SUVs
BMW’s Carbon Fiber X5 Prototype Sheds 440 Pounds
One element of automotive design that most folks fail to appreciate is the lead times required to build a new vehicle. It’s not uncommon for car makers to start developing the next generation of a model immediately after they launch an all-new car. With something as radically new as carbon fiber structural components, the lead…
Land Rover Evoque Unveiled on 40th Anniversary of Original Range Rover
Looking pretty much identical to the LRX concept car, Land Rover has now officially taken the wraps off what it will call the Evoque. Land Rover will brand the new “coupe” styled SUV as the Range Rover Evoque, joining the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. No specific details have yet been provided but it…
GM’s US Sales Up 36 Percent in June, Spurred On by 27 Percent Growth in Pickup Segment
“As companies continue to invest in their business, we expect this segment to continue to recover,” stated Johnson. “We think that the release of some pent-up demand in the pickup market is indicative that a fundamental part of the US economy is strengthening.”
Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 Spied; 480-hp 6.4-Liter Hemi V8 Included
The folks at Jeep might not admit it yet, but they don’t have to any more. That’s right, an all-new SRT8 Jeep Grand Cherokee is on its way. Recent spy photos show a version of the 2011 Grand Cherokee sporting a covered font fascia that is noticeably lower than the standard one. Plus, the big…
Bone Stock BMW X6 M Runs 12 Second Quarter Mile Pass
Look, when the BMW X6 was first announced we all scratched our heads. Don’t deny it, you did too. The X3 and the X5 have their place in the market, but the X6 is an oddity. Now we’re starting to feel wrong about judging this book by its cover. The X6 M has truly reshaped…
Kia Donates Borrego SUVs for Firefighter Training
These vehicles will be used in a variety of scenarios that simulate real fire and emergency situations, plus as late-model vehicles they allow both students and instructors to learn about the latest in modern technology.
2011 Porsche Cayenne V6 and Cayenne Diesel Unveiled
Porsche has just announced two new entry-level versions of the all-new second-generation Cayenne SUV: a gasoline-powered V6 and a diesel. The gas model makes used of the same direct-injection 3.6-liter V6 as found in the new Panamera model, boasting 300-hp. Offered in Europe with a standard 6-speed manual transmission it can hit 62 mph in…
Lumma Design Goes Black and White On BMW X6 M
Finally! After all the bickering we have done on black demo cars, we have the chance to check out Lumma Design’s BWW X6 M styling on both a black and white platform. Lumma Design offers a plethora of kits for various Porsche, BMW and Mercedes-Benz vehicles, so their expertise is well varied. Their BMW X6…
2012 Ford Explorer Teased In Outdoorsy Photo Shoot
Ford continues to let bits and pieces of the 2012 Explorer’s design trickle out, and the latest photo shoot (which made its debut on Ford’s Facebook page) takes place in the snowy woods, with a a few details visible. Notably, the A-Pillar of the car is blacked out, which gives less visual heft (and is…
Mercedes ML63 Gets Facelift for 2011
For 2011 Mercedes has decided to offer an updated exterior for the powerful ML63 SUV. Included in the facelift is a new hood with “power domes.” The headlights have also been changed with new black backgrounds. The same goes for the taillights, which now also get LED technology. There are also slight changes to the…
BMW X5 Celebrates One Millionth Model
Back in 1999 BMW was mocked considerably for its decision to introduce the X5 luxury SUV, but 11 years later and 1,000,000 million units produced and the decision certainly looks like a smart one. While marques like Land Rover had dominated the space, BMW opened up the floodgates that would see every luxury automaker, from…
GM Re-Recalls 1.5 Million Vehicles for Heated Washer Fluid System That May Catch Fire
General Motors has announced a massive recall of 1.5 million vehicles over concern that their heated windshield washer fluid system could catch fire. No solution for the problem is available and so GM will give owners a $100 rebate (yup, $150 million in total) for the loss of the feature on their vehicle. GM had…
Project Kahn Expands Land Rover Line with Freelander RS200 Package
Afzal Kahn, CEO of Project Kahn, markets himself with a bold claim: the king of aesthetic conversions. While it might be a little overboard, Project Kahn does do a fantastic job with their RS-series packages for various Land Rover vehicles. Their RS600 for the Range Rover Sport was widely successful and their RS300 partnership with…
Toyota, Chevrolet, Jeep and Kia Drive Off With IIHS Top Safety Pick Awards
The results are in and a host of new SUVs have made the cut. Joining the list for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick Award recipients are the 2010 Chevrolet Equinox, the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, the 2011 Kia Sorento, and the 2010 Toyota Highlander and Venza. It takes a sturdy…
Merdad Introduces Porsche Cayenne Coupe
While Xenatec is dreaming up a Porsche Cayenne pick-up truck, Merdad is doing the opposite offering a true two-door coupe conversion for the Porsche Cayenne. Yes, you can rub those eyes again because they’re not deceiving you, this is no dream concept car. We don’t know much about Merdad, but the company is owned by…
Range Rover: A 40 Year History in Photos
On June 17th in 1970, the Range Rover brand was born as the Range Rover Classic rolled off the Land Rover assembly line. Forty years later and the luxury 4×4 brand is still going strong as Land Rover prepares to celebrate the introduction of a new model in the coming weeks (likely at a celebration…
2011 Range Rover to Get More Powerful and Efficient 4.4-Liter Diesel V8
The 2011 Range Rover will get a larger 4.4-liter diesel V8, in regions where a diesel is already offered. Replacing the outgoing 3.6-liter engine, the new powerplant will be mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission and use 10.2 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (roughly 23 mpg), compared to the 3.6-liter’s 11.1 mpg rating. Power…
Mazda Picks Up Low Cost Car Insurance Award From Insure.com
If you’re shopping around for vehicles with the lowest insurance rates, you’re in luck. Insure.com has just released their Low Cost Car Insurance Awards of the least expensive vehicles to insure. Topping the list of the least expensive 2010 vehicles to insure is the Mazda Tribute i, which costs an average of $1070.25 to keep…
World’s Fastest Jeep SRT-8 Goes 9’s, Has Sports Cars Scratching Their Hoods
Running 9 seconds in the quarter mile is quite a feat for any sports car. It takes come serious modifications to get a Toyota Supra or Chevy Corvette to go that fast. And just recently we reported on the first Nissan GT-R to break the 10 second barrier. So imagine how surprised we were to…
Dodge Nitro, Caliber Bow Silently Out Of UK Market
The Dodge Nitro and Caliber have been quietly dropped from Chrysler’s UK lineup. Chrysler’s decision to drop the two crossovers comes on the heels of “extremely modest” sales of both models. This isn’t surprising to any of us, since Europeans haven’t been as quick to adopt crossovers as Americans, and the Nitro and Caliber aren’t…
AC Schnitzer Tunes BMW X6 M
The BMW X6 M continues to be a confused child in our eyes in the crossover segment. The twin-turbocharged 4.4L V8 tosses out 555-hp and 501 ft-lbs of torque, numbers that rival the much larger and more popular Porsche Cayenne Turbo. But BMW sticking their coveted M-badge on a SAV (or SUV, whichever you’d like…
2011 Grand Cherokee Mega Gallery Shows Every Angle of New Flagship Jeep
The 2011 Grand Cherokee is the first new model Chrysler has introduced since emerging from bankruptcy protection and there’s a lot riding on it. As the flagship Jeep, it’s received a lot of attention from Chrysler’s engineers and the folks in the marketing department was to make sure it also receives a lot of attention…
Nissan to Recall 48,000 Trucks and SUVs for Suspension Problems
Nissan is preparing to recall 48,700 trucks and SUVs for issues relating to the suspension on the U.S.-built vehicles. Some of, but not all 2010 Nissan Armada, Frontier, Titan, Pathfinder, Xterra and Infiniti QX56 models are expected to be involved in the recall. No official recall has been issued yet, however, as Nissan awaits information…
Dacia Duster Could be Sold in North America as a Nissan
Rumors that the Dacia Duster could be sold as a Renault have been floating around ever since the vehicle’s launch at the Geneva Auto Show last year, but now comes word that it may also be sold as a Nissan – in markets where Renault doesn’t have a significant presence. “In a market where Nissan…
