The five-speed manual transmission is a carryover from the 2007 model. Because of its wide ratios it doesn’t make for particularly fast launches – a short throw close ratio gearbox would do better. But since you can go from 5 to 55mph in second gear, you can keep it in second while negotiating winding mountain roads, without having to shift up to third.

The WRX includes sport seats for the driver and passenger. These seats have fixed headrests and a sculpted look that goes well with the general interior theme. The dashboard curves in to meet the center stack, somewhat like the cabin of the Subaru Tribeca. The interior also has a clean look, with few buttons marring the curving surfaces. The stack is particularly simple, only hosting HVAC controls, vents, and an LCD for the navigation and audio systems.

Handling is a big part of the WRX’s reputation, but is wasn’t all that impressive by the steering response. The wheel has some looseness about it, but the all-wheel-drive compensates well enough. In the hard cornering you will never feel the tires break free, although it will drift a little.

The EPA gives the 2008 Subaru WRX 19mpg in the city and 24mpg on the highway. In heavy city traffic, we dropped below 19mpg, but our overall observed average was 20.8mpg. These numbers could probably be improved by a sixth gear, allowing better economy at freeway speeds. The WRX hasn’t been rated for emissions yet.

The base price for a 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX with the satellite radio and navigation package is $28,450. A $645 destination charge brings that total up to $29,095. For less than 30 grand you’re getting a sporty little car that works well as an everyday driver, except for its mediocre fuel economy.

It boasts Mazdaspeed wheels, brakes, and likely some suspension upgrades. Whether there are any changes under the hood is not currently known. Inside, two-tone racing seats and various dress-up bits bring the Demio’s cabin upmarket. We’d rather see a manual transmission instead of the show car’s automatic, but if Mazda does decide to go all the way and produce a Mazdaspeed2/Demio somewhere down the line, were sure that a manual cog-swapper would be part of the mix.

GM did a great job producing a full-size, gasoline-imbibing, V-8 SUV that gets better city fuel economy than a Ford Fusion or Honda Accord V-6, and matches that of the four-cylinder Camry. The Tahoe hybrid is GM’s first full hybrid product, and offers significant gains over the standard Tahoe, whose fuel economy approximates a 1950s bread truck.

Most notable is the patented two-mode hybrid transmission that is, dare we say, a significant improvement in both efficiency and performance over the CVT used in cars like the Prius. It can function as either a CVT or a four-speed automatic, taking advantage of the best attributes of each.

A standard hybrid arrangement consisting of a 300-volt battery pack and twin electric motors assists a retuned version of GM’s 6.0-liter V-8, which, on the two-wheel-drive model, will return 21 mpg in the city and 22 on the highway, not at all heinous considering the nearly 6000-pound curb weight. More important to many Tahoe buyers than fuel economy, however, is the 6000-pound towing capacity, which gives the fraction of large SUV owners who can justify ownership by the occasional need to tow something heavy, like a party barge with twin kegerators, a green option.

The new concept is designed to provide flexible transport for grownups and those not so grown. All seats are equipped with personal entertainment systems that allow the occupant of that seat to plug in their own digital media player and have the sounds play back through seat-mounted speakers.

The front seat grownups can monitor activity in the back two rows thanks to a pair of roof mounted cameras that can play back through the dash mounted display screen. When things get out of hand, a time out button on the steering wheel allows the driver to mute all entertainment systems instantly. On the propulsion front, the Forum is designed around Nissan’s upcoming clean diesel V-6 engine.

According to Nissan’s VP of product planning Larry Dominique, if a vehicle like the Forum does get produced it could use either a diesel engine or a hybrid power-train. The diesel does seem like the better option for this type of vehicle thanks to it’s plentiful low-end torque. Regardless of the ultimate fate of this people mover, we will definitely see the diesel engine in the Maxima in 2010.

The Matrix will be available in three trims: Standard, S, and XRS. The interior of all three has bright white-lit gauges offsetting red-lit needles and a large, dominant speedometer. Everything from sport seats to the three-spoke steering wheel is new. However, much of the bright work and interesting design of the prior Matrix have given way to cheaper, monotone materials, and thus, in spite of additional equipment and so-called upgraded fabrics, it’s hard to consider the new interior much of a step forward in design.

It has been given cool new features, including Toyota’s latest navigation system with XM traffic reporting, a JBL audio system, and stability. Storage space, too, is impressive, with cubbies upon cubbies and a massive glove box. And in terms of safety, besides stability control, there are no options: Six airbags come standard.

The Matrix Standard and the Matrix S sport a new 1.8-liter, four-cylinder engine that generates 132 horsepower and 128 pound-feet of torque and featuring dual VVT-i (variable valve timing with intelligence). The Matrix S is also offered with all-wheel drive. The brakes, too, have been upgraded to four-wheel discs. Transmission choices are a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic. The 1.8-liter inline-four revs smoothly, if not terribly quietly. Feel through the tilting-and-telescoping steering wheel was rather tepid and springy.

The German star, who retired from Formula One last year, was said to have “taken the corners at full-throttle and over-taken in unbelievable places,” according to the cab driver. Schumacher paid the 60 euros fare (86 US Dollars) for the journey and even gave the cab driver a 100 euro tip (144 US Dollars) to show his appreciation. (more…)

The final few that they narrowed it down to were engines that gave you power with fuel economy. Engines that many of us would love to know about when looking for our new vehicle for 2008.

Ward’s 2007 Top Ten List:

1. Audi AG: FSI 2.0L turbocharged DOHC I-4 (Audi A3)

2. BMW AG: 3.0L turbocharged DOHC I-6 (335i Coupe)

3. Daimler AG: 3.0L DOHC V-6 Turbodiesel (Mercedes E320 CDI)

4. Ford Motor Co.: 4.6L SOHC V-8 (Mustang Shelby GT/Bullitt)

5. General Motors Corp.: 3.6L DOHC V-6 (Cadillac CTS)

6. General Motors Corp.: 6.0L OHV V-8 Hybrid (GMC Yukon Hybrid)

7. Honda Motor Co. Ltd.: 3.5L SOHC V-6 (Accord Coupe)

8. Mazda Motor Corp.: 2.3L DISI turbocharged DOHC I-4 (Mazdaspeed3)

9. Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.: 3.7L DOHC V-6 (Infiniti G37)

10. Toyota Motor Corp.: 3.5L DOHC V-6 (Lexus IS 350)

We don’t know how close, if at all, it will be to the hybrid system in the Porsche Cayenne – that one can run the vehicle entirely on electric power at 75 MPH. Nissan’s offering is slated to arrive some time in the next decade, presumably in the next generation FX.

When it does, that will put at least four different types of major manufacturer hybrids on the roads, making their way through streets also littered with clean diesels. When we get that kind of concentration, the shakeout will really begin to decide who’ll win the altpower war.

In the domestic department, total light-duty vehicle sales in the US dropped 1.6% year-on-year in November to 1,179,848 units, according to Autodata, with sales of light trucks dropping 7.4% and sales of passenger cars increasing 5.5%. Ford turned in strong results for its Escape and Mariner hybrids, with combined sales up 50% from the year before to 2,224 units, representing 15.2% of combined model sales.

As for the foreign car makers, Toyota posted a strong month with Prius sales hitting 16,737 units, up 109% from the year before. Camry Hybrid turned in 5,118 units, up 65% from the year before and representing 14.5% of all Camry models sold. Sales of the Highlander Hybrid were back up after a slump for several months to 2,577 units—an increase of 55% from November 2006 and representing 20.9% of all Highlander models sold. Honda’s Civic Hybrid posted 3,238 units, up 47% from November 2006 and representing 12.9% of all Civic sales in the month. The Accord Hybrid posted 204 units (0.9% of all Accord sales), down 34% from the year before. Nissan had its best month yet for the Altima Hybrid, with 1,191 units representing 6% of all Altima sales. The Altima Hybrid is sold in only eight states.

One thing is for certain, hybrids are coming. Go green!

Lucky for us those rumors were not true. Dodge stated earlier this week that they have no intentions on creating 5,000 but is looking to create 10,000 (this number is not yet official). They have already received 6,600 preorders from customers and have stated that while they won’t make more than 10,000 they aren’t convinced that they should make any less.

Dodge is offering a Limited Edition version of the SRT8 model with the five-speed automatic. After that, Dodge will add the other Challenger models available with the 5.7L HEMI and 3.5L V6. Production will eventually reach beyond 30,000 units per year. Hopefully for Dodge this initial high demand for the Challenger won’t fall too much by the time it begins pumping them out.