Though it was resculpted, the X5’s exterior styling remains familiar. The updated look is most pronounced up front. At the rear, L-shaped LED taillight clusters wrap around and into the tailgate. A roof-mounted spoiler is included.

The BMW X5 shares its base six-cylinder engine with the X3. A six-speed automatic transmission with manual-shift capability is standard; a manual gearbox is no longer offered. The top X5 4.8i has a lustier V8 and its own version of the six-speed automatic.

BMW’s xDrive all-wheel-drive system permits adjustable front-to-rear power distribution for surefootedness on wet or snowy pavement and dirt roads, as well as added handling prowess in favorable conditions. Hill Descent Control stabilizes speed on sharp downgrades, while stability control adds another layer of safety by automatically adjusting the throttle and/or brakes to help keep the BMW X5 on track during extreme or emergency maneuvers.

This system was recently upgraded with a traction control feature that affords more wheel slippage before intervening (this makes getting out of a snowed-in parking space easier and allows better handling on dry surfaces). However, because the BMW X5 SUV lacks the low-range gearing included with some all-wheel-drive systems, it is limited to only moderate off-roading.

The X5 has the advanced braking systems that are also standard on several other BMW models. Brake Standby automatically moves the brake pads up against the rotors when the driver suddenly lifts off the accelerator, expecting that hard braking is about to occur. Brake Drying periodically brings the pads up to the rotors to keep the points of contact dry.

Increased torsional stiffness (resistance to twisting) combined with revamped steering and suspension systems yields cornering prowess. A four-wheel independent suspension up front teams with a reconfigured rear setup to give the X5 lively handling, which is what one expects from a BMW. The automaker’s optional Active Steering system is available on the X5. It includes speed-sensitive Servotronic power steering. This provides additional steering boost during extreme maneuvers for quicker handling. While it works as advertised, in BMW passenger cars the active system tends to make the steering feel artificial.

The BMW X5 SUV comes with run-flat, all-season tires. Run-flat tires allow a driver with a flat to keep driving at a reduced speed far enough to reach a safe place to pull off the highway, and/or reach a service facility where the tire can be fixed or replaced.

An optional sport package includes the Adaptive Drive system that combines BMW’s Active Roll Stabilization and Electronic Damping Control systems to help minimize body roll through turns and maintain a smooth and controlled ride at all times. It features driver-selectable modes that emphasize either a softer ride or sharper handling.

he X5’s expanded interior remains tasteful and handsome without being too dressy, and offers a choice of three wood treatments at no extra cost. While the optional third row adds flexibility, it’s strictly for kids: BMW notes that it’s only accommodating for “occupants up to approximately 5 feet, 6 inches in height.” Fortunately, the second-row seats recline and are adjustable to allow adults of all sizes to find their comfort zones.

Standard features include front side and head-curtain airbags, power seats and a power tilt/telescoping steering wheel. BMW’s iDrive control system is likewise included. It combines various systems like the climate control, navigation and audio functions into a single interface that’s operated via a center-console knob. Six instrument-panel buttons can be programmed to quickly and easily select favorite radio stations or to perform often-used functions. Otherwise, iDrive is more difficult to operate than conventional buttons and switches.

Source: forbesautos

A six-speed manual gearbox is standard on the Nissan 350Z Roadster, and it adds to the car’s sporty flair, especially for those who like full control of their cars. A five-speed automatic transmission is optional.

The Nissan 350Z Roadster features a fully automatic power fabric top with a glass rear window. It stows beneath a hard tonneau cover behind the seats. Unfortunately, the car isn’t as attractive with the top up as with it down.

The rear-wheel-drive 350Z Roadster rides on the latest generation of the automaker’s so-called “front midship” platform. Enthusiasts favor rear-wheel drive for its superior balance, which aids handling, improves steering feel and allows power to be delivered directly to the rear wheels.

With nearly ideal balance and a lightweight four-wheel independent aluminum suspension, the Nissan 350Z Roadster has stellar driving dynamics. It feels spry and light on its feet.

Large wheels and tires along with a speed-sensitive power-steering system make the 350Z feel connected to the road. Four-wheel disc antilock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist stop the car easily.

The 350Z Roadster seats only two and has a small trunk. So it can prove limiting as a household’s primary vehicle.

Depending on optional trim and equipment, top models of the Nissan 350Z Roadster get tire and suspension upgrades and chassis control systems like Vehicle Dynamic Control for added handling prowess and safety. These better-equipped models can also get more expensive in a hurry, so for the best value, choose a lightly equipped version — it’ll still put a grin on your face.

Source: forbesautos

“I don’t think it’s going to just open the floodgates,” said Jessica Caldwell, an analyst at the auto Web site Edmunds.com. “But it’s going to help a lot of people who want a quality car, who don’t want to worry about it, and are now going to be able to afford it because of this deal.”
Toyota’s U.S. division said Thursday night it will offer the free financing on 11 models with terms ranging from 36 to 60 months. The incentive expires Nov. 3.

Toyota is offering the deal on a wide variety of vehicles, including the Matrix, Corolla, Camry, RAV 4, Highlander, FJ Cruiser, 4Runner, Sequoia, Sienna, Tacoma and Tundra. The automaker’s hybrids, along with some better-selling models like the Yaris subcompact, are excluded.

Although Toyota has cut financing rates and offered other deals in the past, zero-percent financing on such a wide scale is an unprecedented move for an automaker that has prided itself on its restraint with incentives. Its U.S. counterparts, meanwhile, have aggressively used cut-rate financing and big cash-back offers as a way to bolster sales in the flagging auto market.

Sales down 27 percent industrywide
Nearly all automakers said tighter credit standards knocked buyers from the market last month, when sales industrywide fell 27 percent from a year earlier, hitting less than 1 million for the first time in 15 years.

“What this is a response to is the misconception that getting a loan or leasing a car is difficult to do,” Toyota spokesman Xavier Dominicis said Friday. “At Toyota it’s not. Our finance arm … it’s in a position to loan money.”

Richard Howse, senior director of auto finance for J.D. Power and Associates, said Toyota’s offer is likely an attempt to kick-start its sales considering September’s disappointing results.

“I don’t want to read their minds, but I think they realize they need to move the cars they have now,” Howse said. “It’ll be interesting to see how many people are able to take it given today’s credit environment.”

Kerry Rivera, spokeswoman for Toyota’s finance arm, Toyota Financial Services, said the requirements to qualify for the offer include a FICO credit score of at least 650. The median FICO score is 720 on the scale that ranges from 300 to 850, according to a spokesman for Fair Isaac Corp.

“This is similar to how we’ve priced zero-percent deals in the past,” Rivera said.

Toyota’s incentives come at a time when banks are curtailing lending because of widespread mortgage defaults that have brought down investment banks and a major insurance company.

Automakers’ finance arms often raise capital by bundling auto loans and selling them as securities, and more of those loans have defaulted as the economy has deteriorated. Now that any collateralized debts like mortgages have fallen out of favor, the securities are more difficult to sell, making it harder for the finance companies to raise more money to lend.

Toyota’s ‘deep pockets’
However, Toyota is likely in a better position than its domestic competitors to offer zero-percent loans to a greater number of consumers, owing to its AAA credit ratings and strong cash flow, Edmunds.com’s Caldwell said.

“They have such deep pockets they’re able to weather the storm a little bit better. … I think Toyota will be able to offer more customers zero-percent APR financing than Chrysler or GM, where they have to be more picky with the customers that can receive,” she said.

Rivera said Toyota hasn’t been lending to subprime customers, which has insulated it from some of the credit troubles that other companies have experienced. She declined to release Toyota’s loan approval rates but said the automaker’s year-over-year rate “hasn’t dropped significantly.”

David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich., said Toyota may be among the best-positioned automakers to weather the credit storm.

“Toyota has absolutely gold-plated credit,” Cole said. “They’ve got $30 billion-plus in the bank. So whatever happens from a financial standpoint, they’re not going to be impacted too severely.”

That doesn’t mean other automakers aren’t offering zero-percent financing as well.

General Motors Corp. on Wednesday launched zero-percent financing on several models for up to 72 months, after more than a month of offering all buyers employee discounts, which generally knock 10 percent off the purchase price of a vehicle.

The company will also launch a new commercial vehicle on a similar platform to its current RTV model, a top company official said.

�We plan to launch Cedia and Lancer with new features and that will boost sales,� said Mr C.K. Birla, Chairman, Hindustan Motors, at the launch of the new vehicle. He, however, declined to give a timeframe by when it would introduce the new models.

�In case of the new commercial vehicle based on the RTV platform, the launch would be in the next six-eight weeks,� said Mr R. Santhanam, Managing Director of the company.

Hindustan Motors, which produces and markets Mitsubishi range of models, currently sells sports utility vehicle like Montero, Pajero and sedans including Cedia and Lancer.

Sales under pressure

Mr Birla said that last month sales were under pressure but from January onwards outlook should look better.

While the company�s sales in the sedan segment during April-August fell 23 per cent to 3,637 units, sales of Pajero rose 46 per cent to 1,022 units.

Priced at Rs 20.2 lakh, Hindustan Motors expects to sell 100 units monthly. The company�s current capacity stands at 12,000 units in Chennai and 24,000 units at Uttharpara in West Bengal.

The X-TRAIL 20GT achieves high fuel-efficiency of 15.2km/L under Japan’s 10-15 test mode operation, representing an increase of approximately 30% in fuel economy over a 2.5-liter gasoline engine with the same power output. In addition to its low fuel consumption, the X-TRAIL’s new “M9R” clean diesel engine is more economical to operate, due to the lower price of diesel versus standard gasoline in the Japan market.

In addition to complying with Japan’s stringent “Post New Long-term Regulations” emission standards which stresses high environmental performance, the new M9R clean diesel engine also achieves high levels of driving performance demanded by X-TRAIL owners.

The 2.0-liter M9R engine has the power equivalency of a 3.5-liter V6 gasoline engine, generating maximum power of 127kW(173PS)/3750rpm and maximum torque of 360N・m(36.7kgf・m)/2000rpm. The engine provides high torque at low rpm and delivers ample performance in any driving situation. At the same time, the environmentally–friendly and fuel-efficient M9R engine emits far lower CO2 than a comparable 3.5-liter gasoline V6 engine, achieving excellent emissions performance. The engine design also emphasizes smooth, quiet operation, eliminating unpleasant noise and vibration associated with current diesel powerplants.

New technologies utilized in the M9R engine which reduce emissions, noise and vibrations include:
Emissions Reduction Measures

Common rail system
EGR cooler
Diesel particulate filter (DPF)
Lean NOx Trap catalysts (LNT)
Double swirl port

Noise and Vibration Reduction Measures

Piezo injector
Balancer shaft
Highly Rigid Chassis
Highly Rigid Engine Mount Brackets
Sound insulation glass

Distinctive Styling and Comfortable Interior
The X-TRAIL 20GT offers versatility, convenience and high levels of dynamic driving pleasure. The front grille was redesigned to the same design found on the popular European version of the X-TRAIL. The new X-TRAIL 20GT also adds Nissan’s advanced Scratch Guard paint (offered as standard equipment in six colors), which self-repairs minor scratches in the paint’s clearcoat surface.

Inside, the comfortable, high utility X-TRAIL interior adds a number of new features for the 20GT model, including new sporty seat fabric, step lamps, Intelligent Key and additional audio speakers (6 speakers total).

The new clean diesel X-TRAIL 20GT is offered with ALL MODE 4×4i and 5-speed manual transmission. It is priced at 2,999,850 yen (including consumption tax).

*1: In Post New Long-Term Regulation, regulation values of NOx is reduced by 47% and the values of PM (particulate matter) by 64% from those of “New long-term regulation” which has been in effect since 2005 (applicable to vehicles weighing more than 1,265kg). Post New Long-Term Regulation is effective for new model vehicles beginning Oct. 2009, and for existing models and imported vehicles, starting Sept. 2010.

This rugged, go-anywhere, do-anything SUV has the angular, bare bones look of the original H1, but on a much smaller scale. The face of the vehicle has round headlamps in square housing, the seven-slot grille opening and an upright front windshield, all classic Hummer cues. In addition, the slant-back design of the HX and the matte olive paint scheme are intended to echo the military origins of the Hummer brand.

The top can be reconfigured from a closed cabin for all four passengers, an open rear cargo area like an SUT, or a completely open roadster. The exposed hinges allow the two doors to be removed, and the composite fender flares can also be detached for additional clearance on tight off-road trails.

The verdict was an overwhelming landslide endorsement of Flex’s blocky styling. One mom said it looked too much like a hearse, while 12-year-old Matt, a seventh grader, called it a “loser minivan.” But those were the only negative remarks I encountered.

The most flattering evaluations thought the Flex recalled vintage surf wagons, suggesting it would look natural with a couple boards on the roof. This suburban survey was critical to guessing the Flex’s future, because with this car Ford is treading into unknown territory.

That’s because the Flex is impossible to pigeonhole. It isn’t a Jeep-wannabe SUV, it isn’t a minivan, and it isn’t one of the cuddly, soft-edged new generation of crossover SUVs. It has a bold, almost haughty, visage that defies classification. And this can cause shoppers to overlook a product when they draw up their shopping list.

One cookout companion had actually tested a Flex at the dealer the day before, and I asked her what kind of vehicle she thought it was.

“The dealer said it is a crossover,” she replied, “but I don’t even know what that means.”

This would be worrisome if the styling verdict wasn’t so overwhelmingly favorable. Ford has taken this chance before. When the company introduced the 1986 Taurus, the car brought avant-garde styling to the masses and established Ford as Detroit’s style leader for a decade, until Chrysler snatched that title away.

Like the Flex, the Taurus sought to introduce mainstream family car buyers — usually the most conservative of customers — to a new design aesthetic. Groundbreaking design is the purview of urban fashionistas, not suburban moms and dads. Attempting to sell high style in high volume is a risky business.

But Target has shown that middle-of-the-road suburbanites can embrace fashion when it’s matched with solid quality and affordable prices. The same consumers who snap up Target’s Michael Graves-signature products for their homes seem ready to consider the Flex, just as their parents embraced the Taurus a generation ago. But times — and people — change, so it’s impossible to be sure. After all, in 1986 Sarah Palin and Keith Olbermann were both sportscasters.

The complication in this calculation is the price of gas. If it had remained under $3, as was expected when the Flex was in gestation a few years ago, the vehicle would probably now rank alongside the iPhone as one of the most sought-after consumer goods of the year. It may yet achieve that status. Yahoo reported that Flex was among its top ten searches by consumers in July, and heads turned everywhere I went with my test vehicle.

But pricey gas has consumers reconsidering plans to buy three-row, seven-seat vehicles, and it’s making them think about downsizing to something smaller and less thirsty. This reluctance on the part of consumers to commit to vehicle of the Flex’s size and fuel economy is the only obstacle to it becoming a success along the lines of the original Taurus and Chrysler minivan.

The EPA says the front-drive version of the Flex will get 17 MPG around town and 24 MPG on the highway, while the tested all-wheel-drive version is rated 16/22 MPG. In a week of driving around suburbia, I got 17.5 MPG, suggesting the front-drive version would match the 18-19 MPG I normally see in minivans and front-drive crossover SUVs.

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“This was always bad policy and the Senate was right to reject it,” FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar said.

“This is a vital reprieve for the Australian car industry and it’s hoped that this will provide a confidence boost to the industry at a time when there are clear signs of a market slowdown,” he said.

Figures released yesterday showed a 19.3 per cent fall in sales of vehicles above the tax threshold.

“It is a sensible outcome for small businesses, particularly tourism operators, farmers and those living in rural and regional areas who would have been slugged with this unnecessary and unfair tax hike,” Mr McKellar said.

“The Senate acknowledged that many people in these circumstances rely on vehicles affected by the tax for their livelihood and safety,” he said.

The car industry says the debate surrounding this tax must not end here.

“It is essential that the luxury car tax itself now be re-examined in full as part of the review of the tax system being conducted by Treasury Secretary, Ken Henry,” Mr McKellar said.

“It remains a punitive and damaging tax and should be abolished in its entirety,” he said

AP - The 31st annual season-opening event at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 7 will have a field of 24 cars representing the top six teams from Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford and Toyota. It will be based on the final 2008 car owner points.

“This could not be better timing,” Hunter said. “It’s no secret that the manufacturers need all the exposure they can get right now. This is a good strategic move in that direction.”

But two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart and reigning Daytona 500 champion Ryan Newman won’t be in the Shootout lineup in February because of a change of teams.

Stewart is switching from Toyota to Chevrolet, while Newman is moving from Dodge to Chevrolet. That means neither will be there since their cars will not be among the top six in car owner points.

The Shootout, a non-points event, was originally known as the Busch Clash and first held in 1979. Over the years, it has been a showcase for the previous year’s pole winners and previous winners.

Under the new format announced Tuesday, the race distance will be increased from 70 laps to 75 (187 miles) on the 2.5-mile Daytona trioval. The race will consist of segments of 25 and 50 laps, with both green- and yellow-flag laps counting toward the total.

There will be a 10-minute intermission between segments. Teams can pit or go to the garage and may elect to change tires, add fuel and make normal chassis adjustments. Changing of springs, shock absorbers or rear-ends will not be permitted.

Starting positions will be determined by a blind draw, held Feb. 5 at the speedway.