Car Throttle

When a new 5-Series model comes around it is a big event. For BMW, that happened just last year in November. The new car aims to move away from some of the controversy surrounding the Bangle-designed "E60" previous generation car. Normally, manufacturers wait a bit to introduce other model variants to continue the hype going, but BMW is doing it differently, introducing the wagon model just as the sedan is going on sale in Europe. Wagon/hatchback variants in Europe are big sellers and crucial to overall sales of a model lineup. It is an interesting choice of Touring name instead of  drab wagon moniker. One thing is pretty well certain - we'll never get this thing here. We're getting the American version instead, and that would

The new BMW 5-Series is officially here! Yesterday we got a glimpse through some leaked images, and before that the utterly unrevealing (but still entirely cool anyway) kinetic sculpture video from BMW. The full information drop on the car has arrived, and we're here to cover it. Say hello to generation six of the critically-acclaimed 5-Series lineage, codenamed "F10". Stylistically, BMW has taken a step back from the Bangle-look, but perhaps not as much as the new 7-Series and 5-Series GT do. It follows the same template as those cars mentioned, but with a few detail differences in the headlights and rear-end that set it apart. There are also some hints of the BMW CS Concept in the design. The front is closer in overall

For many, safety is a top concern. As the automakers have progressed, overall safety has increased the point where the majority of new vehicles are achieving good results. Federal standards are remaining the same for now, but the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has made a change to its testing for vehicles to get the "Top Safety Pick" award. The new ones focus on roof strength in the event of a rollover, requiring roof strength to withstand 4 times the vehicles weight before reaching 5 inches of crush. The results are quite surprising! Only 19 cars made the grade this year. To put things into perspective, the following automakers have no entries on the list for model year 2010: BMW, Cadillac, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Lexus, Saab and

As is true with a lot of BMW's products lately (and the brand's entire styling language until recently), the new BMW 5-Series Gran Turismo has been quite controversial. It could get a bit more controversial with this new announcement about pricing. BMW has always said that the GT sits "between the 5-Series and the 7-Series." It has a wheelbase length similar to the 7, and in reviews many have pegged the GT as being closer in feel (while not looks) to the 7. I'll have to test it myself to know for sure. BMW's pricing information covers only V-8 model, not the entry-level V-6 variant.   A leak of what seemed to be an official BMW document came out earlier today regarding the GT, and that prompted

The on sale date for the Acura ZDX crossover (find and put exact) is drawing near, and Acura has decided to unveil the production vehicle to us all. Since it's the initial announcement, it's without the full gamut of press shots, pricing information and the like. Acura will want to drag out that stuff until a bit closer to the launch. It's all about press coverage! When the ZDX Concept debuted, it was viewed to be very close to the production version inside and out. It was one of those thinly guised "concepts" that really aren't concepts at all. In addition, we had more than that to go on - spy photos have caught the car and shown it to be extremely similar to the concept that

While BMW overpopulates it's lineup with segment-melding, identity-confused vehicles like the X6, 5-Series GT and X1, Audi is taking a different tack in it's goal to hit 1.5 million sales by sometime around the middle of next decade. Audi is diving head first into the emerging "4-door coupe" with it's new segment line Sportback. I think the blending of sedans with a coupe-roofline is a good idea. Audi debuted the Sportback Concept at Detroit 2009 that previewed what to expect from future Sportback models and more specifically, the upcoming A7 Sportback. The teaser is pretty standard; offering a good view of the back but not showing any of the side or front in actual pictures. Audi is trying to build excitement for the vehicle. But along

Acura first showed it's ZDX Concept at the New York International Auto Show only about 2 months ago. I've always seen the vehicle as a step forward for the brand in styling and design. Much better then the recent designs we've seen coming out from the company. However, while Acura made it clear that it was just a thinly-veiled production preview, I commented that things could get ugly pretty fast in the transition between concept and production. From the spy shots at least, it seems like they are hewing as close as possible to the concept and that's a good thing. You can't see much in the way of details but it's looking pretty close to the concept. The ZDX is part of a new strategy for increasing Acura's volume. Acura hasn't been

Hello, next-generation 5-series! As I expected, the BMW 5-Series GT Progressive Activity Vehicle concept was an extremely close production preview of the actual vehicle, and of the look for the whole new 5-Series lineup. I'm seeing this as a huge improvement over the current car's design. It all works together very well and it tones things down in the weirdness department. Much more traditional BMW. There's nothing wrong with that either. I'm glad to see 7-series influence like I had hoped. I also see a bit of CS Concept in there, and it makes for a really nice mix. These renderings are screen captures via BMWBlog, who has a lot of good information surrounding this new model. The exterior is designed by BMW designer Christopher Weil, and as