We knew Acura has been working on a vehicle to compete with the BMW X6 and and Infinity FX, for some time now. But in the automotive melee that has resulted in the death of many good cars, we’ve forgotten about this sedan/coupe/SUV.
Acura, on the other hand, seems to have been running full steam ahead with the CUV project. This should not be too hard of a car to assemble for Acura. It just needs to rummage through the Honda spare parts bin, and it should find everything but the bodywork. By the time the production car hits the streets in 2010 we would guess that it would be using the 300 hp 3.6-liter V6 from the TL/MDX, or the 200 hp 3.5-liter V6 unit from the TSX V6/Accord V6. The suspension may not even be changed much from the MDX, considering it is one of the most car-like SUVs on the market.
While a vehicle that doesn’t fully excel at being a sedan, coupe or SUV doesn’t have huge appeal to us, Acura knows its customers. This will be the company’s big new thing to show off, and may even have a concept version ready for the New York Auto Show next month.
Ever since the Detroit Auto Show, Subaru has been showing off the Legacy Concept wherever it can. It could be that Subaru is proud of the distinctive sedan, or that it’s still waiting to partner with Toyota for a coupe. Either way the production car should be finally revealed soon.
It’s likely we’ll see the new sedan at the New York Auto Show in April. It should carry much of the concept’s styling, just with some production-ready features, like proper side mirrors. It may even keep the 3.6-liter boxer engine borrowed from the Tribeca. Subaru’s bread-n-butter sedan should be on the roads by this summer, with a wagon version to follow shortly.
A jury of fifty-nine international automotive journalists representing Asia, Europe, North America, South America, as well as other parts of the world, selected the finalists by secret ballot. Usually ten are chosen, but a tie has widened the field to eleven.
Just because this was represented by international journalists, doesn’t mean the field is complete. They may have left a few cars out, so go ahead and write in your WCOTY vote here. It won’t effect the judging, but that hasn’t stopped anyone from arguing on the internet before.
We recently confirmed the Nissan 370Z roadster will make its world debut at the New York Auto Show and also saw the patent sketches of the car. It’s not too hard to imagine what drop top car will look like. The exterior of the 350Z and the 370Z coupes don’t appear that different, so squinting at a 350z roadster will give you a pretty good idea about what will be in New York.
But before you go straining your eyes, GlobalMotors went ahead and did the work for you. It may not look like a lot of new bits, but we’re suckers for an excuse to bring up the 370Z’s great 332 hp 3.7-liter V6 engine.
Now that we’re acquainted with the Nissan’s new 370Z, its time to take its top off. Nissan knows this, so its preparing the groundwork, including these sketches it submitted to the European Trademark Office. We expect the real first glimpse of the latest drop-top Z car at the New York Auto Show in April.
Like the Coupe version, the roadster will get a 3.7-liter VQ37VHR six-cylinder engine with VVEL (Variable Valve Event and Lift) rated at 332 hp at 7,000 rpm and 270 lb-ft of torque at 5,200 rpm.
Turns out Suzuki was just doing a Monty Python impression with the Kizashi sedan. Yesterday we reported that the car had been killed off, but instead the Kizashi is saying, “See you in New York, suckers!”
In an interview today with the Automotive News, Jeff Holland, spokesman for American Suzuki Motor Corp., confirmed the Kizashi. "The production version will debut at this year’s New York auto show in April."
While everyday sedans are usually not TopSpeed material, the Kizashi just has a cool and aggressive look that is refreshingly sporty for a segment that sometimes does duty as company cars. A 3.5-liter V6 engine wouldn’t hurt either.
In more good news it seems the Kizashi isn’t the only new Suzuki scheduled for the 2010 model year. The company may be poised for a good comeback in the U.S. as the Swift hatchback will also be arriving on these shores. While the small Swift may not seem like an exciting car at first glance, it provides a lot of cheap fun.
The 2009 Nissan 370Z hasn’t had its official debut, so how can we be looking at pics of the convertible? Simple, Inside Line was able to get some information on the new droptop Z and have assemble a pretty convincing picture.
Unlike the G37 Convertible that features a retractable hardtop, the future 370Z Roadster will come with a power-operated soft top. Nissan wants to keep the 370Z as reasonable as possible, and a lower cost, lighter weight fabric roof makes the most sense. Like the coupe version, the future 370Z Roadster will come with a 3.7-liter Nissan VQ engine currently used in the G37 Coupe. The engine will be offered with a choice of seven-speed automatic and a six-speed manual transmission.
Expect to see the the real convertible in April at the New York Auto Show.
Amid the hoopla of the New York Auto Show and GM’s preview of the upcoming Pontiac version of the Holden ute produced in Australia – what we’d call the El Camino of today – comes a dissenting opinion, presented by one Peter M. DeLorenzo, the voice of AutoExtremist.com.
DeLorenzo thinks the things going to bomb.
DeLorenzo’s opinions are never equivocal, though his crystal ball sometimes needs Windex. After all, it was Lorenzo who said that the next Corvette was a sure thing for 2012 and would be mid-engine.
On the ute, his point is that the sport truck doesn’t fit into either the Pontiac line-up or the professed image of Pontiac for, as Bob Lutz put it in New York, “seductive performance.”
In fact, DeLorenzo doesn’t believe there’s any market for such a truck, under any nameplate. And then he asks why Pontiac doesn’t, instead, seek to exploit those of its model names that still have meaning, such as GTO and Trans-Am.
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