At the Detroit Auto Show,Kia Motors America (KMA) today announced it will give its new midsize SUV the moniker of “Borrego“. The Kia Borrego will be manufactured in Korea and go on sale in North America in late spring or early summer of 2008 as a 2009 model.

Built with body-on-frame construction incorporating the latest in NVH engineering philosophy, Borrego will be Kia’s newest addition to its well-rounded full-line of vehicles that continually provide value, safety and a steadfast 10-year/100,000-mile warranty to consumers. Borrego will be available with either a V6 engine or the company’s first V8 offering, which will also boast Kia’s largest towing capacity to date.

Kia Motors America — the sales, marketing and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corporation in Seoul, South Korea — offers a complete line of vehicles through more than 630 dealers throughout the United States. For more information, including photography, visit www.kiamedia.com.

The new flagship motor is a 5.7-liter HEMI V8 that produces 380 hp and 404 pound-feet of torque. The truck will also be available with a 4.7-liter V8 providing 310 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque, and a 3.7-liter V6 generating 215 horsepower and 235 pound-feet of torque.

An redesigned chassis made of high-strength steel incorporates an all-new, first-in-segment, multi-link coil spring rear suspension that improves ride and handling characteristics without reducing payload (up to an estimated 1,840 pounds) and towing capability (up to an estimated 9,100 pounds).

The truck features a drastically revamped interior, which reflects Chrysler’s growing commitment to interior quality, after years of disappointing cabins. It features six-ring instrumentation, redesigned controls, chrome accents, premium seating with improved bolsters and two-tone upholstery.

The all-new 2009 Dodge Ram is offered in regular cab, Quad Cab and crew cab, with three box lengths: 8-foot (regular cab), 6-foot-4-inches (regular cab and Quad Cab), and a new-for-2009 box length of 5-foot-7-inches (crew cab). Five trim levels are available, each with a unique appearance: ST, SLT, TRX, Sport, and the top-of-the-line Laramie.

Ford has heavily revised 2009 F-150 pickup truck, which is bigger and bolder than ever.The F-series pickup is far and away the most crucial vehicle in Ford’s lineup, selling hundreds of thousands more units each year than any other Ford vehicle. It has been the bestselling vehicle from any manufacturer for more than two decades.After some cracks Ford comes with a new 150.

The new 2009 F-150 is ready to challenge with the all-new Dodge Ram and last year’s new Chevy Silverado and Toyota Tundra. The 2009 Ford F-150 takes its styling cues from the F-series Super Duty pickup. “We learn from our customers,” says Patrick Schiavone, the F-series chief designer. They’ve told us that “a truck needs to be tough. You cannot make it too tough for me.” So, the new F-150 has a bigger grille, with chrome girders that are similar to those in the Super Duty. The big fender badge, according to Schiavone, “is meant to look like it’s milled from a solid piece of steel.” Grooves in the taillights that also run across the tailgate evoke 1960s and 1970s Ford trucks. The little flip at the top of the tailgate is there both to help aerodynamics and for looks.

New 2009 Ford F-150 indeed looks much bigger, tougher, and more substantial, and it will certainly appeal to those who purchase trucks as a reflection of their perceived masculinity or lack thereof. The Crew Cab model is a whopping six inches longer than before.Ride height is up about an inch, too, in response to dealers, who are asked by many consumers to install lift kits in the current truck. The increased height, length, and squared-off body combine to make the truck appear even bigger and more imposing.

V-8 engines are standard; the current 4.2-liter V-6 will be dropped. There now will be two versions of the 4.6-liter Triton V-8; one with two valves per cylinder, which will still be saddled with a four-speed automatic, and one with three valves per cylinder. Both it and the 5.4-liter V-8 now are mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. None of the engines comes close to offering the level of horsepower that’s now available in the 5.7-liter V-8 in the new Toyota Tundra.

All models will be offered with a fold-out tailgate step, the better to climb up into this tall beast. A foldable bed extender made of plastic is more flexible than the tubular aluminum ones. Dual tracks along the top of the tall bedsides maximize tie-down possibilities. There is no cap for the fuel nozzle, a feature that will be introduced across the board for all Ford vehicles in the 2009 model year.

It will be interesting to see if the market will follow Ford down this bigger, tougher road, or whether the decrease in sales of full-size pickup trucks will continue as Americans become resigned to $3-per-gallon gasoline and adjust their transportation choices accordingly. One could argue that the last thing full-size, light-duty pickup trucks should be doing at this juncture is getting bigger, taller, and heavier. How about a right-size pickup that’s lower to the ground and still capable of towing and hauling?

Toyota today launched an all-new utility vehicle for the 2009 model year the Venza. The Japanese automaker refers to the car as a “crossover sedan,” which seems like an effort to avoid the use of “station wagon” at all costs. Toyota came up with the designation because the Venza combines “comfort and fun-to-drive performance elements of a five-passenger sedan” with the “utility of an SUV.”

The crossover was designed specifically with the North American market in mind. The Venza will be sold here exclusively, and it was engineered at the Toyota Technical Center in Ann Arbor. The exterior was penned at the Toyota’s Calty design studios in Newport Beach.



Rather than styling the Venza to look like an SUV, the Venza was designed with a “sleek sedan concept” in mind, Toyota says. Nonetheless, it features a spacious interior providing room for five passengers and abundant cargo space behind the second row of seats.

Levers, one on each side of the rear cargo area, allow the 60/40 split rear seats to fold flat, providing additional storage space for extra long items. For added passenger comfort, the rear seats recline up to 14 degrees.

Power will be generated by an available 3.5-liter V6 that will produce 268 horsepower at 6,200 rpm and 246 pound-feet of torque at 4,700 rpm with a towing capability of 3,500 pounds. Standard power will come from an all-new 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine.

All Venza models are equipped with an array of standard features including auto dual zone air conditioning, AM/FM six-disc CD, tilt/telescopic steering wheel with audio controls, remote keyless entry, electrochromic rearview mirror with compass, a multi-information display, cruise control, optitron gauges, rear wiper, privacy glass, and much more. On V6 models Venza come standard with dual exhaust tips and is the first Toyota model to ride on standard 20-inch alloy wheels. Four-cylinder models come standard with 19-inch alloy wheels.

Venza will also offer an Automatic High Beam headlight system. When high beam headlights are in use sensors in the Automatic High Beam system will detect oncoming traffic and automatically switch the headlights to low-beam. When the Automatic High Beam sensors no longer detect oncoming traffic the system will switch the headlights back to high-beam mode.

Additional optional equipment will include a navigation system equipped with a JBL audio system, integrated satellite radio capability and Bluetooth technology; a premium JBL audio system with AM/FM six-disc CD changer, satellite radio capability and Bluetooth, rear seat entertainment system, a Smart Key System, back-up camera and a power rear door.

source: leftlanenews

The trendiest vehicles on the road today are hybrids, cars and trucks powered by drive-trains that use both internal combustion engines and electric motors for propulsion.

The two current strategies are “full hybrids“, which can operate under internal combustion power only, electric power only, or a combination of the two, and “light hybrids“, which use an electric motor to aid the internal combustion engine when necessary.

Toyota has the best-known full hybrid system, used in its Prius, Camry and Highlander Hybrids, and the Lexus RX400h and GS 400h, and licensed to several other manufacturers.

Honda has gone for a simpler light hybrid system for its Insight, Civic and Accord Hybrid models, although it is moving toward full hybrids. Other manufacturers are working on their own systems.

Did you know that in the United States…
End-of-life vehicles are the most recycled consumer product both in terms of percentage and volume.
More than 95 percent of all end-of-life vehicles go through a market-driven recycling infrastructure with no added costs or taxes to consumers.
And more than 84 percent, by weight, of each end-of-life vehicle is recycled.
Materials processed from end-of-life vehicles go back into making new cars, roads, buildings, consumer products and even garden mulch.