Car Throttle

The M Performance line is intended to fit in between regular production BMW's, and the full-fat M models (M3, M5, 1M Coupe, etc).  Sort of like S-Line Audis, R-Design Volvos, and AMG Package Benzes, but with a catch: all four M Performance models that are coming to the Geneva Show in March are powered by diesels. Go cry in your beer if you want, but I'm not joking about the "Monster diesel" part.  Case in point: BMW's 4.4L twin-turbo V8 as seen in the 550i, 650, 750i, etc makes a healthy 400 horsepower and 440lb-ft of torque.  This new 3.0L I6 diesel going into these models makes 381bhp and 546lb-ft of torque.  Yes, five hundred forty six, or 740nM if you prefer that scale.  That's

The fast diesel car is something of a faux pas. It's a playground dare - every manufacturer secretly fancies seeing how one would be received, but doesn't want to risk making the leap of faith themselves, in case they get sent to see the headmaster. Or their shareholders. The attempts we've seen up until now have extended to been the utterly crackers, disgusting and fantastical Audi Q7 V12 TDi (the world's first production V12 diesel road car) to the other end of several scales (price, size, taste) with the thoroughly sensible Skoda Fabia vRS. You could add the BMW 535d to that list as well, but that was merely the top branch of the Five diesel tree, rather than a dedicated go-fast model. Since Audi began

In Part 1 of this article, I covered 5 recent sales failures of the automotive world.  This time we dive into some more odd, idiotic, or just misjudged cars.  Onto the list... 5) Lincoln Blackwood

Luxury Pickup Truck.  That should be a contradictory term.  Pickup trucks are made to haul things, do work, go off-road: these are not luxurious attributes.  A Luxury Pickup Truck is a fairly stupid idea.  Yet, ask Cadillac: people buy stupid.  In their case, Escalade EXT's: an Escalade with a pickup bed.  Considering this is just a Chevrolet Avalanche (admittedly a pretty clever, if ugly, pickup truck) with some Cadillac trim glued on and a larger price tag, they sell quite a lot of them.  Sales were their highest in

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

As if having a vehicle to compete in nearly every class isn't enough, BMW is continuing it's product march by creating new segments all together.The X1 is one such vehicle, joining other BMW's other segment-bending vehicles like the 5-Series Gran Turismo, and X6 Crossover. Like Volvo, BMW is aiming for an X vehicle for every accompanying vehicle class (like X3, X5, X6...could an X7 be near?). BMW recently released a teaser of the X1 and now new spy shots have caught the vehicle with nearly no camoflauge. Interesting fact: the upcoming X1 shares it's platform with MINI's Crossman wagon. From the pictures the X1 seems interesting, with a crossover-ish front and hatchback rear, Definitely a melding together of the different classes, and hard to pinpoint exactly what

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

Thanks, BMW! With the X6 (and 5-Series GT, for that matter) you've helped start a whole new generation of vehicles that are utterly confused as to what they are. It's not a crossover, or a wagon. It's a "provocative luxury four-door sports coupe - plus". Got that? Umm, OK. Acura says it's a "segment-bending"vehicle, and that it is. While a concept, it's a very good preview of the production vehicle that goes on sale this fall. Acura hasn't made any secret that it's thinly-veiled either. It's certainly unique, and at least with what I'm seeing in this concept, world's better (Acura TL, RL; I'm looking at you) then the styling language as applied to the current lineup. Except for the grille insert piece (which somehow manages to

In a first for BMW's M division, they have just introduced a pair of high-performance SUV's: the X5 M and X6 M.  BMW's M (which used to stand for "Motorsport!") division has traditionally based their models on BMW's cars, citing the purity and light weight necessary for a "real" M car.  Everyone's stretching their brand boundaries these days, though, and it was bound to happen eventually. So let's not whine about the relatively pointlessness of these vehicles, and appreciate them for what they are: absurdly fast.  Based on the X5 and X6 SUV's, the X5 M and X6 M receive the typical M-car upgrades: more power, better suspension and brakes, interior upgrades, and bodywork differentiations. The biggest news is under the hood.  BMW's shiny new twin-turbo

Here comes the next niche-creator from BMW: a high-performance "Sports Activity Coupe." Regardless of the pointlessness of the niche in general (and the X6 in particular), the X6 M is going to be a genuine barnstormer. Rumor has it the X6 M will be equipped with the same 550bhp twin-scroll turbo V8 that has found it's way into the BMW X5 M. In the slightly lighter, lower X6 it should present a more sporting vehicle than the X5, especially with the X6's nifty torque-vectoring rear axle. BMW's thin press release says the X6 M will be "the next milestone in it's illustrious history."  I'm not sure about this.  550bhp twin-turbo V8 or not, M cars have always been about the driving experience - and I'm