2012 Auto Preview

2012 AUTO GUIDE FALL 2011

28 + HOW TO LOSE YOUR CAR PAYMENT FOR LIFE

+ THE SAFEST CARS FOR FAMILIES, TEENS

+ THESE GADGETS WILL GIVE YOU A FUN RIDE

|

An edition of The Genesee Country Express

VEHICLE PREVIEWS INSIDE

COLUMN 2012 NEW-VEHICLE PREVIEW EDITION

COVER PHOTO: 2012 Chevrolet Sonic, courtesy of GM. PHOTO CREDITS: All vehicle photos are provided by the car maker. ©2011 GATEHOUSE MEDIA ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

mericans have a love fest with their cars. Where else can you find people flat broke living paycheck to paycheck, with two brand-new cars in their driveway? Only in America. According to recent car loan statistics from the Federal Reserve, the average new car payment in this country is $492 over 63.4 months.

Most people get a car payment and keep it throughout their lives. As soon as a car is paid off, they get another car payment because they “need” a new car.

A

Cash for next car Saving the average monthly new car payment of $492 over a 10-month period will total $4,920, wthout interest. After 30 months the savings will total nearly $15,000. Use this method to buy your next almost-new vehicle and you’ll drive payment free.

$14,760

If you keep a $492 car payment throughout your life, which is “normal,” you will miss the opportunity to save that money. If you invested $492 per month from age 25 to age 65, a normal working lifetime, in a mutual fund averaging 12 percent (the 70-year stock market average), you’d have nearly $6 million at age 65. Hope you like the car!

New cars lose more than 60 percent in value in the first four years. Once you drive it off the lot you can’t sell it for the amount you paid for it. If you are very, very rich, then you can afford to buy a new car because you can afford to lose

DAVE RAMSEY

$9,840

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Never have a car payment

$4,920

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the value. But if you aren’t rich, then you can’t afford to buy a new car. You need to be driving a car that is two years old, or older, that you paid for with cash.

Don’t think you can pay cash for a car? If you put $492 per month in a cookie jar for just 10 months, you’d have $4,920 for a cash car. I’m not suggesting you drive that kind of car your whole life, but that’s how you start without debt. Then you can save the same amount again and trade up to a $9,840 car 10 months later, and up to a $14,760 car 10 months after that. In just 30 months, or two and a half years, you can drive a really nice car and never have made a car payment.

Never have a car payment, and absolutely never lease a car. I call it fleecing. Consumer Reports, Smart Money magazine and my calculator tell me that leasing a car is the worst possible way to acquire a vehicle. In effect, you’re renting to own and the interest rate is extremely high. You’re being fleeced.

So never get a car payment, never buy a new car unless you’re rich, and never spend more than half your annual income on things that go down in value.

AUTO BITS

THE SCOOP

Silverado hybrid

ON 2012 HYBRIDS, ELECTRICS AND BARGAINS COMPILED BY DANIELLE BRAFF | GateHouse News Service

Honda Fit

Daimler Smart ForTwo

Domestic hybrids There will be several new hybrids on the market in 2012.

Chevy plans to release two large hybrids, which will include the Tahoe — a hybrid SUV — and the Chevy Silverado hybrid, which will be the first full hybrid truck on the market.

Electric vehicles

Tahoe hybrid

Grand Cherokee SRT8

You’ll have many more choices when it comes to electric cars this year. Cars in this electric mix will include the Honda Fit, Mitsubishi i and the Daimler Smart ForTwo. Some will include gas tanks that you can use if you run out of electric power.

BMW 1 Series M

Mitsubishi i

2000 Honda Civic

Sportiest sports truck

Bargain shoppers

Stolen cars

Sports car enthusiasts are excited about the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. Use it to go from zero to 60 mph in just 4.8 seconds, or drive a quarter of a mile in 13 seconds.

The new Jeep will have a 465-hp 6.4 liter V8, with 465 lbft of torque.

If you’re looking for a good deal on a new car, this is a good time. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, $34,000 on a car in 1988 has the same buying power as $62,885 in 2010. Even BMWs are stepping into the bargain lane. The 2012 BMW 1 Series M Coupe is listed for $47,010, which — adjusted for inflation — is a remarkable price, considering that same car cost $34,000 in 1988.

A 2011 study released by the National Insurance Crime Bureau listed the top cars stolen in 2010. Topping the list: • 2000 Honda Civic • 1994 Honda Accord • 1991 Toyota Camry • 1996 Nissan Maxima • 2000 Dodge Caravan

AMERICAN CARS

WHAT’S NEW

Ford

IN THE

BIG THREE

BY ERIKA ENIGK | GateHouse News Service

ccording to Richard Homan, senior vehicle evaluation editor at Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com), domestic cars are trending in two directions. On one side are vehicles with high fuel efficiency that make excellent daily drivers, and on the other are cars with high horsepower for the customer who wants performance.

A

European model Focus ST Ford’s two models getting the most buzz are a combination of the fuel-efficient and the sporty.

In the first category, Ford is offering the 2013 Focus ST, available in January of 2012. It’s EcoBoost engine is turbo-charged and fuel efficient. Priced in the mid-$20,000s, it also has a decent amount of pickup at 250 horsepower, Homan said.

In the sporty category, Ford is also offering the 2013 Fiesta, available next fall. With racing seats, big wheels and performance tires, it will be a fun car, Homan said. Ford’s website also touts it as very fuel efficient, saying the 2011 model gets 40 mpg on the highway.

Chrysler General Motors

Chevy Sonic

Grand Cherokee SRT8 And finally, from Chrysler is the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, with a 6.4-liter Hemi engine with 500 horsepower. Priced around $45,000, it will be available in late summer or early fall 2012.

Chrysler, now owned by Italian manufacturer Fiat, is also working on a Maserati with a Ferrari-made engine. A higher-end vehicle, it will be priced over $50,000, Homan said.

Lindsey Motors

mated price would start around $16,000.

In the luxury category is the 2012 Buick Verano, another brand-new model.

Built for comfort with heated leather seats and a heated steering wheel, the Verano will be going up against vehicles such as the Audi A3 and the Lexus AS 250h.

For the sportscar lover, there will be a 2013 Camaro available in January 2012. It has 550 horsepower, at least 100 more than Camaro has had before, Homan said. And it will be priced under $50,000.

There will also be a new Corvette, the C7, available later in 2012. It has a V8 engine, 450 horsepower and a sleek, sharply angled design. One interesting feature is the split rear window, a nod to the 1963 Corvette, he said. However, make no mistake; the rest of the design is all new, all modern.

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General Motors’ offerings are a mixed bag as well. Generating a particular buzz is the 2012 Chevy Sonic, a completely new model which will replace the Aveo. With edgy styling and roomier than others in its class, the Sonic will also be affordable. GM has not offered any pricing information thus far, but Homan esti-

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CAR SAFETY

Crash-tested,

parent-approved Minivans

Sedans

The safest family — and teenfriendly — cars on the road

BY KAREN CAFFARINI GateHouse News Service

When it comes to choosing a car for the family, or their teenager, safety is as, or more important, to many parents than looks and price.

Statistics tell why. In 2009, more than 12,000 people died in front crashes, more than 6,000 died in side impacts, and more than 8,000 died in rollovers, according to ConsumerReports.org. While rear-end crashes typically aren’t fatal, they result in a large portion of injuries and insurance claims.

Thanks to government mandates, just about every vehicle sold today meets basic safety requirements, including airbags, seat belts, anti-lock brakes and tethers for child restraint seats, says Michael Jordan, executive editor at Edmunds.com, provider of automotive information.

He said other features to look for in a car include good visibility so you can see around corners, a navigation device that can tell you where you’re going so the driver doesn’t become distracted, and child-safe locks.

If you want to buy a vehicle that has passed tough safety tests, check out the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (www.iihs.org/ratings) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (www.safecar.gov), both of which rate vehicles for safety.

The federal agency gives cars up to five stars, rating them for overall performance and how they fare in a front crash, side crash and rollovers. The insurance institute rates vehicles as good, acceptable, marginal or poor based on highspeed front and side crash tests and rollover tests, in addition to evaluation of protection against neck injury in a rear impact. To earn a top rating from the institute, a vehicle must earn good ratings in all four tests and must offer electronic stability control.

Here are some vehicles that passed muster by more than one source. They are just a sample. Check out the above websites for others.

Honda Odyssey

Buick LaCrosse

The Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna continue to dominate the minivan market. The Odyssey received five stars overall from the NHTSA, while the Sienna garnered four stars, and both were the only two to make the insurance institute’s minivan list. However, Jordan said other minivans have come a long way from the early years and are now among the safest vehicles on the road.

The Buick LaCrosse received five stars from the NHTSA and was named one of the safest cars in 2011 by the insurance institute and Forbes magazine. Other sedans getting multiple nods included the Subaru Legacy and Outback, Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Fusion, Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Camry, Kia Optima and Honda Accord. The Chevrolet Volt electric car and Toyota Prius hybrid, after 2010, both received high safety marks.

For teens

SUVs

Chevy Cruze

Dodge Durango

Teens don’t have to settle for their parents’ car to be safe. The Chevrolet Cruze earned high safety marks all around, as did the Kia Soul, Nissan Cube and Toyota Scion — all of which are geared toward the younger driver. But, Jordan said, the best way for parents to ensure their kids are safe behind the wheel is through proper maintenance. “Make sure (their cars) have good tires and good brakes,” he said.

The 2011 Dodge Durango received a Top Safety Pick from the insurance institute. The Volvo XC60 received five stars.

GAS-SAVERS

Now arriving:

Fuel-efficient cars Gas-powered vehicles now compete with electrics, hybrids

Fuel-powered cars

BY ERIKA ENIGK GateHouse News Service

Technology is finally catching up with drivers’ hopes for more efficient vehicles.

According to Richard Homan, senior vehicle evaluation editor at Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com), fuel economy will become a bigger topic of discussion in the coming years. We can expect vehicles that use less gas — or even no gas at all.

“The curve of progress is getting steeper and steeper,” he said.

The Obama administration is calling for cars and light trucks to get at least 56 miles per gallon by 2025, Homan said. There is no legislation yet, however.

Electric cars

Honda CR-V

Hybrids Nissan Leaf

The Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf have gotten a lot of attention as daily drivers, Homan said. Both are fully electric, though the Volt also has a gas-powered engine.

The Leaf is not for the long-distance driver — at least not yet, Homan said. A full charge will get the driver about 73 miles, but the miles-per-gallon equivalent is around 100, he said.

The Volt can go 25 to 50 miles on electricity alone, but the gas-powered engine will recharge the battery as it goes, allowing it to go a few hundred more miles.

In addition to savings on fuel, electric cars make virPorsche Cayenne tually no sound and are at full power as soon as the The Toyota Prius and Honda Civic hybrids are still driver hits the gas pedal, which means they’ll accelerbeing made, and others have joined in, including ate much faster than the fastest gas-powered sports Lexus, Ford and even Porsche. cars.

The price tag on hybrids has traditionally been high All that fuel economy doesn’t come cheap — the Volt enough that the money saved on fuel didn’t make up and Leaf have a heftier price tag than similarly-sized for it. That’s not changing, Homan said. vehicles; however, there is a federal tax credit that will “The payoff in fuel economy is not mitigated by the allow consumers to save up to $7,500 on electric cars cost” of the vehicle, Homan said. and other fuel-efficient vehicles. After the tax credits, As technology improves, however, and more manu- the 2012 Leaf starts at $27,700, and the Volt at facturers get into the game, that may change down $32,780, according to the manufacturers’ websites. the road.

Toyota RAV4

Even cars that are completely gas-powered are getting more fuel efficient, Homan said. Some to look out for are the Sonic and the Spark, both from Chevy.

Both are small but get good gas mileage, he said.

Even SUVs are improving their fuel economy, Homan said, particularly smaller ones like the Honda CR-V and the Toyota RAV4.

Hatchbacks, very popular in Europe, are picking up steam in the United States. Cars like the Honda Fit, Volkswagen Golf and Ford Fiesta allow drivers to haul large loads of cargo with better fuel economy than an SUV. They haven’t quite reached the level of popularity here that they have overseas, Homan said, but they are a style to watch in the future.

2012 VEHICLE REVIEWS

BY SILVIO CALABI | GateHouse News Service

HYUNDAI SONATA HYBRID

KIA OPTIMA SX T-GDI

The formula for automotive model proliferation seems to be to roll out the most vanilla version of a new car — mid-performance, mid-price —then work feverishly to spice it up while awaiting reactions from the market.

Then, at the first hint of a home run, or at least a solid base hit, announce that luxury/performance and hybrid variants are soon to appear.

Hyundai has a monster smash with the nifty new Sonata, so here’s the followup gas-electric model, poised to swoop up buyers who’d prefer to burn less cash, fuel or carbon.

This generation of the Sonata, which appeared early in 2010 as a 2011, has been such a success for two reasons: First, it’s really good-looking; and second, nearly everyone over-guesses its price by a few thousand bucks. This is enough to get people in for a road test, and then the car’s swanky interior and competent manners seal the deal.

Along with its beguiling sheet metal and improved suspension, the new Sonata added inches, so it evolved into a comfortable and desirable full-size four-seater. The sleek profile makes it look smaller than a Camry or an Accord, but even from the back seat a Sonata seems a lot bigger inside than out.

The hybrid Sonata weighs less than the competition, due to lighter lithiumpolymer batteries, and it has a proper 6speed automatic rather than a continuously variable motor-scooter transmission. The base Sonata’s 4-cylinder gas

Coming out of a meeting into the parking lot one night, I squinted at the keys that were thrust into my hands a moment earlier: K-I-A . . .

There’s a lovely Jaguar coupe lurking next to a midsize Merc, nope, not them, or the monster Ram pickup. I don’t see a Kia. Finally it dawns on me to trigger the keyfob. As I home in on the flashing lights I think, “That’s a Kia? That long, sleek thing with the attitude and the fancy wheels?”

Slipping inside doesn’t help me either. Two-tone upholstery, leather wheel, carbon-fiber trim, two sunroofs, dials and buttons and lights everywhere and everything gleaming and solid, like a Bang & Olufsen showroom.

Again: This is a Kia? It’s pitch-black out, but miraculously I can pre-flight and adjust everything — the electric seat and mirrors, my radio stations, the mileage, speed and fuel settings and the satnav — without groping in the dark or puzzling over cryptic computer screens or even turning on the inside lights. But I could turn on the lights if I wanted to, because absolutely everything is right where you expect it to be, and simple as oatmeal.

Some 230 miles later, I pull into my driveway at 1:25 a.m. and click through the trip computer. Yikes, this thing averaged 71 miles per hour, door to door — at 29.7 miles per gallon. And I feel like I could easily knock off another hundred miles or so. In fact the computer claims there’s still a couple hun-

engine makes 198 horsepower, which is plenty, and the car earned a respectable EPA highway rating of 35 miles per gallon.

Hyundai’s “bluedrive” — blue is Hyundai’s “green” — hybrid delivers a combined gas-electric 209 horsepower and is rated for 40 mpg on the highway and 35 in town. Unusually, this promises better fuel economy at speed than in the city (most hybrids’ batteries are used up in an eye blink at 70 miles per hour), which makes it seem more like a real car.

But after a 250-mile dash home, the computer informed me that I’d averaged 69 mph and 31.8 mpg. Not bad, but not up to par. Since then I’ve been driving around town and my fuel efficiency has inched up to 32.3 while my average speed has declined to 46 miles per hour.

Still disappointing, but here is a better number: quite well-equipped at just $26,650.

Step on the throttle and the h-Sonata seems to pause for a moment to think while the transmission waits for a decision; then it downshifts hurriedly to catch up with what the driver wanted.

When all this sorting-out is done, the car accelerates briskly, and cruises easily. There is still some of that rubberband non-linearity of the gas-electric car, but Hyundai has moved the hybrid a step closer to mainstream.

While the Sonata might make a hybrid believer out of me, it can be tweaked to get another 10 mpg without losing any of its good Car-ma.

ACURA TL Acura, as every motorhead knows, is Honda’s upmarket division, and the TL is Acura’s midsize sedan, available in front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.

FWD, as every motorhead also knows, is for wimps. Under power in a tight corner, we want the rear wheels to dig in and shove the back end around and through the bend. Frontwheel drive, under power, is overworked in a corner. This is too much to ask of one pair of wheels, so the car understeers — it tends to run wide, to go straight instead of arcing neatly along part of a circle.

But, you ask, what if I don’t wish to corner under power? What if I drive like a sane person? Well, in that case the Acura TL behaves beautifully, towing you through the bend with little fuss. In fact if there’s snow, ice or gravel on the road, FWD may just get you through the corner with less drama than rear-wheel drive. Which is why so many cars today are powered by their front, steered wheels.

Honda, however, has given the Acura TL sporting aspirations. This car is a textbook performance sedan in every way except for the front-wheel drive. In the TL they’ve given us the security of FWD with the option to have some fun the rest of the time. Pulling the shift lever on the center console from D to S engages Sport mode. Now the 6-speed automatic feels like one of the new clutchless gearboxes. It will hold a gear till you flick the steering wheel shifters.

This Sport setting has a pleasantly mechanical feel to it, and it shifts when the

dred miles left in the tank.

Meet the new Kia, the Optima SX TGDI. The more letters or numbers on the rear deck, the higher the price. But here’s the final surprise: The MSRP, including options and delivery, is just $30,840. The car feels more like $40,000.

Save for a slightly brittle ride, it’s very comfortable at any speed. Quiet, too, especially for a four-cylinder boosted to 274 horsepower. The throttle comes on with a rush when asked, and the front-wheel drive tugs to one side or the other but then settles down and behaves. The brakes come on with a rush, in not quite linear fashion, but better too much than not enough.

The SX has an upmarket 6-speed automatic with paddle shifters on the wheel, but I’ve hardly felt the need to use them. And then there’s dual-zone automatic HVAC and a back-up camera. Pushbutton locking and ignition.

Mood lighting. Heated rear seats. Tirepressure monitors. Self-dimming mirror. A braking nanny. Airbags galore.

The obligatory Eco mode. All very well and good in a family sedan, but the real payoff is how well this sedan hauls the family around.

Dollar for dollar, new-gen Kias no longer give up anything to any competitor, in style, driving dynamics or equipment. If you still think of Korean vehicles as slightly dreary, low-budget alternatives to the cars you really want, it’s time to reprogram your expectations.

VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG driver wants it to, not when a computer gives it the OK. Front-wheel drive has another weakness in a performance car: Too much power sent to wheels that can change direction makes them squirrely. Torque steer, it’s called, and in olden days hot FWD cars would zig-zag horribly under power.

A few still do, but not the TL. Under full throttle you can feel the steering wheel thinking about being wayward, but then it behaves. This is all the more impressive when we realize that the TL’s 3.5-liter V6 generates about 80 more horsepower than was once thought tops for FWD. Torque-steer aside, this much muscle used to chew up steering bearings. Bravo, Honda engineers.

Otherwise, the FWD TL is quintessential Acura — understated almost to an extreme. Even the engine output is so Acura: 280 is a nice round number.

And this way you can get almost 30 miles per gallon. Especially in silvergray, from some angles the TL looks like yesterday’s BMW 5-Series, before the 5 became a downsized 7-Series.

The interior is a bit dour — black on black, with gray here and there for relief — but tremendously comfortable. The array of buttons on the center stack can be confusing, but for basic chores you may use the ones in the steering wheel, and there is little need to consult the owner’s manual when you wish to tap into the TL’s plentiful high-tech gadgetry.

The original Touareg, VW’s first luxury SUV, wowed us at its 2004 debut with an ability to climb rocks like a mountain goat and devour pavement like a German touring sedan. It was available in V6 and V-8 versions, plus a $76,000 model with a diesel V10 that made enough torque to interrupt the Earth’s rotation.

This Gen-2 Touareg, also AWD, builds on its predecessor’s many strengths while making some improvements (refined steering and throttle response) and quietly abandoning the optional height-adjustable air suspension. VW also rounded off some of the corners, which leaves the T’reg looking more svelte and slightly smaller than before. In fact it’s both longer and wider but lower, so it just seems smaller.

The most interesting thing about this example, though, is that it’s a gas-electric hybrid. The already potent supercharged V6 has an electric motor married to it that feeds 221 extra footpounds of torque into the new Touareg’s 8-speed automatic transmission. The vehicle will purr (for a while) through city traffic under amperage alone, but when extra urge is needed, a total of 380 horsepower and 425 ft-lbs of torque can be summoned.

Possibly to give the electrics more time to do their thing, thereby stretching a gallon of gas a bit further, prod-

ding the hybrid Touareg into action from a stop requires more dip into the pedal than we’re used to. This makes it seem hesitant and even feeble, which it emphatically is not. Put your right foot down hard and this T’reg will catapult to 60 mph in six seconds — astonishing for a 5,135-pound “truck” — and on the interstate, where the throttle is open continually, it feels very much of sound mind and body. No doubt it will tow its rated load of 7,700 pounds with equal ease. The regenerative braking feels almost normal underfoot.

I don’t fully understand hybrid SUVs. In this case, is a couple more miles per gallon in town worth the extra weight (425 lbs.), the mechanical and electronic complexity, the downrange problems (batteries that will wear out and have to be discarded and replaced) and the cost (a whopping $16,000 premium) over the gas-only Touareg? For that matter, if efficiency is the goal, the TDI Clean Diesel Touareg goes about as far in town and much farther on the highway on a gallon of fuel, has almost the same torque, tows the same load and costs $12,000 less than the Hybrid. It’s also just as plushly comfortable, wellequipped, high-tech and high-touch, but getting from 0 to 60 takes a lot longer.

BY SILVIO CALABI

CHEVROLET VOLT

I thought I knew what to expect from a plug-in hybrid: cheap to operate, teeth-gritting to drive. Then arrived this sleek, modern sedan — comfortable, well-made, good-looking (in a high-end-kitchen-appliance kind of way) and quite pleasant to drive. Yes, it’s the vaunted Chevrolet Volt, the thing GM brashly promised us way back in 2006, before it went into its near-death spiral in 2008.

Like the plug-in Toyota Prius, The Volt has a socket in its left front flank and hundreds of pounds of lithium-ion battery worth its weight in polar-bear fur buried beneath the floor. Like the Prius, it runs on electrons till the gas engine has to kick in. Like the Prius, when you get home you can hook it up to an ordinary wall outlet — which, as with the Prius, does not dim my house lights. It needs about 12 hours to recharge completely (much more than the Toyota), but it goes nearly 50 miles before it has to switch to burning dinosaur squash (also much more than the Toyota).

We can read about electric cars till we pass out from boredom, but nothing prepared me for the reality of a “normal” car that uses literally no gasoline — none, nada, zip, zilch. In one week of Volt-driving (supermarket, post office, farmer’s market, library, dentist, the office, the gym) I burned 0.8 gallons of gas. The only reason it was even that

TOYOTA PRIUS much was because I wanted to light up the gas mill, so I went out of my way to drain the battery. This brought the efficiency down from “250+” to a mere 161 mpg. The entire week could have been done easily on just outlet juice — by recharging the car at night. As in any hybrid, the Volt’s gas engine and brakes also help recharge the battery through a generator.

I keep comparing the Volt to the Prius because, for good or ill, Toyota has set the bar for hybrid vehicles, plug-in or not.

But here’s the rub: The Volt is a far nicer and more useful car. In fact, it’s the best Chevy sedan I can recall, not something stamped out for the rental fleets. Push the start button, engage the gear lever and the Volt silently rolls off. It’s a heavy car but not a ponderous one, and it drives almost luxuriously, with none of the oddball quirks of the Prius or the Honda Insight.

Steering, accelerator and brakes are nearly as linear as in a good conventional sedan. Top speed is 100 MPH. The interior is modern and tasteful, and the quality and finish are what we expect from Japan. If Chevy built the flimsy-feeling Prius and Toyota the Volt, we’d shake our heads and roll our eyes and laugh at GM. Subtract the $7,500 federal rebate and a Volt costs about $24,000. Want to kick the oil habit? This is a painless way to do it.

NISSAN 370Z

Some of us gearheads still moon about the splendid heritage of certain Euro sports cars while pooh-poohing the Japanese as newcomers whose “soulless” mechanical reliability is no substitute for DNA forged in the heat of wheelto-wheel combat.

Yes, a Porsche or a Ferrari brings with it the burnt-oil haze of hundreds of wins in decades of racing at the world’s storied tracks. Yes, most Japanese cars are pretty vanilla. But oh, the exceptions ... They are, well, exceptional.

Get your grandfather to tell you about the Datsun 240Z, that wondrous coupe that rode out of the Far East 40 years ago to challenge the world’s top two-seaters. It’s still around. By now it has a more than adequate heritage of its own and its price, performance, looks and reliability still make it a winner.

Like many of us, over the decades the Z put on weight and got slower, but then it went to the gym, slimmed down, changed its name to Nissan and became the athletic 350Z and then this 370Z. The formula remained intact: high performance and build quality at a mysteriously low sticker. For 2012 prices start around $30K; the top hardcore Z, from Nissan’s Nismo skunkworks, costs maybe 10 grand more. Each one is a flat-out bargain. There is also a droptop roadster.

The high-winding, raucous 3.7-litre V6 is rated for 332 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque (the Nismo numbers are a bit

| GateHouse News Service 2012 VEHICLE REVIEWS

When this Prius arrived, I was looking forward to savaging it in print — the car that burns so little gas because we hate driving it, etc., etc. — when I noticed something odd: an electrical socket on the left front flank. Just to drive home the point, Toyota also stuck decals on it that no one could miss: PLUG-IN HYBRID. Coiled up in the trunk was a hefty cable with a three-prong wall plug on one end, a special Prius plug on the other, and a transformer box in between. This is not your ordinary gas-electric hybrid.

I plugged it in, then went to the meter on the house, expecting to see the little wheel whirling madly and emitting smoke. Nope. My clothes dryer spins it faster.

Unplugging the car to run errands and then hooking it up again at home turns out to be no bother. It’s like tying up your horse. Recharged, which takes three or four hours, the car will make it to my gym and halfway back before the gas engine kicks in. That’s about 12 miles at speeds from a neighborhood dawdle to 50 mph, with a long uphill on the return trip.

Running errands on a topped-up battery, from the library to the post office to the market, didn’t use a drop of dinosaur squash. A week of this sort of driving, averaging 23 MPH, consumed less than two gallons of gas for a claimed 84.1 mpg in 65 percent allelectric driving. A dash on the inter-

state, however, would suck down the electrons right away and push gas consumption to 35 to 40 mpg.

In this pre-production mule, Toyota has rejiggered the computer to let the battery drain to about a quarter-charge before the 1.8-liter four-banger wakes up, to spin the generator and help turn the front wheels. They’ve also swapped out the nickel-metal-hydride powerpack for a heavier, more powerful and costly lithium-ion type, so when a plug-in model hits dealerships, maybe in 2012, it’s going to cost more than the standard Prius.

Unfortunately, save for fuel use, it’s not going to drive any better. The steering is still spookily light, the accelerator pedal feels like it’s on rubber bands, the energy-recovering brakes are anybody’s guess, and there is no handling or speed to speak of. A Prius is like a small airplane, built as lightly as possible; creeping along under e-power, you’ll hear any squeak or rattle.

Calculating the environmental impact or even the economics of owning one of these things is beyond me, but as long as our national energy policy remains “Hey, what’s our oil doing under their sand?” Toyota will earn market share with its expanding Prius family. (Never mind that a simple but welldesigned turbodiesel car can go farther on the same or less fuel.) As a plug-in, the Prius begins to make sense, especially if this first one is a stepping stone to even smarter cars. I think.

BMW 650i higher) and is attached to a 6-speed manual or 7-speed automatic with paddle shifters. More money buys the usual step-ups.

The entry-level Z is “basic” only in that it is pared down to sports-car essentials.

Punch the starter button and the big motor whirrs and whines, then awakens with a bark. The clutch grabs like steel Velcro; backing out of the driveway, the wide Yokohamas stutter on fallen leaves.

In town the suspension has all the give of a warm rock. It’s mechanical and growly and it reaches down and grabs your man parts and inquires, “Are you paying attention?” But the seat is adjustable, comfortable and supportive.

The steering tells us what’s going on.

Slip out of town and when there’s an opening in traffic, point the nose out, downshift and go.

With a stirring baritone howl the car shoots ahead. Hard corners, emergency maneuvers, full-bore OMG stops—the Z stays planted. On the interstate it can clear the left-lane slugs simply by showing up hungry in their mirrors. At speed it’s noisy enough to discourage cellphone use, which is all to the good.

So here we have many of the characteristics of a supercar—terrible visibility to the rear and quarters, a stiff ride, a steering wheel that hunts back and forth over rough pavement, the decibel level of a grain combine, room for one passenger and a weekend’s worth of swimsuits—but at the price and the drip-dry reliability of a boring family sedan. How great is that?

When BMW re-launched its 6-Series coupe in 2003, the car was not quite fully sorted — some tweaking was in order. This 650i is the 2012, gen-two model, and the car is now spot-on, a techno tour de force.

For one thing, the computer boots up faster. For another, you can flog it like an absolute lunatic down Route 100 through the Green Mountains or you can glide along Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. You can also drive it from Vermont to California at eye-watering speed and in posh comfort with, theoretically, just six stops along the way for fuel. Even parking is a breeze, thanks to BMW’s unique sensors and cameras that monitor all sides of the car from above, in full sun or at night.

The new interior is much more elegant, but there’s only room for two. Each back seat does, however, neatly cradle a case of champagne. This one is a convertible, with a push-button fabric top that goes up and down in seconds but eats into the trunk. Still, there’s room for the basics — a tuxedo, a sable coat, a couple pairs of stiletto heels. A fixed-roof 650i has a bigger trunk and may be slightly stiffer and more responsive, but there’s nothing soggy about the choptop’s dynamic behavior.

Turbocharged V-8s with 400 horsepower aren’t as remarkable as they used to be (you can get more than that from a Hyundai now) but this one spins like a yo-yo on ball bearings and accelerates the car hard enough to deform your face.

There’s no turbo lag and the 8-speed automatic is perfectly programmed to keep the motor on the boil. If you think you know better than the computer, you can shift manually with the paddles on the wheel. I just click the shifter into Sport and let it do its own thing.

Seemingly everything is adjustable, even the driving experience. Suspension stiffness, throttle response and steering can be set for Comfort, Normal, Sport or Sport+. With each click, the 650i seems to lose 250 pounds of its nearly two tons.

So here’s my question: Why not carve off some of these gadgets and make a car that really is half a ton lighter, as well as simpler to drive and to maintain and less dear to buy? Including the convertible top button, there are 15 switches on the armrest console alone, plus the 7-way iDrive knob, and there are alerts for everything from traffic in the blind spot to the performance of the driver’s portfolio. Also a posse of electronic nannies that simply forbid most driving mistakes. But BMW knows how to bake luxury, comfort and performance into a car without resorting to this much electronic trickery.

If you’re on the ramen-noodle budget, this isn’t for you. But if you’ve ever wondered how the Germans can with a straight face charge a hundred grand for a mass-produced car, the new 650i will enlighten you, and even leave you thinking that might be a fair price.

PICKUP TRUCKS

Keep on truckin’ 2012 brings big changes to pickup engines, styles

BY DANIELLE BRAFF | GateHouse News Service

his year will be a huge one for domestic pickup trucks. Literally. In 2012, expect to see bigger, stronger pickups that can carry heavier loads longer distances on less fuel than ever before.

But bigger doesn’t mean bulkier this time around.

The newest models have sleeker designs, fancier colors and all the technological comforts of a small sports vehicle. The newest pickups have managed to combine everything you could ever want into one powerful locomotive.

T

The 2012 Ford Harley-Davidson F-150. FORD PHOTO

Motorcycle-pickup combo

New engine for Ram 1500

Towing and hauling

It’s not a motorcycle, but it’s nearly sleek enough to become one. The 2012 Ford Harley-Davidson F-150 is a result of the collaboration between the popular motorcycle company and the Detroit carmaker. The newest version sports a steering wheel, center console lid and scuff plates outfitted in snakeskin leather. The 2012 model also has 22inch aluminum wheels, and you can choose the newest paint color: White Platinum Tri-Coat.

The 2012 Dodge Ram 1500 is designed to work well as a truck, while remaining a relatively trendy vehicle to drive through cities and around town.

The biggest change for the model is expected to be its new base engine — the Chrysler 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6. It’s also expected to add minor changes regarding connectivity technologies, which will be offered as an additional option package.

Looking for the pickup strong enough to carry the heaviest loads? General Motors engineers are working on improving their full-sized trucks to accommodate more than 23,000 pounds — the maximum fifth-wheel towing amount. They’ve redone their u-bolts, box mounts and rear leaf springs, in addition to making the cargo box internal structure stronger.

GM also upgraded its shocks and increased the size of its box sill supports to accommodate the extra weight.

Return to ‘Mad Men’ era

Ford hybrids

Just as TV shows are going retro, and popular baby names may resemble those of your grandparents, trucks are feeling the nostalgia, too. Chevrolet created a Glamour lineup model of pickups from 1967 to 1972, and they’re bringing back the 1967 Custom Sport Truck for 2012. There are just a few significant differences in the model 45 years later: The 2012 version will have a six-speed automatic transmission, a Vortec 5.3-liter V-8 engine, heated power outside mirrors complete with chrome caps, a trailer ring package to accommodate larger loads, 20-inch chrome-clad aluminum wheels and a power driver’s seat, among other things that current drivers expect out of their pickups. The package will be available in the U.S. on Silverado 1500 extended cab models, and in some states on the Silverado 1500 crew-cab models.

New fuel regulations requiring better mileage while maintaining current carry and tow abilities have pushed Ford and Toyota to combine forces to develop a hybrid drivetrain system designed for pickups and SUVs. It’s not ready yet, but it should be soon. The new technology will be applied to Ford’s F-150 and the Ford Expedition, among other models.

Appearances differ for 2012 Titan Get ready to see a new look for the 2012 Nissan Titan, with the addition of the Sport Appearance Package. You’ll have the option to add 20-inch SL aluminum-alloy wheels outfitted in a dark Hyper Silver finish, black step rails, a lockable storage compartment, fog lights, a center console, a hands-free Bluetooth phone system, a darkened grille treatment and audio controls mounted on the steering wheel. The pickup will start at $29,000, and the Sport Appearance Package will cost an additional $2,490.

NISSAN PHOTO

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