BY CSABA CSERE

Traction that finally matches the power and balanced handling.

As engine outputs have risen over the past 25 years, front-drive cars have migrated towards four-wheel-drive to give their over-burdened front tires a break. Even Saab has finally capitulated with this 9-3 Turbo X.

A Haldex 4.0 center coupling shifts as much as 90 percent of the engine’s 280-hp output to the rear wheels via electronically controlled wet clutches. Its little digital brain anticipates when power is needed in back even before the tires slip. An electronically controlled clutch pack in the rear diff prevents side-to-side slip, while the traction control takes care of the front wheels. (more…)

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BY JARED GALL

The GTI moves asymptotically closer to perfection.

A select handful of cars offers a rare level of all-around excellence that sets them on a plane seemingly untouchable by their competitors. Premium branding is often part of the price of admission to this level of perfection, but the people’s car company”Volkswagen”sees no reason it can’t play here, too, granting its R32 levels of polish and balance more often associated with pricier brands. (more…)

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BY AARON ROBINSON

The graying roadster attacks the track.

Warning! Auto racing is spectacular and exciting, but can be dangerous! The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course posts this caution next to the drivers bathrooms, so it’s probably worth repeating in this introduction to the Honda S2000 CR. For the CR”the initials stand for Club Racer”is about rubber-chunking, brake-burning, wall-fanning track work. You wouldn’t really want the shale-stiff CR for anything else, which is perhaps why Honda plans to sell only 1400 copies of the circa-$38,000 CR in 2008. (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 AARON ROBINSON, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MORGAN SEGAL

Options are a mere $52,710.

Nabbing a Lamborghini for testing involves trying to chisel into a press-car calendar thick with celebrity-studded red-carpet parties hosted by the likes of Donatella Versace. It isn’t easy getting on the schedule. Lamborghini’s silk-suited brand managers are hyping a fantasy lifestyle, and we in the grubby Fourth Estate have nothing to offer against a Donatella photo op except burned-up clutches and chunked tires. (more…)

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BY ERIK JOHNSON

Simply put, diesels are awesome. We’re such huge fans of diesels and their clattery goodness that we were beside ourselves with glee when Jeep announced last year that it planned to swipe the 3.0-liter turbo-diesel from the Mercedes powertrain lineup and stuff it into its Grand Cherokee SUV for 2007. After all, what vehicle wouldn’t be better off with a little sparkless ignition in its life? (more…)

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There are few cars on the road that not only define a brand, but also set the tone of what the brand aspires to become. The first generation G35 Coupe was that vehicle for Infiniti. With its low-slung and aggressive stance, powerful V-6 engine and a fun to drive nature, not previously associated with the Infiniti nameplate, the 2003 G35 Coupe was the car that launched a thousand imitators and set the benchmark for all future Infiniti products. (more…)

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