Vehicles: Page

A World-Class Engine for Cadillac: General Motors Corp.’s 3.6L DOHC V-6

Not that we didn't like General Motors Corp.'s 3.6L DOHC V-6 when it launched in the Cadillac CTS for the '05 model year. Its initial output was 255 hp and 255 lb.-ft. (346 Nm) of torque, and there were several competing similar-displacement V-6s already making in the neighborhood of 300 hp. Thanks to a decade of horsepower wars, 300-hp V-6s now are the price of entry in the premium market. To get

Feb. 1, 2008

Megadealers Stepping Up Their Used-Vehicle Activities

Responding to a new-vehicle sales slowdown, some publicly owned megadealers have stepped up their used-vehicle and remarketing activities. The sector's first online used-car center was scheduled for opening by Sonic Automotive Group, which says it is seeking to reform the of the sales experience through greater use of the Internet. An innovator in new marketing solutions has been Lithia Motors, which

By Mac Gordon • Feb. 1, 2008

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 stories from WardsAuto

Automakers are evaluating their long-term strategies, revisiting their product mix, and approach to both retail and manufacturing approach along the way.

By WardsAuto staff

Its Torque Trashes Any V-8: Daimler AG’s 3.0L DOHC V-6 Turbodiesel

We wish we could just bring this engine to your house to let you try. Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz 3.0L V-6 turbodiesel is that engine. If you haven't yet been fortunate enough to experience what we call new age diesel, there's only so much we can do to verbally translate how the inexorable turbine surge of 400 lb.-ft. (540 Nm) of torque at a stupefying low 1,600 rpm can change your life. You push the

Feb. 1, 2008

Even Ferrari Is Bitten By the Biofuel Bug

With the ink still wet on a congressional mandate to boost fuel economy to 35 mpg by 2020, every auto maker at this year's Detroit auto show is talking about fuel consumption even Ferrari SpA. The Italian icon for exotic sports cars unveils a concept F430 Spider Biofuel designed to run on E85, an alternative fuel made up of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. A growing number of E85 flex-fuel vehicles now

By Tom Murphy • Feb. 1, 2008

Renault to Demo Fuel Cell But Believes Battery Power Better Answer

The fuel-cell demonstrator, which may debut at the Geneva auto show, is aimed more than anything else at illustrating how the alliance between Renault and Nissan works.

By William Diem • Jan. 31, 2008

Low-Price Tata Nano Sparks Industry Innovations

Tata is changing India’s manufacturing practices by asking engineers and mechanics to join together to set up their own assembly operations.

By Sudhakar Shah • Jan. 17, 2008

Land Rover May Produce LRX Cross-Coupe Concept

A 2.0L turbodiesel hybrid engine, capable of running on biodiesel fuel, powers the concept.

By Byron Pope • Jan. 14, 2008

Acura First to Get Honda Diesel; V-6 Pushed Back

Honda's CEO is bullish on diesels, believing the auto maker will be able to exceed its European production levels of 100,000 units annually in the U.S.

By Christie Schweinsberg • Jan. 13, 2008

GM Unveils Cadillac Provoq Fuel-Cell Concept

Provoq hints at Cadillac’s next entry in the midsize CUV segment, which will succeed the SRX in about two years.

By James M. Amend • Jan. 8, 2008

’09 Saturn Vue Receives 2-Mode System

The auto maker expects the system to provide a combined-cycle fuel-economy improvement of up to 50% over the ’08 Saturn Vue with a 6-cyl. engine.

By Ward's Staff • Jan. 7, 2008

Ford Outlines Future Powertrain Strategy

Near-term, which Ford describes as the 2008-2012 timeframe, the auto maker plans to have some 500,000 vehicles powered by EcoBoost technology on the road in North America.

By Byron Pope • Jan. 7, 2008

Mercedes Bluetec Blends Performance, Fuel Economy

Diesel chatter is nearly imperceptible, and during mixed city and highway driving, we averaged more than 30 mpg, far exceeding that of the Lexus GS 450h hybrid sedan.

By Byron Pope • Jan. 2, 2008

Ward’s 10 Best Engines 2008

Now in its 14th year, the Ward's 10 Best Engines list recognizes not only great powertrains but those who create them.Powertrain engineers toil in obscurity, getting their hands dirty building components that will be cut from solid chunks of metal and pieced together on the assembly line.

By Bill Visnic • Jan. 1, 2008

Reconditioning Sells Vehicles

Reconditioning is at best misunderstood and considered by most people to be one of the more boring aspects of running the pre-owned vehicle department. The truth is it should be intertwined into our sales philosophy and the selling system of our dealerships. It is a major part of our customer handling and owner retention philosophies whether we intend it to be or not. What is the result of an undefined

By Tony Albertson • Jan. 1, 2008

TRW Chooses Michigan For New Test Facility

TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. OFFI-cials say the auto industry's current economic malaise factored heavily into their decision to relocate a test track from Florida to Fowlerville, MI. The supplier's Florida (operation) had gotten to the point where it needed significant investment, says Thomas Oginsky, chief engineer, vehicle development-electronic braking systems. And travel budgets with OEMs have

By Byron Pope • Jan. 1, 2008

Texas Ethanol Plant to be Powered by Manure

Panda Ethanol says its planned Muleshoe, TX, facility will be engineered to gasify manure, saving the energy equivalent of 1,000 barrels of oil per day.

By Alan Harman • Dec. 27, 2007

Mustang Bullitt System to Migrate to Other Platforms

The Bullitt also benefits from a unique engine calibration designed to increase throttle response by boosting the red line by 250 rpm to 6,500 rpm.

By Byron Pope • Dec. 5, 2007

Time for More Outsiders in Automotive

Conventional wisdom in the world's automotive capitals stipulates that industry outsiders can't run auto companies. The automotive business is so unique, so infused with passion, impulse and history, that if gasoline has not been coursing through your veins since infancy, you are better off seeking employment elsewhere. But as the economist John Kenneth Galbraith pointed out when he coined the term,

By Drew Winter • Dec. 1, 2007

Jersey Dealerships Serve as Polling Places on Election Day

Want to buy a new vehicle at the same place you cast your ballot? A few polling places in New Jersey can fill that order, notes the Asbury Park Press. One such spot is Elm Auto, a Dodge dealership in Kearney. We do it for the good of the town, says Frank Signore, whose father and uncle opened the dealership 60 years ago. While election day there is a bit disruptive to business, Signore says the dealership

Dec. 1, 2007

Micro-Hybrid Segment in Start Mode

Every day, millions of drivers from L.A. to Paris to Tokyo waste staggering amounts of energy going nowhere at all. Stuck in traffic or waiting at stop lights, their engines churn away, consuming millions of gallons of fuel and spewing pollutants into the air unnecessarily. Heavy trucks burn nearly 1 billion gallons (3.8 billion L) of diesel fuel annually while idling and emit 11 million tons (9.9

By Tom Murphy • Dec. 1, 2007

Autobytel Lists Its Best Vehicles for 2008

Domestic auto makers dominate the top picks in Autobytel Inc.'s fifth annual Editor's Choice Awards. Here are the '08 model-year winners in major categories and why Autobytel's MyRide.com editors and analysts say they picked them: Car of the Year and Best New Entry Luxury Car Under $40,000: Cadillac CTS. The second-generation features edgy style, world-class interior and extraordinary performance.

Dec. 1, 2007

TRW Developing Anti-theft Electric Parking Brake

TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. is awaiting a decision by the Economic Commision for Europe to determine whether it can move ahead with plans to offer its electric parking-brake technology as an automotive anti-theft system. Electric parking brakes, commonly found on European vehicles equipped with manual transmissions, eliminate the need for hand levers or foot pedals associated with traditional parking

By Byron Pope • Dec. 1, 2007

GM’s Big-Block V-8 Engine Revived After Scrap-Yard Rescue

Muscle-car enthusiasts have attentive eyes to thank for an all-new iteration of a classic and rare big-block V-8 soon to be available from General Motors Corp. Beginning in spring, GM will sell for a cool $20,000 a modern interpretation of the highly prized, all-aluminum 427 cu.-in (7.0L) ZL-1 V-8. GM will make only 427. The Anniversary 427 will be rated at 430 hp and 450 lb.-ft. of torque, just like

By Tom Murphy • Dec. 1, 2007

Timing Wrong For All-New Sequoia

In the context of the fullsize SUV segment, the new '08 Sequoia is a good progression of Toyota Motor Corp.'s family hauler, with increased interior space, a tight turning radius and the auto maker's brawny 5.7L V-8 under the hood. But with fuel prices ballooning and the lumps coming from environmental groups that once unwaveringly loved Toyota, there couldn't be a worse time to launch a fullsize

By Christie Schweinsberg • Dec. 1, 2007

Mitsubishi Thailand to Expand Assembly Plant

The expansion reportedly will allow for the production of small, fuel-efficient cars under the Thai government’s eco-car project.

By Alan Harman • Nov. 28, 2007