Parked along the curb in the Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe, the 2009 Lexus 450h 4-door sedan looks like it belongs. Stylish, with a sweeping roof-line, a high belt line and a short rear deck, it’s easy to visualize this Lexus hybrid as an upscale commuter, grocery getter, mom mobile and weekend country clubber. The one I’m piloting is obsidian and can’t you hear some labored breathing in the background when you focus your attention on those Darth Vader-like HID head lights that feature auto leveling and integrated fog lamps?
Open any of the four doors. Now close it. That nice ca-chunk tells me this is a solid, well-built, high-quality automobile. I slip behind the wheel into a comfy, supportive multi-adjustable seat with cooling and heating. The steering wheel offers power tilt and telescoping. (more…)
Is it possible for a car to get too big for it’s britches? Case in point: the new for 2009 Toyota Corolla XRS. The 2009 Corolla is the 10th generation of the best selling passenger car in history and the longest-running Toyota car model sold in America. Note the word car here because the Toyota Land Cruiser has the distinction of being the longest running name plate of all time in America having first touched our Pacific shores in 1958, 10 years before the Corolla. (more…)
I’ve never really been too partial to the look of the Z4, or to the man behind its lines. It came about during the much lamented/praised Chris Bangle era at BMW, and while the Z3 replacement was also conceived with the help of Danish designer Anders Warming, no doubt Bangle’s twisted notion of beauty was the guiding force in the Z4 coupe and roadster.
Bangle’s time at BMW is over, and we are just seeing the evolution of his (some say) revolutionary designs. The 3-Series and 7-Series for 2009 got just a little more softened visually, and in the process laid the foundation for the next generation of BMW road cars. The next example of this shift is the redesigned 2009 Z4.
While the overall shape of the new Z4 is continued, the silly “switchblade” design has been dropped for smoother head and taillights, flowing body lines, and an all new retractable hard top. (more…)
Back in the ‘80s and ‘90s safety critics didn’t worry about pedestrians not hearing a diesel coming as they do with current electric vehicles. From three blocks away you could hear diesel clatter, see a trail of thick black smoke and smell heavy oil.
For the past two decades American automakers have pretty much given up on diesels except for some of their heavy-duty trucks. (more…)
Mazda designers and engineers faced a serious dilemma as they gathered to create the next Mazda6. The current model didn’t have the broad appeal of its direct family sedan Asian competitors—Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Hyundai Sonata—because it was smaller on the outside and on the inside. It also trailed these competitors in quality and power. (more…)
