The Mercedes-Benz GL450 SUV of they Year

This year the 2007 Mercedes-Benz GL450 has been selected at the Motor Trend SUV of the year. Motor Trend editor-in-chief Angus MacKenzie states, "The GL may be a surprise winner for many people. The first full-size sport/utility from Mercedes is not cheap, but it has astonishing technology”. The new Benz GL450 offers a seven-speed automatic transmission and a V-8 engine with 335 horsepower, and it will be available in a version that runs on the new low-sulfur diesel fuel for greater gas mileage. Comfortable, third-row seating has become one of the most important measures for sport/utilities, and the GL's is the best.

This year’s winner also shows the growth of the SUV segment with the Motor Trend staff testing no less than 22 new or revised sports utility vehicles, the largest number ever tested. Other SUVs included the new Acura RDX, Lincoln Navigator, and revised Hyundai Santa Fe.
Complete evaluation and details can be found in the December issue of Motor Trend which already hit the newsstands.

The GL450’s win also illustrates how the SUV segment is shifting from off-roading to the more mundane street-driving. We’re especially curious to see how new contenders Acura RDX, Lincoln MDX, and Mazda CX-7 stack up against the more established competitors like the Chevrolet Suburban.

http://www.motortrend.com/

Toyota Camry Motor Trend Car of the Year

The redesigned Toyota Camry, the hottest-selling car in America, is winner of Motor Trend magazine's 2007 Car of the Year award.

The award, announced Wednesday, went to all Camry variations, including the hybrid, because the car is innovative yet has a broad appeal, magazine Editor-in-Chief Angus MacKenzie said.
The Camry is the one car rival automakers all wish they could build. It offers something for nearly everyone performance, efficiency and roominess at a price point most Americans can afford. The Camry beat 26 other models that were totally new or redesigned in the year prior to Jan. 1, 2007, the magazine said.

Japanese automakers had 10 cars in the field, with six U.S. models, five from Korea, four from Germany, one from the United Kingdom and one from Sweden. The Camry won in a strong field.

There have never been more choices available to American car buyers. That is a fact of life in the 21st century. Through October, Toyota sold 350,481 Camry’s this year, leading all cars in U.S. sales. The No. 2 car is Toyota's Corolla at 330,995, according to Autodata.
This is the first year the Camry has won the award. Among competitors for Car of the Year were Chrysler Sebring, Saturn Aura, Nissan Altima, Kia Rondo, Honda Fit, Mercedes-Benz S Class, Volvo C70 T5 and the Volkswagen Rabbit.

Last year's winner was the Honda Civic. Last month, the magazine named the Mercedes-Benz GL450 its sport-utility vehicle of the year.

Sources: http://www.motortrend.com/

Best Gas Mileage for 2007 Cars, Trucks and SUVs

Each year, the Environmental Protection Agency compiles its Fuel Economy Guide to educate car buyers on fuel-efficient vehicles. The following gas-powered, automatic cars and trucks have the best fuel economy within the listed vehicle classes.

Each class includes the 2007 automatic-transmission vehicles with the best gas mileage estimates in that category.

Class Leaders

Compact Cars (Range: 13 - 40; Avg.: 22/32)
Toyota Yaris
City MPG: 34 MPG
Higway MPG: 39 MPG
Honda Civic
City MPG: 30
Highway MPG:40

Midsize Cars (Range: 11 - 36; Avg.: 18/29)
Hyundai Elantra
City MPG:28
Highway MPG:36
Pontiac Vibe
City MPG:29
Highway MPG:34
Toyota Matrix
City MPG:29
Highway MPG:34

Full-Size Cars (Range: 11 - 33; Avg.: 17/26)
Hyundai Sonata
City MPG:24
Highway MPG:33
Toyota Avalon
City MPG:22
Highway MPG:31

Luxury Cars (Range: 10 - 32; Avg.: 17/27)
Audi A3*
City MPG:25
Highway MPG:32
Audi A4*
City MPG:24
Highway MPG:32
Lexus IS 250*
City MPG:24
Highway MPG:32

Sports Cars (Range: 10 - 32; Avg.: 17/26)
Volkswagen GTI*
City MPG:25
Highway MPG:32
Volkswagen Eos*
City MPG:23
Highway MPG:31

SUVs (Range: 12 - 30; Avg.: 16/23)
Toyota RAV4 (2WD)
City MPG:24
Highway MPG:30
Honda CR-V (2WD)
City MPG:23
Highway MPG:30

Pickup Trucks (Range: 13 - 27; Avg.: 15/22)
Toyota Tacoma (2WD)
City MPG:21
Highway MPG:27
Ford Ranger (2WD)
City MPG:21
Highway MPG:26
Mazda B2300 (2WD)
City MPG: 21
Highway MPG:26

Minivans (Range: 17 - 26; Avg.: 18/25)
Mazda5
City MPG:21
Highway MPG:26
Dodge Caravan
City MPG:20
Highway MPG:26
* Means that the vehicles take Premium Gasoline
Source: EPA's 2007 Fuel Economy Guide (Click on the cars name for more information about the car)

Lincoln changes name of its car

Lincoln, a Ford Motor luxury brand, needs hip, high-profile cars to elevate its image and get it onto high-profit shopping lists that its aging Town Car sedan can't and its more modern but neglected LS hasn't.

Lincoln hopes its new crossover utility vehicle, MKX, will grab a share of the lucrative crossover market, and that this week's subject, the MKZ sedan, will shore up the brand's position among entry-luxury buyers.

Lincoln's tumble has been swift. Just six years ago at this time, Cadillac and Lincoln were in what was essentially a four-way tie with Lexus and Mercedes-Benz in the race for best-selling luxury brand. Now, Lexus dominates, BMW and Mercedes come next. Caddy, in fourth place, outsells Lincoln 2-to-1, says sales tracker Autodata. Lincoln sits seventh among the nine high-volume luxury brands, ahead of only Infiniti and Audi, Autodata reports.

What a beauty the Zephyr, this rapid evolution of the midsize sedan Lincoln launched a year ago under the name Zephyr. The decision to revamp it just a year into its life shows Lincoln's urgency. Usually, such overhauls are done three or four years into the model's life. Renaming it at the same time seems unsavory. The controversial plan to rename Lincoln models was underway when Peter Horbury became executive director of design.
Lincoln wants to capture a different market by renaming the Zephyr. Usually automakers discontinue a model but Lincoln has done something different this time. They actually kept the same body style, the same features but the car gets a new name. We will have to wait and see if this strategy will put Lincoln at the top again.

www.autodata.com

New Sentra redesigned

Hoping to appeal to the so-called Echo boomers, Nissan is pitching its redesigned 2007 Sentra compact sedan as a car in which you could live. Not that the target buyers are homeless, Nissan says, just that they're kinetic, go-do-move young adults, born after 1976, whose demands on a car might, in fact, include using it as a temporary shelter.

Sentra is worth a hard look. The test cars were smooth, refined and feature-laden beyond what you'd expect in their $15,000 to $22,000 price range. The Sentra was roomier than rivals. First, though, you have to like, or accept, the look. The fat, flat rear flank emulates the Nissan Maxima and is an ugly, ungainly look although reasonable people often disagree on matters of taste.
Inside, it becomes easy to appreciate the improved fuel economy, engaging driving feel, pleasant interior ambiance and general handiness. Among Sentra's thoughtful and premium touches it has a lot to offer. Electric power steering, this costly system usually is reserved for more expensive cars. Works nicely on the Sentra, it is providing good on-center feel and quick response when the driver demands. It saves fuel because the engine isn't turning a belt for the power steering pump.

Liquid-filled engine mounts, also usually saved for higher-price cars, the devices cradle the engine and calm its vibrations and noises. At idle, the engine is very quiet and vibration-free.
Trunk divider, It's an optional, movable bulkhead that separates the part of the trunk that's immediately behind the rear seat from the rest of it. You can keep the trunk's permanent residents jumper cables, soccer ball, and change of clothes ahead of the divider. You can put groceries and other temporary cargo in the main part of the trunk. When it's time to fold down the back seat to expand cargo space, the divider folds onto the trunk floor via a single, finger-tip latch.

A lot of Handy storage space is available in the new model. See-through net pockets on the backs of the front seats mean guests are less likely to leave behind cargo because they can see it.
One of the new features is the Bluetooth capability. It's an uncommon option on lower-price cars. Bluetooth is the technology that automatically and wirelessly connects Bluetooth compatible cell phones, enabling hands-free, voice-activated use.

www.nissan.com

Hyundai has come a long way

The Hyundai Santa Fe is most endearing not for fancy features or a peppy engine or eye-catching looks it has those but for the way everything comes together smoothly. The main test vehicle, a $26,000 high-end Limited with front-wheel drive, grew in esteem daily as it proved ever-easier to drive, ever-more convenient, increasingly impressive for its quiet interior. A short drive in a $30,000 Limited with all-wheel drive did nothing to erode the positive impression.

The style has changed for the new Santa Fe. Though it looks like a previous-generation Toyota RAV4 on steroids, or something distantly related to the Subaru Tribeca, the overall effect is handsome, if less than crisply original. Quite a few motorists in pricey vehicles did the ol' swivel-head stare as the Santa Fe toodled by. The best part is that the stylish appearance doesn't impose stupid compromises, such as reduced visibility because some design guy thought the back window looked better smaller.

New engine options are available also in the Santa Fe. The optional 3.3-liter V-6 is punchy around town but begins to sag a bit at fast engine speed, as when accelerating flat-out. That's a minor quibble and will go unnoticed by many, perhaps most, owners. The five-speed automatic that's standard with the 3.3-liter engine shifts crisply most of the time. The 2.7-liter V-6 that comes with the base model, GLS, wasn't tested. A five-speed manual is standard with that engine; a four-speed automatic is optional.

Hyundai has come a long way since the late 1990s. One of the best things that Hyundai offers is the 100,000 miles warranty bumper-to-bumper. I remember when people use to say that they would never own a Hyundai and now those same people are driving a Hyundai. The new looks and features of Hyundai have been very impressive. The Korean automakers are giving the Japanese automakers a lot of competition. If you go to Seoul South Korea, you will see some Hyundai’s models that look just like a Mercedes Benz S-Class. If Hyundai brings its flagship models to the US than both the American and Japanese automakers will be in trouble.

www.car.com/hyundai/santafe

The New Chevy Suburban

The Chevrolet Suburban, a big SUV, has been around since 1935, a popular way to move extraordinary numbers of people and unusual amounts of goods in one vehicle. As part of General Motors' (GM) big-truck makeover, Suburban has gotten a thorough redesign along with the similar GMC Yukon XL. You can think of the Suburban as a long-wheelbase Chevy Tahoe, and its extra length lends a grace the stubbier Tahoe lacks.

A truck as big as the Suburban about the same as a full-size crew cab pickup means you don't have to pack light or leave anybody behind. Suburban’s cargo space finesses a problem with the new line of big GM SUVs, the third-row seats. They don't fold under the floor as rivals' do too much money, too little buyer interest, GM says. They flip up against the second row, or you can heft them out.

Flip the third row forward against the second row in the shorter Tahoe, and you still have a space problem. Do it in the longer Suburban, and you don't. Generally, the big Suburban drives small, and easier to handle in tight spots than its size suggests. It might not be your first choice for the shopping mall lot on Christmas Eve, but if you can live with the length, it's not intimidating. An optional backup camera helps minimize anxiety in reverse.

The steering is improved from the previous version, as is the feel of the brakes. Corners are handled competently for the truck's size. The standard 5.3-liter V-8 makes lovely noises when spurred hard, and it delivers a fair amount of punch for a three-ton truck. An aluminum-block 6-liter V-8, newly optional on the Suburban 1500 series, has a hefty 56 more horsepower and 45 more pounds-feet of torque than the 5.3 engine.

Saturn Gets New Look

Drive the uplevel XR with its high-performance V-6 and sporty suspension and you wonder where, sweet car, have you been all this time?

But get behind the wheel of the base XE and the impression is less impressive: But Nice Car...

If the 2007 Aura were typical of Detroit-mobiles the past decade, Toyota (TM), Honda (HMC) and others not native to the USA surely would have found it tougher to gain so much market share. The XR, especially, seems a reasonable alternative to a Honda or Toyota. As a new model, Aura can't boast the enviable track record for high quality and strong resale value that the top Japanese models can, however.

Lisa Hutchinson, director of Saturn's brand and product development, calls Aura "the biggest launch of the year" for the General Motors (GM) brand. A Green Line version Saturn-speak for mild hybrid is slated for next spring. That will be a four-cylinder gasoline engine, augmented by a small electric motor, as in the Saturn Vue Green Line SUV.
Saturn likes to brag that the Aura has a V-6 engine standard, while rivals have four-cylinder powerplants in their base models. But the memory of $3 gas this summer might make buyers more interested in the perceived fuel-economy benefits of a four-cylinder.

Two Auras were tested: A preproduction XE that would be priced $21,795 and a nearly loaded, regular-production XR, $26,919.99.

The New Lexus ES 350 very SHARP

Once in awhile, a car hits the sweet spot. The vehicle seems so well-designed and drives so nicely that it's as easy to get excited about it as it would be to cheer about a breathtaking high-performance machine.

The 2007 Lexus ES 350 is one of those sweet-spot sedans. A complete redo of the brand's entry-level four-door sedan, it is, Lexus says, quieter, more sophisticated and more powerful than the 1990 LS 400 flagship sedan the high-end signature model when Lexus was born in 1989. Maybe that's not surprising, auto technology having advanced as fast as it has, but it's an interesting benchmark.

Part of what makes the '07 ES 350 so impressive is a bundle of nothing: Nothing stupid about it. Nothing spoils the elegance of the interior. Nothing seems out of place or thoughtless. Nothing caused the test car to misbehave in routine and spirited driving. Nothing was complicated to operate, despite layers of advanced technology.

But the ES has remarkable features with make it unique. A remarkable power train, the engine is a version of corporate parent Toyota's new-design 3.5-liter V-6, also found in the Camry and Avalon sedans, RAV4 SUV and '07 Sienna minivan (starting in December), as well as Lexus models IS 350, RX 350, GS 350 and GS 450h. It delivers significantly more power than the 3.3-liter V-6, which it replaces. It gets a slightly better fuel economy rating, too. Lexus recommends premium for best performance, and the engine's power rating assumes its burning premium. Even if it isn't, though, it could kick the 3.3 engine's tail.

The 3.5 is a honey, sweet, smooth, swift, with a gentle growl when spurred. It flings the ES from 0 to 60 mph in a brisk 6.8 seconds, by Lexus' stopwatch. The '06, powered by the 3.3-liter V-6, took 7.2 seconds. The six-speed automatic transmission snicks off up shifts with the best of 'em, though it could be a bit smoother on full-throttle downshifts. A manual mode is at hand for days you feel frisky, or need more control, such as in hilly country. Traction control allows some wheel spin before it begins to cut back power. That's a good thing, because you often need some spin to make way, such as in heavy snow. It worked great in heavy rain too early in the season to try it in snow.

A gorgeous, thoughtful interior it puts you at ease as it strokes your senses. The comfort level seems beyond physical. Big square buttons on the center stack of controls invite your touch and operate everything important. No tiny buttons you can't push, no navigation-system-embedded layers of electronic debris to get to the function you want. It's as beautifully simple as it gets in luxury models nowadays.

Expressive styling it’s an aesthetic stretch, at least for Lexus, without being too odd. It picks up a hint of the dreadful BMW rump. But just a hint, and that's OK.

Some Nifty features; huge glass panel over the rear seats. Panorama Roof, Lexus calls, it is available and brightens the interior. Heated and cooled, leather seats are optional and improve comfort. The optional power rear-window sunshade seems silly, until you use it. Then it's one of those features you or your back-seat passengers can't do without. The proximity key is standard, allowing you to start or stop the engine by pushing a big button in the car if the key is in your pocket or purse or otherwise nearby. It's another foolish feature until you live with it a few days, after which sticking a key into a slot and turning it seems crude and inconvenient.

The new Lexus ES 350 starts at a tantalizing $34,000, but add $10,000 for options you really want. If you are looking for a nice luxury car then your best bet is to buy the new Lexus ES 350.

I personally like BMW’s and Mercedes Benz but after seeing and test driving the new Lexus ES 350 I must give credit to Lexus for creating a real beauty.

Information from http://www.cars.com/

Nissan's Minivan

Chrysler Group (DCX), Honda (HMC) and Toyota (TM), the Big Three of minivans, own a combined 72% of U.S. minivan sales, according to Autodata. General Motors (GM) and Ford Motor (F), the Little Two, together have an additional 17% although Ford says it will stop making Ford Freeestar and Mercury Monterey minivans next year. Kia dominates the Tiny Others, holding 5% of U.S. sales. Nissan's Quest claims just 3%.
The Nissan Quest sales the first half of the year were off 30.2% from a year earlier, says Autodata. In August, the first full month the new one's been on the market, sales were 27.7% worse than last year's.

To make the Quest better, Nissan remade the interior though seats still look and feel a lot like previous ones, tweaked the exterior and added features. Nissan says it uses better materials on the interior. Cheap-looking and -feeling interiors have been Nissan's Achilles' heel. The result is a van that doesn't look much different outside, has more general appeal inside and remains fun to drive because of its 3.5-liter V-6 and snappy-shifting automatic transmission.
Most noticeable are the gauges that are now in front of the driver, instead of in the center of the dashboard. A Big improvement! Who wants the speedometer to be in the middle of the console?
Controls look and operate more conventionally. Shifting the transmission lever, operating the turn signals, activating the wipers all a pleasure because of the finish on the controls and the precision with which they work. Styling didn't change just new parts added more prestige to the minivan. You might not like it, but you won't think of it as a generic minivan.

http://www.autos.com/
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