KIA Borrego

AS WE go smaller and greener and move away from big, body-on-frame V-8 sport/utilities to more compact crossovers, Kia branches into a new segment with its V- 8 - po we red, b ody-o n -f ra m e, seven-passenger Borrego sport/ utility. It features the same powerful (about 375 horses!) 4,6-liter V-8 you'll find under the hood of Hyundai's new Genesis. Kia says the V-8 Borrego (Mohave in South Korea) will go on sale just ahead of the Genesis V-8. So let's talk timing. When Kia began developing the Borrego some four years ago, gas was under $2 per gallon, automakers were still touting the sustainability of the big-truck boom, and Toyota was working on its huge new Sequoia.

Honda CB600F Hornet

The Hornet 600 is one of Honda's better known and best selling bikes, and it's easy to see why. The first advantage it has is style, and plenty of it. Accepting that the colour of our test bike in its divisive Marmite-esque hue certainly won't please all eyes, few could argue that the Hornet isn't one of the better looking bikes from Japan. The sharp, yet flowing lines of its bodywork are bang up to date and the hi-level exhaust can add to the modernity. With mast of its mechanicals also on view to give it extra life and individuality, it makes a refreshing change from many of the plastic-covered and more anonymous offerings we usually get from the land of the rising sun.

Honda FCX Clarity

HOOFING it out of the convention hall after Chevrolet's press update on the Volt at the Los Angeles auto show, I came away feeling that I, finally, once-and-for-all, absolutely, had the future of the automobile figured out. Mo question about it: Plug-in hybrids like the Volt [or as GM prefers to call it, an extended-range electric vehicle) will be how we and our kids will get around in our looming SIOO-plus per-barrel-oil and climate-changing world. "The Volt's on schedule," they confidently stated, and its first set of development batteries—which arrived on Halloween at GM's research center in Warren, Michigan—"turned out to be a treat not a trick,"their battery czar quipped. It's nice when the light above the road to tomorrow is suddenly so brightly illuminated like this.

Ford Interceptor

PRESS THE electrically triggered chrome door handle and the door pops open. The sculpted one-piece leather seats are as stiff as the suspension, and you slide onto them as into a Barcelona chair. A 21st-century "shaker "looms in your view, and the rest of the hood is long and upright.. .you're overlooking a similar expanse of sheetmetal as in a Chrysler 300.Hit the electronic ignition button on the headliner just aft of the header, and the 5.4-literV-8 fires up with a rumble.

Jaguar XF Supercharged

YOU'LL notice the heartbeat every time you enter the driver's seat of the new 2009 Jaguar XF sedan. Not just your ticker—the car's, too.
Slide into the cockpit, and immediately your eyes are drawn to the keyless start/stop button on the center console: It's beating a rhythmic red, as if theXF is coming alive. Press it, and the supercharged 4.2-liter V-8 twists into a muted whir, concealed air vents in the dash glide open, an innovative rotary shift knob—the so-called JaguarDrive Selector— rises out of the transmission tunnel. You've just witnessed "the Jaguar handshake,"the first of several servings of pizzazz that differentiate this striking new four-door from such classmates as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the BMW 5 Series.

Lexus LX570

Bodacious Ballerina SURE, SHE'S A DANCING HIPPO, BUT SHE'S LIGHT ON HER BIG FEET. A JET-LAGGED, carb-loaded mind is wander-prone, so while the Lexus rep described how the cross-linked variable-rate shocks use a spring-rate valve to help limit dive, squat, and roll in the new LX 570, improving its dynamic handling, I daydreamed first of hippopotami in ballerina skirts, then of the rubenesque Motormouth Maybelle dancing to "Big, Blonde, and Beautiful" in the musical adaptation of John Waters's "Hairspray.'This largest Lexus has no more business vamoosing through chicanes than it does scaling 45-degree slopes, fording two-foot-deep streams, or straddling nine-inch-tall rocks; yet it's capable of doing all the above.

Scooter Buyer's Guide

Never go alone; always take a mate, preferably a knowledgeable one, and take off the rose-tinted specs.
Do your homework on the particular model before you go - little pointers here and there can make all the difference when you see it in the flesh. Don't make rash decisions and be prepared to walk away from anything that simply doesn't sound right.
If it sounds too good to be true then the chances are that it will be. There are plenty of bikes out there, so don't be frightened to miss this one. Make sure the name on the logbook ties in with the guy who is selling and the venue you are viewing it at. After all, who really does let a mate sell a bike on their behalf? And yet the amount of times that story is used is beyond belief.

Suzuki Intruder M1800R

Ride an M1800 and you'll leave behind a trail of onlookers sore from rubber-necking. It's no wonder really, as the Suzuki is as outlandish and eye-catching as a Las Vegas casino. It simply can't be ignored. A neighbour of mine who witnesses just about every bike I bring home to test, a collection that's included exotica like MVs and Ducatis, is rarely moved to give them more than a passing glance, but when I rolled up on the Intruder he just about tripped over his own front door as he rushed out to get a better look.

Ford Fusion SeL

This wasn't the Fusion we wanted. Its as-tested price was far too high, due mostly to its optional sunroof, nav system, andseveral other gratuitous gewgaws—all of which we tried to ignore. Still, if you specify just the five-speed automatic ($875), the sport-tuned suspension ($895), and the leather skins ($895), you'll wind up with a quite luxurious little sedan fetching just over 23 grand.

Dodge Avenger SXT

It may looklikea seven-eighths-scale Dodge Charger, but any other claim the Avenger may lay to its big brother's well-earned reputation is a stretch.
What most damages the Avenger is its 173-hp, 2.4-liter "world engine," built just down the road from us in Dundee, Michigan. It produces way too much racket—the noisiest in our group at full throttle and at 70-mph cruise. And the sound quality was alternately described as "walnuts in a Cui-sinart," "a weed whip with a loose spool," and "four shot wheel bearings,".

Toyota Camry LE

There's a scene in a Seinfeld episode in which George Costanza's father, played by Jerry Stiller, screams, "Serenity now!" He should have been driving a Camry.
This Toyota goes about its business with regal deliberation and narcotic tranquillity, offering the sort of ride you'd expect from a limousine. It was also the quietest at idle, and no other contestant was quieter at a 70-mph cruise. "An engine like a cage full of finches," wrote an editor.

Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid

Mention hybrid, and most people think of fuel misers, such as the 40-to-50-mpg Toyota Prius. But a hybrid pow-ertrain can save fuel in vehicles of any size, as demonstrated by this Chevrolet Tahoe, which represents the first example (along with the GMC Yukon and 2009 Cadillac Escalade) of hybrid technology applied to a large SUV. As such, it gets a big-time fuel-economy bump, but as a 5840-pound vehicle, it isn't—and can't be—a fuel miser by anyone's definition.

Vespa SS 180 Rebuild

ONE of the most iconic scooters of the 60s was the son of the legendary GS 160 - the SS 180. Ignore it you can't, with its brave new world styling of angular facets and the minor upset it caused with the Mod set of those days - they still wanted the GS! The arrival of the SS 180 is just about summed up with a quote from a Vespa enthusiast: "I think the SS180 is to scooter fans what Mick Jagger is to women - a bit ugly but somehow irresistible!"

Suzuki GSX-R750

It's a two-year-old model so what's it doing here? Can Suzuki's middle Gixxer match new contenders?
Try as the Honda and Triumph might, but there's no kicking sand in this reluctant bully's face. Even though the pair dance round the Tarmac track and take to the local roads like natives, the Suzuki feels like it can deliver a knockout blow at any point of its choosing.
But rather than the GSX-R750 feeling like a clumsy blunderbuss, blasting its way past its diminutive but daring rivals, the Suzuki somehow feels every bit as cultured as the Honda and ultimately delivers a kick that not even the Triumph can match.

Terminator 3 - Rise of The Machines

THERE are many reasons for producing a custom scooter. For many people, it's the desire to create an eye-catching machine to enter shows, or simply ride to rallies. For Russ Keating the idea was to create a custom scooter that would showcase his newly set up business, Custom Scooter Art. For anyone who hasn't seen Russ with his stall at a rally or event then Custom Scooter Art offer an alternative to both graphics or expensive spray jobs for your scooter. Instead, they wrap your scooter with vinyl that has been printed with the graphics/design of your choice. Hence the building of Terminator 3.

Vectrix The Electric

DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC BIKES ?
Electric bikes seem like they could be the answer to air pollution and disappearing oil reserves. But will we ever see an electric superbike to match the performance of current bikes? we will investigates the possibilities.

Honda CBR600RR

Since the original CBR600RR was released in 2003, Honda has boasted claims of kinship to its far-off relative, the RC21IV MotoGP racebike. Sure, the RR shared technologies with the purpose-made Grand Prix racer, like Unit Pro-Link suspension and such, but in reality, that's where the similarities stopped. The bike was overweight from its inception and was more street-focused than any other 600.

BMW R1200S

After a year's hiatus, BMW's sporty S-model Boxer returns to the company's lineup, leaner, meaner and with 85 more cc of displacement. It's the most powerful Boxer engine to date, cocooncd in the sportiest chassis ever to house a Bavarian flat-Twin. The result is an enticing package.

Mercedes-Benz GL Class

IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR.
Last year, the Mercedes GL450 emerged as the most desirable luxo ute in a very desirable field. Facing an equally strong challenge for 2008, Mercedes responded by expanding the GL-class from aclass of one to afamily of three. For those who seek thrift and torque, there's the GL320 CDI turbo-diesel, an impressive powerplant that's currently creating compression-ignition converts in service with our long-term test fleet. And for those who find the GL450's 335 horsepower and 339 pound-feet of torque a bit too tame, there's the GL550, with a 5.5-liter V-8 generating 382 horsepower and 391 round-feet.

Honda CRF150R

Very soon, the time will come when kids grow up without ever riding a two-stroke motorcycle. With its new CRF150F, Honda has accelerated that timeframe by being the first to produce a race-ready four-stroke intended to replace its 85cc two-stroke motocross bike. The company is hoping this transition will take place as quickly as it did with the bigger Thumpers, which needed only a few years to take over the two-stroke market in most racing disciplines. For 2007. Honda is selling both the 150 and the CR85R but will drop all two-strokes in 2008.

Ducati 1098

When Ducati introduced its 999 in 2003, the bike's radical styling caused quite a stir. Certainly the sensually shaped 916, 996 and 998 models preceding it proved a very tough act to follow, and sales suffered as a result. But with the new 1098, which is fresh from the ground up, it's visually apparent that Ducati has a winner here.

Aprillia RST1000

LIVING WITH THE FUTURA
Comparing the Futura to other sports tourers isn't really fair, but will always happen as it shares many similar attributes with the likes of the mighty VFR800, and yet deep inside the Aprilia is a heart of a real sports machine. The chassis being little different to the Mille with just a few social niceties added to make life a shade more comfortable for long distance use and a beefier front end to improve stability.