Biggest Props
Honda sweeped the North American Car and Truck of the Year Awards with their new Civic and Ridgeline, their debut into the light truck arena. The winners are chosen by 49 automotive journalists from the United States and Canada (which eliminates any potential influence that advertising dollars can bring). The Civic and Ridgeline beat out the Ford Fusion, Pontiac Solstice, Ford Explorer, and Nissan Xterra. This marks the first time in the awards history that a single manufacturer has takend both awards.
In my opinion, the value of the Civic (starting MSRP of $14,360) and the unique features of the Ridgeline (the locking trunk in the bed) edged out their competitors. Congrats Honda.
Biggest Mercedes Benz
7 pax, bigger than the lengthy R Class that was unveiled last year, and bigger than anything else in the DCX lineup (short of their commercial vehicles anyway); the new GL replaces the venerable G-wagon (the Boxy Jeep like military vehicle-come-big-ballin -dub-donner) as *the* offroad Benz (despite the fact that it’s built on the same Unit-body platform as the ML and R and in the same plant a mere 40 miles away from mi casa).
The trims are GL 500 with a 5.5-liter, 388-hp V-8, and the GL 450 with a 340-hp, 4.6-liter V-8 (why the number can’t match the displacement is a mystery to me) . Full-time all-wheel drive is standard.
I personally think this vehicle belongs in the same place as every HUMMER, crumpled up in a board room trash bin after it was shit-canned. Why anyone needs a vehicle this big is lost on me. The only “redeeming” factor about this vehicle is the fact that it will be offered with the 3.2L Turbo Diesel in the near future. That engine promises50 State emissions (even meeting the tougher 2008 Diesel standards) and 26MPG on the highway, un-heard of for an SUV of this size.
Other Notables from Day one
A new entry level car from Honda called the Fit. The Civic’s been growing in size, price, and even stature since the early 80’s so Honda’s bringing in a proven performer from the Japanese market (called the Jazz there) to Fit (how cute) under the Civic in it’s lineup.
Infinity showed off their “coupe concept” that’s undoubtedly the next G35 (G45?). The casual observer would probably not be able to tell this concept from the current G35, but in my opinion, that’s not a bad thing. The G35 coupe is sex on wheels, it’s hard to improve on perfection.
Mazda took the wraps off of its entry into the sea of new “crossovers” called the CX-7. This platform will be shared with Ford (and probably Lincoln and Mercury) so I guess the only real item of note here is the 2.3L Direct Injection Turbo engine (detuned to 240HP from the 280HP this same engine has in the Mazdaspeed 6) and available AWD.
It seems that the Subaru Forester XT (235HP/235lbft) started a bit of a mini-SUV horsepower battle back in 2004, and after 2 years of being un-contested, is facing fierce competition from this new Mazda and the new Toyota RAV4 which will be offered with a 260HP V6.
gears in the automatic gearbox. The 4.6L V8 promises 380 hp, 370 lb-ft of torque and zero to 60 times of 5.5 seconds. A hybrid version will be shown at the New York Auto Show in April.
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