Author: G

Infiniti FX50, faster than a speeding…Mustang GT? Wow.

Published by G

It may seem like I’m constantly pimping Infiniti on my site. I’m not. Sure, I do have my eyes set on a G37, after all, you ARE RIDING with G, right? 🙂 In any case, I spent some time reading about the latest and greatest FX50 and this snip-it from C&C about the new 2009 FX really caught my eye:

“We saw 60 mph flash past in 5.0 seconds in our FX50S, with the quarter-mile dispatched in 13.6 seconds at 104 mph. That’s quicker than a Mustang GT through the quarter-mile, and within 0.1 second of our quickest BMW 335i.”

One word: WOW. That’s freakishly insane fast, for a SUV. Its like having a sports car with massive cargo space. Word to the fellas out there, this is YOUR ride, specially if you got kids. Now if this thing will run on sea water, then we’ll be all set.

Here are the specs for you speed freaks:

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon
ESTIMATED PRICE AS TESTED: $61,900 (estimated base price: $54,000)
ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection
Displacement: 307 cu in, 5026cc
Power (SAE net): 390 bhp @ 6500 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 369 lb-ft @ 4400 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 7-speed automatic with manumatic shifting

Edmunds Forecasts April Auto Sales

Published by G

Gotta love Edmunds. They are my primary source for invoice pricing whenever I shop around. It is very educational, if you want to spend all day reading all the information they provide, its well worth the time. Anyway, here’s a story that popped up yesterday on Businesswire regarding April Auto Sales forecast.

If you read the article and pull up the numbers up, you’ll notice that only Toyota, Honda and Nissan experienced growth in the month of April, compared to the same month last year. Now I don’t read too much into Nissan’s double digit growth since the bar was set rather low due to poor sales last April. I’m actually more surprised with Honda and Toyota’s achievements, even modest gains at their level is a great accomplishment.

In any case, this only mean a couple of things; American automakers keep on losing ground to the Japanese, and they still don’t get it. With crummy lease incentives and rates, I’m sure most people who want lease, still opt for imports.

April 2008 Lease Rate for 08 Lincoln MKX

Published by G

36mo/12k miles/yr – residual 50% – money factor .000937

There should be a $2,000 lease incentive here (to offset the crummy residual)
I’m sort of allergic to Ford (yeah i know Mazda is partially owned by Ford, but its not a complete hostile take over so to me, Mazda is still mostly Japanese) so I can’t find it in me to recommend Ford brands.

Nissan’s Red-Headed Step-Child: 2009 Maxima

Published by G

Ever since the all-new Altima was introduced, how many of you even remember that the Maxima was on Nissan’s lineup? Yeah, I forgot too. So it comes to great surprised that Nissan is actually bothering to introduce the 2009 Maxima. Lets examine this from a “market” standpoint. Where exactly does the Maxima fall under? The former Camry/Accord competitor has stepped aside to let the Altima take on the top family sedans from Japan. So who exactly is Nissan targeting with this sedan exactly? Definitely not the older generation that tend to flock to the Toyota Avalon. Honda doesn’t even have anything beyond the Accord in terms of sedans. If anything, the Maxima seems to be wasted effort considering the Infiniti G-series are far superior, exciting and happen to fall just a few thousands north of the Maxima (nothing good haggling skills can’t fix). If this isn’t cannibalism, I don’t know what is.

2009 Maxima Pictures (courtesy of Autoblog.com)

Can we say EWW? Doesn’t look any better than the old one if you ask me. It’s got an upgraded feel, a wanna-be GTR grill and the interior seems to have higher-quality materials. But whats the deal with the head lights? Tail-lights remind of me a Civic Coupe. I’m sure you know how to spell D-I-S-A-P-P-O-I-N-T-M-E-N-T.

2009 Mazda6, coming to a dealer near you!

Published by G

I’ve always thought Mazda’s model naming convention was a little off and somewhat redundant. Do you call it simply the 6? or do you call it the Mazda6. If you do refer the model as Mazda6, then the car would effectively be called the Mazda Mazda6. Sounds ridiculous if you ask me. They should just stick with the old MX-3, MX-6, RX-7, RX-8 names since they have the CX-7 and the CX-9. It flows better in my opnion, the Mazda3 and the Mazda6 just sound like the bastard kids of the family. In any case, C&D (Car & Driver) has released some pictures of the 2009 Mazda6, which is coming around late summer/early fall.

From a design standpoint, the 6 is much more fluid in design. Its sleeker and sexier, yet mature. It doesn’t have the “rice rocket” feel the previous generation screamed and it certainly seems to have that certain something that could appeal the mid 20-30ish crowd. The interior seems to be cut above the previous model, were plastic was our best friend. The controls look like they are within easy reach, however some of the buttons look a tad too small for my taste. Definitely has a more organic look throughout the exterior and cabin, which is eye-pleasing and quite attractive.

Real World Fuel Economy

Published by G

If you are at all concerned about fuel economy on your next vehicle, I suggest a visit to FuelEconomy.gov. This is a government website that provides you with real world fuel economy recorded by drivers around the country. I have actually contributed my numbers on-and-off for the past two years. It’s a great site for research since I never trust EPA’s or Manufacturer’s MPG estimates. Check it out, and if you have the time, try to contribute your numbers too.

Want Your MPG? Here’s how!

You can use your onboard computer if you have one, but I find it to be inaccurate. It is typically around 2mpg higher than real life averages, so I suggest doing the math. It’s pretty simple, check it out:

  1. After your fill up, reset your trip counter.
  2. On the following fill up, write down the number of gallons you filled up.
  3. Take the number of miles on your trip counter and divide it by the gallons you filled up.
  4. Repeat the process if you want to keep track of it a few more times. I recommend doing this for about a month so you get a pretty good idea as to what your monthly average is.

I normally travel about 280 miles on 12 gallons of gas with my Mazda3, so I average about 23-24 miles per gallon on mixed driving conditions. Not too bad I guess, could be better for a 4-banger.