June 2009 heralds the launch of the most fuel efficient and cleanest BMW 3 Series the marque has ever produced. The new BMW 316d ES Saloon sets a new benchmark in the premium sector with its heightened blend of high economy, low emissions yet rewarding driving experience.

2010 Volkswagen GTI

* Layout
Transverse front engine, front-wheel drive

But when I say "we," what I mean is "we journalists." It was the motoring press (particularly in the U.K.) that persistently dissed anything other than a proper manual gearbox. And the voices of dissent are starting to go quiet as manufacturers continue to refine their hardware. The fact that practically every competition car out there only has two pedals hasn't harmed the cause of the sequential, semi-auto transmission, of course. But it's really the application of the technology that's changing deep seated prejudices.

Seriously. Where are they? I remember stealing the neighbors' Popular Mechanics back in 1971 and reading about flying cars. The editors said the technology would be here by the new millennium. It was printed in a magazine so it had to be true. So where are they?

Although some may point to a Jaguar's sensuous design as its hallmark, in my view the carmaker's engines have always been the key to its soul. Jaguar's famous dohc inline six-cylinder XK engine appeared at a time when some competitors were still trumpeting the switch to pushrods and overhead valves. Jaguar's one-two-three finish at Le Mans in 1988 proved that its V12, by then two decades old, was still a viable concept for a specialized sports car maker. The company's latest supercharged V8 continues to display Jaguar's engine design prowess. So when I learned that in some parts of the world more than 70 percent of new cars that Jaguar sells have diesel engines, I was shocked. I set about finding out what a diesel Jaguar was like to drive.

Product Spotlight

Nitto NT05
The NT05 was designed to address the increasing demand for a streetable track tire, one that gives maximum grip without sacrificing wet performance and driveability. The tire's name reflects its place in the Nitto tire family tree. It's the middle sibling between the NT555 ultra-high-performance summer tire and the NT01 competition road race tire. It takes after the NT01 most when it comes to its construction design. One goal was striking a balance between dry handling and wear. This required evaluating and optimizing the three main areas of tire design: construction, tread design, and tread compound.

Had your eye on the V8 M3, but with the economy in its state of duress, you're not sure what the future may bring? Here's a low cost alternative worth looking into. With depreciation and the state of our auto sales, it is now possible to locate and purchase a previously-owned E46 M3 in excellent condition for under $20K. If you take that lower cost E46 M3 and add VF Engineering's Streetsport bolt-on supercharger kit you can boost the 3.2-liter engine horsepower output to the same levels as the new E92 M3 V8. This will allow you to get the performance you desire at half the price.

Heim-joint suspension components
Prepare to shake those fake "M" badges right off the trunk lid. Heim joints work great on racecars for two simple reasons-- there's no consideration for noise, vibration and harshness, all of which are extreme, and they can be replaced every 10,000 miles on a racing budget.

What Riva speedboats are to the well-heeled of Europe, the Chris-Craft is to the flush on the other side of the Atlantic. And it all started with a 13-year-old boy in 1874. That's how old the aptly named Christopher Columbus Smith was when he built his first wooden boat at the aft end of the 19th century. It must have stayed afloat, because he went on to make a living at it. With brother Henry and some other partners, he formed the Smith Ryan Boat & Engine Company in 1910. A mouthful of a company name could never complement a product this sleek, so it was changed to Chris-Craft in 1924.

What Riva speedboats are to the well-heeled of Europe, the Chris-Craft is to the flush on the other side of the Atlantic. And it all started with a 13-year-old boy in 1874. That's how old the aptly named Christopher Columbus Smith was when he built his first wooden boat at the aft end of the 19th century. It must have stayed afloat, because he went on to make a living at it. With brother Henry and some other partners, he formed the Smith Ryan Boat & Engine Company in 1910. A mouthful of a company name could never complement a product this sleek, so it was changed to Chris-Craft in 1924.

The Brits are fond of what they call "soldiering on," a determined forward motion of stoically trudging ahead.

Imagine that your brand-new Porsche Cayman S, with only a handful of delivery miles on the clock, now sits in bits and pieces all over the shop floor. Its factory-fresh 3.4-liter, 295-hp engine has been carefully removed and placed in a crate for shipment to a new owner, an anonymous Porsche racer on the other side of the continent.

Keeping Active
Making a living playing with powerActive Autowerke has been officially making BMWs go faster since brothers Mike and Karl Hugh founded the company in 1981. But in fact the two were making BMWs go faster even before that. As Karl says, he picked up a '72 2002tii and "got hooked." Then came an E21 320i turbocharged for a 55 percent increase in power, and it wasn't long until they decided to turn the hobby into a business. The fledgling company soon became the largest independent BMW service center in all of Florida, with a sophisticated equipment arsenal and certifications from leading industry suppliers.

Epic 15.4-inch rotors sit inside the front wheels and 13.4-inchers in the rears, mated to four piston calipers at both ends, too, so it can get the speed off just as quickly and it feels lighter on its feet than the opposition under heavy braking. That's almost certainly due to a re-jigged suspension keeping the car flat and smooth under heavy load. Arden's own patented system comes with a 30mm drop on a standard car that was firm in any case. Then there are the 21-inch three-piece rims clothed in Dunlop SP SportMaxx tires that provide acres of grip, pin-sharp handling, and ask for just a touch of muscle on turn-in. It transforms the driving experience and turns a sporting saloon into a road warrior. It's still not quite as razor sharp as that of the Bavarian competition, but then again it's close enough for some and provides a more satisfying, meaty drive. There's 4,056 pounds of padding to soak up impacts, so it doesn't crash over ruts and bumps, but this Jaguar has newfound precision to go with its aggression, and it's a devastating combination.

T5 love
I have to say I like your appreciation for the cars that paved the way for today's European sports cars, like the 944, GTI, M3, etc. However, it bugs me that you don't really do any articles on Volvo. The Volvo T5 is a far better and more venerable engine than the VR6, the 1.8T or the 2.0T. We're talking about the same powertrain that's used in the European Focus ST. Last I checked, there are plenty of fast turbo 850s and S60 Rs out there. Volvo does not equal slow.
Mark
Saint Cloud, MN

1/100
Following on the heels of the Porsche Cayman S Design Edition 1 and Boxster S Design Edition 2 comes the Cayenne GTS-you guessed it-Design Edition 3. Like the prior Design variants, the Cayenne sports a unique Lava Grey Metallic exterior with subtle contrasting race stripes on the doors and hood, matching 21-inch wheels and special Porsche Design Edition 3 badging. In addition to a sport exhaust system and lowered suspension, the real bonus here are the Porsche Design accessories that come as standard, including a chronograph watch and four-piece luggage set. Only 100 units will be offered in the U.S.
$89,900
www.porsche.com

At last, the American-spec Audi Q5 has arrived. And to celebrate, I took one to my favorite canyon road. Naturally, such gnarly stretches of tarmac are not the kind of thing a crossover SUV is built for, but the Q5's (new A4) underpinnings suggest a depth of handling talent not found in rival machines. In the best sense possible, it rocks. Which means it doesn't rock. Or roll. Body control and overall composure is remarkable, even without getting into the adjustable parameters of throttle response, gearshift speed and active suspension tweaks.

VFE contracted C&C Collision in Pasadena, Calif., for the stunning paint scheme. They chose a two-tone appearance utilizing a modified body color and flat carbon fiber accents. The OEM carbon roof, Vorsteiner pieces, and all painted surfaces were stripped of their shine and re-coated with a flat-finish clearcoat. Additional touches such as smoked and de-chromed side markers and window trim, toned OEM side valances, and trunk lid masking were all meticulously performed. The end result is a durable all-weather finish that never needs waxing.

2010 Jaguar XFR

* Layout
Longitudinal front engine, rear wheel drive

Horsepower is overrated. There. I said it. Horsepower always seems to be the major selling point, whether you're talking economy cars or super sports cars. Horsepower's basic definition is X amount of work done over a given period of time. So typically even your highest horsepower engines reach peak power late, often very late, in the rev range.

Paul Kramer's 1987 190E 2.3-16
Bob Yoshida's 1994 500E
While many people are obsessed with just one car, there is a handful of a few poor bastards obsessed with them all. For those, life is too short for just one great ride. They need to own them all.

Fabspeed exhaust systems are constructed of mandrel-bent and TIG-welded T304 stainless steel. These systems utilize only the best German-built HJS tri-metal catalytic converters that meet or exceed factory standards. All systems provide measurable performance gains with sport-tuned sound and are built in the USA.

A few months ago ec rounded up the latest batch of European V8s and headed to the open desert. Neither the BMW M3 nor the Audi RS 4 offered any surprises. They are both fine vehicles with huge capabilities. They do what you tell them to do, no excuses. The Mercedes C63, however, was a total shock. Bullet train-fast, spleen-squeezing brakes and great underpinnings made for an amazingly entertaining ride. And its cabin was first class, a fine mix of sporting luxury. What the hell did MBZ do with the C-Class? This isn't the same car I remember.

The transverse, mid-mounted, dual VVT-i, 3.5-liter V6 is the 2GR-FE powerplant from Toyota and the six-speed manual hales from our Pacific Rim brothers and sisters as well. With a new twin-barrel exhaust system put on and particularly with the in-house programmed T6e Lotus ECU, the free-revving thrills are as you have always expected from a Lotus. In standard trim, the Evora powertrain revs to 6600 rpm and can be momentarily overrun to 6800 rpm for heated downshifts and such. Opt for the Sport Pack and redline rises to 7000 rpm with throttle dabs to 7200 rpm--opt for the Sport Pack, all right? Acceleration to 60 mph is estimated as equal to a Porsche Cayman S with seven-speed PDK. Launch Control will not be available until the dual-clutch six-speed comes into production.

In independent dyno testing, AWE estimates this particular application to be throwing down some 340 hp at the crank on 91 octane, and even more attainable with ascending octane levels. While not especially explosive off the line--as packaged, the turbo setup really only starts to get its torque on between 3000 and 3500 rpm--power builds rapidly and exceptionally smoothly. While at speed it's simply a matter of keeping the revs in the right place to keep the turbocharger happy... not too high, not too low. And when the turbo's happy, it's guaranteed to keep a stupid grin plastered across your face.