2009 Scion xB Gets New Series 6.0 Edition

By Marty Padgett January 7th, 2009

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2009 Scion xB Series 6.0
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The latest special edition from Toyota's teenybopper brand will be a tweaked-out version of the 2009 Scion xB hatchback.

Set for a fancy unveiling next week at the 2009 Detroit auto show, the new xB Release Series 6.0 gets a round of customizing that puts an emphasis on entertainment. It's themed around a Pioneer audio system with its own memory and voice recognition, MSN Direct service and Bluetooth connectivity. Satellite and HD radio are pre-wired in the unit, and you can hook up your iPhone and play videos on the head unit while you're parked.

Outside, the new edition gets Absolutely Red paint along with a new black grille and new wheel covers. The spoiler shown here's an option. Inside, the 6.0 xB wears illuminated door sills, color-keyed fabrics and trim, and new interior lights, along with a cargo cover.

Scion promises 2,500 copies will be priced at $1,743 more than the stock xB with either manual or automatic transmission, which break on other side of $16,000. The spoiler's another $320 minus the install.

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Posted in: 2009, Scion, SUVs / Wagons, Wagons, xB

Quick Spin: 2009 Volkswagen CC

By Marty Padgett January 7th, 2009

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2009 Volkswagen CC
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As the sleet continued to fall here in Detroit, the vehicle logistics company that manages Fleet Farfegnugen just retrieved their 2009 Volkswagen CC. I was bummed to see it go. You see, just a few days before Christmas, Detroit got dumped on … not by Washington or the media (this time), but by Mother Nature, who has apparently forgotten about global warming. The snow in my front yard is 11-inches deep.

We're experiencing a bitter December, which isn't a great month to begin with up here as on average we only get three days of sun during the month. But the current weather makes me fully appreciate the 4Motion fitted to our loaded-up VR6-powered 2009 Passat CC. The sucker will mush with abandon so long as the snow isn't much deeper than the front air dam.

You can guess that the mostly-Passat CC has some familiar features, but here are a couple of random observations: First, the rear-view camera that electrically peeks out from under the VW trunk emblem/release is very cool. (This seems like a James Bond "Q" inspired feature.) Second, even though the exterior rearview mirrors were supposed to heated, the gerbils VW spec'ed to exhale on the mirror's backside don't have what it takes to keep the surfaces clear when it's really cold. Thirdly, our $42,630 CC was fitted with nearly the same instrumentation as the Jetta that replaced the CC in our fleet rotation. The white-over-black gauges are easy to read, but with a price point north of $40k, economy car dials just won't due.

Since the handsome sedan's debut, people have called it the entry-level Mercedes CLS (since MB does not offer a V-6 powered CLS). We think this is a kind if not fully accurate characterization, especially if one acquires a base 2009 Volkswagen CC for something less than $30,000. At this price point, the Passat CC represents a good enough value.

However, once you start adding features, the price can escalate to levels that don't make any sense. A quick search of used car values found that the 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS can be purchased for under $40,000. This begs the question, why own a facsimile when you can own the original for the same price?

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Posted in: 2009, Volkswagen, Sedans, Passat CC

Bentley Continental GTC Picks Up Speed

By Marty Padgett January 6th, 2009

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2009 Bentley Continental GTC Speed
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To paraphrase the cringe-worthy tag line used by a major national newspaper’s multi-media coverage a couple of years ago: “It might be cold outside, but there are plenty of hot cars inside Cobo Hall.”Well, there might not be as many “hot cars” this year at Detroit, as a number of automakers make an effort to tone it down, but Bentley has brought one that flaunts in the face of the Big Three’s modesty. The British-cum-German brand will unveil its new 200-mph GTC Speed convertible to the public at the Detroit show, but they’ve given the media a special preview well ahead of the press curtain call next Sunday.

The new GTC Speed isn’t a huge surprise to those who’ve been following Bentley though, as the model completes the stable of standard and Speed models in the Continental family. The new Speed joins the GTC convertible, which was introduced for 2007, and expands on the GT Speed and Continental Flying Spur Speed models already available.

The GTC Speed is differentiated by a dark-tinted grille, wider exhaust pipes in a twin-rifled design, and a subtle trunklid lip spoiler. It also sits a bit lower (10 mm in front, 15 mm in back), with a retuned suspension, and the electronic stability control system now has a “Dynamic” mode for enthusiastic drivers. Big 20-inch alloys with Pirelli PZero ultra-high-performance tires, besides being a nice upgrade, are especially friendly to the drop-top’s proportions.

Inside, the GTC Speed gets ‘Speed’ doorsill plates, drilled alloy pedals, a three-spoke steering wheel, and diamond-quilted hides for the seats and trim. Turned aluminum trim is available as a Speed-exclusive feature.

But what’s especially of note is that the Speed also marks the debut of some a modest mid-product-cycle refresh for the standard GTC.

Compared to the current GTC, the new GTC models get some subtle styling changes that echo those given to the Continental Flying Spur and Flying Spur Speed for 2009. Both get a grille that’s more upright and squared-off, the lower air intake has been reshaped (improving airflow), and headlamp bezels are now a bright chrome. Mechanically, both GTC models get a power steering revision that is said to yield more feedback, while in the GTC Speed the Continuous Damping Control (CDC) suspension system has also retuned for the added power and suspension changes.

The standard GTC also gets new low-friction dampers, which Bentley says will improve ride comfort. Lightweight carbon-ceramic brakes are a new option—Bentley claims that they are the largest passenger-car brakes in the world—as is an adaptive cruise control system.

As before, the GTC models come as a 2+2, with cozy, enveloping front seats, a back seat that can accommodate adults for short stints, and the triple-layer soft top folds flat into the down position in 25 seconds.

The ZF six-speed automatic transmission is carried over, with both a Sport mode or manual gear selection via the shift lever of steering-wheel paddles, but the twin-turbo ‘W12’ twelve-cylinder engine has been given a host of incremental efficiency improvements, including a new engine management system, that altogether raise power to 600 bhp and an eyebrow-raising 553 pound-feet of torque at only 1700 rpm—9 percent more power and 15 percent more torque than the GTC. Peak torque is delivered from 1700 rpm all the way up to 5600 rpm, assuring, as TheCarConnection.com has experienced, an effortless and deceptively quick way of getting past the speed limit.

The new GTC Speed weighs nearly 5500 pounds, but the engine assures that the hefty convertible will outpace most lean sports cars—at least until the switchbacks turn really tight. Bentley says that the GTC Speed can get to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds and 100 mph in just 10.6 seconds. It will reach 200 mph with the roof up, or a 195 mph with the roof down—if you dare.