2009 Sneak Preview: New and Future Aston Martin Cars

Just like you, we always want to know what's coming next from Detroit, Tokyo, Stuttgart, Munich, Los Angeles, and all the other places where automotive engineers and designers dream and scheme on our behalf. Car companies, of course, are loath to share information on new products lest their competitors try to copy them--or you decide not to buy the cars they already have on dealer lots. Car companies, though, are simply groups of people, and some of them have a hard time keeping secrets. So, we poke, we prod, we cajole, and we uncover information that becomes the basis for our annual Sneak Preview issue. As always, some of our information is educated guesswork based on hints, insinuations, hunches. Make no mistake, though, these cars are on their way, even though details may change. Ladies and gentlemen: our list of 136 cars coming over the next few years...

2009 Sneak Preview: 2010 Subaru Legacy/Outlook

Subaru continues its relentless push into the mainstream with the all-new Legacy sedan and Outback wagon that debuted at April's New York auto show. Both go on sale this fall, and both feature a longer wheelbase and a wider track for more interior room.

For the Legacy's part, a handsome new instrument panel; bigger, cushier seats for bigger, cushier Americans; and 3.9 inches of additional rear legroom make it a much more viable competitor for cars like the Mazda 6 and the Honda Accord. A new control-arm rear suspension, an electric parking brake, and standard stability control top the list of chassis improvements, while three different boxer engines and three transmissions make for eight available models. First, there's the 2.5-liter four, producing 170 hp and mated either to a new six-speed manual or a CVT; then there's the 265-hp, turbocharged version of that engine under the scooped hood of the GT model, mated solely to the six-speed stick. Finally, the six-cylinder boxer returns, this time bored out to 3.6 liters and running on regular unleaded to produce 256 hp through a five-speed automatic.

Subaru hopes that the Outback wagon, which gets either the base four or the six, can make greater inroads into the crossover market. To that end, it's two inches taller than before, with seven percent more interior volume, although it's an inch shorter. The H-point (where a passenger's hips reside) is raised nearly two inches, and there's 8.7 inches of ground clearance.

2009 Sneak Preview: New and Future Ford Cars

Just like you, we always want to know what's coming next from Detroit, Tokyo, Stuttgart, Munich, Los Angeles, and all the other places where automotive engineers and designers dream and scheme on our behalf. Car companies, of course, are loath to share information on new products lest their competitors try to copy them--or you decide not to buy the cars they already have on dealer lots. Car companies, though, are simply groups of people, and some of them have a hard time keeping secrets. So, we poke, we prod, we cajole, and we uncover information that becomes the basis for our annual Sneak Preview issue. As always, some of our information is educated guesswork based on hints, insinuations, hunches. Make no mistake, though, these cars are on their way, even though details may change. Ladies and gentlemen: our list of 136 cars coming over the next few years... .

Review: 2010 Volkswagen Golf GTI

Recent developments at Volkswagen have sent some enthusiasts praying for their beloved brand. A sacrilegious VW badge on a Chrysler minivan and plans for watered-down, cost-cut, U.S.-specific models are an effort to attain VW's ludicrously optimistic U.S. sales target of 800,000 cars per year. But those cars come at the risk of undermining Volkswagen's brand image - that of a premium, sporty product with superior driving dynamics.

Then again, most enthusiasts won't care what VW sells - as long as it continues to make a real GTI. Without those three little letters in its lineup, VW is nothing but another appliance manufacturer. And so, despite disappointing sales of the last, fifth-generation GTI, the Wolfsburg crew has developed Number Six. Gott sei Dank.

That means "Thank God" in German, and it's exactly the phrase you'll sigh the moment you start driving the 2010 GTI. Whether it's God or Volkswagen's engineers who need to be thanked depends on your own religious beliefs, but the prayers of devout worshippers at the church of GTI have been answered.

The new GTI is, like all GTIs, based on Volkswagen's mainstay hatchback, the Golf. (The Rabbit moniker, which was used for first- and fifth-generation U.S.-market Golfs, has again been banished to the history books.) The sixth-generation Golf is a very careful evolution of the last car, less of a generational change and more of a comprehensive update.

2009 Sneak Preview: New and Future Jaguar Cars

Just like you, we always want to know what's coming next from Detroit, Tokyo, Stuttgart, Munich, Los Angeles, and all the other places where automotive engineers and designers dream and scheme on our behalf. Car companies, of course, are loath to share information on new products lest their competitors try to copy them--or you decide not to buy the cars they already have on dealer lots. Car companies, though, are simply groups of people, and some of them have a hard time keeping secrets. So, we poke, we prod, we cajole, and we uncover information that becomes the basis for our annual Sneak Preview issue. As always, some of our information is educated guesswork based on hints, insinuations, hunches. Make no mistake, though, these cars are on their way, even though details may change. Ladies and gentlemen: our list of 136 cars coming over the next few years... .

2009 Sneak Preview: New and Future Mercedes Benz Cars

ust like you, we always want to know what's coming next from Detroit, Tokyo, Stuttgart, Munich, Los Angeles, and all the other places where automotive engineers and designers dream and scheme on our behalf. Car companies, of course, are loath to share information on new products lest their competitors try to copy them--or you decide not to buy the cars they already have on dealer lots. Car companies, though, are simply groups of people, and some of them have a hard time keeping secrets. So, we poke, we prod, we cajole, and we uncover information that becomes the basis for our annual Sneak Preview issue. As always, some of our information is educated guesswork based on hints, insinuations, hunches. Make no mistake, though, these cars are on their way, even though details may change. Ladies and gentlemen: our list of 136 cars coming over the next few years... .

2009 Sneak Preview: New and Future Porsche Cars

Just like you, we always want to know what's coming next from Detroit, Tokyo, Stuttgart, Munich, Los Angeles, and all the other places where automotive engineers and designers dream and scheme on our behalf. Car companies, of course, are loath to share information on new products lest their competitors try to copy them--or you decide not to buy the cars they already have on dealer lots. Car companies, though, are simply groups of people, and some of them have a hard time keeping secrets. So, we poke, we prod, we cajole, and we uncover information that becomes the basis for our annual Sneak Preview issue. As always, some of our information is educated guesswork based on hints, insinuations, hunches. Make no mistake, though, these cars are on their way, even though details may change. Ladies and gentlemen: our list of 136 cars coming over the next few years... ..

2010 Lotus Evora

With the Evora, Lotus expands from track-day toys like the Elise and the Exige into the realm of the high-performance GT. Although the Evora follows recent Lotus practice by using an aluminum-spaceframe structure and a mid-mounted engine, the car is much larger, more luxurious, and more livable than any of the current models. The standard setup is a two-seater with a cargo deck behind the front seats, but a two-plus-two configuration is also offered, as are luxuries like navigation, a backup camera, and a full leather interior. The engine is again sourced from Toyota - this time the Camry's 3.5-liter V-6. In the hands of Lotus engineers, it makes 276 hp and 252 lb-ft of torque. A six-speed manual is standard, but an automatic eventually will be added. Lotus claims this heretofore humble engine will propel its new GT to 160 mph and provide a five-second 0-to-60-mph sprint. The Evora will be the top-model Lotus when it arrives here early next year, priced from about $70,000.

Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce

In the latest iteration of the aging Murciélago, the 6.5-liter V-12's output rises from 632 hp to 661 hp while the weight drops by some 220 pounds, resulting in a car that Lambo says will vault to 62 mph in a mere 3.2 seconds. Only 350 examples will be built, and buyers will choose between two rear wings: either the "Aeropack Wing" shown here, which purportedly allows a top speed of 209 mph, or the smaller, standard wing that enables you to soar to 212 mph.

2010 MAZDASPEED3

Just like you, we always want to know what's coming next from Detroit, Tokyo, Stuttgart, Munich, Los Angeles, and all the other places where automotive engineers and designers dream and scheme on our behalf. Car companies, of course, are loath to share information on new products lest their competitors try to copy them--or you decide not to buy the cars they already have on dealer lots. Car companies, though, are simply groups of people, and some of them have a hard time keeping secrets. So, we poke, we prod, we cajole, and we uncover information that becomes the basis for our annual Sneak Preview issue. As always, some of our information is educated guesswork based on hints, insinuations, hunches. Make no mistake, though, these cars are on their way, even though details may change. Ladies and gentlemen: our list of 136 cars coming over the next few years... ..

2010 Land Rover Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, LR4

A comprehensive upgrade sees the Land Rover LR3 tick up one notch to LR4 for 2010 (by Land Rover's count, it's the fourth generation of the Discovery, as the vehicle is known in other markets). Although there's a new grille, headlamps, and other minor tweaks outside, the bulk of the changes are inside the cabin and under the skin. A new interior uses more soft-touch materials and groups more functions in the central touch screen. The old 4.4-liter V-8 is supplanted by a new, direct-injected 5.0-liter unit, and output jumps to 375 hp and 375 lb-ft of torque. Chassis upgrades include revised variable-ratio power steering and suspension geometry as well as upgraded brakes. A 360-degree-view camera, trailer sway control, and keyless ignition are some of the technology highlights. The LR4 arrives in October.

The Range Rover Sport (pictured) gets a slightly more extensive - or at least more noticeable - restyling than its siblings, with a new front-end design (including front fenders), LED lighting, and new nineteen- and twenty-inch wheels. The LR4's V-8 appears here, too, along with a supercharged variant that makes 510 hp and 461 lb-ft of torque. Other mechanical changes also amp up the sport factor. There are paddle shifters for the six-speed automatic, beefier brakes, adaptive dampers for the Supercharged model, and a new dynamic mode for the Terrain Response System (which changes throttle and shift mapping, damper firmness, and steering effort). The Range Rover Sport also adopts the LR4's new tech features, and it gets a richer interior of its own. The 2010 Range Rover Sport also is due in October.

2010 Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid

Here are four sneak peeks in one: the

Volkswagen Touareg in these pictures hides a new hybrid system that will be offered not only in a brand-new Touareg to be launched at the Frankfurt auto show in September, but also in the new Porsche Panamera and Cayenne and - mated to a smaller gasoline engine - in the Audi Q5.

VW's first hybrid might be late, but it's good. On the internal-combustion side is a 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 from the new Audi S4 that makes 333 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque. With the help of an AC motor powered by nickel-metal-hydride batteries, total system power is impressive, at about 370 hp and 405 lb-ft. The electric motor can propel the car unassisted for more than a mile and at speeds of up to 30 mph. Both motors apply force to the same driveshaft; a disengagement clutch allows the gasoline engine to be shut off at speeds of up to 90 mph, cutting highway fuel consumption. An eight-speed automatic transmission provides the broad range of ratios needed to achieve the Touareg's 26-mpg efficiency target and maintain a 7700-pound towing capacity.

IT'S A MEAN GREEN MACHINE: Despite weighing about 5300 pounds, this Touareg prototype bolts off the line, hitting 60 mph in just 6.8 seconds; expect the lighter Panamera to improve substantially on that performance. Our only criticism is a lack of progressive feel from the regenerative brakes, but we suspect Porsche in particular will have fixed that by the time this system makes its way into production. ..