Sunday Car News: MINI goes Cross-Over

After half a decade of selling the small and fun Cooper in the States, Mini created the Clubman in 2008 to allow for drivers to add more space to their Mini yet still have loads of small car fun. Now for 2011, Mini is developing the all-new Countryman, a cross-over actual four-door vehicle. Although the base models will be front-wheel drive, the Countryman S ALL4 will be powered by the familiar 1.6 turbo four-banger with four-wheel drive. The model will debut at the Geneva Show in March and should arrive in the States in early 2011.

Sunday Car News

Spy photos of the next generation Porsche 911 have been taken at the Nurburgring. Porsche will replace its already new 997 updated-version with the 998 in 2011. Just last year Porsche had modified the entire 997 line-up with different front-ends, tail-lights, and a direct-injection engine, yet Porsche still called the cars a 997. Now in 2011 further changes will be made with expanded body width and length, a heavily revised suspense, and lastly a fresh new body styling.

Spy Shots: Ferrari

When I was driving on 190th I was luckily enough to pull up behind a $1 Million Ferrari Daytona Spyder. This iconic Ferrari has a front-engine V12 that pumps out 350 horsepower. The body is timeless with lines from Pininfirina. Excuse me for the poor quality as I only had my brother's cellphone camera.

New Fuel-Efficient Mercedes Vehicles

While BMW is trying to create silly "efficientdynamic" vehicles that still cannot get above 20 mpg, Mercedes is developing luxury cars that have around the same efficiency as subcompact cars. The first vehicle Mercedes created was the E-class Bluetec which could get around 26 city mpg and 37 highway mpg. These amazing figures were especially astonishing since the diesel engine puts out 210 hp and nearly 400 ft-lbs of torque. This car has been out for a few years, so Mercedes is adding a couple more fuel-efficient vehicles to the line-up. Mercedes placed that same engine in the R-class, and the M-class and a slightly larger Bluetec V6 in the GL-class. More recently, however, Mercedes is going in the direction of hybrids to add greater efficiency to some of its vehicles. The M-class is receiving hybridized drivetrain that will help the vehicle achieve 21 city mpg and 24 highway mpg. These figures are pretty good considering this is a two and a half ton vehicle. In addition, Mercedes is adding a hybrid drivetrain in the most classy and luxurious Mercedes, the S-class. With the same drivetrain as the system in the M-class, the S-class can achieve 19 city mpg, and 26 highway mpg, a 26% increase over the S550. These efforts by Mercedes to build fuel-efficient vehicles will definitely pay-off as buyers now need fuel-sipping vehicles.

Top Gear: Ford Fiesta "Traditional Test"

Jeremy Clarkson shows how fun and cool a small, economical hatchback can be.

Nissan Leaf May Lead the New Industry of Electrics

With the Chevrolet Volt continuing to have its release and production date pushed back, Nissan is stepping in with the all-electric Leaf to hit production must sooner. The Leaf is expected to his U.S. dealers by the end of 2010, this year. The design looks like a smoother, sleeker version of the Versa that should greatly improve aerodynamics. The drivetrain is a fully electric EV-IT system that is powered by a compact lithium-ion battery that supplies the car with a range of 100 miles. The electric motor develops 80kW of power and 206 ft-lbs of torque. Despite the steep price most likely being in the low $30,000 I am very excited about this car, because Nissan's charge into the market with the Leaf shows that an automobile manufacturer does not have to take more than five years to get a car to hit production-"Ehem [cough].. Ford."

Sunday Wrap-Up

Now that you have followed the articles and videos this week of all of the off-road vehicles, I suggest if you have a 4X4 that you use it to the limits it was built to do. Rather than making your massive vehicle the soccer mom or dad car, occasionally drive it out of the city and find an off road route to really have fun and test the capabilities of your SUV. After a rainy season, muddy ditches and shallow rivers will turn into playgrounds to put your vehicle to the test. In California there are many roads just outside of the city that are OHV vehicle approved and would give 4X4 owners great pleasure. A site for off road trails in Southern California is http://4wheeldrive.about.com/od/socaltrails/

So just get out of the house and reward your 4X4 the fun it deserves by taking it off the asphalt and drive it out of the city onto some pleasurable, beautiful trails.