Monthly Archives April 2014

Last year, Mercedes-Benz debuted its 9 speed transmission (called 9G-Tronic) in its European market E class sedan.

Although with the same aluminum made torque converter bell housing, compared to the current 7G-Tronic, this 9G-Tronic transmission changes to use magnesium alloy to construct its main casing, which is lighter and retains the same strength. The transmission oil pan is made with plastic though.

However, there is no dramatic difference of the mechanical shifting parts between the 9G and 7G transmission. Both of them have 4 planetary gear sets and 6 shifting elements (3 multi-disc clutches and 3 multi-disc brakes)...

Interior: central console has a 9.3-inch vertical touch screen to display information for related functionalities; it also offers Apple’s CarPlay system. Base model’s instrument cluster will has a LCD screen between the gauges; if you select the higher level trim, the entire instrument cluster will be replaced by a 12.3-inch LCD screen, which you can configure to let it display all combinations of driving information you need. Besides this, you can also opt of a HUD.

The third row will be more spacious than the current generation of XC90.

Exterior: new XC90 will be 4 inches longer, but around 220lb lighter than the current XC90 (the below picture is a rendering only, ...

While the base new 2015 Genesis sedan has a $2,800 hike than the current 2014 model, it also includes better upgrades that the 2014 base model does not have. For example:

Wheels: the new Genesis has 245 width tire as standard, while the 2014 model only has 235;

Wipers: the new one has rain-sensing wipers, the 2014 one does not have;

Navigation system: the 2015 model has it as standard, the old model is an extra-cost option;

Rearview camera: standard feature for the new, extra-cost option for the old.

Before I leave you guys with the following Hyundai official press release to dig more, my personal 2 cents for those of you who are considering purchasing a mid-size rear-whe...

From our BMW insider source:

The N55 inline-turbo-6 engine will be replaced by a totally new design N58 (some other sources claim BMW will change to use letter “B” as prefix of engine model, so N58 may be called B58) twin turbo six. Engine displacement is the same (3 liters), maximum design output will be in the range of 370-400hp, typical output will be around 330 – 360hp.

The twin turbo will be composed of one twin scroll turbo (act as the low pressure turbo), plus another single traditional turbo, arranged in a sequential order.

The N58/B58 engine will be in the market as soon as 2016, but it may be delayed until as late as 2018.

N63 V8 will get some small upgrades b...

Previously we provided some speculations about the BMW M2 here.

Today we have some updates on this model. The M2 will probably keep using the N55 turbo engine (N55B30T0). This engine will be also shared on the upcoming X4 M40i.