VW Bugs Green Machines By Volkswagen

2009 Car and Driver Blog

• Automotive Accessories: Affordable Navigation Units Compared - Gear Box

  We examine four portable entry-level GPS units, all priced under $250, to see which one is best. Why spend big money on a factory navigation system when you can get a portable device for hundreds less? The question is becoming rhetorical. Portable navs may have smaller screens than the built-in competition, but just try moving that built-in from one car to another. The four nav systems below retail for less than $230 and have text-to-speech features that will read street names aloud. They all work just dandy to get you from point A to point B; the biggest differences lie in features, menus, and user-friendliness.Keep Reading: Automotive Accessories: Affordable Navigation Units Compared - Gear Box

• Car-Buying Negotiating Guide - Buyers Info

  Your best chance at getting a fair deal on a new car starts with these tips. If you walked up to the cashier at your local grocery store with a gallon of milk in hand and said, “It says $2.49 on this sticker, but I’ll give you a buck-fifty,” you’d be going home thirsty. If you walked into McDonald’s and said, “I don’t see a lot of people eating Big Macs today; I’ll take that value meal off your hands for just three bucks!” you’d leave hungry. But walk into a car dealership, and you areexpected to bargain with the salesman. Pay sticker, and you’re giving the dealer hundreds or—in most cases—thousands of dollars in additional profit.Considering that the car dealership is a business and performing a necessary service—getting the car from the factory to you—some profit is definitely deserved. How much is fair profit depends on a number of factors, including the specific car and demand for it, the options, your location, and how long the car has been on the lot. So we can’t tell you exactly what to pay. But we can tell you what to do to optimize your chances of paying what you want.Shop for Your Own FinancingFor most of us, financing is the only way we can afford a new car. Most dealerships can provide you financing, but be sure to check at your bank or credit union before you go, as they will often offer you a better interest rate. At the very least, shopping around will give you an idea of what rates you qualify for, so you can police the dealership’s offer later. For more on what to do prior to visiting the dealership, read “What to Know Before You Go.” Keep Reading: Car-Buying Negotiating Guide - Buyers Info

• Hyundai Dealers First to Participate in "Cash for Clunkers" Program

  Hyundai is the first automaker in the U.S. to allow consumers to take advantage of the government's Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), formerly known as "Cash for Clunkers." The company is backing dealerships with short-term cash advances weeks before the government has the program fully online, industry-wide. While we remain skeptical of the program's long-term benefits for the industry and the environment, we can understand why Hyundai—with thirteen models that achieve the required fuel economy—wants to offer buyers the option as soon as possible, since there are likely car shoppers who are on the fence about purchasing that are awaiting the legislation's full enactment. This in combination with Hyundai Assurance Plus and Hyundai Assurance Gas Lock might potentially lure many consumers into Hyundai showrooms.

• Hurst Announces Special-Edition Pontiac G8 and G6 Convertible

  How’s this for unfortunate timing? Just two months after GM axed the Pontiac brand, Hurst Performance Vehicles announces modified versions of two Pontiac models. The tuning company will hand-build 52 “H.O.” copies of the 2010 G8. Details are sketchy, but the cars will be supercharged and ride on stiffened suspension. Like past Hurst special editions, white-on-gold and black-on-gold paint schemes, as well as forged wheels and a Hurst shifter, will be obligatory. Hurst also plans to offer ten modified G6 convertibles to serve as “parade and special event cars.” Whatever that means. Check back August 1, when we should have full details and pricing on the Hurst cars. Read about Pontiac’s demise: Pontiac Killed by GM - Feature Read about another Hurst special: Hurst Dodge Viper – Car News

• 2010 Lotus Evora - Second Drive

  Expanding the Lotus lore. BY DAVE VANDERWERP The inquisitive owner of a first-generation Elise we met near Inveraray, Scotland, calls it cheating. He’s referring to the fact that this all-new Lotus—the first in 14 years—comes with a stereo, anti-lock brakes, cruise control, and a stitched-leather interior, not to mention available navigation and a backup camera. Had we wished to really upset him, we could have brought up the stability control and automatic transmission that will soon be offered.Indeed, this is a very different car than the company’s intense, ultralight Elise and Exige models that we admire greatly for their delightful responses but whose limited appeal we fully understand. After all, there are dog carriers that may be easier to crawl into.That’s why the Evora is so much larger—21.9 inches longer, with a 10.9-inch stretch in the wheelbase—putting it on par with more mainstream sports cars such as Porsche’s 911 and Cayman. Roughly five inches shorter than a 911, the Evora still houses a similarly sized (i.e., tiny) back seat, which is optional and seems adequate for little people and children up to 10 years old.Keep Reading: 2010 Lotus Evora - Second Drive

• 2010 Lexus IS Convertible / IS250C / IS350C - Second Drive

  The littlest Lexus turns on the ultraviolet.BY AARON ROBINSON Sales charts spawned this baby. About a third of BMW 3-series sales are coupes and convertibles, and Lexus wants a seat at that buffet. Impulsive? Hardly. Introduced nine years ago and well into its second generation, the entry-level IS sedan finally gives birth to a convertible two-door kitten.In dealerships now, the IS250C and IS350C feature an aluminum hardtop roof that, in 20 seconds, marshals 15 electric motors and 37 sensors to split it into two panels, which seamlessly belly-flop into the waiting trunk. Ultraviolet bliss ensues.Weary eyes could reasonably mistake the IS C for a sedan that lost a debate with a hacksaw, yet every exterior panel and molding except the hood is unique to the convertible. The IS C is 2.2 inches longer than the four-door, and the rear decklid hunchbacks upward, so there’s room for four adults, plus space for flat luggage under the pancaked roof.Keep Reading: 2010 Lexus IS Convertible / IS250C / IS350C - Second Drive

• 2009 BMW X6 xDrive50i - Short Take Road Test

  You’ll pardon the styling.BY TONY QUIROGA Maybe it was an Oktoberfest-fueled decision, or maybe it came after a particularly trying meeting, but the volks at BMW seem to have said to themselves, “The gents at AMC really got it right in the early ’80s. Herr Bangle, make the X5 look more like a 1983 AMC Spirit, bitte, and we’ll call it the X6.”At least when you’re driving the X6, you don’t have to look at it. And after driving the X6, it’s likely that the styling will be forgotten or, at the very least, forgiven.It’s a prettier picture, mechanically. Despite its rhino-like 5241-pound weight, the X6 drives like a much smaller sports sedan. Steering effort is heavy and requires a deliberate hand, but the X6 responds quickly and without drama. Part of the credit goes to the xDrive all-wheel drive and a torque-vectoring system that can vary the power between each of the rear wheels to stabilize the X6—or engage in lurid power slides if you turn off the stability control. Grip from the wide Dunlop SP Sport Maxx tires registers 0.89 g on the skidpad, which will send passengers reaching for overhead grab handles that aren’t there. That the X6 achieves these numbers with a supple ride is even more remarkable considering the stiff and heavy run-flat tires on 20-inch wheels.Keep Reading: 2009 BMW X6 xDrive50i - Short Take Road Test

• Jaguar to Show Hopped-up XKR, 225-mph XFR at Goodwood

  At this week’s Goodwood Festival of Speed in the U.K., Jaguar will show off two modified versions of new cars. The Bonneville XFR Prototype is the fastest Jaguar ever. A regular XFR is electronically limited to just 162 mph, but the prototype hit 225 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. To make the power needed for the high-speed run, the XFR scored a new intake and exhaust, modified supercharger, and remapped ECU, although the six-speed automatic transmission was untouched. The body received “minor aerodynamic and safety modifications.” Also present will be the Goodwood Special XKR. Based on a 2010 XKR, the Goodwood Special gets lime green paint with funky "XKR" graphics, 21-inch wheels, lowered suspension, and a “louder” exhaust. There are also graphite accents on the headlights, mirrors, and front grille inserts. Somehow we doubt we’ll see these options in a Jaguar dealership. Jaguar will also bring three historical race cars: the XJ13, the 1957 Long Nose D-type, and the C-type. Read our road test of the XFR: 2010 Jaguar XFR - Road Test Read about another go-fast Jaguar: 2009 Jaguar XKR-S - Auto Shows