2009

Following a trend started by a number of European carmakers, GM has revealed a new ‘XFE’ (E)Xtra Fuel Economy labeling system which has debuted on the 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt. Cars badged with the new XFE logo feature a number of fuel economy improvements and on the Cobalt ensures the car...

Improving on the sharp lines of the all-new Cadillac CTS is no easy task but American tuner D3 has managed to design a new performance exterior package for the car that doesn’t mess up the edgy styling of the original. The parts have been designed to be functional as well, increasing...

Nissan, together with Capital City Highway Corp., has developed a new safety campaign in Japan dubbed the ‘Tokyo Smart Driver’ project, which aims to not only reduce the death toll, but also cut carbon emissions. Organizers hope to achieve these goals by getting drivers to be more...

The Dodge Challenger in SRT8 trim has been a runaway success for Chrysler with most of the car’s first year production run already accounted for despite its relatively high $37,320 starting price. But it’s the bread and butter SE and R/T models that will ensure the overall success of...

Porsche has updated its Cayenne range with the addition of the most powerful model yet, the 2009 model Turbo S powered by a 550hp (404kW) forced induction 4.8L V8 engine. The Turbo S’s enhanced performance relative to that of the regular Turbo model is due to its modified exhaust system and...

The redesigned 2009 Subaru Forester has earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Top Safety Pick award, earning the highest rating of ‘good’ in the Institute's front, side, and rear tests. The tough criteria of the tests of the IIHS safety rating has been designed with the...

The race cars of the GT500 class in the Japanese touring car series (JGTC) have some of the most extreme aerodynamic and powertrain packages in the business so it’s always interesting to see one of the cars lose control and crash. This latest video, taken at last weekend’s Okayama round...

We were treated to a preview of the next-generation Honda Pilot at this year's Detroit auto show, and now that the official production variant has been released, we see how accurate a preview it was. Honda's newest mid-size crossover SUV focuses on building its already strong reputation for...

Acura today announced pricing for the all-new 2009 TSX sports sedan that will officially go on sale in the U.S. on April 24th. The completely redesigned TSX will be available in two versions, the standard TSX and the fully-featured TSX with Technology Package. Pricing for the entry-level model is...

No bolt is being left untouched as carmakers in both the U.S. and Europe strive to develop cleaner and more fuel-efficient vehicles. Everything from weight-saving measures to aerodynamic tweaks and even downsized engines are being investigated in the hope that engineers can come up with fuel...

Perhaps most famous - or infamous - for its even more over-the-top take on the already outrageous Dodge Viper, Hennessey Performance is considering expanding its collection of custom cars to include more foreign makes and top of its list at the moment is the new Lexus IS-F saloon and the Nissan...

Ford’s European Focus family was recently given a midlife facelift and to spruce things up further the top-end cabrio model is also now available in a limited ‘Black Magic’ trim. Like the previous Fiesta edition, the new model will be limited to just 1,500 examples and is...

Previously we reported on the Nissan GT-R's 'uncrackable' speed limiter, which could only be delimited when entering circuits via a GPS link. While Nissan assured customers the encryption on the ECU was very sophisticated and difficult to crack, U.S.-based COBB tuning has indeed cracked the speed...

Offering supercar performance for high-end sports car prices is a winning formula for obvious reasons. The GT-R's recipe for success has been so well-received around the world that the car's limited supply is being snatched up almost as soon as it's available. UK buyers placed orders for nearly 700...

Volkswagen’s premium four door pseudo-coupe model will simply be called CC when it goes on sale next quarter, and not the full Passat CC as previously thought. The original name came about because the CC rides on the same platform as the regular Passat sedan, although it sits some 5cm lower...

This weekend’s Barrett-Jackson Auction in Palm Beach, Florida, saw a pair of Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR muscle cars from the new Knight Rider series go under the hammer for $300,000. The cars were sold together as a pair and the buyer was also offered the chance to snap up a brand new 2009...

With Audi’s Q7 proving to be too expensive for the North American market officials are keen to release the mid-level Q5 to help spur sales in the world’s biggest car market. According to a leaked product schedule the new Q5 won’t officially go on sale until July but the car is...

Despite fears Nissan’s new GT-R wouldn’t tolerate anyone tinkering around with its innards, Japan’s industrious tuning firms have managed to develop a number of aftermarket parts claimed to boost performance of the supercar. Initial testing showed that even simple mods such as...

Just a few days after Bob Lutz told the press in New York that the Camaro could be getting a turbocharged four-cylinder powerplant, Chrysler has announced that it estimates 40% of Challenger sales will be V6-powered base models, like its competitor, the Ford Mustang. Although the company has been...

We saw the new FX50 hit the web just a short while ago, but news of the FX50's smaller-motored sibling was suspiciously absent - leading many to speculate an all-new 3.7L FX37 was coming. Unfortunately for displacement-heads, that's not the case. Still, the motor shared with the G35 sedan provides...