Autoblog

BMW announced pricing for its all-new 2009 diesel models during a live webcast today. Fitted under the hood of the 335d and X5 xDrive35d will be a 3.0-liter twin-turbo diesel rated at 265 hp and 425 lb-ft of torque (BMW's own flagship 6.0-liter gasoline V12 barely tops it with 444 lb-ft). The torque precludes BMW from fitting a 6-speed manual to the engine, so both models will arrive with a 6-speed Steptronic automatic. The sedan will sprint to 60 mph in just over six seconds with the SAV adding about a second to the time. Base MSRP for the BMW 335d will be $44,725 (the price includes destination fees), while the base MSRP for the X5 xDrive 35d will be $52,025 (including fees). Both vehicles will qualify for the IRS Alternative Motor Vehicle Tax Credit, though the exact amount has yet to be determined. For comparison's sake, the 2009 VW Jetta TDI gets a tax credit of $1,300 while the Mercedes-Benz GL320 BLUETEC gets $1,800. The first shipment of vehicles will arrive at dealers before the end of the year. However, we'll be driving the 335d during the LA Auto Show next week and will be sure to post our impressions as soon as possible.

Gallery: 2009 BMW 335d Advanced Diesel

[Source: AutoblogGreen]

Oil company advertising is apparently much more effective than we had originally thought. As gasoline prices creep up towards $4.00 per gallon (already there in Southern California), consumers are still more likely to purchase fuel based on brand over price.

According to NPD Group analyst David Portalatin, consumers cite "product performance" as their justification for buying one particular brand over another. It's all due to very effective branding and marketing, cites Portalatin. (We'd have to agree, as we've yet to meet anyone who can discern a difference between a tank of Chevron or Costco fuel from the driver's seat.) Now that the massive oil mergers are behind them, the petroleum giants are focusing on selling "quality" to differentiate themselves from the discount fuel stations. As consumers continue to blindly drive towards big brand gasoline, their efforts are apparently working -- regardless of cost. Let's just hope Starbucks doesn't catch wind of this trend and try a new source of revenue...

[Source Advertising Age, Photo by David McNew, Getty Images]

Click above for more high-res pics of the 2009 Subaru Forester

Subaru has released pricing on the all-new 2009 Subaru Forester introduced last mont in Detroit and it's a whopping $1,200 less than the price of the outgoing model. This means you can put a brand-new completely redesigned Forester 2.5X with standard all-wheel drive, curtain airbags and stability control in your driveway for $19,995 (plus destination and delivery, of course). At the other end of the spectrum, a 2.5XT Limited model starts at $28,195.

You have to salute Subaru's move. The new Forester is a very competent package in a competitive crossover SUV segment. Anyone shopping this category has good reason to take it for a spin, and the price drop is just icing on the cake. Check out Subaru's press release after the jump for a full breakdown of pricing by trim level.

[Source: Subaru]

The FIA and the teams participating in F1 have agreed to shorten the ban on engine development to five years. The FIA, which forms the rules for Formula One, had previously instituted a freeze on the development of every team's engine program for a staggering ten years in an effort to reduce the rapidly escalating costs involved with running an F1 team.

At a meeting called by the FIA in Paris, the principals of each team agreed that a ten year ban was too long, but begun discussions on how costs could be curbed in the sport. Rather than continue imposing half-measures aimed at reducing costs, most of the teams agreed that the FIA should actually reduce costs by instituting an overall budget cap, as many had suggested... Autoblog included. Although Ferrari remains opposed to a budget cap, its former technical chief and now head honcho at Honda, Ross Brawn, has been a vocal proponent of the idea.

With the freeze now cut down to half, the FIA announced it would begin working on a new engine formula for the series. F1 has gone in the past couple of decades from turbo eights to V12s and then to V10s before arriving at the 2.4-liter V8s currently used. Insiders expect the next formula to be unveiled within two years' time and to be both more environmentally-friendly and more cost effective.

[Source: Autosport]

The World Motor Sport Council of the FIA has approved yet another array of restrictions on Formula One development in a bid to further reduce costs in the top-level racing series. Following the imposition of a 10-year freeze on engine development and restrictions on aerodynamic testing, the new regulations cover a broad spectrum of areas, including design, manufacturing, testing, development of suspension, brakes and hydraulics, bodywork, weight distribution, on-track testing and personnel. More details are expected to be revealed after discussions take place with the teams at a meeting scheduled for mid-January.

Although the stated aim of the tighter regulations is to reduce enormous costs of operating a Formula One racing team, the restrictions put F1 in danger of losing its status as the pinnacle of motor racing and further reduce the already-debatable benefit F1 development has on production road cars.

As this writer expressed in a recent discussion with an FIA official, the goal of reducing costs would be better served if the FIA took a page out of the playbooks of other top-level sports: In order to cap spending in the sport, actually cap spending. The FIA should impose a cap on spending, not unlike a major-league salary cap, rather than searching for more round-about ways of restricting development in which the engineers will invariably find new loop-holes.

[Source: AutoWeek]

It will soon cost you a lot more to distort your face like putty and suck the plugs right out of your scalp while going deaf. What? Er, make that WHAT!? Right. Well, Brammo Motorsports has a hit on their hands with the Ariel Atom, and they've been forced to add more people to keep the skeletal rocket's production humming along. The $6,000 price increase spares us Dads, by appearing June 18th. That still leaves time for your loved ones to get you a 300 horsepower suggestion of a car. Six grand is a steep price bump – for that price you can build a very nice LoCost. There's also competition sneaking up on the Atom, like the KTM X-Bow and other cars that share the same bare-minimum-with-brawny-motor ethos.

Even bumped by six large, the price is still a bargain considering what the car can do. You'll run with some serious company – and there lies another hidden cost of all these cars – where to drive them? Over the road motoring may hold its own visceral charms, giving you a glimpse of how Frogger feels, but really, the only place to use these things is a track, and track time costs money. Maybe they'll knock some dough off the bottom line if you go without the floormats or radio ... err... perhaps you could charge all your buddies $10 bucks for three laps around the company parking lot at lunch?

[Source: Winding Road]

Think a Rolls-Royce Phantom is expensive? Well, yeah...it is. One of the most expensive on the market, as a matter of fact. (Hey, it's a Rolls-Royce. What did you expect?) But if you think the Phantom is expensive on the American market, you should take a look at what it costs elsewhere in the world.

Our new friends over at Automobiles De Luxe have compiled what they're calling "the Phantom Index", taking the example of "the Big Mac Index" from The Economist and carrying the formula through to the most bling-tastic of motor saloons.

You might be surprised that the Phantom is cheapest to buy in the United States, undercutting the equivalent price of the same automobile in the United Kingdom and in the European Union by over a hundred thousand dollars. Not that such concerns would factor into the equation for most buyers of a new Rolls-Royce, mind you... perish the thought.

[Source: Automobiles De Luxe]

Cool doesn't have to be expensive. At least that's what the folks over at Kelley Blue Book figure. The website of the authoritative car-buying resource has put together a list of what they figure are the ten coolest cars you can buy with less than $18,000.

There are some definite good choices on the list, but some of their choices – and how they arrived at them – leave us scratching our heads and wondering if their cool-meter doesn't need recalibration. Rather than taking the entirely subjective Top Gear "Cool Wall" approach and anointing a car cool or not based purely on image, KBB.com came up with a list of criteria. A cool car, they figure, should have folding seats. Huh? Yeah, versatility was their first criteria, including such features as "clever cubbies and innovative storage solutions" as a prerequisite for classifying a car as cool or not. (That way you've got more places to hide your coolness.) Also taken into consideration were such factors as safety, fuel economy and cabin space, before subjective assessments came into the mix.

The resulting list includes a Chevy pick-up at the top, followed by a Focus, a tiny Honda, an Hyundai, a Jeep, a Mazda3, a Nissan hatch, a Scion, a Suzuki and a VW. Each was included in the sub-$18k list based on Kelley's own proprietary blue-book value; follow the link to find out what made each of these cars cool enough to make the cut.

[Source: Kelley Blue Book]

According to the AAA, it costs an average of 52.2 cents/mile to operate a new vehicle, which is about the same it was last year. On average, the association figures you'll be spending $7,823 to drive 15,000 miles. While you may have noticed that gas prices have been a little lower lately, any savings at the pump are offset by higher insurance rates and the increase of financing when buying a new vehicle.

The AAA also breaks it down by vehicle type, so where a small car may cost you $6,219 a year to drive, a large sedan would force $9,373 out of your wallet. A minivan demands $8,639 a year, while the SUV remains the consuming king, gobbling up $9,997 per year. Ownership expenses that fit into the calculation include fuel, maintenance, tires, insurance, license, registration, taxes, depreciation and finance charges. What, no car washes?

[Source: Detroit News]

The rapidly rebounding Mitsubishi has just announced pricing for its new 2008 Lancer that could help solidify the automakers return to solvency in the U.S. market. The next Lancer will carry a base price of $14,615 for the base DE model with a 5-speed manual and the only engine being offered at the moment, a 2.0L MIVEC four-cylinder producing 152 horsepower. Stepping up to the optional CVT tranny will cost an additional $900 on DE and midlevel ES, but on the uplevel GTS it will cost a cool thousand extra thanks to a set of 6-Step Sportronic paddle-shifters.

Three packages will be offered including the A/C and Power Package ($1,100), Sun & Sound Package ($1,500) and the Navigation & Technology Package ($2,000), the last of which includes a 30GB hard drive and nav system with a 7-inch screen.

It should be noted that the new Lancer's base price is a full $589 less than a 2006 Lancer ES, the current base model with a manual transmission. Pricing for each new model appears lower than their 2006 counterparts across the board.

Check out the complete list of prices* below.

• Lancer DE (2.0L/5M) $14,615
  
• Lancer DE (2.0L/CVT) $15,515
• Lancer ES (2.0L/5M) $16,615
  
• Lancer ES (2.0L/CVT) $17,515
  
• Lancer GTS (2.0L/5M) $18,115
  
• Lancer GTS (2.0L/CVT) $19,115

*All prices include an extra $625 for shipping.

Check out the pricing for every option and feature after the jump.