Auto News 5

General Motors has to have the most underrated navigation system in the business. We have other automakers advertising various touch pads, voice recognition systems, and scrolling wheels that are supposed to make finding a destination on the fly easier - assuming the vehicle doesn't lock out the nav screen altogether when you're moving. But in this Cadillac, all I had to do was press the blue OnStar button. That called up this innovative device called a "human being," who found my destination for me and sent turn-by-turn directions to my vehicle. I never had to look away from the road and didn't need to read the owners manual to find the correct voice commands. This feature is available, by the way, even if you don't have a nav system (the directions come through your radio display). In case I'm not being clear enough, this is a HUGE step up from most competitors' telematics, and yet I'll bet very few consumers know about all its features. GM's new marketing chief - whoever that happens to be this week - must make a more concerted effort to share OnStar's virtues with customers.inline_mediumwraptextright32629821/reviews/editors_notebook/1003_2010_cadillac_srx_turbo_awd_premium1003_03_z+2010_cadillac_sRX_turbo_aWD_premium+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

When I emerged from my apartment this morning, a few neighbors could be seen grimly scraping their windows and preparing for another slushy, icy commute. Poor peasants. I simply climbed into my Range Rover Sport, flipped on the front-windscreen heater (not to be confused with a lowly defroster), provided a squirt of heated washer fluid, and turned the Terrain Response dial to snow-and-gravel mode. Within minutes, I was bombing toward downtown Ann Arbor at a 50-mph clip, my forward view obstructed only by the faint wires of that very handy heated windshield. This, my friends, is the Michigan-in-February equivalent of cruising the Pacific Coast Highway in a BMW M3 convertible.inline_mediumwraptextright27219686/reviews/editors_notebook/1003_2010_land_rover_range_rover_sport_supercharged1003_01_z+2010_land_rover_range_rover_sport_supercharged+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

The diesel engines we've been promised for the past few years are finally hitting the U.S. market. Anyone who has travelled to Europe probably noticed that about half of the vehicles on the road were powered by diesel engines. The current crop of European diesels headed to America are incredibly clean and refined with virtually no noticeable diesel traits other than superior fuel economy.inline_mediumwraptextright32628900/green/reviews/1003_2010_bmw_x5_xdrive35d1003_01_z+2010_bMW_x5_xDrive35d+rear_view.jpgTrue

The diesel engines we've been promised for the past few years are finally hitting the U.S. market. Anyone who has travelled to Europe probably noticed that about half of the vehicles on the road were powered by diesel engines. The current crop of European diesels headed to America are incredibly clean and refined with virtually no noticeable diesel traits other than superior fuel economy.inline_mediumwraptextright32628900/reviews/editors_notebook/1003_2010_bmw_x5_xdrive35d1003_01_z+2010_bMW_x5_xDrive35d+rear_view.jpgTrue

The Cadillac CTS coupe is a car for realists. Sure, it looks like a concept car that took a wrong turn leaving the convention center, but, in fact, it's an entirely logical and even conservative step in a brand renaissance that's changing course. After a decade in which Cadillac reached for the stars with sexy halo models and pie-in-the-sky concepts like the Sixteen, General Motors' luxury division is adjusting its ambitions to reflect new realities. So, whereas Cadillac's last two-door car, the now-defunct, Corvette-based XLR, was an ambitious, low-volume sports car with an oversize price, the CTS coupe is a natural progression of the brand's most successful model. Since it shares its sheetmetal from the cowl forward and almost all of its mechanical components with the CTS sedan and wagon, the coupe is an easy way for GM to target a segment currently dominated by BMW, Infiniti, and Audi.inline_mediumwraptextright26855348/reviews/driven/1004_2011_cadillac_cts_coupe1004_04_z+2011_cadillac_cTS_coupe+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

Spyker, the ten-year-old Dutch automaker, is one part plucky and four parts crazy. Its first effort, the C8 Spyder, was something of a rich Dutchman's Dodge Viper - a rough-edged brute of a sports car with an interior inspired by World War I fighter planes. Having built about 260 cars without showing a profit, Spyker went out and bought a notoriously troubled premium car company, Saab.inline_mediumwraptextright32322555/reviews/driven/1004_2010_spyker_c8_aileron1004_02_z+2010_spyker_c8_aileron+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

Given the LS has always been the ultimate Lexus, I've come to expect nothing less than the utmost in luxury, refinement, and technology at a reasonable price tag. I didn't, however, expect it to be a relentless force in deep snow.inline_mediumwraptextright27217817/reviews/editors_notebook/1003_2010_lexus_ls460l_sedan1003_04_z+2010_lexus_lS460L+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

Just over a year ago, Subaru was a niche automaker known for quirky vehicles that often lacked direct competitors. Led by the Forester for 2009 and then with the Legacy sedan and Outback wagon for 2010, Subaru's product offerings have recently fallen in line with mainstream markets. Sales are still small in comparison to Honda, Toyota, and Nissan, but the company's products have proven to have serious appeal. While the auto industry hemorrhaged sales in 2009, Subaru's volume and market share increased.inline_mediumwraptextright28401619/reviews/driven/1003_japanese_crossover_suv_comparison1003_01_z+2010_subaru_outback_mitsubishi_outlander_suzuki_grand_vitara+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

What a quick little crossover! Honda’s first-ever U.S.-market turbo is a pretty good one, generating gobs of mid-range torque and providing a swift kick in the back when taking off from a light. I’m not so fond of the RDX’s inability to put down all this power, as evidenced by frequent wheel spin at launch accompanied by a bit of torque steer. Opting for SH-AWD would likely render this complaint moot, and would put the price of this loaded Acura at $38,430 – about the same as a base Audi Q5 lacking features like navigation and Xenon headlights.inline_mediumwraptextright28439632/reviews/editors_notebook/1003_2010_acura_rdx_tech1003_11_z+2010_acura_rDX_tech+front_three_quarter_view_snow.jpgTrue

Photo Gallery: 2010 Acura RDX Tech – Acura Luxury Crossover SUV Review – Automobile Magazine

The Automobile Magazine test fleet has been blessed with a variety of diesel vehicles lately. From the mighty Ram 2500 with a Cummins down to a mere Jetta TDI wagon, we've sampled the vast majority of vehicles currently on sale in the U.S. with diesel engines since January. Although the GL is at the top of the list in terms of price, it comes in mid-pack in terms of the overall experience.inline_mediumwraptextright28331698/green/reviews/1003_2010_mercedes_benz_gl350_bluetec1003_02_z+2010_mercedes_benz_gL350_bluetec+driver_side_view.JPG.jpgTrue