Straightline

This is the Rally Fighter, a kit car built by Local Motors, an upstart builder based in Massachusetts. Unlike most of the other custom-built cars at SEMA, the Rally Fighter was designed entirely through the use of crowd sourcing.

Through competitions on its Web site, Local Motors asked users to submit designs and let the community choose its favorite. The Rally Fighter came out on top, so Local Motors commissioned the build and used crowd sourcing for everything from the engineering to the materials.

It uses a BMW twin-turbo diesel power plant and various off-the-shelf parts to keep costs down. Local Motors says it plans to eventually build as many as 3,000 Rally Fighters and sell them for around $50,000 apiece. Other models are expected to follow, all chosen and designed by committee.

It's an interesting idea and the Rally Fighter looks to have turned out well. But to be clear, the Rally Fighter is not a car, and Local Motors is not a new kind of car company. At least not yet. Click through to find out why.

Continue reading Local Motors Rally Fighter at SEMA: A Good Start, But....

Categories: Diesels,SUVs,Tuners and Modifications

Among the numerous innovations we'll see in the 2011 Ford Explorer are these new rear seat inflatable seat belts. Ford says the new inflatable belts spread out crash forces over a much greater area of the body than conventional belts. The redesigned Ford Explorer is due out next year and Ford says it will eventually add the technology to its entire global lineup.

Spy Photos: 2011 Ford Explorer
 

Categories: Car Tech,Crossovers,Ford,Future Vehicles,SUVs

The Jeep brand is the only among the Chrysler sphere that has any real standing internationally. So it's not a surprise that the Fiat bosses will focused more than little attention to what has become an SUV brand.

Here's the plan for Jeep through 2014:

Extra-Small SUV: This entry which is expected for 2013 will be based on a Fiat Group product, almost certainly the Panda.

Small SUV: This space is currently cluttered with the less-than-dynamic duo, the Patriot and its uglier sibling, the Compass. Both will get some modifications for 2010, but by the end of 2012, both will have been killed in favor of one offering, based on a Fiat Group offering.

Mid-size SUV: The Liberty will be slightly refreshed for 2010 and will be replaced by a Fiat Group-based mid-sizer in 2013.

Wrangler: It appears that the Italians know enough to not mess with the heart of the Jeep brand, the Wrangler. It will get some updates for 2010 and will get more for 2011, when Jeep celebrates its 70th anniversary, but it will otherwise be left alone.

Commander: On the chart Chrysler/Fiat gave us, the timeline for the big-'n'-boxy Commander goes all dotted-line after 2010. Above the broken line is written "International Reallocation" whatever that means exactly.

Grand Cherokee: With the new model coming out around the middle of 2010, there's not much to change, nor much reason to apparently. Even the lux Grand Cherokee will get a Rubicon Trail-capable "Trail Rated" version.
 

Categories: Chrysler,Fiat,Jeep,SUVs

Chrysler's new Pentastar 3.6-liter V6 will debut in the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which hits dealerships in the second quarter of 2010. In the Grand Cherokee, this engine will be rated at 280 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque.

Single- and twin-turbocharged versions of the Pentastar V6 are also in the works.

Reporting by Dan Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit

Categories: Auto Industry,Chrysler,Fiat,Jeep,SUVs

The Dodge Viper just got a bit more collectible, as Chrysler has announced that only 500 more will be built. A new sports car will arrive in the summer of 2012, but don't expect it to be anything like the old-school Viper, as it will use Fiat alliance architecture.

Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, though, our Detroit editor, Dan Pund, reports that Ralph Gilles, president and CEO of the Dodge brand, said, "When you have friends across the ocean that are the world's best at building sports cars, that's exciting." Friends, as in friends in Maranello...?

Alongside that, we've learned that the Dodge Nitro gets to live through the product cuts and will continue to be sold under the Dodge car brand. Apparently, Fiat President Sergio Marchionne owns one.

Chrysler has also said the Caliber, Avenger, Journey and Grand Caravan will get new interiors -- evidently on top of the upgrades already made to the Caliber for 2010.

And with the splitting off of the Ram brand, the new Dodge logo will lose the horns and just say "DODGE" on a black background with a touch of red. 

Categories: Auto Industry,Chrysler,Dodge,Fiat,SUVs,Sports Cars

Among the new diesels Chrysler-Fiat plans to sell will be a diesel Jeep Wrangler scheduled for introduction in the fourth quarter of 2010. A start-stop feature will increase what should already be very good fuel economy and shave 5 percent off its annual CO2 contribution.

-- Dan Pund, Senior Editor, Detroit

Categories: Chrysler,Diesels,Fiat,Jeep,SUVs

A reader named Lars H. sent this shot of a demolished Tesla to Autotopia, which is part of Wired. The Tesla collided with a VW Touareg and ironically a Toyota Prius. According to Lars the accident happened in Denmark.

For a larger and more complete version of the image, click here.

Categories: Crossovers,Green Tech,Hybrids,SUVs,Sports Cars,Tesla Motors,Toyota,Volkswagen

Bloomberg is reporting that the Focus-based Ford Kuga crossover SUV will be built at Ford's Louisville, Kentucky, plant starting in 2011. A weak dollar has evidently made it attractive to shift all production from Ford of Europe's Saarlouis, Germany, plant. As many as 80,000 of these U.S.-built Kugas would be designated for export.

Bloomberg quotes three unnamed sources close to Ford, but Ford itself hasn't confirmed the report. If U.S. Kuga production and sales do come to fruition, that would suit us just fine, though: Our own Chris Walton drove the Kuga in Europe and brought back a positive report on its dynamics.

More from Auto Observer

Bloomberg

Categories: Auto Industry,Crossovers,Ford,SUVs

And by that, Jeep means 40-inch tires. Those are some serious meats, especially when you consider that Jeep didn't use any of kind of suspension lift to make room for them.

Instead, them Jeep boys decided they wanted to keep the stock ride height and just trim the body instead. The custom fender flares sit four-inches higher than stock and are one-inch wider. The Lower Forty also features a carbon fiber "power dome" hood and a special drop-down tailgate.,

To get all the rubber moving, there's a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 hooked to a six-speed manual transmission. The Dana axles have 5.38 gears and ARB air lockers.

Interior upgrades include a custom roll cage, leather seats, color matched dash and bedliner material in place of carpet. It's all going to get dirty anyway right?

2009 SEMA Show

Categories: Jeep,SEMA Show,SUVs,Tuners and Modifications

Yes, the Ford Explorer still exists. It's a little less popular these days though. Probably has something to do with all that useless off-road and towing ability. Today's SUV buyers want cush instead and lots of it.

The prototype you see here should deliver. It's an early test mule for the 2011 Ford Explorer and underneath all the camouflage is the same D4 platform used by the Ford Flex. That's would be of the unibody variety, so this Explorer should ride more like a car than a softly sprung truck.

Interior space should be improved as well which should make for more useful third-row seats. You know, sort of like the Flex. In fact, this Explorer will probably use the same engines as the Flex too.

So why bother making this Explorer if it's just going to be a rebodied Flex? Don't worry, Ford will have a very long explanation for it sometime next year when the official production version debuts. More pics after the break. 

Ford Explorer America Concept

Continue reading Spy Photos: 2011 Ford Explorer Spotted in Dearborn.

Categories: Crossovers,Ford,Future Vehicles,SUVs,Spy Photos

It's been in the works for some time and now it's finally official. General Motors has signed a "definitive agreement" to sell its Hummer brand to Tengzhong, a Chinese industrial company.

According to GM's statement, it will continue to build both the H2 and the H3 for the new owners until June of 2011. An optional 12-month extension could push production well into 2012.

The statement also noted that the new company is exploring the possibility of a diesel-powered H3 to sell in markets outside the U.S. Reducing fuel consumption will be one of the new company's goals moving forward.

Categories: Auto Industry,HUMMER,SUVs

Inside Line tests hundreds of vehicles a year, but not every vehicle gets a full write-up. The numbers still tell a story, though, so we present "IL Track Tested." It's a quick rundown of all the data we collected at the track, along with comments direct from the test-drivers. Enjoy.

When BMW introduced the idea of the SAV (Sport Activity Vehicle) with the original X5, we scoffed appropriately. Then we drove it and were shocked that the ungainly beast was not ungainly at all. Then BMW took it a bit further and rolled out the X6. It appeared even more useless, yet it, too, was a surprisingly entertaining drive.

BMW didn't stop there, of course, as it rolled out Motorsport versions of both the X5 and the X6 earlier this year. There was no good reason for them to exist, but BMW went ahead and built them anyway. After testing the X6 M, we're glad BMW took the time.

You see, this X6 is so fast that its odd looks, big sticker and pointless existence don't really matter. You simply have to respect it for what it can do. And we're not just talking about going fast in a straight line. It stops and turns amazingly well, too. It's a triumph of engineering over design and marketing. Just take a look at the numbers if you don't believe us.

Continue reading IL Track Tested: 2010 BMW X6 M.

Categories: BMW,Crossovers,IL Track Tested,Luxury Cars,SUVs

With the crossover frenzy in full effect these days, it's nice to see that Toyota spared the 4Runner from going soft. Recently unveiled at the Texas State Fair, the all-new 4Runner has even more off-road gadgets than any of its predecessors, so a trip to the infamous Rubicon trail was needed to see how well it all worked. See for yourself how it fared after the break. 

Toyota on Youtube
 

Continue reading 2010 Toyota 4Runner on the Rubicon.

Categories: SUVs,Toyota

The Kia Sorento is coming back for 2011, after taking MY2010 off, and it's nothing like the original. It's finally a unit-body crossover SUV that's in step with the times. It has the face of a Forte, thanks to Kia's designer in chief, Peter Schreyer, and it's the first Kia to be built at the company's new plant in West Point, Georgia.

Engineering Editor Jay Kavanagh had the pleasure of driving it in Atlanta's recent monsoon, and he reports that it's an agreeable five-passenger crossover with the ability to carry two additional kids in an optional third-row seat that's just large enough not to be silly. Like the Toyota RAV4 and Chevrolet Equinox, it offers both four-cylinder and V6 engine options, and like those two, its overall demeanor is decidedly car-like.

Perhaps best of all, Kia plans to keep prices within $200 of the tired, body-on-frame 2009 Sorento, whose base MSRP range stretched from $21K to $27K.

First Drive: 2011 Kia Sorento

Categories: Crossovers,Kia,SUVs

Back at the 2007 Frankfurt Auto Show, Mitsubishi showed a Lancer-based crossover SUV that was smaller than the production Outlander. It was called the cX. This is the production version of Mitsu's compact crossover.

It still doesn't have a real name but sources close to the project say it will go on sale in Japan soon. It's also a go for the European market later in 2010, and the production version will be at the Geneva Auto Show next spring. And the U.S.? We hear we're still a maybe.

The more extravagant show-car aspects of the original cX have been relaxed in favor of a more conventional package with strong Lancer overtones -- the corporate grille is impossible to miss. The size of this prototype appears to place the cX in the crosshairs of the Nissan Rogue.

The concept cX had a 1.8-liter turbodiesel four, rated at 134 horsepower at 4,000 rpm and 207 pound-feet of torque at 2,000 rpm, which we imagine the European production version will get. For Japan (and maybe the U.S.), though, either the global 2.0-liter or 2.4-liter gasoline inline-4 is more likely. The optional all-wheel-drive system should be similar to the Outlander's. 

It still needs a proper name, though.

Another photo after the jump.

Continue reading Spy Photos: Mitsubishi cX Crossover.

Categories: Crossovers,Mitsubishi,SUVs,Spy Photos