Happy New Year everyone!

Another year has passed by and it is time for reflection upon the past year, as well as looking forward to more good things happening in 2009. 2008 had the debut of the largely anticipated Nissan GT-R which ran rings around the competition from the European stalwarts such as the BMW M3 and Porsche 911. In 2008, gas prices reached an all-time high of over $4 per gallon and dropped below $2 a gallon in less than six months. I don’t even want to mention the controversy surrounding the subject of bailing out the big 3 American auto makers because that conjures up more pain that the taxpayers have to bear. Getting past the greedy oil brokers and money-grubbing banks, there were still some outstanding cars that came out in 2008. CarReview’s editors reviewed the cars for 2008 and picked their favorites. Below is our list of outstanding vehicles that don’t require any handouts from congress.

(The photos are linked to the page with the corresponding consumer reviews.)
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It’s fun to be a hotshot dealer for a major car corporation. All year long you push hard to be the top salesman so your company will award you with such perks as a free trip to Mexico to show their appreciation for your had work and commitment to the company. That is if you work for Chrysler. Yes, for the first time in decades—that’s right DECADES—Chrysler has cancelled their annual reward meeting for top-performing dealers. The annual pat-on-the-back was going to be held in March and would have included an all-expenses paid trip to the Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico. Last year’s meeting was held at the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, Fla., with 300 dealers enjoying the perks of a job well done. The canceling of this year’s trip is to cut costs and give time to shift around the deck chairs on the auto industry Titanic.

Much rumored, and much hoped for by lots of greenies as well as people with a green bent that also like to show off, Porsche has started up production of its Cayenne diesel. And this comes after two years denying it would ever build a diesel because they are “incompatible with Porsche’s image.” Ironic, no?

The new production line is happening at Porsche’s state of the art Leipzig factory. The oil burner is the same 240 hp 3.0L V6 TDI mill used by Audi in the Q7, and Volkswagen in their Touareg. Both are headed for the US market. The Cayenne? Well, Porsche ain’t saying just as of yet, but you’d have to think they would want to bring it here. Especially if the CAFE standards get raised, since the same power unit was used by Audi in their Audi Mileage Marathon, and they got an average of almost 29 mpg over nearly 3,000 miles from New York to Denver. Not bad for a big truck.

Anyway, at the moment, Porsche is only offering the Cayenne diesel in Europe where it will be priced from €47,250, which is around 70,000 dollars US, which is to say, not cheap.

Like Porsche Cayenne buyers every worried about such trivialities.

Source: AutoBlogGreen

Whoa, check this out: a stylish ride that gets 35 miles to the gallon and also puts down 443 Pound Feet of torque to the pavement.

Meet Jaguars new and improved XF diesel. Motivated by a new dual turbo 3.0-liter that puts out 240 hp for the base model or 275 hp S trim. True, not that much for a heavy and luxurious car such as a Jag, but the torque, and a train moving 443 lb-ft should do the trick. And indeed it does, motivating the cat down the road to 60 mph in just 5.9 seconds, topping out at 155. Of course on the inside, it’s got all the Jaguar bits and bobs you’d come to expect. A few cows worth of leather, lots of wood, comfort comfort comfort, that sort of deal.

What’s not to like?

You can’t buy it.

It’s European only.

Aren’t American car companies having trouble with CAFE standards? Doesn’t Ford still own Jag? Do I have to draw you a picture Dearborn?

Source: AutoBlog

Top Gear, everyone’s favorite den of auto gadgetry (other than this site of course) has announced their top list of the best supercars of 2008. Yes SUPERcars—cars that go behind the mere mortal cars that we peasants drive, to become, well, super. Their favs include insanely fast and expensive vehicles that are not just all flash, but also all muscle. Here’re a few from the past 12 months that stood head and shoulders above all others:

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Well, this is good news … isn’t it?

Sure, it’s good news for race fans, that being that Chrysler will still have a factory interest in NASCAR racing for the ‘09 season, but it will be at a reduced level than in ‘08. That all makes sense, given that Chrysler is hanging on by the skin of it’s corporate teeth, and it still holds up the supposition that racing is a worthwhile endeavor.

However, how will this decision be seen by the public at large?

A good portion of the car buying public, the people that are into cars like you and me won’t see it as that big a deal. If you can afford to go racing, then you go. It’s a simple equation. A lot of other people, however, see racing, all racing, as a frivolous endeavor. They don’t see the R & D benefit to racing, and a lot of people don’t see it as being a fun activity, either to watch, or participate in.

These are, most likely, the same people, that have never thought of “going for a drive” as something to do for its own sake. These are, most likely, the same people, that see their cars as little more than appliances (if that). A car to these people is the appliance that takes them from point A to point B, much a like a toaster is the appliance that heats and partially chars their Wonder “bread”

I pity them.

Source: AutoBlog

By Derek Mau

First Impressions:

• Mitsubishi’s All-Wheel Control System rules!
• Automatic shifting of the 6-speed twin-clutch transmission is sooo very smooth
• Racer-bling — real Recaro sport seats, 18 inch forged BBS wheels, and Brembo brake kit
• X-gen suspension is stiff compared to normal everyday driving standards
• Rockford-Fosgate audio system is pretty dang loud

Verdict: The Evo X is fast and loves to be driven hard

Mitsubishi has stepped up its game with the Lancer Evolution MR. Fans of the Lancer Evo and new followers will appreciate the 291 hp turbocharged, 2.0 liter, 4-cylinder mated to a new Getrag six-speed twin-clutch “TC-SST” transmission that delivers power to all four wheels. Managing the power distribution is the Super All-Wheel Control system that encompasses an Active Center Differential, stability control, Sport ABS, and AYC (Active Yaw Control), which apportions torque between the rear wheels.

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A lot of people have been asking the same question: Why should the American people be responsible for bailing out the Big 3? They’ve made all the classic mistakes. First, they failed to change their strategy and haven’t acted quickly enough to the changing marketplace and world economy. Second, they built too many dealerships. And third, they weren’t proactive in designing and manufacturing alternative fuel vehicles.

From what I’m hearing, American taxpayers who were polled approve of loaning money to the Big 3, but after that, they’re on their own. People are willing to help them out, but the assistance will be limited and will have to be paid back within a reasonable time frame. People don’t trust carmakers as a rule and don’t believe the loan will ever be paid back.

Will the Big 3 give consumers a break in return, once they’re back on their feet? Only time will tell.

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We in the U.S. surely know the excitement of a new president to replace one who oversaw an economically crunched country. The same holds true in Japan with the Toyota Motor Corp. The ailing Japanese car company is to promote Mr. Akio Toyoda to the president role, whose past creds include executive vice-president as well as a founding family scion. Current President Katsuaki Watanabe, who has headed Toyota since June 2005, will take on the Sarah Palin role of vice-chairman of the company.

Toyota cut its group operating forecast to a loss of 150 billion yen (S$2.46 billion) for the year to end-March. It made a record profit of 2.27 trillion yen last year.

Like the Royal Family of England, Mr Toyoda is the a grandson of company founder Kiichiro Toyoda. This is the first time in almost 14 years that a member of the founding Toyoda family would hold the company’s presidency.

Here’s an idea that strikes me as stupid: New York State is considering a 5% tax on expensive cars.

No, it’s doesn’t strike me as stupid because it’s anti-car, or because I’m pro-tax or any such stuff. It strikes me as stupid because all it is is a revenue generator; it’s not going to stop someone from buying a huge, inefficient car. If someone like (famous New Yorker) Donald Trump has to pay 5% more for a Rolls, he, like a lot of other rich people, wouldn’t even notice. This is why flat taxes are a dumb idea - Lambos go up by XX%, rich don’t notice, loaf of bread goes up by the same percent, the poor DO notice.

At any rate, The Empire State, finds itself it a bit of a fiscal crisis (hey, join the club guys), and looks at this proposed new luxury tax as a way to make up for that.

And there’s more head scratching in the details, such as, what constitutes a “luxury” car. In the case of New York state, that’s any car that costs more than $60,000

Seems a little low to me, especially when you consider that in the same bill, they want to tax luxury boats too … starting at $200,000.

Seems like a bit of disparity to me.

Source: AutoBlog

The French are known for many things, such as the advent of the beret. But look how they are handling their auto industry bailout. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is ready to offer new financing assistance to the country’s troubled auto industry, which include PSA/Peugeot-Citroen, and Renault, not to mention their suppliers and dealers and everyone else associated with the industry. But there are strings attached—French style. Sarkozy will only grant assistance if the companies promise to keep manufacturing in France. Renault and PSA/Peugeot-Citroen already manufacture in such places as Brazil, Columbia, Romania, Russia, India, Poland and Turkey.

Sarkozy wants commitments that the automakers aren’t going to take the money and run, while France’s companies have to ask themselves if winning access to new government-backed credit at low interest rates outweighs the risk of state intervention in their day-to-day activities.

How would the U.S. auto companies react to such a proposal from Obama? Let’s hear your thoughts.

With the era of gas-guzzling SUVs fazing out with the general public, surely the same would be said with our country’s superheroes and crime-fighters. Which fuel-efficient cars would make the ideal match with popular superheroes?

Smart Fortwo: The Thing

There’s nothing dumb about smart cars. Once a sole fixture in quaint European villages, smart cars have been popping up all over our American roadways. This car would make the perfect vehicle for The Thing from the Fantastic Four. Trapped in his monstrous form, the smart fortwo would show off The Thing’s sensitive side as well as being fuel-efficient.

More super match ups after the jump
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Growing up as a kid watching the ’60s CBS TV show The Munsters, I fell in love with the cars featured in the series. The most famous of these was the Munster family car – the Koach –but I always had an affinity for the Drag-u-la. The Drag-u-la (driven by Grandpa) was a funkadelic dragster with a laid-back, hippy vibe. The Wayans Brothers are currently producing (but not starring in) a remake of the popular series. Surely, they’ll bring back the famous Koach, but will they also resurrect (or re-design) the Drag-u-la? I vote “yes!” Basically a coffin on wheels, the Drag-u-la appeared in just one Munsters episode (Hot Rod Herman) and in one of the two Munster movies (Munster Go Home) in 1966. The vehicle had a fiberglass body molded from a real coffin and featured a bubble canopy and a purple velvet interior. The body sat on a dragster-type tube frame, and accessories on the Drag-u-la included organ pipe exhausts, a drag parachute, air scoop and racing slicks. Grandpa (Al Lewis), a vampire, owned the vehicle. Designed by George Barris, who also built the Koach and the Batmobile, the Drag-u-la was classically eerie in appearance, but was also the real thing and packed some horsepower punch, supplied by a 350 hp Ford Mustang Engine. Will this amazing vehicle make a scary comeback next year? We’ll keep you informed.

Is this even fair? Am I just being too much of a purist? Who knows, I’ll let you, and the people that buy Nissan’s new, uprated 370Z decide.

In addition to the (slightly) bigger engine, styling tweaks (the less said about those headlights, the better (but boy are they hideous)) the newest Z has a trick transmission that I had only just heard about.

Called the Downshift Rev Matching by Nissan, it’s essentially a mechanical version of what a good racer would do out of force of habit: it automatically matches the revs, so the engine speed is correct when you let off the clutch and you’re into your new, lower, gear. Flocks of gear box and rear wheel sensors match up the revs with each downshift, no matter how fast you do it or the velocity you’re traveling at, and, according to the people who’ve driven it, it’s flawless.

The traditional (i.e. old) way of doing it was called heel-and-toe, and required a great deal of patience to learn, as well as having more than a bit of Fred Astaire/Gene Kelly/Sid Charese in your DNA. Basically it involved hitting all three pedals with two feet, and you can go look it up, because I don’t want to give out that sort of info, have somebody out there shred their synchros, and blame us for it (and no, don’t ask me what happened when I tried to learn it myself).

To a certain extent, this is sort of half a semi-auto box you can get in Ferraris, for much, much cheaper. You still have to stir the gears yourself, but when down shifting, a lot of the hassle is taken out of the picture.

And that, of course, means that any of us (any of us with enough money to buy a new Z) can now down shift just as good as Sebastien Loeb.

Source: BoingBoing

By Peter N.

Pros:

• Great acceleration
• Fun to drive
• Affordable

Cons:

• Road noise
• Stereo system

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