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I posted some time ago that I’m expecting huge things from Hyundai’s upcoming rear-drive flagship. This could be the most obsessively engineered, biggest bang-for-the-buck sport sedan since one of my all-time favorites, the ‘91 Infiniti Q45 (you know, the one that was the purest expression of the engineers’ art – before the marketers softened it up and slapped a grill on it).

Here is an excerpt from an update by MT’s unimpeachable imported editor, Angus Mackenzie :

For a company with a reputation for fast-tracking new models at a pace that makes even the Japanese dizzy, the BH has been a long time coming-more than five years, in fact. But that doesn’t mean Hyundai has been slacking; Concept Genesis is on its second exterior (the previous design was scrapped, after the hugely expensive tooling process had been started) and third chassis setup (the rear axle was upgraded from a four-link configuration to five-link only last year)...The lower control arm is pressed steel, but all the other links are forgings. The compact coil springs are mounted separate from the shocks, which are located to the body by way of aluminum castings. The front suspension features a short/long-arm setup executed entirely in forged aluminum, with large cast-aluminum top mounts for improved precision and rigidity...Insiders claim the car’s body-in-white, rich in ultra-high-tensile steel, isn’t only lighter than that of a 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and Lexus LS, but also has 12- to 14-percent-higher dynamic torsional rigidity... The V-8 drives the rear wheels via ZF’s smooth 6HP26 six-seed automatic transmission.

Mercedes has come up with yet another innovation: vented taillights.

It’s far more useful than it seems – as you might know, cars get lighter (and therefore less stable) as speeds increase. To keep them firmly planted on terra firma, manufacturers sometimes attach large wings or deep chin spoilers – that’s the easy way to do it – but more recently they’re paying attention to what lies beneath, smoothing out the underbodies to promote smooth airflow over the underbody literally creating a vacumn that pulls the car down to the road firmly. (With its smooth underpanel in place, my 95 m3 feels more stale at 85 than 65, without it it’s nearly undriveable over 70). Underbody venturis are common on uncommon cars like the Ferrari F430 but the rest of us aren’t expected to expect high speed stability.

In the case of the new C class, air is drawn from underneath the car to exit the rear, reducing lift on the rear axle and increasing fuel economy.

This isn’t the first time Mercedes has turned its attention to the tail lights – remember the ribbed designs on older Benzes? Those weren’t a cosmetic touch – they were made to make sure that there was clean lens area as the rest of the car got dirty.

When I say Mercedes is hellbent on leading again, this is the kind of stuff I am referring to…

Seen on MPH’s site:

The electric-assist (as opposed to conventional hydraulic assist) steering feels strangely artificial in operation. It doesn’t feel heavy exactly, as you’d expect a car with big, sticky tires like the 18-inchers on the 430 to, just sort of like it doesn’t really want you to turn it. The electrically activated brakes are touchy, making it hard to stop smoothly. But it’s an impressive handler even if it feels a bit like the car is driving itself—at least it’s a good driver. The GS300, which is powered by an excellent and all-new direct-injection 245-hp V-6, is, oddly, the better driver’s car of the pair. Its steering also uses electric assist, so it should feel as odd as that of the V-8 car’s, but it doesn’t. It feels light and accurate and requires fewer midcorner corrections. The suspension is nonelectrically controlled, and while the V-6 car rolls a little more, it feels more natural—sort of like a car. Lexus also adds an optional all-wheel-drive system to the GS300, turning it into the cleverly named GS300 with AWD. We know what your uncle told you, but he’s lying. You don’t need allwheel drive. The AWD version is also the least fun to drive of the otherwise rear-drive GS lot.

As automakers continue their quest for more power AND more efficiency AND lower emissions, the gasoline engine and the diesel engine are growing closer, adopting tricks from one another.

One thing the gas engine has cribbed is to spray the fuel directly into the combustion chamber at high pressure rather than introducing it to the intake charge (where some of it coated the backside of the intake valve and evaporated).

BMW once broke down the power increase of each component changed when they moved from the M52TU to M54 engine family in 2001, but no one had released how much power and efficiency D.I. gives in and of itself til now because it was bundle with other changes such as turbocharging or a radically different motor.

Rather than forced induction or hot rodding the motor as is the norm, Cadillac’s next CTS will have an optional engine that simply adds direct injection to the existing 3.6L. The resut is an 15% increase in power, an 8% increase in torque and a 25% decrease in hydrocarbon emissions.

Given that everything coming out of GM these days uses the high feature 3.6, I’d expect that sometime down the road the technology will trickle down through the lineup.

Looks like the loud ticking that you hear at idle is here to stay.

Driving the new Altima, I was impressed by Nissan’s acuity in adressing the last one’s issues so ingeniously – the attempts at nulliying torque steer have been effective, meaning you can roast your front tires evenly. But what was most impressive was the CVT transmission – not so much when left to its own devices (its too reminiscent of a powerboat in the way the engine speeds up and the car follows suit) but rather when in its sequential manual mode where shifts are quicker and smoother than even VW’s famed DSG gearbox (I drove one just after to confirm).

First drives of Mitsubishi’s new Lancer with CVT note that shifts are quick and shudder free – could CVTs, programmed with 6 or more ‘fixed’ ratios be the future of the transmission, combining the smoothness of the autos we know with the slack free response and right now shifts we crave?

(*As for the Altima it would be a far better car were its steering not electric* – the ride quality says sports sedan but the steering says nothing at all).

Before the phrase Electronic Stability Program was adopted, such systems were called yaw control because that’s exactly what they do – prevent unintended yaw.

But when you think of it that’s what ABS does under braking and traction control does under acceleration. Those two functions are included in ‘stability control’, the added benefit being you don’t have to be touching the gas (as with traction control) or brake too hard (as with ABS) to have the system stabilize the car.

In a single generation, the old BMW buyer’s mantra of ‘petrol and manual, petrol and manual, petrol and manual’ has been turned on its head. This is the best new-generation 3-Series Coupe so far – and it’s a diesel with an auto box. The petrols are very good, better in many ways than any earlier ones. But the diesels have leapfrogged them and the 335d has leapfrogged all the other diesels. And although there’s nothing at all wrong with BMW’s current six-speed manual gearbox, this auto is excellent. It’s unbelievably smooth and quick – to the extent that you sometimes don’t believe it can possibly have made that change already. – 4Car

When your tires were new, they had 10 to 11/32 of an inch of rubber on them.

To pass state safety inspection you are required only to have 2/32s. That’s only 18-20% of what you started with.

Here’s the thing – testing shows that you’d have to have a deathwish to drive with less than 4/32” (just over a third of the original) in the rain or 6/32” (just over half original depth) in the snow.

Most mechanics still follow the state minimum but given that tires are typically cheaper than insurance deductibles as the wet and slippery weather approaches I hope you’ll consider replacing yours a bit too soon rather that a bit too late.

The old Cooper struck a shockingly artful balance between the rawness of the original and the refinement of a BMW - even the supercharger’s whine mimicked the gear whine of the original.

In remaking the new Cooper, MINI had to do something and the new car will no doubt be an advance in many areas (particularly in having a lighter, aluminum blocked engine). But from a design and intent standpoint, certain things make it more pre to trend than its rather timeless predecessor. They are: Read the rest of this entry »

Click here for a look at how the Super AYC (similar to Acura’s SH-AWD) turns a car that can be chucked into a corner and pull itself out of trouble into a car that points itself through turns under power…