Handy Auto Guide

Inside Line has posted a preview of the 2007 GMC Acadia crossover SUV. ‘We learned a few facts that surprised us while driving the all-new 2007 GMC Acadia. First, GMC is The General's second best-selling division behind Chevrolet. In fact, GMC's sales are up more than 80 percent since 1991, and it's had record sales in 11 of the last 13 years. The division has also found great success in its "Denali" branding, with those premium versions making up nearly half of all sales for every model line that offers them. GM representatives expect similar success from the upcoming Sierra Denali line.

Inside Line have posted their take on the Chevrolet Camaro Convertible which is set to go on sale around the middle of 2009. 'The existence of the Camaro Convertible concept was so predictable, in fact, that any number of Photoshop manipulators, both amateur and professional, have already built their own. Or at least they have made virtual versions of it for fun or profit. In the last 12 months an entire cottage industry has cropped up around digitally chopping the top off last year's Camaro Coupe concept.

A review of GM's 2007 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck has been posted over at Business Week. 'The new Silverado matches or surpasses its main rivals—the Ford F-150 (see BusinessWeek.com, 4/19/06, "America's Favorite Pickup Truck") and the Dodge Ram—in just about every respect, from fuel economy to features and options to plain old versatility. For instance, if you're on a budget and just want a basic pickup, you can just go with the regular cab, two-wheel drive, and the basic Z83 suspension.

A review of GM's Pontiac Solstice GXP roadster has been posted on Business Week. 'For anyone who hasn't been paying attention over the past two years, twin roadsters, the Sky and the Solstice, have helped GM generate immense excitement for its Saturn and Pontiac brands, respectively. But, a lot of ink has gone into questioning how these could be GM products, given a so-so design record. Now, with a set of performance-oriented editions, the company is out to prove the roadsters aren't just for show.

Having spent some wheel time with the new 2007 Holden Commodore SS, the folks at Motor Trend have posted their impressions in a review of the sedan. 'If the SS V driving experience recalls any other car, it's the previous-generation M5. That sport-sedan icon was about the same overall size as the new Commodore and also had a six-speed stick, 400 horsepower, and a wonderfully sophisticated chassis. The tunes played out of the SS V's four-pipe exhaust will remind you of the Cadillac CTS-v

A review of the 2007 Chevrolet Suburban LTZ has been posted over at BusinessWeek. 'The Suburban has been around in one form or another since 1935, and after having been a hot seller for most of the last decade, sales for 2006 were down by nearly 10,000 to just over 77,000, for an 11% drop year-over-year. Of course SUV sales, especially for behemoths like the Suburban, have suffered across the board. The equally large Ford (F) Expedition is in even worse shape, slipping nearly 23%, and DaimlerChrysler's (DCX) Dodge Durango posted a dismal 39% drop

The Truth About Cars have published a review of the Saab 9-5 Aero sedan. 'Saab may have been "Born from Jets," but there's little about the brand's current offerings that you'd call state-of-the-art. The 9-3 has changed little since its ‘03 introduction. The 9-7X dates back to the ‘02 Chevy TrailBlazer. And the 9-5 has been stuck in holding pattern since ‘98. I recently tested a 9-5 to see if the quirky car lives up to its high tech brand proposition. My range-topping tester's trim designation: "Aero." That pounding sound you hear is GM's marketers driving home the high-altitude hype.

A review of the 2007 Saturn Vue Green Line hybrid has been posted over at The London Free Press. ‘GM has hybrids in the pipeline, including versions of the mid-size Chevy Malibu and full-size Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. The trucks are to go into production in Oshawa by fall 2008. Right now, the General's rolling hybrid venture is the Saturn Vue Green Line. GM boasts its system has a lower initial cost than other more powerful and sophisticated hybrid systems. The phrase going around is "less hybrid for less money."

CNET have published their review of the 2007 GMC Acadia crossover SUV. ‘The exterior of the Acadia also retains a lot of GMC SUV styling. It has a big, truck-like, chrome-wrapped grille complete with a large GMC logo. The side windows are big and rectangular, and there is an overlarge C-pillar separating the rear cargo area from the passenger cabin, a cue that hearkens back to the day when SUVs were just crew cab trucks with a shell over the bed. Prominent wheel arches bulge out of the sides as if they were a whole new set of fenders. Our test car, an all-wheel-drive Acadia at the SLT-2 trim level, came with big, 19-inch wheels.

Inside Line have posted their review of the 2008 Buick Enclave having concluded a 24 hour test-drive of the SUV. 'Though General Motors would have the world believe that the Enclave (along with its fraternal twins the Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia) represents a dramatic, new concept in motor vehicles, it doesn't. People movers with carlike unibody platforms and SUV pretensions are nothing new. Some German and Japanese makers are well into their second-generation versions of such vehicles.

SearchChicago Autos have published their review of the 2007 Pontiac Solstice GXP roadster. 'The new turbocharged GXP version of Pontiac's Solstice sports car gets the punch to match its racy styling, with horsepower up to 260 from 177 in the base version, introduced as a 2006 model. The GXP even has higher fuel economy.The regular Solstice was an instant hit with an under-$20,000 list price, Hollywood good looks and sports car handling. The person behind the car was General Motors product czar Bob Lutz, who never was able to offer a low-priced zoomy sports car at major automakers where he worked as a top executive. One reason for the first Solstice's $19,420 list price was its adroit use of parts from other GM vehicle.'

A review of the 2007 Holden Epica CDX 2.5 sedan has been posted over at Australian Car Advice. ‘Our test vehicle – the CDX – was optioned with the Daewoo-Porsche co-developed 2.5-litre inline-6-cylinder motor, producing 115kW of power and 237Nm of torque. Although it sounds great on paper, the engine is devastatingly short of torque throughout the lower end of the rev range. Stomping on the throttle from a standing start provides no general feeling of motion or torque delivery, things only begin happening north of 3500RPM where the engine makes an almighty racket.’

The Car Connection have published their "test-driven" review of the 2007 GMC Acadia SUV. 'GMC is GM's upscale SUV and truck division, up a notch from Chevy, not quite as high-end as Cadillac. And until now, it has only sold trucks and truck-based SUVs. Of course, not everyone needs or wants a truck - or even truck-based SUV, for that matter. Realizing this, GM decided to broaden GMC's product portfolio by adding the new Acadia to the lineup.Though it has the hunky looks of a large, truck-based SUV, the eight-passenger Acadia is in fact the first-ever GMC model to be built on what is essentially a front-wheel-drive, integral frame/body passenger car chassis (with an all-wheel-drive system available optionally). That makes it a "crossover," as such vehicles are now called.'

CNET have published their review of the 2007 Pontiac Solstice GXP (5-speed automatic) convertible. 'The first thing one realizes when taking the wheel of the Pontiac Solstice GXP is how much of an attention-magnet it is. In fact, driving through downtown San Francisco with the top down, we were getting so many rubbernecking looks that we began to nod in George Cloonian nonchalance as we cruised by the star-struck pedestrians. In order to establish whether it was the Solstice GXP or our own dashing good looks that was drawing the attention of the madding crowd, we devised a test to demonstrate the car's pulling power sans Car Tech editors. We resolved to park the car with its top down on a relatively busy street in a residential district of San Francisco.'

CNET have published a review of the 2008 Buick Enclave CXL crossover SUV. ‘The Buick brand seems like an odd duck, and we occasionally wonder why it exists. But cars such as the Buick Lucerne and the Enclave continue to justify it. Like the Acadia, the Enclave is a good vehicle to wean someone off an SUV. The Enclave has a high seating position, and its seats are configured like those in an SUV. It's bulky, with a clunky transmission, but the steering is overpowered, making for an easily turned wheel, and the cabin has a luxurious feel.

A review of the 2008 Cadillac STS sedan has been posted over at BusinessWeek.com 'The STS is often described as a competitor to the hot European and Japanese luxury performance models listed above. But I see it more as an American-style alternative. The STS now comes close to matching BMW, Mercedes, and Lexus in many respects, but its looks and handling retain a distinctively American flavor. Certainly, the STS is speedy enough to be competitive. Even the V-6-equipped version of the car accelerates from zero to 60 mph in around 7.6 seconds—the same as the '08 BMW 528xi, and only half a second slower than the '08 528i. When you punch the gas pedal, the new V-6 in the STS feels like it has the power of a V-8, both from a standing stop and at highway speed. (The STS-V will jump from zero to 60 in under five seconds if sheer speed is a priority.'

A review of the 2007 Holden Caprice V8 luxury sedan has been posted over at the Australian Car Advice. 'From the outside, the new Holden Caprice doesn’t look that dissimilar to an equivalent sized vehicle from the Germans. The front end carries a Bi-Xenon headlight cluster, while the rear uses LED lights. The side profile features beefed wheel arches, along with an LED clad indicator arrangement which looks classy and defined. Step inside and the luxuries continue. Rear passengers have an absolutely staggering amount of leg room. Six-foot something passengers have more than enough leg and knee room – and then some.'

BusinessWeek have published their review of the 2008 Chevrolet Malibu sedans. 'Slip behind the wheel of a new Malibu, and it's hard to believe it's a Chevy. Even lower-end models have none of the chintzy plastic accoutrements that have marred Chevrolets in the past. And on the LTZ, the two-tone leather upholstery and the curve of the wood trim across the dash are genuinely attractive and upscale looking. The LTZ doesn't quite rival the interior of a top-of-the-line '08 Accord EX-L, which resembles an entry-level luxury car, but it comes close. GM has also learned how small design flourishes—such as the attractive aqua-blue instrument lighting, similar to the lighting in the hot-selling Buick Enclave—can add to the cabin's appeal without driving up the price.'

Inside Line have published a “First drive” review of the 2007 HSV Maloo R8 Ute. ‘Born in 1987 in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton, HSV has grown to become the premier Aussie performance brand. HSV vehicles start at the exit gate of the nearby Holden production line, where they're diverted into the modest confines of a factory consisting not of robots and mechanized assembly lines, but instead human hands and four-post hoists. HSV initially produced only six vehicles each day, but now it produces five times that figure, around 4,700 annually. Though the Clubsport R8 is the king of HSV, the Maloo — an aboriginal word for "storm" or "thunder" — is not far behind. With a 17-year history, the Maloo ute is known for delivering the Clubbie's high-performance hardware in a package that is both lighter and cheaper.’

A review of the 2008 Pontiac Torrent GXP has been posted over at The Car Connection. 'What's a GXP? It's a new version of the Torrent that Pontiac is putting into the lineup for '08 to help juice up interest in its mid-size, five-door crossover. The package centers around a 3.6-liter V-6 that's massively more powerful than the 3.4-liter V-6 that's been the standard Torrent powerplant since the model's introduction back in 2006. The new engine produces 264 hp, a great leap forward of nearly 80 horsepower over the 3.4's not-so-torrential 185 hp rating.

Automobile Car Blog have published their review of the 2008 Pontiac G8 GT. 'The G8 lives within a narrow price band, and the optional furbelows are few. Just $27,595 puts you into the base G8, with a 256-hp, 3.6-liter four-cam V-6 and the 5L40 five-speed automatic. The GT, with its 361-hp, 6.0-liter V-8 and six-speed 6L80 Hydra-Matic, starts delivering 5.3-second barrels to 60 mph for $29,995. With all options, the GT rises to $32,745. A Hemi-equipped Dodge Charger R/T starts at $31,430 and offers more checkable boxes, including all-wheel drive.

SearchChicago have published their review of the 2008 Pontiac G8 sports sedan. 'The rear-wheel-drive G8 resembles a much costlier BMW rear-drive 5-Series sedan from some angles with slick styling, a long wheelbase and short front/rear body overhangs. But the G8 has Pontiac's signature split grille and twin (nonfunctional) hood scoops. Pontiac spokesman Jim Hopkins said the automaker expects to sell about 30,000 G8s annually, mostly to 35- to 50-year-old males with a median income of $75,000-$80,000. The G8, which promises to enhance Pontiac's performance image, comes with a V-6 or more potent V-8. It's expected that most initial G8 buyers will opt for the V-8, with sales eventually shaking out to about a 50-50 split between the two engines.'

A review of the 2008 GMC Yukon 2-Mode hybrid SUV has been posted over at the USA Today. 'The test truck, a loaded ($53,235) RWD model, gave a light shiver as it shifted between gasoline and electric. Common among hybrids, but annoying. When going to wide-open throttle, as when merging on a fast-moving interstate, the GMC tester held the engine at high revs — 5,000 to 5,500 rpm — an unusually long time before shifting into another gear ratio. Engineer Scott Miller, performance manager for the hybrids, says it could be because the transmission was switching from conventional four-speed automatic mode to variable-ratio that's part of the hybrid setup. "We've had comments that it's different, and we recognize that. We don't feel it's at the complaint level."

CarAdvice have published their "First drive" review of the 2008 Holden Sportwagon. 'Holden’s Sportwagon is based on the Commodore short-wheel-base platform and not, as in the past, on the WM long-wheel-base platform. The Sportwagon maintains the same length as the sedan but still manages to be one of the most spacious wagons on the market. The tailgate cuts into the roofline to allow easy access when parked against walls and other cars. The Sportwagon needs just 268mm of clearance to swing the tailgate open, meaning that hectares of room aren’t required to load the shopping or the kid’s soccer gear.'

A review of the 2008 GMC Yukon Hybrid SUV has been posted over at LeftLane News. 'The Yukon Hybrid gets a different front fascia with a more prominent chrome grille. The front bumper stretches down much, much further than in the standard model, significantly inhibiting any off road pretensions this SUV might have ever had (even though ours was a two-wheel-drive example, the four-wheel-drive models also feature the elongated front bumper). This is, of course, all done in the name of decreasing wind resistance. The running boards are also better integrated into the body with a pair of plastic sail panels designed to help this box cheat the wind and the roof rack is removed. Styling is subjective, of course, but we think the Tahoe Hybrid’s more subtle front end is cleaner and more refined.'