Motivation

A piece of rock music history here, probably meant as a motivation video for Mercedes employees in the US.

More muscle in BMW X5 and X6?

According to the German "Auto Motor und Sport" magazine, BMW are planning M-version of the X5 and X6, apparently to hit the streets by the end of 2009. The question is if these kind of cars won't be more or less dead by then, killed by soaring fuel prices and politics.

If not, the M-models of the X-series cars will probably be fitted with a powered up version of the double turbo V8 that delivers 407 hp today. And last but not least, they will be the first M-models with four-wheel drive. A necessary addition to the X-family? By no means. A lot of politically incorrect fun? Absolutely.

Oh, Saab, no! Part 2

Can't say I'm really impressed with Saab these days. First the incomprehensible decision to not incorporate XWD on diesel or biopower models. Now they cutting their warranty in the US, from a brilliant 5 year/100.000 miles to not so impressive 4 years/50.000 miles, to cut costs. This is definitly not good PR for Saab, leading us to believe that the cars have poor reliability, and that Saab now wants to push as much of the repair costs as possible onto the buyer.

No Audi Q7 Hybrid

According to sources, the production of the long-awaited Audi Q7 Hybrid, shown as a concept car as early as 2005, has been put on ice. Apparently this decision is based on a "lack of interest" from the customer base. Although Audi hasn't verified this, they did verify in March that the Q7 Hybrid wouldn't be coming to the US. The problem at that time was the low value of the dollar.

Now, I'll tell Audi about "lack of interest": I'm definitly not interested in buying a conventional petrol car today that guzzles 13 l/100km, and I can't see how the Q7 sales will rise without the introduction of hybrid technology, or other technology that will make the car independent from oil (such as ethanol or bio-gas, for instance). The oil won't become cheaper, you know, and people want to be liberated from the greasy paws of the oil industry.

On the positive side, Audi will be focusing on hybrid technology for the new A4, A5 and Q5, and this will probably involve lithium-ion batteries. Do we dare hope for an Audi Q5 Plugin Hybrid, with a range of 70-80 kilometers on battery power alone?

The dog's bollocks

It's kind of childish, I know, but I have to admit I laughed out loud when I came across the "Bumper nuts". This is the birthday present for the car-owner who's got everything. Or rather, who's got almost everything.

Only in America.

Insignia - Finally a desirable Opel

With Insignia, due out in showrooms in November, Opel has finally created a car that I actually enjoy looking at. Not only that, it comes with some interesting engine options, like the 2.0 liter, 220 hp petrol engine, not to mention the same all-wheel-drive system as the Saab 9-3 XWD. Opel call it "Adaptive 4x4". The interior is nice too.

Oh yes, and the car will also be able to read and interpret road signs. Not bad. Read this article for more information and pictures.

Oh, Volvo, no!

Speaking of Swedish car manufakturers, Volvo is about to launch its new small-size SUV, the XC60, this fall. The concept, first shown at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in 2007, was particularly interesting - at least to me - because of the 3.2 liter ethanol engine.

Almost two years later the production model will arrive at car salons with the following engine options: The old, gas-guzzling T6 engine, and the even older 2.4D and D5 diesel engines. What the heck happened to that ethanol optimized engine, that is all the more interesting today, with ridiculous fuel prices and CO2 awareness rising? Who will buy the XC60 with yesterdays engine technology? They can have all the new safety gadgets they want. I don't care. Give me a Volvo XC60 3.2 Flexifuel. We all know they've got the technology.

Why I drive a big car

The following YouTube-video illustrates quite well why size matters. The Audi Q7 only has four Euro NCAP stars, while the Fiat 500 has five.

Oh, Saab, no!

According to the nice people at Trollhattansaab.net, the 2009 Saab 9-3 will finally feature the XWD all-wheel-drive system for the 2.0t motor range. Great news, you might think. What I'm struggling to understand is the fact that they ignore their most selling models, at least in Europe. There will be no XWD available for the brilliant 1,9TTiD diesel engine, which is the engine of choice for most European countries, and no XWD for the E85 (ethanol) version of the 2.0t engine, which is by far the most selling engine configuration in Saab's native Sweden.

Why, oh why, Saab, won't you give us the car we want? I'd like a fuel efficient Saab 9-3 1.9TTiD XWD, or an eco-friendly Saab 9-3 2.0t BioPower XWD, please.