, I love my car, all the cars. In this site we gone talk about cars, of course !
