The 2008 Ford Fusion is an excellent choice among midsize sedans and should not be overlooked. It offers a comfortable ride, purposeful looks, capable handling and good value.

The Fusion is available with a choice of V6 and four-cylinder engines. The four-cylinder comes with a five-speed manual or five-speed automatic transmission. The V6 comes with a six-speed automatic, a feature associated with top-end luxury cars. Both engines provide adequate power and fuel economy though they are outperformed by the engines offered by several competitors.

Fusion’s ride quality is as good as any car in the class, save perhaps the Toyota Camry. Available all-wheel drive and a new sport package make fine handling even better.
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Peugeot has announced that it will produce the RC-Z coupé that made its debut in concept form at Frankfurt in 2007.

You can expect to see the full production model for the first time at the 2009 Frankfurt show, before sales begin in spring 2010.

Deciding to create the RC-Z is a significant step for the French marque. It will represent a move away from the current design philosophy associated with its coupés and roadsters, and signal a move towards a new era of appealing driver’s cars and higher quality products.
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The range-topping version of the new A3 cabriolet in the UK, which we’re driving for the first time in right-hand drive form an on British roads. The 2.0 litre TFSI motor is familiar from other applications in the VW Group, most notably the Golf GTI, and it drives the front wheels through an optional six-speed DSG twin-clutch gearbox.

Pretty decent. Despite the fact that it’s ‘only’ got a cloth roof and ‘only’ costs £25k, this car offers an upmarket-feeling driving experience that’s well up to Audi’s high standards, and much more premium-feeling than that of a Volvo C70 or Ford Focus CC.
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Subaru bosses in Japan are apparently concerned that the 2011 rear-drive coupe that it’s co-developing with Toyota could ‘cannibalise’ sales.

Mat Nagato, chief of overseas sales at parent company Fuji Heavy Industries told reporters that “we may lose our longstanding territory, or we may lose the great niche brand image. The potential risk is there. We have to be very smart on marketing strategy.”
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Diminutive sports coupés infused with quality engineering: vehicles like these form the bedrock of BMW’s revered tradition, and with the new 1-series coupé, the firm seeks a return to a sporting ethos it believes will produce the lowest average owner age profile of any car it currently makes.

Which explains why BMW is so eager to associate the 1-series coupé with the sports saloon/coupé models of the late ’60s and early ’70s, particularly the much-loved 2002 tii and 2002 turbo models.

So far the 1-series hatchback hasn’t quite managed to recapture their spirit, but with the 3-series growing in size with every evolution, there’s now room for the coupé to pick up the torch.

The new car is part of a comprehensive broadening of the 1-series range that began with the introduction of the three-door hatch and continues with the 1-series cabriolet due in the spring of 2008.

For the enthusiast driver, the signs are good. The 1-series is an inherently sporting drive; losing the hatchback body brings increased chassis rigidity and, of course, there’s the purist’s layout of choice with rear-wheel drive.

Under the bonnet, it’s the fitment of the superb twin-turbo straight-six in the 135i that has garnered much of the press coverage. But it’s the new diesel (the most powerful four-cylinder turbodiesel in the world) that we test here. This promises as much in the way of on-road fireworks as it does a reluctance to visit the black pump.

source picture : autocar.co.uk

The IS-F is the first sports Lexus model to make production. It was the idea of two Lexus engineers, Yaguchi-san and Sakamoto-san, but it is not the first IS model to undergo a little light fettling. In 2003 the same engineers experimented with the previous-generation IS300 — normally fitted with a 3.0-litre straight six — to create the IS430 project car, with a 340bhp V8, adjustable dampers and a six-speed manual transmission.
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Mercedes-Benz has revealed its all-new GLK. Previewed as a concept car back in January, the edgy new four-wheel-drive model will make its official debut at this week’s Beijing motor show before going on sale across Europe in October.

Based around modified underpinnings from the C-class 4Matic, the GLK is positioned beneath the Mercedes ML at a price that should see it pitched it into direct competition with the Audi Q5, BMW X3, Infiniti EX and Land Rover Freelander.
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Honda’s new NSX is finished and will spearhead the European launch of the Acura brand when it goes into production in autumn 2010.

That’s the word from Autocar’s sources inside Honda Japan, who have confirmed that the front-engined V10 supercar will be unveiled at next year’s Tokyo show and will be followed by a new range of rear-wheel-drive Acura sports saloons.

We can also reveal that the controversial looks of the NSX concept model have been overhauled since its debut at the 2007 Detroit show. The long nose has been completely redesigned.
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