July 2010 Sales

July sales were generally positive for the automakers as two-thirds of the brands showed improvement. General Motor's Cadillac and Buick led everyone and were the only brands to more than double their sales from last July. Chevrolet, Ford, and Nissan reported sales increases while Honda and Toyota reported small sales drops. On the luxury front Acura and Infiniti had strong rebound months with sales improvement of 50 and 38 percent respectively. Cash for Clunkers played a small part last July but August will be a real challenge for the automakers to improve upon last year's clunker driven sales.



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Updated Veyron Hits Top Gear Track

The even faster Bugatti Veyron SS is quicker also. The Stig takes the black/orange Veyron around the Top Gear track and not surprisingly goes quicker than the regular Veyron. How quick? Watch to find out how the 1,200 horsepower Veyron stacks up against other hypercars. And if you can, watch the entire episode as it's one of best in some time.

Ford Explorer Reborn As A Crossover

The exremely-well-selling-back-in-its-day Ford Explorer returns as a crossover fit for modern times, according to Ford. It will feature a 3.5 liter 290 horsepower V6 engine and a two liter turbocharged Ecoboost four cylinder with 237 horsepower but only 5 lb-ft less torque than the V6. Ford promises fuel economy to be on par with a V6 powered Camry for the "premium" priced Ecoboost option. Time will tell how many buyers will pay some additional money for extra fuel economy while giving up performance to the standard engine. Read the Ford press release here.

Audi A7 Unveiled

Here are some first high quality photos of the new Audi A7. The A7 is a five door hatch that is bigger than the current A6 but smaller than the A8, just like the name implies. At launch it is available with three V6 engines. The US will get the 300 horsepower 3.0T paired with an 8 speed auto. Read the press release for all the facts here.

Car and Driver: Audi RS5 vs. BMW M3 vs. Cadillac CTS-V

Car and Driver ventured out to the German Autobahn and the 'Ring to test the three hottest sport coupes out today. The Car and Driver test team burned up 2,000 dollars of fuel testing the coupe's 178 mph top speed. Car and Driver loved the RS5's gearbox, the Cadillac's power and M3's steering and the general performance level of all three was outstanding with 0 to 60 arriving in around 4 second flat and the "slowest" ran a 12.5 second 1/4 mile. Here are the ratings:

Third. Audi RS5. Car and Driver appreciated the RS5's 7 speed S-Tronic gearbox and 450 horsepower V8 but its 4,000 pound curb weight along with steering modes that never achieve satisfaction put it in third.

Second. Cadillac CTS-V. Car and Driver found the CTS-V the most stable on the Autobahn and the supercharged V8 most powerful, yet a little too quiet. C/D also liked the Cadillac's steering and brakes but was disappointed by its interior and Recaro seats.

First. BMW M3. The lightest in test (3,600 pounds) M3 with the competition package had the best handling in the test. C/D also liked the M3's V8 soundtrack. The M3 was the shiftiest at high speed on the Autobahn.

2011 Audi A8 V8 Offers Better Fuel Economy Than BMW and Mercedes Hybrids

The 2011 Audi A8 with the 372 horsepower V8 engine will offer exceptional fuel economy of 17 city and 27 highway. These ratings place the A8 far ahead of its BMW and Mercedes V8 powered competition. Surprisingly, the A8 with its conventional V8 engine and 8 speed gearbox also tops its German rivals' hybrid efforts fuel economy wise. The BMW 7 series ActiveHybrid trails the A8 by 1 mpg on the highway and the Mercedes S400 hybrid comes up 2 mpg short.



Audi A8: 17/21/27

BMW ActiveHybrid: 17/20/26
MB S400 Hybrid: 19/21/25
Lexus LS 600hL: 20/21/22
Mercedes S550: 15/18/23
BMW 750i: 15/17/22
BMW 740i: 17/20/25

2011 Volkswagen Touareg TDI Delivers 28 MPG

Set to go on sale later this year the Volkswagen V6 TDI diesel engine equipped with the 8 speed automatic gearbox will not only produce 406 lb-ft of torque but also 28 mpg on the highway. The EPA rates the V6 TDI Touareg at 19 city and 28 highway, figures more easily associated with midsize sedans rather than SUVs with 7,700 pounds of towing capacity. Volkswagen credits the 460 pounds weight decrease for the improvement in fuel economy.