Auto News & New car review

In the past few years, a lack of new product and marketing investment has left Isuzu struggling on the fringes of the light truck market. In fact, the end of the road is now in sight: 2008 will be the company’s last year for its i-Series pickup and Ascender sport-utility vehicle, with plans to leave the U.S. consumer market altogether in early 2009. Given the company’s negligible sales last year, we don’t think many consumers are likely to notice. Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve seen plenty of spy photos circulating the web of Triumph’s long-expected parallel twin cruiser, so the introduction of the new 2010 Thunderbird is anything but shocking. We are a bit surprised, though, by how plain-looking the bike is, appearing very much like a modern Bonneville injected with steroids performance enhancing drugs. With its blacked-out liquid cooled parallel engine, the bike bares a passing resemblance to Kawasaki’s rather ancient Vulcan 500 model… Read the rest of this entry »

BMW’s supercar icon, the M1, blew out the candles at the Concorso d’Eleganza at Villa d’Este this weekend. In honor of the car’s thirtieth birthday, BMW rolled out the new BMW M1 Hommage, a concept/design study that pays tribute to the original M1 and shows what could be possible if BMW were to produce a new mid-engined sports car. Follow the jump for the breakdown. Read the rest of this entry »

When a car costs as much as a house, as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class does, it makes you take a step back. Can a car this expensive really be worth it? After spending a week with an S550, I can tell you that if any ultraluxury car can justify its gold-plated price tag, it’s this one. Mercedes’ flagship offers a level of power, luxury, technology and prestige found in only a select few full-size luxury sedans. Read the rest of this entry »

A car that’s two years into its current design is usually beginning to show its age, especially when it has as many serious competitors as Infiniti’s M sedan does. The M outpaces that trend: The 2006 original took the field by storm, and today’s car is nine-tenths as terrific. In a segment whose players’ strengths vary across many fronts — performance, technology, quality, reliability — the M emerges a competent choice across the board. Read the rest of this entry »

America has the hots for hybrids. On the flip side of high gas prices, the value of any vehicle with fuel economy below 20 mpg has collapsed. Brand new “gas guzzlers” sit on dealer lots collecting incentives, rebates, finance deals and dust. The price of used fuel-suckers has dropped by 25 percent in the last four months, and THEN the rest. This is the perfect time to shop for a twin-turbo twelve-cylinder behemoth. Read the rest of this entry »