2011 Chevy Cruze vs. 2012 Ford Focus and Three More Compacts - Comparison Tests

Even if two weeks’ worth of Maruchan ramen drains your savings account, there’s something about a rusting mid-’90s Accord on sagging springs that fails to inspire confidence among financial backers or real-estate agents. And when you and the missus are just starting out, you feel that need to be taken seriously more acutely than most. There are certainly cheaper new cars than the group gathered here, but—wrong as it may be—“cheap” is the only reputation many B-segment cars have.

Fortunately, respectability is booming among compact sedans as the class itself matures alongside its target customers. All five of the cars gathered here are new within the last two years, with the Hyundai Elantra, the Ford Focus, and the Volkswagen Jetta fresh off their debuts. And, while all five have entry prices of less than $17,000, an essential part of the startup mind-set is pretending you’ve already made it. We therefore checked out an example of each car possessing a sticker fiddled appropriately upmarket, with optional engines, automatic transmissions, and uplevel trims, landing them in the $23,000-to-$26,000 range. (Regrettably, there was no way to achieve stick-shift parity in this group.)

The elephant not in this room is the Honda Civic, a bestseller and all-around nice guy. Generation nine of Honda’s compact wonder was on the verge of introduction as this was written and thus unavailable for our testing, but watch for a mano a mano between the Honda and the winner of this comparo in an upcoming issue.

For now, our reigning segment champion is the Mazda 3, which prevailed over a Kia Forte and a Volkswagen Golf in a previous
comparo [“Three Ducks Not in a Row,” April 2010]. Newish last year, the 3 rides on a platform largely unchanged from the car that was introduced in 2004. Not a problem, we said, naming it to our 10Best list for 2010.

On sale in Europe for two years already, the Chevrolet Cruzeis actually older than the 3, but it is newer to the U.S. market. It rides on a platform that shares virtually nothing with its predecessor—a good start. In replacing the Cobalt, the Cruze had small shoes to fill, and it has positively exploded their seams. In our first test [January 2011], we said, “a Cruze, in a comparison test right now, might very well win.”

Ford’s 2012 Focus, like the Cruze, is the result of a domestic automaker exploiting a global platform. In this case, “global” means the Focus was developed by a crew in Germany and will be sold, with only minor variations, just about everywhere but the International Space Station (the destination and delivery charge would be prohibitively steep). The car’s underpinnings are similar to those of the European Focus for which we’ve pined ever since our last-gen Focus was haphazardly warmed over in 2005 (and again in 2008). A hatchback is available, but we tapped a sedan for this test.

Hyundai’s Elantra is also brand-new. Once a tinny, cheap emblem of automotive desperation, the 2011 Elantra arrives on the scene with a glut of features and a sense of style that hardly existed anywhere in the sedan market 10 years ago, let alone in such an affordable class. Whether or not we like the look (most of us do), we respect that Hyundai dove into the deep end; with the exception of the Focus, nothing else here comes even close to having such a cohesive look

Rounding out the roster is the VW Jetta. Having failed to attract a suitable sales base as a semi-premium car—with pricing and content halfway between the compact and mid-size classes—the Jetta is now embracing the austerity it once tried to live above. Alongside a big bump in interior volume, the 2011 VW gets a substantial price cut, thanks to the addition of a don’t-go-anywhere-near-it base model with an overmatched 115-hp, 2.0-liter four-cylinder. But any Jetta equipped with the more desirable 2.5-liter inline-five still carries a premium of at least a thousand bucks more than the entry-level prices of the four other cars here. The enlarged Jetta now takes direct aim at the heart of the segment. But that heart is beating stronger than ever.



More....

2013 Ford Fusion Spy Photos - Future Cars

More than five years after its introduction, the Ford Fusion remains one of the Blue Oval’s most popular models, but the end is in sight for the current car. Ford is hard at work on the next generation of its mid-size sedan, which will finally ditch its antiquated Mazda-based platform and ride on bones shared with its European counterpart, the Mondeo.

Captured here as a development mule wearing much of a current Mondeo body, the second-generation Fusion will arrive next year as a 2013 model. Like the new 2012 Focus and next-gen Escape, the Fusion will adopt Ford’s Kinetic global design language, which the Mondeo has worn since 2007. Just how much the 2013 model will evolve from the current Mondeo’s appearance remains to be seen, however, as heavy camouflage on this mule covers everything that isn’t a current-gen part, and even much of what is under the wrap looks to be largely current-production.

We are more confident discussing what Ford didn’t have to disguise: powertrains. Ford will likely offer the 2013 Fusion with at least one naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine making around 170 or so hp. A powerful V-6 like the one available in the current car isn’t likely, as a turbocharged EcoBoost four-cylinder should take over as the top mill. The turbo 2.0-liter will make 247 hp in the upcoming Focus ST, and would do quite well as the uplevel engine in the Fusion. The hybrid will definitely return, and we expect to see its combined fuel-economy rating squeak past the 40-mpg mark. (The current hybrid’s combined figure is 39 mpg.)

Our hope is that at least one of these engines will come with a traditional manual transmission (the European Mondeo certainly will offer the option), but six-speed automatics and dual-clutch trannies will do the shifting for the majority of American Fusions. More significant, perhaps, the Fusion will receive a fair amount of Euro-flavored chassis tuning to match its European styling. That bodes well for the Fusion: The more European Ford’s U.S.-market products feel, the more warmly they tend to be received—we just crowned the Focus champion of a hard-fought five-car comparison test. If the next Fusion is anything like its little brother, Ford won’t have any trouble maintaining the car’s sales momentum.

2012 Audi TT RS vs. 2011 BMW 1-series M Coupe, 2011 Infiniti IPL G Coupe - Comparison Tests

We found a map of the Tail of the Dragon, a roadway at the extreme eastern edge of Tennessee, that included helpful arrows and notations for each of the poor saps who bought the farm on this famed little road. The notations read, “Single death, Harley-Davidson off road, hit tree,” and “Single death, sport bike low-sided into oncoming traffic.” And there are so many of these little death flags that there’s no room left on the map for any more.

We haven’t a clue whether the information on the map is accurate, but in the broad sense, it is undeniably true. This 11-mile, kabillion-turn stretch of  U.S. 129 is a juking, diving, hopping, rail-free roller-coaster track, where patches of sand mysteriously appear at the apexes of  blind corners, trees of considerable girth guard the land just feet from the roadway, and the unwary habitually overestimate their skill level. It’s dangerous. To the Dragon’s obstacle course, our off-season run added freezing rain, fog, and the occasional road-blocking downed tree.

But there are many  tight roads that are excellent for snapping your pelvis on some roadside wood. What the Tail of the Dragon has is a bitchin’ name. One can, for example, replace the “T” with a downward-pointing dagger, if one is so darkly inclined. And “dragon”? Well, as any basement-dwelling, teenage bong aficionado knows, dragons are sweet.

It is with this in mind we sadly report that none of the makers of the three new sports coupes we’ve brought to the Dragon has any understanding of the power of a well-chosen name. What the hell is a TT RS, but the result of Audi mistakenly leaving on the caps-lock button? And the Infiniti IPL G Coupe (as Infiniti insists the name should read)? We called it, simply, the “Ipple.” And don’t even get us started on the discombobulated nomenclature of the BMW 1-series M Coupe. Shouldn’t a top-line luxury sports coupe be called the Panther or the Jesus Lizard or . . . anything?

Missed naming opportunities aside, what we gathered here was nothing short of America’s most-anticipated sports coupes—fantasy performance cars for those with sensible fantasies. We say “anticipated” because two of these three cars, the Audi and the BMW, were not yet on sale at the time of the test. The Audi won’t go on sale in the U.S. until a few months after you read this. The BMW should be available in mid-May. When we called BMW for a tester, the only 1-series M in the country was the one that served as the pace car for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. We stripped off the light bar, peeled back the stickers, and were on our way. At $47,010, the base 1M is about $12,000 more than a standard 135i. Our Valencia Orange preproduction car came with a scant $3800 in options. That makes our 1M, a relative stripper at $50,810, about $12,000 less than the base price of the charmingly named Z4 sDrive35is retractable-hardtop roadster with which it shares its 335-hp, N54 twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six. That makes the 1M the first M car to crib its engine, without so much as a power bump, from a non-M car. The rest of the coupe’s upgrades—including its brakes, limited-slip differential, aluminum dampers, rear subframe and suspension components, and wheels and tires—come directly from the M3.

The 1M is only the second-most-expensive car in the test, though. Here, the priciest-sports-coupe honor goes to the aluminum-trimmed blue bombshell, the TT RS, which, at an estimated as-tested price of $66,000, is freakin’ pricey. And, even more than the BMW, this Audi isn’t yet fully baked. Our test unit was a Euro-market car that differed in one critical way and a couple of minor ones from what Americans will be able to buy early this fall. First, the U.S. TT RS (oh, the uppercase!) will be offered only  with a six-speed manual transmission and not the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic our test car had. Audi here in the U.S. says that since it will import fewer than 1000 examples over two years, the German bosses allowed the American arm to pick one transmission or the other, not both. “Save the Manuals!” right? Yep. Except that, as we’ll see, the DSG provides the TT RS with its most stunning trick. Audi North America is also lobbying to get a 25-hp bump, to 360, for turbo­charged 2.5-liter inline-fives of U.S.-bound RSs. Although, we never wanted for more power than was provided by the Euro-spec engine in this lovely little potato dumpling.

The IPL G37 is Infiniti’s first tentative dip into the performance sub-brand game. For IPL duty, Infiniti has dropped the 348-hp version of its familiar big-bruiser 3.7-liter V-6 into the engine bay. That’s basically the same engine that’s rated at 350 horsepower in the Nissan NISMO 370Z. The IPL buyer gets a body kit, a choice of two not especially happy exterior colors (graphite or black), handsome 19-inch wheels, and all the size, weight, and equipment that comes with being the descendent of a mid-size luxury sports sedan.

Countering our initial impression that the Ipple’s look was too similar to a standard G37S for anyone to notice was a flock of G37 and Nissan 350Z drivers who would race up on our Infiniti’s back ­bumper and hang around our flotilla as we headed first for the Tail of the Dragon to tempt fate, and later to Michelin’s bucolic test facility in Laurens, South Carolina, to record some lap times.


More...

caranddriver.com

2012 Chevrolet Corvette / Z06 / ZR1

Regular (and even irregular) readers already know this, so for those who are unfamiliar with this institution, an introduction: Hi, we’re Car and Driver, and we hate the seats in the Corvette. Today, Chevy’s plastic fantastic isn’t so much a sports car as it is a budget supercar. But, in our every encounter with it, we come away just as appalled at its seats as we are amazed at its capabilities.

More Grip Inside

Although the next-generation Vette is less than two years away, Chevrolet has nonetheless made some enhancements for 2012 models that include, at last, respectable thrones—specifically, the same ones found in the Centennial Edition Corvette. (But without the microfiber suede inserts, which will be optional.) With distinct lateral and shoulder bolsters, the seats should greatly help drivers and passengers enjoy the Corvette’s formidable performance without bouncing between armrest and center console.

Additional interior touch-ups include tweaks to the steering-wheel trim and additional padding on the center console and armrest areas. With two new tweeters on the dash, the optional Bose sound system ups its speaker count to nine, and for fancier tastes, the optional leather interior now offers contrasting stitching in red, blue, or yellow. Incidentally, the brake calipers can also be ordered in red, yellow, silver, or gray. How about one of each?

More Grip on the Road

The 2012 Corvette also gets some performance-oriented upgrades as well, though the lion’s share of them go to the hard-core Z06 model, which arguably doesn’t need anything more than more grip to handle the 505 hp and 470 lb-ft of torque from its 7.0-liter V-8. Fortunately, additional grip it will get, in the form of newly available Michelin Pilot Sport Cup Zero Pressure tires. They will be available as part of the Z07 handling package for the Z06, and also for the ZR1 as part of its new PDE performance package. Measuring 285/30-19 in front and 335/25-20 in back, the new tires will help the Vette corner at more than 1.1g, according to Chevy. (That claim is not as outrageous as it may seem. We’ve recorded 1.07 in both a Z06 and a ZR1.) Also helpful are the new lightweight aluminum wheels paired with the new tires, which will be offered in satin black or machined finishes. More important, each wheel weighs about five pounds less than its counterpart on the current car.

Also new to the Z06 is Performance Traction Management, which, in a nutshell, is multiple, driver-selectable stability control programs and launch control. While we love tire smoke and yaw as much as anybody, the prospect of a more-controllable Z06 sounds good to us. Rounding out the changes for the 2012 Corvette are a newly available racing-style full-width rear spoiler for the Z06 and ZR1 as part of the Z07 and PDE packages, respectively. The Z06 also is available with a new carbon-fiber hood.

If you want to see these changes up close, your first opportunity will be a special event at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where production of the 2012 model commences this July. And if you’re us, you’re excited for another opportunity to belt in the test gear and head to the test track—this time, with better seats.

TerraPass carbon calculator reveals indirect emissions from all-electric cars

TerraPass, a company that funds projects to reduce carbon emissions, unleashed an updated carbon-footprint calculator that includes all-electric vehicle data.

Though electric cars don't directly emit greenhouse gases, some emissions are generated from electricity required to charge the cars' batteries. The updated TerraPass calculator makes it possible to estimate these emissions from driving all-electric cars.

The calculator uses the same miles per gallon-equivalent as the EPA for an input figure in its calculations. Since electric cars don't use gasoline, the amount of energy equivalent to energy stored in one gallon of gasoline is pegged at 33.7 kilowatt-hours. For instance, the EPA rates the all-electric Nissan Leaf at 99 miles per gallon-equivalent.

All-electric vehicle calculations are available through the "alternative fuel" option on the main calculator page. The option also allows users to calculate the footprint of vehicles that use biodiesel, compressed natural gas and ethanol.

To calculate carbon footprints, the user enters miles per gallon, or the gallon-equivalent, from personal experience or from EPA numbers, along with the number of miles they drive each year.

The updated calculator also provides emissions estimates for all 2011-model cars on sale nationwide.

A few of the most fuel-efficient cars produced the following figures, in pounds of C02 per year with 12,000 miles driven:

-- Toyota Prius: 4,661 lbs CO2

-- Lexus CT 200h: 5,549 lb

-- Nissan Leaf: 5,588 lb

-- Honda Civic hybrid: 5,684 lb

-- Honda CR-Z: 6,298 lb

2012 Lamborghini Aventador: AW Flash Drive Car Review

What is it?

As the replacement for the Murciélago supercar, the Lamborghini Aventador carries a lot of weight on its chiseled shoulders. To excel at this extreme level, the Aventador piles on an extra 49 hp from an all-new 6.5-liter V12 engine while reducing weight by 166 pounds. The net effect is a jet aircraft for the earthbound, running from 0 to 60 mph in less than 2.9 seconds. The price of entry is $387,000, but the car is already sold out for 18 months (1,100 cars) from when deliveries start late this summer. Get in line quick if you want one--Lamborghini hasn't officially set a limit, but media reports say only 4,000 cars will be built (99 fewer than the predecessor Murciélago).

What is it like to drive?

From the instant you flip up the red ignition-button cover and punch the Aventador's 12 raucous cylinders to life, you know you're in the cockpit of a special machine The car's performance is stunning yet surprisingly sane--even at warp speed on a track. On laps around the 2.8-mile, 12-turn Vallelunga track near Rome, we ran the car through each operating mode: strada, sport and corsa, with the middling sport mode providing the best mix of handling and driveability. Corsa cranks up shift actuation to a severe slam, which can seem unsettling compared with the more refined action in sport mode.

It takes just a few turns in the Aventador to quickly become comfortable with the power and control available at your fingertips. Pushing hard into corners can induce initial understeer, but the all-wheel-drive differential reacts quickly to shift power away from the front and allows the back wheels to break their grip long enough to straighten the line. The net effect is a driveability that seems natural and competent, despite having 690 hp on tap.

Do I want it?

If your bank account is up to it, this is the new state of the art in supercars, at least until Ferrari raises the stakes. Of course you want it.

autoweek

REVIEWS: 2011 BMW Alpina B7 xDrive

 The BMW 7-series is a fine automobile. So good, in fact, that the Alpina modifications seem to subtract more than they add. The Alpina B7 is identifiable by its soft and grippy leather steering wheel, the signature twenty-one-spoke Alpina wheels, exterior cosmetic enhancements, and a smattering of interior trim bits. But the B7 goes far beyond aesthetics. The chassis benefits from shorter and stiffer springs, larger brakes, wider rear tires, and revised tuning of the active dampers. Under the hood, BMW's 4.4-liter, twin-turbo V-8 is built with a new block, heads, turbochargers, and intercoolers, bumping output from 400 hp and 450 lb-ft to 500 hp and 516 lb-ft.

With the active dampers set to the comfort or normal mode, the B7 wafts along in pristine isolation, muting road imperfections and blocking out undesirable noise just as competently as the standard 7-series. Tap the rocker switch for sport or sport-plus mode, and the B7 takes on an edgier direct character. When you expect performance, though, the Alpina's addition of 100 hp seems like a dubious improvement. The new turbochargers, with larger compressor wheels, have noticeably more lag than the standard BMW units. And since the standard 400 hp is hardly slow, the trade-off between power and responsiveness moves in the wrong direction here, in my opinion.

Eric Tingwall, Associate Editor

I'll confess my first impression of the Alpina was somewhat negative: the trademark Alpina blueish-periwinkle paint job and the (incorrect) aftermarket wheels turned me off slightly. It looked a little too cheesily aftermarket-tuned.

I had the Alpina over the weekend, and after a while I got over the paint color, but never stopped wishing this car was flashing the 21-spoke custom wheels its supposed to have instead of these cheaper-looking five-spoke wheels. However, time spent in the tastefully improved cabin certainly helped win me over, and punching the accelerator coming out of an entrance ramp and onto the highway finished the job.

But it wasn't until I read up on this car after I drove it that I fully appreciated it. It was arguably one of the fastest, most powerful cars I've driven, yet was so totally composed and suitable for everyday life on non-Autobahn roads. All of the improvements and upgrades by Alpina -- and there are far more than meet the eye -- are so perfectly integrated into the 7-series they feel like they've been there from the drawing board.

As Phil mentions, this car is aimed at a specific class of driver for whom an AMG is too common. On top of that, they might even be the types who would throw their car around on a track once or twice. And knowing that they're unlikely to ever cross paths with another B7 only adds to the appeal.

The B7 Alpina is clearly for a tiny slice of the executive-sedan market that wants exclusivity and an extra measure of performance. The price is largely immaterial, I suspect, for this audience, who just don't want to drive the same 7-series as their neighbor on the other side of the cul-de-sac. It's a beautifully engineered car that oozes Germanic authority; the entire time I was driving it, I was fantasizing about how fabulous it would be to have one for the run from, say, Berlin to Frankfurt on the autobahn. I imagine myself barreling along in the left lane, three passengers luxuriating in the huge, comfortable cabin, barely cognizant that I'm running at 150+ mph. Lesser cars quickly scoot out of my way as that broad BMW snout and modified lower front apron loom in their rearview mirrors. If they dare to dawdle, the Alpina's beefy brakes authoritatively scrub off speed, and once the lane opens up again, a simple press of my right foot brings the full force of the 500-hp, twin-turbo V-8 into play. Ah, Germany!

The truth is, I drove the B7 Alpina to a wedding in the woods, to a dinner party, and to the grocery store; I hardly hit an American interstate, let alone the autobahn. Yet when I took it out onto my favorite stretch of twisty road and pushed it toward triple digits, I was astounded by its ride comfort and composure but disappointed by its steering, which seemed slow to react to quick changes of direction. I suspect, though, that it's tuned perfectly for that Berlin-to-Frankfurt run that figures so largely in my fantasies.

We happened to have the B7 in the office at the same time as a Jaguar XJL. Though the cars are not direct competitors, the differences between them are enlightening. The Jag costs some $50,000 less and puts out 115 fewer horsepower, and yet feels much more responsive, especially at low speeds. That tells me weight matters--the BMW carries about 500 extra pounds. Power delivery matters, too. As Eric notes, the B7 suffers considerable turbo lag, which is further exacerbated by the fact that the Bimmer launches in second gear unless you leave the shifter in sport mode. I have to wonder how many buyers of a six-figure, hot-rodded BMW sedan are really interested in trading drivability to save a few drops of fuel with a second-gear start. In any event, many of the 4.4-liter V-8's 500 horses don't leave the stable during urban driving. I wouldn't blame this entirely on the Alpina folks, either, as nonlinear throttle response was one of our few complaints about our Four Seasons 750Li.

Those issues aside, the 7-series remains a great car, and Alpina applied its changes with a careful -- almost too careful -- touch. Dressed in a deep metallic blue paint, with multi-spoke nineteen-inch wheels and a large lip spoiler, the B7 definitely looks more aggressive than your average 7-series but still projects a sort of understated elegance. Same goes for the interior, where a small certificate sewn into the suede headliner, a badge on the steering wheel, and other small touches let you know you're in a special-edition vehicle. The best element of the upgrade is the responsiveness of the suspension. The steering, already lively in the regular 7-series, is extremely direct and accurate here, especially at higher speeds. I left the suspension in Sport+ mode for most of my drive, and wasn't ever disturbed by the ride. It's firm, sure, but still doesn't rattle your teeth.

Are all these subtle improvements worth the six-figure window sticker? With the disclaimer that value is rather subjective at these prices, I'd argue no. Even forgetting for a moment that I had more fun in that $85,000 Jaguar, a brief glance at the 7-series range reveals that the $137,725 as tested price for our B7 trips over the 12-cylinder 760Li. That said, its unique styling and beefy suspension tuning do offer a nice variation on the usual BMW experience.

Americans aren't used to the Alpina brand because this is only the third Alpina that has been imported to the U.S. The first was based on BMW's Z8 Roadster and the second was based on the 2007-2008 BMW 7-series. Neither of these cars was cheap and I've never seen one that wasn't a press car. To BMW enthusiasts the Alpina brand will always be special and exotic.

Alpina is subdued as far as these second-stage manufacturers go. Tuning cars like the 7-series mandates a stealth approach because the majority of the people who consider purchasing a 7-series don't want a terribly flashy car and they certainly don't want to trade away luxury to get more performance. The most distinctive traits of an Alpina's exterior are the signature blue paint and 21-spoke wheels. Nobody outside of the BMW cognoscenti will notice the subtle changes from a regular 7-series, but that's how it's supposed to be.

Driving the B7 is different from driving an AMG Mercedes or an RS Audi model. The powertrain modifications are as distinct as the exterior changes, but, again, it takes a real BMW-phile to notice how power delivery and the car's other manners have changed slightly from the stock 750i. There is more power on tap from the reworked engine and the ride is a touch stiffer, but this car is just as adept in daily driving as a more plebian 7-series. The turbo lag and electronic throttle don't feel much worse in stop-and-go traffic than what I recall from our departed 2009 BMW 750Li.

Perhaps you're wondering why anyone looking for a faster 7-series would skip the 760Li and opt for an Alpina that doesn't come with the bragging rights associated with a V-12 engine under the hood. One reason is the B7's all-wheel-drive system, which isn't available on the 760Li. The B7 also costs a few thousand dollars less than a 760Li and will undoubtedly hold its value better than the other 7-series models since it is destined to be a rare commodity.

Even in Alpina trim, I can't warm up to this generation of 7-series. Subtle bespoke changes still don't give this vehicle the character I want from a BMW. I do understand why this car appeals to the executive set and I completely respect anyone who chooses to buy an Alpina. That's the great thing about these supersedans, there's one for everyone with the cash and not a bad choice in the segment.

If I didn't know that this wasn't a run-of-the-mill (if there is such a thing) BMW 7-series, I'd have realized it as soon as I opened the door of the Alpina B7 and saw the hard-to-miss back-lit blue Alpina B7 badging on the lower doorsill. Once inside, the cockpit of the Alpina looks much like other 7-series sedans, save for the steering wheel, which is adorned with a special badge in the center and is stitched with somewhat incongruous bright green thread.

Available in either long- or short-wheelbase forms and with rear- or all-wheel drive, the B7 is a car that, when performing normal, everyday driving tasks, behaves much like a regular 7-series. That's one of the things that makes it desirable. It's all the performance you could want with few if any sacrifices. The B7 is at its happiest when its being driven hard, but it'll never complain when all you want to do is fill up its trunk with groceries.

This is a very expensive car, and it's hard to believe that with a base price north of $125,000 you can still tack on more than $10,000 in extras. I mean, $150 for "smartphone integration"? Is it really too much to ask BMW to add some of those extras to the standard features list? Then again, I suppose that $150 is just chump change to the sorts of folks who will buy this car anyway. It may be out of reach for a vast portion of the world's population, but for the lucky few who can afford a B7, the exclusivity alone is probably worth it.

Many European tuners appear to think the secret to creating the perfect high-performance luxury sedan is to pack it full of power, wrap it in garish bodywork (bonus points for surfaces crafted with carbon fiber), and embellish it with an equally unattractive interior. Alpina's B7, thankfully, is a far different creature.

In typical Alpina fashion, the tweaks made to transform a 750Li into a B7 are subtle, to say the least. A new front air dam and side skirts give the large sedan a lower profile, and also reportedly help reduce lift at high speeds by 15-30 percent. 21-spoke wheels are also part of the visual package.

Overall, the B7's cabin doesn't look all that different from a standard 7-series, but you notice little touches like the illuminated door sills, the blue-tinted gauges, the nameplate on the headliner, accents on the front door panel trim, and the leather-wrapped steering wheel with blue and green accent stitching. All combine to convey the impression that this is something special.

That notion is confirmed behind the wheel. As my colleagues note, the B7 behaves like any other 750i model around town. Drop the hammer, however, and the beast comes alive. BMW suggests the B7 can sprint from 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds, meaning you can find yourself reaching illegal speeds in no time. The twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8 is tweaked to churn out a solid 500 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque, nearly 100 hp and 66 lb-ft more than the stock engine. That certainly sounds hot -- which is why B7 models receive a number of tricks (including an extra radiator, larger intercoolers, and an external transmission oil cooler) to help keep things cool.

Alpina says its spring rates are roughly 20 percent stiffer than the standard car's, but you'll be hard pressed to feel the difference unless you dial up sport mode. Here, the active dampers help the car dance through corners as if it were half its size.

The B7 already faces a lot of equally expensive and powerful competition, so why buy an Alpina in lieu of an AMG or a custom-built model? Exclusivity is certainly one factor (only 1000 B7s will be built, and half are destined for the U.S.), but flexibility may be another. Alpina will build off either a short- or long-wheelbase 750i, and in either rear- or all-wheel-drive forms. Good luck trying to order 4Matic on a Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG

2011 BMW Alpina B7 xDrive

Base price (with destination and guzzler tax): $127,175
Price as tested: $137,725

Standard Equipment:
4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 engine
6-speed automatic transmission
Dynamic stability control
Dynamic traction control
Alpina sport suspension with dynamic damping control
xDrive all-wheel drive system
Alpina aerodynamic body kit
Xenon adaptive headlights
Heated multi-function seats with ventilation
Power moonroof
Comfort access keyless entry
Navigation system with voice command
Head-up display
HD radio and Sirius satellite radio
Bluetooth connectivity

Options on this vehicle:
Night vision with pedestrian detection -- $2600

Active cruise control -- $2400

Rear entertainment package -- $2200

Driver assistance package -- $1350
Automatic high beams
Lane departure warning
Active blind spot detection

Camera package -- $1200
Rearview camera
Side and top view cameras

Ceramic controls -- $650

Smartphone integration -- $150

Key options not on vehicle: None

Fuel economy:
(city/hwy/combined)
14 / 20 / 16 mpg

Engine:
Size: 4.4L twin-turbocharged V-8
Horsepower: 500 hp @ 5500 rpm
Torque: 516 lb-ft @ 3000-4750 rpm

Drive:
Four-wheel

Transmission:
6-speed automatic

Wheels/tires: 19-inch alloy wheels
245/45R19 Bridgestone Blizzak winter tires

Competitors: Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG, Jaguar XJ Supersport

Standard & Poor's to Ford: Here’s what we’re watching

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. continues to steadily shovel away the mountain of debt it took on to pay for its restructuring. But a rating agency says that whacking debt isn’t the only barrier to Ford’s bonds moving out of the junk category.

The automaker’s stated goal is to regain an investment-grade rating, which is considered a prerequisite of lowering its borrowing costs. Doing so would make it less expensive for Ford, and Ford Motor Credit, to raise both day-to-day operating funds and the money it then lends to dealers and customers.

In the first quarter, Ford axed another $2.5 billion in debt, bringing its total outstanding debt to $16.6 billion as of March 31. In late 2006, Ford took on $23 billion in debt, even putting up its blue-oval logo as collateral.

Ford remains three notches below an investment-grade rating. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has said there’s a chance Ford could get an upgrade of one or more notches in 2011.

On April 26, after Ford issued its first-quarter results, the ratings agency spelled out what Ford must still do to see an upgrade.

S&P analyst Robert Schulz told Automotive News reporter Jamie LaReau that this isn’t a comprehensive list. But it’s a pretty good indication of what Ford needs to do to reassure rating agencies that Ford is out of the woods.

Most of S&P’s requirements, as you might expect, are financial targets. Here they are, along with Ford’s position, as laid out by Ford top management:

S&P: Exceed $4 billion in positive cash flow this year.

Ford: The goal is for this year’s automotive pretax cash flow to be better than 2010’s $4.4 billion.

S&P: Keep pre-tax automotive profit margins in the upper single-digit range in North America, and in the mid single-digit range overall.

Ford: The goal is for this year’s operating pretax margins to be equal to or better than last year’s.

S&P: Remain profitable in Europe, or at least avoid large losses.

Ford: We expect each of our automotive business units to be profitable this year.

Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas, declined to go beyond the automaker’s stated financial goals in responding to the S&P comments. “It’s up to the rating agencies to make their determination on the company’s rating,” he said. “It’s up to us to make sure we continue to improve every element of the business.”

But he noted that Ford’s improved finances mean that it already is getting better borrowing terms.

“When you look at our borrowing costs,” he said, including bond issues by Ford Credit this year, “many of the banks are treating us, in terms of the rates, as if we were investment grade. I think that’s a nice proxy for the market telling us we’re heading in the right direction.”

But S&P wants to see more than good numbers. For Ford’s credit rating to go up, the rating agency says the automaker must “adequately” resolve this year’s U.S. labor contract negotiations.

S&P’s Schulz says the ratings agency’s base expectations for a new contract are for “possibly higher costs and maybe some commitments to do more work in the United States.” S&P isn’t expecting anything particularly negative, he says, but the new contract’s implications are “something we want to make sure we understand.”

Ford, and General Motors and Chrysler, all want a fairly quick round of UAW negotiations this fall that will produce a contract both sides can live with.

But for now, the S&P guidance on how Ford can raise its credit rating amounts to this:

Don’t expect any major action from the rating agency before autumn.
PRESS RELEASE: Ford Motor Co. First-Quarter Earnings Announcement Consistent With BB-/Positive/-- Rating

NEW YORK, April 26, 2011--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said today that it views Ford Motor Co.'s (BB-/Positive/--) first-quarter earnings, announced today, as consistent with its positive outlook on the company's rating. The automaker announced a consolidated pretax profit of $2.8 billion for the first quarter, up about $827 million year over year.

Ford's global automotive operations produced $2.1 billion in pretax profit in the quarter (up $936 million year over year) despite market share declines in most regions, while the financial services unit, including Ford Motor Credit Co. LLC, posted $706 million in pretax profit (down $109 million). The automotive operating results are a significant improvement sequentially from the fourth quarter for North America and Europe. The North American pretax margin was 10.3%, up from 8.9% in the 2010 first quarter. Ford generated strong automotive operating-related cash flow of $2.3 billion in the quarter, excluding the effect of upfront subvention payments to Ford Credit. Ford expects commodity costs and structural costs to be about $4 billion higher in 2011 than 2010.

Still, the company views its full-year 2011 goal of higher operating profit and cash flow as on track. We believe this indicates Ford is confident that it will benefit from higher volumes and managing its product mix (despite higher gas prices) and costs to offset these headwinds.

We do not expect events in Japan to affect our ratings or outlook on Ford, but believe that the impact on the global auto sector--including Ford--is evolving, so our opinion could change. The reported shortage of certain electronic components could be a primary challenge for many automakers. Ford reports it will monitor and evaluate progress in Japan, and that its Asia Pacific and Africa operations will be affected by parts shortages.

When we raised our rating on Ford in February 2011, we expected the North American market to continue its gradual recovery, and that Ford's global automotive operations would generate at least low-single-digit pretax margins and positive operating cash flow in 2011. Both of these suppositions appear to be on track. We expect the year-over-year increases in production in North America, an important driver of cash flow, to continue to moderate because inventory has been rebuilt from the very low levels of 2009, and we expect the sales recovery to remain gradual. For example, Ford expects its second-quarter North American production to increase 8.7% year over year.

We believe Ford's results and outlook announced today are consistent with our outlook, and the trend may support a higher rating later in 2011 if, for example, Ford's global cash generation from automotive operations seems capable of exceeding $4 billion this year. Other important positive rating considerations include Ford's ability to sustain its pretax automotive profit margin in North America in the upper–single-digit percentage area, and in the mid-single-digit area in total for automotive; resolve its 2011 U.S. labor contract negotiations adequately; and remain profitable in Europe, or at least avoid large losses. We would view this range of margins as evidence that Ford was coping successfully with the evolving competitive structure of the global auto industry.

VW ramps up r&d on telematics, infotainment

SAN FRANCISCO -- With the battle for advancing automotive telematics heating up -- along with pressure for reducing driver distraction -- Volkswagen opened its larger Electronics Research Laboratory here on Friday.

The facility, with a $20 million annual budget, will focus on the areas of driver assistance, human-machine interface, multimedia and connected vehicles, said Burkhard Huhnke, executive director of the lab.

The lab will be staffed by 100 designers, engineers and psychologists, and VW is still hiring. VW first started this type of work in Silicon Valley in 1998 in Sunnyvale with three staffers, and grew to a larger building in Palo Alto. But the new Belmont facility is VW's largest research unit outside of Germany, Huhnke said.

The location is key in luring the best talent, not only poaching from Silicon Valley software firms, but also in hiring recent graduates from Stanford and the University of California campuses at Berkeley and Davis.

In collaborating with technology partners such as Google, Oracle and Nvidia, the VW lab is working on the following projects:

    * A car that can navigate itself through a parking structure to find a parking place, and return to the structure's entrance when summoned by the driver's smart phone.
    * Sensor systems that can "see" an object in three dimensions. Currently the size of a coffee can, the whirling sensor is to shrink to the size of a packet of cigarettes.
    * Driving awareness systems that detect traffic-signal and speed limit changes and can accelerate or decelerate the car as conditions warrant.
    * A car monitor that tracks driving patterns that can be uploaded to a smart phone or computer, allowing a driver to make more efficient driving decisions in his commute.
    * Improving the readability of the instrument panel, using fiberoptics to stack multiple readouts within the same cluster without becoming confusing. An example would be to have the next step of a navigation instruction nestled inside the circle of the speedometer readout.
    * Making the human-machine interface more elegant, using haptic clicks and an intelligent mouse so navigating telematic menus is more predictable.
    * Using Google Earth as a navigation aid, including using "street view" so that a driver knows what the destination looks like, not just its address. This might be expanded to proactively show nearby electric vehicle charging stations if the vehicle knows it is running low on a charge.

"This is not about eye candy," said Rob Csongor, Nvidia vice president of corporate marketing. "We take technology and apply it to problems in society."

Not all the projects are so technical, however. The infotainment side of the business also is well represented in the lab. Among their projects:

    * A center console that can wirelessly charge smart phones, similar to "power mats" now on the market for home use. The project, in development with Qualcomm, could use magnetic near-field resonance to power rear-seat entertainment or ambient lighting systems as well.
    * For those who must have the coolest accessories, Audi is developing floormats where the car's logo is illuminated. Making sure the electronics don't short out when stomped on by snowy or wet boots is a big hurdle.
    * Remember the "Fast," the malevolent little critter from the VW ads that subconsciously urged drivers to drive with more zest? VW is creating an interactive version that can communicate with the driver, as well as with other nearby VW drivers as a social network beacon.

And those were just the programs that VW was comfortable showing journalists on a tour of the facility.

In an interview, Volkswagen Group of America CEO Jonathan Browning discussed customizing a vehicle's settings based on which occupant's smart phone was activated inside the car.

When asked if that program was being developed, Browning smiled and said, "We don't always show you everything."

Nissan recalls older-model Pathfinder, Infiniti QX4 SUVs

Nissan Motor Co Ltd recalled nearly 271,000 older-model Pathfinder and Infiniti QX4 SUVs in North America due to the chance that road salt and water could collect to cause a loss of steering, U.S. safety regulators said.

Affected in the United States and Canada are about 225,650 Pathfinders from model years 1996 to 2004 and about 45,330 Infiniti QX4 SUVs from model years 1997 to 2003.

The recall affects Pathfinders and QX4s in Canada and 20 cold-weather U.S. states where road salt is used to keep roads clear of snow and ice.

Road salt and melted snow can collect in the strut housing and may cause corrosion that could lead to difficulty in steering and even loss of steering, which could cause a crash, regulators said.

Nissan will inform customers of the recall be mid-May, and its dealers will inspect and fix the issue free of charge.

No injuries have been reported due to this issue and there is a report of an accident that was caused by it, but Nissan said that report could not be confirmed as linked to the corrosion issue.

Nissan said their tests have indicated that only a small portion of the recalled vehicles are expected to need repair.

Inspection at Nissan dealers should take a half hour to an hour but repair or replacement will take longer, said a Nissan spokesman.


reuters