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Auto123.com by Justin Pritchard

GM’s teamed up with Chrysler and BMW to develop a hybrid system for its large trucks that can save owners some 25 percent on total refueling costs.  The two-mode hybrid technology is already on sale in some of the automakers models, and it’s being fitted to the high-luxury Cadillac Escalade as well.

Escalade is the first and only luxury SUV to use a fuel-saving hybrid system in its segment.  Now, some 10 years after it helped start the luxury SUV scene, hybrid technology has made possible a 32 percent reduction in fuel consumption during city driving. Read the rest of this entry »

I have to admit, I have a favourite pickup truck.  And me not being conventional, especially in the way that I would use such an appliance, tend to lean towards Chevy’s ultra-versatile Avalanche.  It looks great, drives wonderfully and provides a fairly refined cabin, plus it comes with the added benefit of a massive lockable “trunk”.

Of course, that trunk isn’t under the cargo bed, as with Honda’s Ridgeline, where a load would have to be removed in order to gain access to the spare tire if needed, but rather the entire bed itself is enclosed under a handy, foldable, hard plastic cover that keeps belongings sfae and out of the elements, while finishing the truck off in a nice city-slicker style. Read the rest of this entry »

Popular Mechanics by Jim McCraw

It didn’t start out this way, but the low-price, no-haggle Saturn division of General Motors has effectively become the American sales arm of GM’s German Opel division. Saturn already sells a version of Opel’s GT roadster as the Saturn Sky, and a version of the Opel Antera crossover as the Saturn Vue. The latest fruit of this collaboration is the Saturn Astra family of three-door and five-door hatchbacks. Read the rest of this entry »

By Dan Roth

Ja, Bjorn, tink dat’s de new Astra? Shoor looks like it, Jan. Lutz will be asking you to kiss this thing when it comes out from under that checkerboard camo. The current Astra is good, and the new one promises to be better, with looks that aren’t revolutionary, but nicely done nonetheless. We’ll see this world car version of the Astra sometime around 2011 with a variety of drivetrains, including hybrid power. The C-Pillar remains obscured, leaving our curiosity about the hatch’s ultimate form unfulfilled. From what we can see, though, the new Astra will be like the current Astra - competitively styled and priced.

September 8, 2008 by Jonathan Ramsay

The next stab at a Saab SUV is reportedly going to be… a Saab. Word is that the newest hauler will have “Saab-DNA design and technology.” Designed by teams in Sweden and Germany, that means an Aero-X-like snout, some combi-type curves in the back, and an ascending shoulder line. No word on engines yet, but there looks to be a full range of options, and dealers who have seen the final car are excited. This is all very good news to Saab mavens who don’t want another badge-engineered Tahoe. For the rest of us, our first chance to see it could be as soon as the 2009 Detroit Auto Show.

Canadian Driver by Greg Wilson

Many consumers are contemplating downsizing or buying a hybrid car to save on fuel, but some buyers still require the size and/or towing capacity of a large SUV or pickup truck, such as “active” families who tow RV trailers, boats, snowmobiles, ATVs, etc; ranchers with animal trailers; and farmers with utility trailers.  For these buyers, a Toyota Prius is just not going to do it.  In an ideal world, what they need is a full-size SUV that can tow a trailer and get great gas mileage too.

Well, how about a full-size SUV that can tow 6,000 pounds and average 9.5 L/100 km (Energuide estimate), about the same as a mid-size V6-powered passenger car? Read the rest of this entry »

Canadian Driver by Jil McIntosh

http://www.canadiandriver.com/2008/09/22/feature-chevy-volt-previews-gms-second-century.htm

On September 16, 1908, in Hudson Country, New Jersey, William Crapo Durant filed incorporation papers for a new company he called General Motors.  One hundred years to the day, representatives from his company’s facilities in Mexico, Australia, Russia, Canada, Brazil, Germany, Korea and China hooked up via satellite to wish their parent company in Detroit a happy birthday, while executives outlined the business plan the company is putting in place to take it into its next century.  While GM’s original cornerstone was Buick, it’s counting on Chevrolet and Cadillac to lead the revival, with the introduction of the production Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car, the new Chevrolet Cruze compact, and a Cadillac wagon that’ll be sold both in Europe and in North America. Read the rest of this entry »