Automotive Guide - Passenger Cars
Knoxville, Tennessee

BMW's power surge is immediate

Driving the 2007 BMW 335i coupe is something like shooting a finely-crafted firearm. When you squeeze the trigger, the response is immediate, violent and accurate.

The ammunition is the twin-turbo six-cylinder engine that drives the rear wheels. It delivers 300 horsepower and massive torque, which seems more like ballistic science than automotive engineering.

Read more about the BMW 335i.

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Leave the parking and massage to the 2007 Lexus LS 460

Some day automobiles likely will be able to drive themselves.

They'll be equipped with sophisticated, satellite-based navigation systems connected to all of the car's components. The driver will simply program a route, sit back and let the car take over.

Some of this already exists. Mercedes-Benz has an automatic cruise control system that will pace the car ahead at highway speeds and all the way down to a full stop. Then, with barely a nudge from the driver, it will move off again.

Not to be outdone, the 2007 Lexus LS 460 can park itself.

Read more about the Lexus LS 460.

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Suzuki raises its auto profile with crossover appeal

In Japan, Suzuki is a big fish in a little pond, where it is the third largest-selling automobile brand.

But in the United States, it is a little fish in a big pond, perhaps more widely known for its motorcycles than its cars and sport utility vehicles.

The company is moving aggressively to change that state of affairs, and it has some tantalizing new bait. They are the 2007 SX4 and XL7. Both are located in the increasingly popular crossover segment, where the vehicles are neither station wagons nor SUVs, but an amalgamation of the two.

Read more about the Suzuki XL7.

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