What's New - January 2006

Volvo S80     Volvo has released pictures of the second-generation S80, a model series which when first launched in 1998 revived the Swedish brand with less slab-like, more expressive styling. This new model evolves those themes, and with it now carries Volvo's compact V8 that first appeared in the XC90 SUV last year. With 315PS put to the road through all four wheels, it will be Volvo's spearhead for penetrating the crucial American market and luring 35,000 new owners each year.

BMW Z4M? Sorry, it’s the Z4 M-Sport

BMW are testing a Z4 with an M-Sport package round the Nurburgring I suppose that at least this way you can have a Z4 that looks the part- with bigger wheels and bumpers and maybe even a suspension tweak or three – without having to bother with the big price ticket or the not inconsiderable running costs. To be fair, the Z4 sDrive35i is not particularly slow. It will manage to get to 60 mph in around 5.0 seconds; handles well and looks so much better than the Z3 did.

NADA asks U.S. to suspend clunkers program

National Automobile Dealers Association officials asked the government to suspend the cash-for-clunkers program because a survey by the group found that the $3 billion fund has been exhausted, NADA Chairman John McEleney said. "We asked them to put a halt to the program--I think we said 'very soon'--but a suspension at midnight tonight would make sense," McEleney said in an interview Wednesday. "Our survey opened the eyes of the Transportation Department." A suspension would allow dealers to submit all pending claims and permit the government to process them so that a precise determination could be made of how much money, if any, is left in the program, he said.