One needn’t look very closely to see that it’s a sibling to the Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent. The Suzuki XL7 is based on a small (by American standards) SUV developed by GM’s European subsidiary, Opel. This side of the Atlantic it’s built as a joint venture between Suzuki and General Motors with final assembly at Suzuki’s Ingersol, Ontario, factory. The engine was designed by GM’s Australian subsidiary Holden and built in Japan, the transmissions coming from Japan. Within that framework each model has been given its own personality and its own look.

Suzuki disguised the XL7 well, starting with a mask that a Samurai warrior could call his own. It’s a collection of angles and planes and bright shiny bars that could only be Japanese, much more so than its predecessor, the Suzuki XL-7.

Note the hyphen. Suzuki’s premier sport-utility dropped the dash when the new model debuted in the 2007 model year. In the process, the flagship Suzuki SUV/crossover became even bigger and better than the Grand Vitara that spawned the XL-7.

Read what we think about the 2008 Suzuki XL7 Limited AWD in our authentic carbuzzard.com new car review, then hit the back key and tell us what you think.

Posted in SUV review, Suzuki, XL7, car review by admin on May 17th, 2008

Modelers have a name for it: kit-bashing. It’s when parts from different model kits are combined to make something new. That’s exactly what BMW did to create the X6. Sorta.

BMW refers to the new 2008 BMW X6 as a Sport Activity Coupé (note the accent), much as it calls the X3 and X5, despite being sport utes, Sport Activity Vehicles. Compared to the body-on-frame construction typical of SUV’s when the X5 arrived, giving the X5 its own classification just seemed like the right thing to do. Besides, BMW simply couldn’t produce anything so prosaic as an SUV. What would the world be coming to?

What the world came to is the new BMW X6.

Did we think the world is in a good place? Read the full review of the BMW X6 to find out, then come back and tell us if we’re right.

Posted in BMW, X6, car review, road test by admin on May 15th, 2008

If the Great American Muscle Car is going to be built anywhere other than the good old U.S. of A., we’d rather it be Australia. Or Canada, where “American” cars have been built for decades. “Japanese” cars too, but they’re being built in the United States, too. And German. And Korean. But you’re getting us off the subject.

Why I say Australia should build the American Muscle Car is that Australia is sort of like America on speed—it’s that whole pioneer thing multiplied by a factor of, well, something big because, well, Australia has a lot of frontier. And some fast cars, more like American cars than any other in the world.

Which is the long way of getting to authentic carbuzzard.com car review of the 2008 Pontiac G8 GT. The short answer to our experience with Pontiac’s flagship sedan was that we were, well, impressed. The longer answer is, well, read the full review, dang it. Then come back and tell us what you think.

Posted in G8, Pontiac, car review, road test by admin on May 13th, 2008

We didn’t go to Germany’s Black Forest to road test the 2008 Saturn Astra 5-door XR but it would have made perfect sense. The Saturn Astra is an Opel Astra imported and fitted with a Saturn badge.
It’s legitimate, as such things go. Opel is General Motor’s European subsidiary…has been since the ‘30s actually…and going the other way, Opel gets its own version of the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky, dubbed the Opel GT (which should stir a few automotive enthusiasts who were around in the early seventies).

But the Astra is an interesting combination, a true automotive polyglot. The car’s final assembly in Belgium, its engine is made in Hungary and the automatic transmission in our tester made in Japan. As Walt Disney said, it’s a small world after all.

Is it a big enough place, however, for this automobile that made its visit to the melting pot before, as Neil Diamond might say, comging to America?

See what we have to say by reading our review of the 2008 Saturn Astra 5-door XR, and don’t forget the carbuzzard.com RoadSkill Report from our new and evolving video department.

Posted in Astra, Saturn by admin on May 10th, 2008

We remember a Far Side cartoon of a group of cowkids - what else do you call cowboy’s sons - on horseback while another sits dazed alongside a horse with an accordioned neck. One of the cowkids says to his unfortunate colleague, “What are you going to tell your dad?”

Indeed, it’s a dilemma many have face. Not us, of course, although that was more through Providence than any behavior - or lack thereof - on our part. Our contretemps have been either on the race track or, many years ago, in a BMW 3-Series off the road and into an telephone pole guy wire while avoiding a collision with a poorly driven car, or more recently, when through no fault of our own, T-boned an older Camry while driving a Cadillac SRX.

Precious few, however, have had to make a phone call home to Dad explaining how his new Ferrari F360 Challenge Stradale centerpunched a telephone pole, as did the young Aussie in this story.

The parently response is typically - or should be - “As long as everyone is OK…” In this case, that should last, oh, for about a minute.

What piques our curiousity, however, is how the kid explained it to his old man when he made the call. We’re soliciting suggestions.  We’ll start this off with this: “Uh, Mom, do you know where my passport is?”

Posted in Ferrari, accident by admin on May 5th, 2008