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2009 Ford Focus SES Coupe

It's been just over a year since we reviewed our last Focus, a 2008 SES Coupe, and we were willing to bet the farm back then that its new design wouldn't go over well with buyers. But $4/gallon gas and the unexpected popularity of Ford's SYNC system have contributed to Focus sales rising 15.7% year-over-year through November. So what the Hell do we know? Apparently something, as Ford has tweaked the Focus Coupe for 2009 despite its sales success. While the Focus sedan remains largely the same except for a new, top-level SEL model and the availability of electronic stability control, the '09 Coupe both looks and drives different than its predecessor. Ford recently dropped off a 2009 Focus SES Coupe for us to play with, so follow the jump to see if this year's version is any better than the last.
posted : 1/5/2009 @10:21:43 PM
2009 Infiniti FX50 AWD

Infiniti's FX first arrived on the scene in 2003. At the time, it looked like something transported into the showroom directly from the auto show concept car turntable. While other manufacturers were delivering boxy SUVs, Infiniti presented the world a futuristic four-door crossover that was available in vibrant "Liquid Copper" paint. Even in bland white, the FX turned every head on the road – and rightfully so. Now in its second-generation, the all-new 2009 FX arrives with a more powerful 5.0-liter V8, a new 7-speed automatic and a mouthful of electronic driving aids that are sure to stump even the team at Engadget. Is the all-new FX a worthy replacement to its predecessor? Has it turned soft to please the luxury crowd? What's up with all of that gadgetry?
posted : 1/5/2009 @9:32:45 PM
2009 MINI Clubman John Cooper Works

The names MINI and John Cooper have been intertwined for more than 40 years and now they are closer than ever. When British race car and engine builder Cooper prepped the original MINIs for the Monte Carlo rally back in the 1960s, he helped cement the iconic status of the little car. When the MINI was reborn as a product of BMW earlier this decade, the Cooper model was a standard element of the lineup. A semi-official tuned John Cooper works edition was also available for the hard-core addicts. Earlier this year, BMW announced that the John Cooper Works MINI would become an official factory product analogous to M models from its parent company BMW.
posted : 12/22/2008 @2:49:17 PM
2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8

Back in September we reviewed the V6-powered Dodge Challenger SE, and our conclusion was that an uninspiring engine and benign handling was trumped by terrific curb appeal and an affordable price tag. The R/T model we reviewed yesterday fared even better, with a near perfect combination of brawn and beauty. It was fun spending time behind the wheel of both the SE and R/T models, but we knew we had to get our hands on a fire-breathing, 425-hp 6.1L HEMI V8 to see how capable the Challenger could be at full tilt. After all, there are few things in life better than classic muscle car looks combined with a brute-force V8. And if there are two available V8 engines, it just makes sense that we'd prefer the Challenger with the most powerful powerplant. Did Dodge hit the mark with its top Challenger? We welcomed the Challenger SRT8 into the Autoblog Garage to find out for ourselves.
posted : 12/3/2008 @10:04:00 PM
2009 Dodge Challenger R-T

For all the problems it faces, Chrysler has to be happy with this: the Dodge Challenger rollout has gone about as well as anyone could have hoped. Everyone wanted this car to happen from the moment it appeared as a concept back in 2006. Back then, the S197 Mustang was still new and demonstrating that retro done right can be a very good thing. Flash forward to today and following a brief, SRT8-only 2008 model year run, the Dodge Challenger is now available in three distinct trim levels. We've already reviewed the stylish and value-priced, six-cylinder SE model, and we'll soon give you our take on the top-tier knuckle-dragger, the SRT8. That leaves the mainstream muscle – the R/T. We recently welcomed a silver example equipped with the hotly-anticipated six-speed manual gearbox into the Autoblog Garage. But is it something you'll want to welcome into your garage?
posted : 12/3/2008 @9:31:13 PM

BMW X6 XDrive 35i

You know things have gone awry when BMW now offers three different flavors of non-cars, all of them antithetical to the Bavarian brand's classical claim to fame. The X6 is the latest addition to the range, joining the X3 and X5, and BMW is calling it a Sports Activity Coupe, creating an acronym that's oddly prescient for a vehicle that's essentially a post-bris X5. Beyond the looks that are an acquired taste, we wanted to know if there's BMW goodness baked into the X6, so we swiped the keys to an X6 XDrive 35i for a week with the SAC to find out.

Recent BMW styling has been a study in how much ugly consumers will accept if it's wearing a Roundel. The X6 looks like two different vehicles, each individually cool, yet when merged add up to a pile of automotive offal. The fastback roofline would befit a coupey looking sedan; married as it is to an extra chunky lower body, it recalls the unloved Pontiac Aztek, a comparison we heard more than once during the X6's visit.
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posted : 12/3/2008 @8:49:32 PM

2009 Acura TL SH-AWD

2008 has been a busy year for Acura's design and manufacturing engineering staff. It's not often that a brand refreshes its entire sedan lineup in the span of just over six months. Of course, in Acura's case that only amounts to three cars, but includes two completely redesigned cars with the TL and TSX and one heavy face-lift for the RL. Actually, "heavy face-lift" is something that applies to all three, as Acura has implemented a new front end design for its sedans that has seemingly gone over with pundits like the proverbial lead balloon.

We use the word "seemingly" because while most of the media and the majority of commenters here on Autoblog have howled in visual pain whenever the new shield grille pops up, it doesn't seem to have hurt sales. In fact, sales of the both the TSX and TL have been up significantly in the first few months that the cars have been on sale. Now that Acura has dropped off a 2009 TL SH-AWD in the Autoblog Garage for a week, it's time to see if our initial impressions need adjusting.

posted : 11/28/2008 @4:34:12 PM
2009 Mercedes SL63 AMG and SL600

Finding the ideal luxury sports car is a Goldilocks proposition: cars that fulfill either descriptive – luxury or sports – are piled high as Annapurna. For instance, the Ferrari F430 is a luxurious sports car, but it's not a luxury car. The current CL63 is a sporty luxury car, but it's not a sports car. Try to find a conveyance in which the little girl with the golden locks would sigh "This one is just right" – a car that has the sporting reflexes to keep her heart beating and a cabin supple enough for her to unwind in when the twisties are finished – and you see the field is disturbingly minuscule. Against all odds, the SL63 is that car: Goldilocks' Golden Mean.
posted : 10/17/2008 @5:17:15 PM
2009 Chevy Cobalt SS Turbo

The first-gen Cobalt SS failed to deliver with a supercharged 2.0L Ecotec four-cylinder producing 205 horsepower and a cast of supporting components that did little to hide the Cobalt's rental car roots. But then something entirely unexpected happened. The GM Performance Division completely reworked the Cobalt SS for 2008, swapping in a more powerful turbocharged engine, upgrading the rest of the mechanicals, and tweaking the entire package on the world's most demanding race tracks, including the famed Nürburgring in Germany. The result is – and we're not kidding here – the most impressive performance car to wear a bow-tie badge on sale today*. Exactly how General Motors turned a bottom-of-the-pack, front-wheel-drive econocar into a class-leading sport compact is revealed after the jump.
posted : 10/15/2008 @9:33:23 PM
2009 Cadillac XLR-V

It's not a good time to be any other car in Cadillac's lineup besides the CTS. While the brand's new sedan racks up accolades and fresh converts, the other vehicles wearing a wreath and crest badge stand around like the siblings that didn't grow up to be president. Then there's the 556-hp CTS-V, Cadillac's brand new halo car, a role that used to be played by the XLR hardtop convertible. The XLR has a V version, too, but it has only 443 units of whoopass under its hood. It was, however, refreshed for the 2009 model year and can now be found resting comfortably in the shadow created by everyone crowding around the CTS-V. Let's see if the 2009 Cadillac XLR-V deserves its fate in the shade.
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posted : 10/3/2008 @8:30:15 PM
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