Mazda showed a freshened RX-8 alongside their race-inspired Furai concept at the 2008 Detroit show. The 2009 model features several evolutionary tweaks as well as a new sporty option package.

On the outside, all RX-8s will get revised front fascias, bumpers, headlights and taillights. The exhaust tips are also larger, now measuring 90 mm. The front fender side gills have been replaced with smaller openings that now house turn indicators.

A redesigned center stack joins a new steering wheel on the interior. The tachometer also gets an update and will now vary the red zone depending on engine temperature. Redesigned seating in all four spots aims to increase rear leg room.

Driving dynamics weren't ignored in the update. A trapezoidal strut tower brace adds rigidity up front, while rear suspension geometry has been revised for better handling.

A new R3 option package - an homage to the R1 and R2 packages offered on the RX-7 - adds some attitude to the RX-8. A sport suspension with Bilstein shocks is paired with foam-filled front suspension crossmembers for a smoother ride and more control. Exterior bits include a rear spoiler, side sills, fog lights and a sportier front bumper. Nineteen-inch forged alloy wheels are wrapped in performance rubber. The interior gets Recaro front seats, a 300-watt Bose sound system, and convenience options like Bluetooth and Mazda's keyless entry and start system.

The 2009 RX-8 will continue as the only mass-produced rotary-engined car on the market today.

Click the link below for high-resolution RX-8 images.

Mazda showed a freshened RX-8 alongside their race-inspired Furai concept at the 2008 Detroit show. The 2009 model features several evolutionary tweaks as well as a new sporty option package.

On the outside, all RX-8s will get revised front fascias, bumpers, headlights and taillights. The exhaust tips are also larger, now measuring 90 mm. The front fender side gills have been replaced with smaller openings that now house turn indicators.

A redesigned center stack joins a new steering wheel on the interior. The tachometer also gets an update and will now vary the red zone depending on engine temperature. Redesigned seating in all four spots aims to increase rear leg room.

Driving dynamics weren't ignored in the update. A trapezoidal strut tower brace adds rigidity up front, while rear suspension geometry has been revised for better handling.

A new R3 option package - an homage to the R1 and R2 packages offered on the RX-7 - adds some attitude to the RX-8. A sport suspension with Bilstein shocks is paired with foam-filled front suspension crossmembers for a smoother ride and more control. Exterior bits include a rear spoiler, side sills, fog lights and a sportier front bumper. Nineteen-inch forged alloy wheels are wrapped in performance rubber. The interior gets Recaro front seats, a 300-watt Bose sound system, and convenience options like Bluetooth and Mazda's keyless entry and start system.

The 2009 RX-8 will continue as the only mass-produced rotary-engined car on the market today.

Click the link below for high-resolution RX-8 images.

Mazda showed a freshened RX-8 alongside their race-inspired Furai concept at the 2008 Detroit show. The 2009 model features several evolutionary tweaks as well as a new sporty option package.

On the outside, all RX-8s will get revised front fascias, bumpers, headlights and taillights. The exhaust tips are also larger, now measuring 90 mm. The front fender side gills have been replaced with smaller openings that now house turn indicators.

A redesigned center stack joins a new steering wheel on the interior. The tachometer also gets an update and will now vary the red zone depending on engine temperature. Redesigned seating in all four spots aims to increase rear leg room.

Driving dynamics weren't ignored in the update. A trapezoidal strut tower brace adds rigidity up front, while rear suspension geometry has been revised for better handling.

A new R3 option package - an homage to the R1 and R2 packages offered on the RX-7 - adds some attitude to the RX-8. A sport suspension with Bilstein shocks is paired with foam-filled front suspension crossmembers for a smoother ride and more control. Exterior bits include a rear spoiler, side sills, fog lights and a sportier front bumper. Nineteen-inch forged alloy wheels are wrapped in performance rubber. The interior gets Recaro front seats, a 300-watt Bose sound system, and convenience options like Bluetooth and Mazda's keyless entry and start system.

The 2009 RX-8 will continue as the only mass-produced rotary-engined car on the market today.

Click the link below for high-resolution RX-8 images.

There's never been a better time to travel to Australia. Case in point? Ford launched its revised FG Falcon range of rear-drive sedans and utes earlier this year. Better yet, the hot FPV Falcon portfolio is now making its way to dealers.

For the uninitiated, Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) is to Ford's offerings down under as AMG is to Mercedes-Benz. The division originated in the 1990s to prepare the Falcon for spec racing, but has since focused on tuning high-performance models for customers. The FG Falcon, launched at February's Melbourne auto show, is the latest recipient of FPV's speed tweaks.

Perhaps most interesting are FPV's modifications to Ford's turbocharged 4.0-liter inline-six, available in the F6 sedan and ute. In stock form, the motor develops 362 hp and 393 lb-ft of torque; performance close to a traditional V-8 but with a smaller thirst for fuel. Those are respectable numbers, but through a larger turbocharger, modified intercoolers and a host of other changes, FPV bumps the output to a whopping 416 hp. Torque comes on strong once the turbo spools at 1950 rpm, delivering 417 lb-ft until redline (5200 rpm).

Those figures are more than respectable, but for customers who still hanker for an extra two cylinders, FPV offers select models with a tuned 5.4-liter V-8. The "Boss 315" motor moseys 422 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque. That's better than the Falcon's stock 5.4-liter (rated at 388 hp and 383 lb-ft, respectively), but it's only six ponies more and nine lb-ft less than FPV's turbo-six. Either motor is available with a Tremec six-speed manual or a ZF six-speed automatic, so there's no driveline advantage of picking one motor over the other.

Buyers may choose the V-8 for nostalgia or a dislike of forced induction, but they may also choose a V-8 model - GT, GT-E or GT-P sedans and the Pursuit and Super Pursuit utes - for their looks. All sport unique front- and rear fascias, side skirts, 19-inch alloy wheels, decklid spoiler and a muscular hood bulge.

Six-cylinder models sport the same accoutrements, save for a lowered hood line and a sectioned lower grille which exposes the intercooler. The look is fine, but we can live without the graphics; they're an odd mixture of traditional Ford striping and Aborigine war paint. We'd opt for the GT-E; it sports the V-8 grunt and spoilers of the GT-P but eliminates the garish dcor.

Not that we'll have that option, mind you. Ford's not bringing its FG Falcon to North America, and that means we'll be deprived of these awesome Aussies as well.

A four-door variant has once again joined the M3 stable, and in so doing makes BMW's raciest 3-series not only ergonomically more practical but also financially more palatable, with a base price that undercuts the coupe's by nearly $3000. Happily for bargain shoppers and kid schleppers, the extra doors have not dulled the sensations of this most sensational 3-series.

The biggest difference between the two body styles is that the four-door forgoes the coupe's carbon-fiber roof. So the four-door is heavier, but only by twenty-two pounds. That's not enough to affect the factory's 0-to-60-mph times - 4.7 seconds for both - and certainly not enough to alter this car's character. (And even as a sedan, the M3 is still lighter than its rivals from Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and Lexus.)

Although the M3 sedan can't match the carbon-fiber content of the M3 coupe, the siblings are identical in every other way. The sedan proffers the same visual treats, including deep air intakes, front fender gills, center-exiting exhaust, and eighteen-inch wheels. Inside, there are the same front sport seats with adjustable side bolsters, the fat-rimmed steering wheel, the M-specific trim, and the console-mounted Sport button (it quickens throttle response and reduces steering boost). The optional EDC (electronic damper control) adds another button to control the three-position electronic dampers. The technology package ($3250) includes navigation; EDC; a third, hypersensitive throttle program to the Sport button; and an intermediate dynamic mode to the stability control. The tech package also allows you to call up your favorite combination of the above with its steering-wheel-mounted M Drive button.

Our low-option test car, however, came sans technology package, navigation, adjustable dampers, leather, or even a sunroof. How old-school. But the important hardware was there - the completely M3-specific aluminum suspension, the stiffened body structure, the bigger brakes, and of course, the 4.0-liter V-8 engine.

Lurking under the suggestively bulging hood, the V-8 makes a robust414 hp, but it's actually lighter and more rev-happy than the previous M3's 3.2-liter straight six, reaching its power peak at 8300 rpm, just shy of its 8400-rpm redline. "Our way is to use a high-revving engine," says M3 technical director Bernd Limmer, "which allows us to use a light drivetrain." It also gives the M3 sedan a persona that is the polar opposite of a ground-pounding torque monster like the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG.

The highest-revving four-door you can buy, the M3 is sure to elicit screams of fear and/or delight (depending on the temperament of your passengers) when you wind up its engine to the far reaches of the tach and the scenery starts coming at you like a sucker punch. The M3 was a fantastic partner for a long blast down the endlessly curving and blessedly empty Carmel Valley Road. Oh, and it's also a serene highway cruiser and perfectly polished in town. We didn't miss the whipsaw throttle option, but the available EDC would have mellowed the ride, which could be pretty stiff and jiggly. And were we able to put the DSC into dynamic mode, we could have hung the tail out in relative safety, putting an exclamation point on this car's beautifully balanced chassis. Still, even without all that, the M3 is one sensational car, two doors or four.

Open M3
The third model in the M3 family is the M3 convertible, which was unveiled at the Geneva auto show. Like the 3-series convertible, it has a retractable metal hard top. When it goes on sale in the States this summer, the convertible will usher in the M3's new seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, which BMW is calling M DCT Drivelogic. This transmission replaces the much-despised SMG gearbox and will spread to the M3 sedan and coupe shortly after its debut in the droptop.

Yesterday, Carlos Ghosn climbed atop his soapbox to outline Nissan's GT ("growth & trust") 2012 plan, outlining how the company plans to remain relevant and profitable over the next few years. We - and all Infiniti enthusiasts - may be most interested at a paragraph buried at the bottom of his release: A G37 convertible is officially headed our way later this year.

Currently offered in both coupe and sedan forms, the addition of a drop-top to the G37's portfolio allows the car to compete with BMW's 3-series and Audi's A4 range. Both ranges offer coupe, convertible, and sedan forms of their mid-sized luxury platforms. Lest you think Infiniti's completely catching up with the Germans, both brands also offer wagon variants - a model not currently known to be on Infiniti's radar.

The G37 'vert is but one of nine products Nissan and Infiniti will launch in the 2008 fiscal year. We've already seen the 2009 FX and Nissan Maxima, but we're anxiously awaiting the advent of the next Z car (370Z) and a refreshed Cube that will make its way stateside.

Small as it may be, the Smart Fortwo just received a giant safety endorsement.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has announced that the 2008 Smart Fortwo (the smallest car for sale in the U.S. market) earned its top rating of "good" for front and side crash protection. For protection against rear impact whiplash, the Fortwo's seat/head restraints earned the Insurance Institute's second highest rating of "acceptable".

More than three feet shorter and nearly 700 pounds lighter than a Mini Cooper, Smart's Fortwo is the smallest car the Insurance Institute has ever tested.

Aware that consumers were concerned about the safety of traveling in the tiny Fortwo, Insurance Institute President Adrian Lund said "the engineers of the Smart did their homework and designed a high level of safety into a very small package."

To compensate for the Fortwo's small body and front-end crush zone (which is a key component in reducing injury risk in serious frontal crashes), Smart's restraint system was designed to absorb more energy as occupants "ride down" a crash. A stiff side structure and standard side airbags also contribute to the Smart's "good" test rating.

However, the driver door did unlatch during Fortwo crash tests, confirming a finding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's side tests released last month.