Motorweek; 2723

Two thousand eight ride first choice award. For the best cars trucks an SUV of the year. The driver's choice winners. And bad guy tools this time on glossy. Henrico bags this week I'm over the edge. Jeans in their natural habitat. All this and more on motorways. So far below me. The week TV's original automotive magazine. Brought to you by cars dot com. Let's say your looking for a car. Cars dot com can help research locate even contact a dealer. Cars dot com find the right car for you. My idea of a symphony a Pistons playing the tune my right foot to. Valvoline.

100. Percent. Ad buy Dunlop tires. The search for a true performance is part of our heritage. Dunlop is proud to present the Dunlop drivers Cup where amateurs from around the world compete head to head in the on and off road competitions. Information at Dunlop tires dot com. Your host for Motor Week John Davis. Well hello and welcome again to motor wing. We're glad to have you with us. What always seems like a daunting task ends up as a sheer automotive throwdown among our very opinionated staff. I'm talking about the one time each year we all come together to pick our motor week drivers Choice Award winners our top picks of all the new cars trucks and utilities that we've tested over the last year that we think deliver the best combination of overall performance and value. So let's get started with the cars that made it to the top for 2008. The auto industry is undergoing major changes and many of those are reflected in this

year's Motor Week drivers choice awards especially when it comes to cars. A perfect example is our best small car the scion on XP the first front. From Toyota's youth brand to win a drivers choice trophy hardly your average compact car. The second generation 2008 XP gained size power features and versatility over its predecessor while retaining the quirky shoe box styling that made it a cold hit in the first place with the same four cylinder engine as the much larger Camry. There is now no shortage of both yet fuel economy is also good. And best of all the science on XP continues to sell for an entry level price. But while our best small car is a newcomer our best family sedan is a multi time winner. The Honda Accord moving up from the midsize to large car category the all new 2008 Accord offers more sophisticated styling with a larger cabin boasting more room than rivals. The Accord also packs more power under the hood

while sacrificing little economy and exhibits higher levels of refinement. Yet it can still be had for a price that fits the average family budget. For a four door with a lot more excitement there's our passports sedan winner the Cadillac CTX upping the ante against BMW and Mercedes the totally redesigned 2008 CTX offers enthusiasm drivers to sophisticated V-6 engines available will drive three different suspension packages and a larger pertly equipped cabin all wrapped in Cadillacs most muscular styling to date. It's an American brand sports sedan capable of sharing the most demanding roads in the world. Our best sports sedan may be Euro fighter but our best luxury sedan is 100 percent European. The 2008 Mercedes-Benz C-Class tops our list of high end sedans that offer a true Continental driving experience. Yes one that doesn't forget value. This

latest version of Mercedes best selling series is clad in more aggressive sheet metal that reflects its improved performance but it C-Class PER SE Asian amenities and exceptional value that drive it to the top of a very high class seat. If it's a top you want to drop however then check out our best convertible the Chrysler Sebring convertible America's favorite convertible is all about choices like three power folding tops sun worshippers can opt for cloth vinyl or steel and under the hood the Sebring offers both four and six cylinder engines including an E-85 ethanol capable B6 the latest Sebring chassis also delivers an improved ride in a more solid feel and with prices starting well under $30000. It's one sweet deal of a drop top. Another sweet ride is our sport. The Infiniti G 37 coupe sharing all the best parts of the latest G 35 sedan the G 37 adds classy ultra slick styling that matches up well with its refined road manners

and the exceptionally smooth handling delivered by the available for Will active steering system. But it's got muscle too thanks to a trick 330 horsepower V-6 engine. It's one classy coupe. If you have a need for serious speed however then steer yourself towards our best performance car. The books wagon are 30 to the Gulf based are thirty two maybe small but he packs impressive performance with the 250 or so powered B6 a 6 speed sequential electronic gear box full time all wheel drive and a short yet refined suspension. It's a formidable package one with lightning quick reflexes that allows it to leave many big horsepower performance cars in its dust. This is a performance for the real driving world. But we all want to dream and that's where our best dream machines come in starting with a wholesome healthy our age. This is Audi's first mid-engine road car but it's bred from race cars to deliver a genuine track level performance.

It's like wait how a chassis is driven by a 420 horsepower V-8 and Audi's Quatro all wheel drive while the striking body utilizes sophisticated aerodynamics from Audi's Lemont winning race cars to boost speed and blew the RH to the road. Add in a cabin pack with the luxury amenities found in alleys best sedans and you have one super super car. Of course no badge says dream car quite like that of Bentley and the Continental GTC speed is not just luxurious. It's the quickest Bentley yet with a 600 horsepower twin turbo w 12 engine under the hood. The GTI speed will rocket to 60 in well under 5 seconds. Serious chassis changes also make the GTI speed much more nimble than any two and a half ton ultra luxury car has a right to be. And yes there's all the over-the-top style and luxury that makes Bentley the darling of the super rich. Look at me he said. But if you think that a dream car can't be

environmentally responsible we present the Lexus LS 600 H. No it's not only the largest hybrid luxury car available it's also one of the most advanced hybrid vehicles period any full size luxury sedan they can deliver a 130 horsepower ultra low emissions and Full Tilt Lexus luxury isn't just a dream car it's a dream come true. We'll have more of motor weeks 2008 drivers Choice Awards including Best of the year. Later in the show. Coming up. Time now to Toulon overtalk Goss's garage for some award winning car care advice. John there are lots of things under the hood of an automobile these days that requires heat to be worked on properly. But look under the hood of this car. Is there any place that you would feel safe in applying an open flame such as we

have here. I don't think so. Well that's the only option that a technician has had over the years. But now from OT see tools Here's a professional unit that you might want to look for when you select a shop. All right what this amounts to is it's an induction heater. It has a unit such as we see here. And you just simply turn this on the foot pedal is held down and you hold it next to whatever it is that you want to heat. Well the induction portion of it heats that metal piece very quickly very safely there's no open flame as we can see here this one's already starting to smoke a little bit from the heat. Now there are different adapters different induction pieces that can be used for heating things like exhaust manifold studs or for bending to being or straightening sheet metal. Whole bunch of different things you can do with the unit. So a good piece of equipment to have in a repair shop. Now

another thing that we're always looking for ways to find the source Well that is noise Azzam a car or leaks. Well we've shown you units before where you take a transmitter such as we have here and you put the transmitter inside the car. Then you use a receiver like this to go around the outside of the car. The transmitter emits a radio signal. The receiver picks it up or it comes out through the area of the leak. And you can zero right in on it. Well this is the same thing except this is more popularly priced number one and number two it gives you the advantage of listening to other things. The air pickup tube that we have on here right now will pick up noise out of the air. You listen to it on the headset or if you want to listen directly to something that is metal say an alternator bearing or a water pump. You simply change this tube put the metal rod on it and touch it

against the part. Now you can listen with this same unit. It's great for checking all of the things that are belt driven under the hood for bearings in the suspension for differentials. All kinds of things. And as I said it is popularly priced comes from tracer line handy tool even for the do it yourself or if you have a question or comment write to me. The address is Motor Week. 2 1 1 1 7. When you buy a Jeep with a comes the brotherhood of joining the Jeep faithful. Now that's shared pride brings Jeep owners together and a mutual admiration society. That's like no other. And one of their most popular venue's is Camp Jeep. So we sent Henry co-pastor way over the edge. You experience what it's like to live and breathe pure.

When it comes to Jeeps. Good times are par for the course and the best place to have a great time with a Jeep is here at camp. Basically a Woodstock Jeep fanatics camp Jeep gives owners a chance to participate in a variety of challenging but eco friendly off road events. Socialize and generally bond with their Jeeps like no other place on earth. And for 2007 camp Jeep rolled into Charlottesville Virginia gateway to the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. If there was ever a better location for three days of fun in sun this was it. Lucky for me Jeep invited me to become part of their family for the three day event and experience it for myself. They even hooked me up with the Grand Cherokee CRV or super trick turbo diesel for the uninitiated to do some off roading of my own. The perfect ride for some hardcore rock in tortie trail driving. At last I was a GP. But before we get to the down and dirty stuff you've got to hear about what else the camp offers because even though the four really is amazing camp Jeep is more than just dirt and dust. It's an

event for the whole family right down to the littlest Wranglers. Camp jeep started in 1095. As literally an idea on a napkin. When. Several people got together and decided this could be. A wonderful. Event. For cheap dollars. I'm. Going to write. Some. Of the things that we have this year can't keep or Tremendous we brought snow to Virginia in July so there's some snow boarding and tubing down a snow course we have for skateboarding BMX biking. We are fishing we have a pond stocked with bass but on top of all that we have really great cheap activities we have a roof a concourse where our Jeep owners can drive our new jeep over time vehicles. Donna Rupa Konrad of course we have a trail rated course for our other Jeep vehicles that can be experienced. And if you really want to experience the ability of your Jeep you have more chances here than you

can shake a ship leveret located on the grounds of the Oak Ridge estate. Event organizers designed 17 off road trails ranging from easy to crazy. But you don't have to have a lick of experience to tackle these trails. Just a vehicle and a smile on your face. I want those guys and gals in the green shirts to do all the witching unstrapping will hook it up. Directly with all that stuff. That's what they're not getting paid to do. The trails were fun and more than a few times a little imposing. And that's exactly what off roading is supposed to be. But with the help of the other participants both trail guides and trail drivers everything went just as planned. And that's the camaraderie that keeps the codices from Chicago coming back every year for more. You know we were out in the staging area and just you know we're chatting with someone about our little modifications and you know the guy next to us had a liberty he wanted to get some of those into his as well you know in the back. It's I mean that's that's what's awesome about it and you know it's you can see people from all walks of life and they have this one thing in common.

You just come to this is a huge community of people that just get along because we have something in common. Jeeps. Between the rock climbing walls and the live music the scuba diving and the nature activities can be packed more fun into a three day period than you could ever think was possible. Plus more Jeeves equal serious fun. So if you ever have a chance to make it out to a camp Jeep event do it. You'll have a jeep in good time. Now that we've shown you our 2008 drivers choice picks for best cars. Let's check out the heavyweight winners for trucks and utilities. With rising gas prices slowing sales of traditional trucks an SUV we're seeing important market changes but those changes have prompted some winning products a great example is our best small utility. The Nissan Rogue. With the popularity of compact car based crossover vehicles on the upswing. Nissan

dealer has demanded a competitor for segment leaders like the Honda CRV and the road which drives much of its mechanical bits from the Cintra sedan delivers with a strong balance of practicality front or all wheel drive performance style and affordability. Plus this sharp little crossover is fun to drive. It can carry plenty of stuff and won't beat you up at the gas pump. No wonder it's a winner. Last year General Motors proved it was still king of the full size utility market by winning our best crosser utility honors for the GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook. GM repeats that win for 2008 but it's the new Buick Enclave to the roster all built on GM to advance lands a platform these potent seven and eight passenger haulers for everything from day to day utility. The full boat luxury. Each is available in either front or all wheel drive and draws power from a refined twin can variable timing D6 six speed drive train. But while full

size inside they drive smaller and they offer every amusement a modern family could demand for prices that won't drive your claim into the poorhouse. But while crossovers are hot big truck based SUV still have their following especially where trailer towing is the need for that you can feed our best large utility repeat winners. The Chevrolet taco and GMC Yukon. While their improved quality refined chassis modern styling and a ton of available features are all noteworthy. It's the power plant that makes it a winner in our book The five point three leader V8 delivers 320 worth power yet thanks to GM for active fuel management system can run on four cylinders while cruising for better economy. But some family drivers don't want a utility at all. So for them we present our best minivan winner the all new Dodge Grand Caravan a Chrysler Town and Country. The company that created the front drive minivan continues to add

family friendly features like swivel and go seats with a removable table. They joined fold into the floor stow and go for the last best seating innovation. Plus two screen rear DVD with optional satellite TV. Oh and did we mention their prices have been reduced an average of almost $2000. That in itself is worth a trophy. And so is our best pickup truck the Ford F-Series Super Duty. It's the toughest member of the already tough F series lineup with prices starting under $24000 maximum payload is over 6000 pounds while max towing tops out at twenty four thousand five hundred pounds. Cargo hauling power comes from drive trains which feature a new six point four leader turbo diesel V8 and I gaspy 10 features to ease your workload include an available tailgate step and grab handle and it looks tough too with bold new styling that leaves no doubt that this is the hardest working pickup you can bomb. For the first time our

best eco friendly award goes to a pair of big SUV the Chevrolet taco hybrid and GMC Yukon hybrid. Finally a strong hybrid system where it is needed most on a full size utility teams new to mode system provides electric boost both around town and at interstate speeds and in fuel saving cylinder deactivation low mass aluminum hood and tailgate and smoother aerodynamics and the results are 50 percent better fuel economy around town and a 25 percent boost overall. Plus again still towed 3 tons a taco and Yukon hybrids prove that greening up is not a matter of sod. Stay tuned we'll have one more driver's choice award when we pick our best of the year. Now let's see what's news on the automotive front. We're just sick of trucks see each year we show you the newest cars and concepts from the choice big auto show as soon as they get their turntable. But this year Motown we

also witnessed racing history in the making. The American the model series is going green ala Massa now that is formed in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency the U.S. Department of Energy and NSA International to incorporate green racing principles into its 2008 racing series. The American them all series as one of the fastest growing brands in motor sports. And the only one that allows manufacturers car bombs to bring their most innovative technology to the track. Now it is also the first major racing series to add 85 ethanol as a fuel choice. In addition the E-85 used will come not from crops but from refined cellulosic waste materials. This unique partnership will showcase its efforts in a new series Y green racing challenge. Green challenges the competition within the American law series that will encourage manufacturers to bring new innovative automotive technology all focused around green initiatives. The latest American series Green player is America's sports car icon the Chevrolet

Corvette. Augmented to run on high octane E-85 ethanol. This high performance Green Machine reinforces DM's commitment to the mainstreaming of alternative fuel. The Department of Energy is always seeking high impact ways of raising public awareness about alternative fuels that can lessen U.S. dependence on imported oil. This latest partnership with the American law series. Is a big step in boosting that awareness. And pushing demand for greener automotive technologies. It's an opportunity to validate technologies that we've worked on in the laboratories and help speed these technologies into the marketplace by improving by validating them in a demanding environment and demonstrating them before the public eye. With this partnership Alun best known stands as the leader in the race to green automotive both on the track and in the stands. Racing has always been at the forefront of automotive technology and the testing ground for innovations that eventually make it into production cars. So perhaps this unique partnership could

prompt other major racing series to see the green light. And that's it for this week's Motor News motor weeks drivers Choice Awards look at cars like you do. That's why we offer our best pick in a variety of categories so consumers of different needs have real choices. But we know that we can only select one as our best of the year. It's always a vehicle that for us stands out above the rust. And this year it's also one that clearly shines inside the box. And that box is one that American drivers are seeing more and more. It's the sign on XP our 2008 Motor Week drivers choice as best of the year an all new edition of the quirky right angle compact car. They're propelled Toyota's youth brand to success. But we think the second generation XP is now the perfect all around family car for most day to day

suburban duties from school drop offs to grocery pick ups where a larger utility is just plain overkill. The five Dorsai on XP has many virtues. Its laundry list of assets includes styling which retains the ex-teacher unique shoe box on wheels look but smooth out all the edges to give it a more shaved shape. This slicker box sits on a new chassis that stretches the wheel base by four inches and overall length by a full foot. Which means a more useful interior for both people and bulky cargo cabin highlights include a trendier dash panel with its row of round entertainment and relax loans like seating shortcomings in standard equipment are fixed with everything from cruise control the steering wheel switch gear to a full complement of air bags standard. Plus potent audio systems that starts with a 160 watt pioneer unit with iPod connectivity and climbs to a top system that can download images and video clips.

Moving all this cool stuff along is a strong new engine borrowed from the big Camry sedan. The 2.4 leader Ford's output of one hundred fifty eight horses is a big 55 pony jump over last year. Yes real world fuel economy is in the mid to high 20s. So this overweight excuse on a whole lot quicker in a straight line. It's also much sharper in the corners thanks to the new chassis with standard stability and traction control. Plus all disc ABS brakes and the ride is smoother and quieter than before too. And don't forget the thick catalog of Cylon accessories that allows everyone to personalize their XP without breaking the bank. And with base prices starting at just over $16000 it could be one of the best car values ever. So it's no wonder the sign on XP is our motor week 2008 driver's choice. Best of the year. Thanks for joining us pride 2008 drivers choice award and I hope to see you here next week for more

motor we will hit the road in several ways. Now a move by John Davis. Well CNN. To learn more about Motor Week television's original automotive magazine. Ask god or. To order a DVD or VHS copy of this program call 1 800 8 7 3 6 1 5 4 Motorway has been brought to you by cars dot com. Let's say your looking for a car. Cars dot com can help research locate even contact a dealer. Cars dot com find the right car for you. Some guys like to relax in a leather recliner but to others there is nothing better than cardboard on concrete Valvoline 100 years under the hood. And by Dunlop tires. The search for a true performance is part of our heritage. Dunlop is proud to present the Dunlop drivers Cup where amateurs from around the world compete head to

head in the on and off road competitions of information at Dunlop tires Dakar. This program was produced by American Public Television which is solely responsible for its content. On PBS.