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Spied: Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid
That Chevrolet is looking to introduce a hybrid version of its brand new Malibu is no surprise; General Motors announced their intentions back in January at the North American International Auto Show. But this is the first time we’ve actually seen one, thanks to one would-be spy photographer in a metro Detroit neighborhood.
The images were posted on The GMSource and they clearly show a fender-mounted “Hybrid” badge identical to that used on other recent GM hybrids. The Malibu is expected to mirror the Saturn Aura Green Line hybrid, at least mechanically. And, if these photos are any indication, the Malibu and Green Line will have similar - if not identical - wheels. The Saturn features a 164 horsepower 2.4 liter four cylinder mated to a four-speed automatic. The Saturn gets 28 mpg in the city and 35 mpg on the highway.
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No pricing has been announced on the Malibu Hybrid, but the Aura Green Line starts at $22,695.
Spied: BMW X6
BMW engineers ran into a little trouble in the in the 128-degree desert heat, when one of its X6 prototypes appeared to become disabled on the shoulder of a desolate California road. As the preoccupied testers prepared to hook up a tow line to its X5 support vehicle, they accidently left the prototype’s rear hatch open, revealing the true slope of the X6’s backlight thanks to a timely sequence of drive-by shots.
It is now completely clear exactly how much of the rear camouflage is simply a hard plastic shell. That is
to say, most of it. Still, the X6 clearly has a unique lift gate for a BMW - and it’s not unlike that of the Dodge Magnum.
This detail is particularly interesting on the X6, because BMW is applying an aggressive application of the four-door-coupe concept first seen on the Mercedes CLS, to the SUV genre. There have been a number of performance-minded SUVs on offer, but the X6 is taking a unique styling approach which appears to be the most form-over-function SUV design effort seen to date. The roof line begins arching downward after the B-pillar and continues plunging right to the X6’s rising waistline. Second-row headroom and rear cargo volume
are both severely compromised as a result.
Thanks to the heavy armor, it’s still hard to get a feel for the X6’s overall design - it will take more than an open hatchback to do that.
These latest shots augment April’s revealing interior shots.
The interior shots reveal a lot of what’s hiding behind the X6 prototypes’ protective exoskeletons.
It appears that the X6’s form-over-function profile will take a serious chunk out of the X6’s headroom and cargo capacity, but reports that the X6 will be a pure four-seater with rear bucket seats seem to be erroneous. The X6 appears to offer three-across rear seating, with the usual fold-down center armrest.
Deliveries of the new model are expected to begin next year and BMW is already making preparations at its Spartanburg, S.C., plant to build as many as 40,000 units annually.
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2008 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Officially Revealed
Mercedes has taken the wraps off its 2008 C 63 AMG — the most potent version of its new C-Class sedan. The car delivers a whopping 457 horsepower, putting it comfortably ahead of BMW’s all-new M3.
In typical AMG fashion, the C63 features large performance-oriented tires and wheels, an aggressive bodykit, a much sportier interior, and suspension and chassis improvements.
The sprint to 62 mph takes a scant 4.5 seconds according to Mercedes — and that’s likely a conservative estimate: real world acceleration is typically even quicker than claimed times.
Maximum torque of 443 pound-feet comes at 5000 rpm. The torque curve is equally impressive: from 2000 to 6250 rpm the driver always has more than 360 pound-feet on tap — ideal for powerful acceleration in any engine speed range.
A new seven-speed AMG automatic transmission with paddle shifting provides a wide range of driving modes. The different modes are “S” (Sport), ” C” (Comfort) and “M” (Manual). Gearshifts in “S” mode are around 30 percent faster than in “C”, and no less than around 50 percent faster in “M” mode.
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Spied: 2009 BMW M3 convertible
BMW’s M3 convertible hit the Nurburgring in Germany for final shakedown tests before it debuts in Frankfurt this fall. Whether the car’s retractable hard top adds any additional structural rigidity to the previous E46 soft-top M3 isn’t exactly clear, but these photos do invalidate earlier rumors of a soft-top for the M3 convertible.
The M3 convertible is expected to follow exactly in the previous convertible’s footsteps by being essentially the drop-top version of the coupe. What is surprising is that the convertible will feature the folding metal roof of the rest of the range; it had been previously expected that the convertible would feature a much lighter weight cloth top. No word yet on how the convertible will differ, structurally, from the regular convertibles or coupes. Certainly it will need to change a little in order to cope with the added mass.
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Spied: Toyota Sequoia
Spy photographers caught two versions of the 2008 or ‘09 Toyota Sequoia wrapped in only modest camouflage. These photos give us the best view of both the SR5 and uplevel Limited trims, including a glance at the dashboard and interior.
Toyota’s large SUV has been largely unchanged since its 2001 introduction, but the Tundra pickup-based three-row Sequoia has been thoroughly revised. The new Sequoia you see pictured below is based on the new Tundra, introduced for ‘07, and is expected to include the pickup’s 4.7 and 5.7 liter V8 engines. The truck is slated to start production at the end of this year at Toyota’s Princeton, Indiana, plant, and it will likely be formally introduced at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show. It is not yet known whether Toyota will call the new SUV a ‘08 or ‘09.
From the photos, we can see that the Limited likely augments the SR5 with 18″ wheels, chrome mirrors and a likely optional night vision camera system. It also appears that the Limited will offer the same, distinctive Red Rock leather that’s optional on the Tundra Limited.
Sources say that the new Sequoia will be larger than the current model in order to compete better against GM’s Tahoe and Yukon.
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Toyota FSC Rumored For Production
According to Winding Road, Toyota is planning to produce the FSC crossover-style concept car. The FSC — “Flexible Saloon Concept” — will be loosely based on Toyota’s Camry, but will look very much like the concept car shown below. The FSC was originally introduced at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show and while production rumors were flowing after its showing in ‘05, the rumor mill quieted down until now.
They report that some of the concept’s features, such as its ambient interior lighting and its electrically folding rear seating, could make it into production. The FSC
Under the hood, engine choices are expected to mirror the Camry: a 158-horsepower 2.4 liter four-cylinder, a 268-horsepower 3.5 liter V6 and a 147-horsepower 2.4 liter four-cylinder hybrid.
Rumor has it that the FSC will enter production this coming September, but there has been no official word on pricing or availability. The original FSC show car was right-hand-drive as it was shown initially in Japan.
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BMW 1-Series Coupe Revealed
BMW has released information and photos on the all-new 2008 1-Series coupe, which will go on sale in Spring 2008. Photos and full information are available after the jump.
The 1-Series Coupe will be available to the United States in two 3.0 liter versions: the naturally aspirated 128i and the twin-turbocharged 135i. Powered by a 3.0-liter, 230 horsepower inline 6-cyinder engine that generates 200 lb-ft of torque, the 128i Coupe will feature Valvetronic valvetrain management and aluminum/magnesium contruction–core elements of BMW’s EfficientDynamics. The 135i Coupe features BMW’s twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine that produces 300 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque from as low as 1,400 rpm. With its direct piezo gasoline injectors, twin low-mass turbochargers and air-to-air intercooling, the 135i Coupe accelerates to 62 mph in 5.3 seconds. Both engines feature on-demand engine coolant pumps that improve fuel economy and reduce parasitic losses for increased output. BMW hasn’t released acceleration figures for the base 128i.
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Spied: 2008 Honda Accord
Say hello to the first naked shots of the 2008 Honda Accord. Although HoMoCo is still doing long-lead press reviews of the 15-year leader in US sales, Brenda Priddy’s spies captured the 2008 Accord just as it stepped out of its fascia-obscuring sports bra and into a photo shoot for a Canadian brochure. Here’s what we know. Obviously, expect the new model to sport some serious frontal design changes. That new look’s being eclipsed in the marketing materials only by the Honda’s comments about the Accord’s higher horsepower, better fuel economy and lower emissions for the V6-powered model. Although there’s no word from Honda, we’re anticipating a 3.5-liter V6 with about 270-horsepower, as well as the base 180-horsepower 2.4-liter four-cylinder version.
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Tested: 2008 Infiniti G37 Sport Coupe - Short Take Road Tests
Right as the filming for Star Wars drew to a close, Mark Hamill–he played Luke Skywalker, for you heathen non-SW fans–found himself involved in a serious car crash that left the famous Jedi with a busted and broken face. His injuries were serious enough to require a number of reconstructive surgeries. Although the procedures repaired the damage, and he did look familiar, something was unmistakably different. The youthful giddiness and raw excitement that characterized Luke Skywalker in that first film were lost in Hamill’s subsequently more serious visage, and Skywalker’s character was more mature and more reasoned in the next two films.
I bring up this bit of geekery because a similar fate has befallen the latest Infiniti G coupe, the G37. Like Hamill, this car resembles its former self–the G35 coupe–and it, too, has lost its youthful giddiness, its raw excitement. This latest Infiniti is more mature, more reasoned, and, yes, more grown-up than the outgoing G35.
But Wait! It’s Still Good!
This is not to imply that the new G is bad–far from it. It’s a wonderfully capable, fast, drop-dead gorgeous, and luxurious machine that anyone shopping for a sports coupe would be certifiably nuts to ignore. It appeals to a far wider audience of folks than the old car, and the G37 will likely sell many more copies per year, too. The G37 turns out to have a bit more sports tourer in its blood than did the G35, that’s all.
An Air of Refinement
The biggest culprits in the personality shift are the steering and driveline. Some of us thought the steering, for example, feels best and most confidence-inspiring in a straight line, grand touring-style. Even though the rack talks loudly enough in corners, there’s more feel and precision on-center than in the ensuing 40 degrees to either direction. The outgoing G35 coupe’s steering was lighter and a bit more precise, which lent a bit more of a twinkle-toed, light-on-its-feet-type feel to the overall package. (The G35 was also more than 200 pounds lighter than the G37.)
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Mitsubishi producing five-door Lancer Sportback in 2008
Japanese automaker Mitsubishi will produce its a five-door hatchback version of its 2008 Lancer, based on the Lancer Sportback concept car, shown nearly two years ago at the Frankfurt auto show.
The company confirmed plans to produce the car in an announcement this week detailing the launch of the new Lancer sedan.
“With its coupe-like profile — modeled upon the exciting 2005 Frankfurt concept car of the same name — it will specifically target hatchback-minded European customers,” the company said.
The hatchback will follow shortly after the new Lancer Sedan and Lancer Evolution arrive at dealers. It will likely be sold as a 2009 model.
Expect the car’s overall shape to be similar to the concept (pictured), with a face and taillights very similar the production Lancer sedan.
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