Maybe you thought we were nuts when we told you not once, not twice, but thrice, that Nissan was going to build a two-door convertible version of its Murano crossover. But it’s true. It’s for real. And the 2012…
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  Tomorrow at the National Z Car Convention in Nashville, TN, Nissan will show its refreshed 2011 Nissan Rogue to a crowd of eager Nissan fans. The new(ish) Rogue sports an egg-crate chrome grille, deeper, more angular fog-lamp shrouds,…
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  Citing "Strong public interest," GM announced that they are increasing production of the Volt by 50% from 30,000 units in 2012, to 45,000. The announcement was made the same day President Obama visited the Detroit-Hamtramck factory where the…
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No surprises here are Mercedes-Benz announced that the 2011 S63 AMG would be equipped with a hand-built 5.5-liter twin-turbocharged direct-injection V8. The new V8 pumps out 571 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque between 2,250 and 5,500 rpm when equipped with the AMG…
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Breaking new and hopefully fertile ground in the industry, Jeep and the Mopar division have unveiled a pair of new camper trailers specifically geared to the demands of the off-road set.
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As a youngster, I used to spend every summer weekend at my dad’s lake house, which is really just a nasty hunting lodge on a reservoir that’s loaded with dirty catfish, but don’t tell him I said that. Some of my fondest memories are of getting into my dad’s Suburban at the end of the weekend—exhausted from so much fun in the sun—and snuggling down into the piles of pillows and sleeping bags packed around me.

Now I’m passing those memories on to the next generation.  Last weekend, the girls and I packed up the 2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart and headed east on the highway, bumped along the quaint bovine-lined country road and then traipsed through the overgrown weed path to the lodge.  The Sportback handled all of those different conditions supremely, but where it really shined was in swallowing all of our gear at the end of the weekend.

I’m not sure why, but it seemed like our “stuff” multiplied for the return trip.  What was once a neatly organized and tightly packed cargo space, evolved into a horrific mess of sand-filled shoes, wet bathing suits and the like.  The Sportback’s hatchback design invited us to live out of the back of the car, using it as home base for the weekend.

My only challenge now that we’re home is getting the bug guts off the windshield and cow dung out of the tire treads.
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Toyota is voluntarily recalling 373,000 2000-2004 Toyota Avalons because of potential problems with the steering system.

The recall will address an issue with the steering lock bar, a device that typically locks the steering wheel when the vehicle is turned off. Because of an improper casting of the steering lock bar, the component could break under certain conditions. This would cause the steering wheel to lock completely while the car is in motion, increasing the chance of an accident. 

Toyota will replace the steering column bracket on affected vehicles at no charge to the customer. This procedure the automaker says should take about two hours to complete. Toyota will notify owners starting in late August to bring their vehicles to their local Toyota dealers. 

Although the Avalon shares its underpinnings with the Toyota Camry, no other Toyota or Lexus models are affected by this recall.

For more information, owners can call Toyota at 800-331-4331.

2003-2007 Lexus LX 470

Toyota is recalling approximately 39,000 of its Lexus LX 470 SUVs from the 2003-2007 model years over a defect in the steering shaft. Today’s recalls follow a series of significant recalls dating back to last fall.

This particular recall involves the snap ring on the steering shaft, which can disengage when the vehicle has a significant impact to the wheels such as a large pothole. The entire steering shaft could disengage over time after the impact, so drivers would not necessarily notice the problem immediately.

Toyota will begin the recall campaign in mid-August with mailings to owners. The company says no accidents have been reported because of the defect. For more information, owners can contact Lexus at 800-255-3987 or Lexus.com/recall.
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The redesigned 2011 BMW 5 Series has earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick status.

To earn the award, a vehicle must receive the top rating of Good in a front, side, rear and rollover crash tests. A vehicle also must have electronic stability control; this feature is standard on the 5 Series. 

This is the first 5 Series to earn a Top Safety Pick award; the prior-generation model earned only a Marginal rating in the side-impact crash test. IIHS’ side-impact test simulates a strike from an SUV or pickup truck.

Earning the award became tougher this year when IIHS added the rollover crash test, which measures roof strength and is twice as stringent as the federal requirement. To pass this roof-strength test, a vehicle must be able to withstand the force of four times the vehicle’s weight. Current federal standards only require a roof to hold 1.5 times its strength. As a result, many of the vehicles that had previously qualified as Top Safety Picks fell off the list in 2010.

For more information about other IIHS Top Safety Picks, click here.
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There’s a lot of buzz around the 2011 Ford Fiesta hatchback and sedan, and rightly so. These all-new compact cars have European-influenced good looks, high-quality interior and zippy performance. 

However, after spending a weekend with the 2011 Ford Fiesta hatchback, I found it wasn’t a good choice for a small family because of the limited legroom in the backseat.  That’s not to say it wouldn’t make a good car for a young driver or a good second family car. In my daily life, my boys ride in a low-back booster seat and a forward-facing convertible seat.  For our Car Seat Check, we tested a variety of seats in both the sedan and hatchback.

For the Car Seat Check, we use a rear-facing infant-safety seat, a convertible child-safety seat and a high-back booster seat, all made by Graco. The front seats are adjusted to a comfortable position for a 6-foot driver and a 5-foot-8 passenger. The child seats are installed in the second row and, if available, third row. The booster seat sits behind the driver’s seat, and the infant seat and convertible seats are installed behind the passenger seat.

Here’s how the 2011 Fiesta sedan (above photos) and hatchback (below photos) scored in MotherProof.com’s Car Seat Check:
Latch system: Two sets of lower Latch anchors sit in the outboard positions. The anchors are hidden, but there’s some clearance below them, which helps a little with car-seat installation. In the sedan, there are three tether anchors sitting on the shelf behind the head restraints. It was a little difficult to unhook the connector from the tether because there wasn’t enough wiggle room under the tether’s hinged cover. In the hatchback, the three tether anchors are positioned midway down the second row’s seatbacks. These aren’t covered and are easy to use because of it.

Booster seat: The high-back booster fits in the backseat of both the sedan and hatchback, but the seat belt buckles are so floppy that they can fall behind the car seat. When I pulled the buckle out from behind the car seat, it sat at an awkward angle that could be difficult for kids to use independently.

Convertible child-safety seat: The forward-facing convertible fits in both the models without any problems. However, the rear-facing convertible had serious fit problems in both cars. To install the car seat at the correct angle, I had to move the front passenger seat so far forward that my knees were jammed into the glove box. 

Rear-facing infant-safety seat: I only had to move the front passenger seat forward a little bit to get this seat to fit in both cars.

Do two car seats fit? Yes

Do three car seats fit? No
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Toyota is adding two new limited-edition trim packages for the 2011 Toyota Tacoma that are based on the Tacoma TX project vehicle shown at last year’s SEMA Show.
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