BY DAVE VANDERWERP

The forward-thinking flagship is now less controversial and—surprise—more user-friendly.

While the new fifth-generation 7-series continues to be BMW’s technological pacesetter—it gets even more high-tech features such as variable suspension damping, rear-wheel steering, night vision with pedestrian detection, and side-view cameras—the real buzz at its introduction was BMW’s backpedaling away from some of the previous big car’s, uh, “breakthroughs.” (more…)

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BY MARK GILLIES, PHOTOGRAPHY BY TOM DREW

Six-packed: Mazda’s new family sedan offers more of everything, except excitement.

No matter how much we liked the old Mazda 6, introduced in 2002 as a 2003 model, it was always at a disadvantage in the mid-size-sedan market because it was a little undersized.

For 2009, Mazda has rectified that matter with the new 6, which is bigger in every dimension. The wheelbase has gone up by 4.5 inches, to 109.8 inches. Overall, the car is 6.9 inches longer and 2.3 inches wider, at 193.7 inches and 72.4 inches, respectively. The maximum interior volume has increased from 96 cubic feet to 102 cubic feet, and the trunk volume is about 10 percent bigger, at 17 cubic feet. From being the minnow of the mid-size pack, the 6 is now one of its whales. (more…)

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BY PATRICK BEDARD, PHOTOGRAPHY BY TOM DREW

Dearborn’s dreamboat was the MKR, a 2007 concept with an unforgettable face, warming the crowd for this near-luxury MKS.

To your list of things that will never happen, you can add one more: The hot-blooded pilotes of this staff will never rank this new Lincoln above a BMW, any BMW, in a comparison test. But the Supreme Court is not the only enclave of divided opinions; the contrarians among us think Ford has something going on here. (more…)

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BY ERIK JOHNSON AND STEVE SILER

The all-new Fit is fun to drive, practical, and pretty cool. So why can’t we agree on it?

We love the Honda Fit. Roomy inside and more fun to drive than a team of coked-up sled dogs, we’ve awarded it a place on our 10Best Cars list two straight years, and it decimated the competition in a seven-car comparison test. Of course, that was the old Fit. There’s now a new model, completely redesigned for 2009, and a few of us in the office have had a chance to take a spin behind the wheel. (more…)

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BY JOHN PHILLIPS, PHOTOGRAPHY BY AARON KILEY

Antique Road Show: What would Andy Warhol drive?

This road test may be irrelevant. Which wouldn’t necessarily make it unique to the pages of C/D. This time, however, it isn’t our fault. See, Bentley is going to create only 550 Brooklands—delivering the final one toward the end of 2009—and 549 of them are already spoken for. The grand-touring coupe you see on these pages, in a color Bentley calls “Porcelain,” is the last copy for sale. Or was at the time this was written. (more…)

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BY ALISA PRIDDLE

BMW adds a performance diesel to the U.S. lineup, but no seven-speed dual clutch.

BMW has released the first official pictures of the new 3-series sedan and wagon that will be unveiled this fall at the 2009 Paris auto show, prior to going on sale in North America in October. (more…)

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BY AARON ROBINSON, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MORGAN SEGAL

Quicker than a Subaru WRX, this new Lancer model offers fun on the run.

Mitsubishi knows the name Ralliart isn’t spoken with much reverence among American gasoline punks. That should change. Mitsubishi has watched Subaru ring up healthy sales with the mid-grade WRX, which neatly slots between the 87-octane Impreza and the high-test STI. (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 STEVE SILER

Porsche’s upcoming hybrid ute will deliver more than 400 pound-feet of torque.

Two years ago at the Frankfurt auto show, Porsche announced it had begun work on a hybrid Cayenne program, but the company has remained quiet since then, except to tell us it has remained partnered with VW on the SUV’s development. However, Porsche recently broke its silence and gave us a few more details about what we can expect from its new hybrid SUV, which is on track for a 2009 launch. (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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