BY ALISA PRIDDLE

Pacifica output takes a mini break to meet dealer demand for minivans, while Chrysler also prepares to build VW minivans next year.

Consumers waiting for the launch of the new 2008 Chrysler Town & Country or Dodge Grand Caravan take heart. Chrysler this week marked the production launch of the new minivans with the segment’s most innovative seating, at its Windsor, Ontario, Canada, plant. The people movers should be arriving in showrooms in October.

To ensure enough to meet high dealer demand, Chrysler is temporarily halting production of its Pacifica crossover in Windsor to dedicate the entire plant to minivan output for a couple months. The Pacifica will be reintroduced in late September or early October. (more…)

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BY ERIK JOHNSON

A turbocharger roosts under the HHR’s retro-styled hood.

As Chrysler uses Detroit’s annual Woodward Dream Cruise to roll out another snoozer special edition of the extremely long-in-the-tooth PT Cruiser”this time the Sunset Boulevard Cruiser, inspired by a street 2300 miles and several tax brackets away from Motown’s famed avenue”Chevrolet has decided to inject a little bit of muscle into the event. Make that a very little bit of muscle, because the bow-tie brand has seen fit to unleash upon the world the Chevrolet HHR SS, which is, of course, based on the diminutive HHR trucklet. (more…)

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BY ALISA PRIDDLE

Front-drive Malibu was to be followed by rear-drive Impala, but those plans still are in limbo.

Dealers should start receiving the new 2008 Malibu, available in four trim levels including a hybrid version, in November.

The Malibu is the last General Motors vehicle to come from the outgoing Epsilon platform that is being replaced by the new Global Midsize Vehicle Architecture. Cars from the next-generation architecture start rolling out next year with a new European-market Opel Vectra, with a steady stream to follow. (more…)

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BY ALISA PRIDDLE

This clean-diesel model, shown in Frankfurt, is for Europe only.

Volkswagen is using September’s Frankfurt auto show to reassert its stature as a maker of efficient diesels in Europe. The new Golf BlueMotion will be one of six models with the environmentally friendly powerplant (the other five have not been disclosed). (more…)

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BY JAKE HOLMES

Limited Edition package is for North America only.

In Britain, a new government plan to tackle pollution proposes charging luxo-ute owners $50 per day if they want to drive in London. Not so here, where SUVs are as omnipresent as ever. (more…)

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BY STEVE SILER, PHOTOGRAPHY BY HOLLY REICH AND THE MANUFACTURER

We’re not getting this V-8 diesel here, but we can tell you that the current Q7 flagship lacks soul and that Audi’s B&O doesn’t stink.

At the tail end of our first drive experience of Audi’s mouth-watering A5 and S5 coupes, we were thrust into the driver’s seat of something entirely different in pretty much every conceivable way: the newly minted Q7 4.2 TDI. Some of us rolled our eyes at this, since this particular oil burner, positioned as the current flagship of the Q7 line in Europe (until the V-12 TDI launches), won’t be making it stateside any time soon. (more…)

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BY HOWARD WALKER

Not to be outdone by the Suzuki XL7, the new Equinox Sport gets GM’s 3.6-liter V-6, too.

Chevy’s new amped-up Equinox Sport”we’re not sure why it’s not an SS either”is due in showrooms next fall as a 2008 model. It gets GM’s 263-horsepower 3.6-liter V-6 coupled to a six-speed automatic, a stiffer suspension, forged 18-inch wheels, a new look inside and out, and will be offered with either front- or all-wheel drive. (more…)

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BY JAKE HOLMES


A five-door hatch”and fun?”returns to the Elantra lineup.

Hyundai Elantra and sporty rarely have been synonymous, especially since the five-door hatchback model vanished in 2007. Since the Elantra’s redesign, the only option has been a sedan tuned more for the parking lot than an autocross. (more…)

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BY ERIK JOHNSON

A Conti GT with 50 extra horsepower takes Bentley to a place it’s never been.

How many times in your career as a Bentley salesperson have you found yourself in the embarrassing position of having nearly closed the sale on a Continental GT only to be rebuffed when the customer finds out it isn’t capable of 200 mph? (more…)

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The all-new 6 is set to debut at the Frankfurt auto show in September.

Mazda just announced that an all-new Mazda 6 will debut at the upcoming Frankfurt auto show in September. Official details are still sparse, but the company has released a single image of the new car, which you see here. (more…)

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