Comparo: BMW 335d versus Lexus GS 450h

Story and photos by John LeBlanc

In the pursuit of lower fuel consumption ratings and tailpipe emissions, efficient hybrids and diesels are starting to filter into mainstream passenger cars. Even in cars that have sporty or luxurious pretensions.

Right now, though, there are only two luxury rear-wheel-drive sports sedans that also take saving fuel seriously: The new-for-2009 BMW 335d (d as in diesel) and the 2009 Lexus GS 450h (h as hybrid), which has been on sale now for a couple of years.

Yes, we know. The 3 Series is a compact sedan, and the GS a mid-sizer. But Lexus hasn’t seen fit to put a diesel under the hood of its compact IS sedan. And BMW doesn’t make a hybrid version of its mid-size 5 Series. Or vice versa. So until that day comes, this is as close as luxury sports sedan buyers can get to comparing fun-to-drive and frugality: Read more

First Drive: 2010 Porsche Panamera

Story, videos and photos by John LeBlanc

MUNICH–What else can we tell you about Porsche’s new Panamera?

The German automaker has been tossing out Panamera details like bread crumbs to park pigeons since 2005 when it officially confirmed that production of a four-door Porsche was a go.

Over the years, there have been camouflaged Nurburgring spy shots, technical briefings, auto show debuts, pricing and availability announcements, final specs – heck, they even had media ride along in the car’s two back seats. Read more

First Drive: 2010 BMW X6 M

Story and photos by John LeBlanc

ROAD ATLANTA, GA.–Over the past decade, BMW has noodled with the idea of creating a high-performance M vehicle out of one of its X-badged all-wheel-drive off-roaders in various concepts and one-offs.

Once the German automaker even admitted that combining its M and X badges would be like mixing oil and water – virtually impossible.

But the lure of healthy profit margins and the desire to create a “niche within a niche” has finally manifested itself as the first pair of BMW SUVs to wear the celebrated M badge of the German automaker’s in-house performance brand. Read more

First Drive: 2010 Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 Spyder

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Story and photos by John LeBlanc

CANARY ISLANDS, Spain – Like the personalities of the charging bulls that its long line of super sports cars have been named after, Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., has always appeared to be run on pure, unadulterated emotion.

Rational business sense, meh, not so much. Read more

First Drive: 2010 Nissan Cube

Story and photos by John LeBlanc

Miami, Fla. – Like the plethora of lofts and condo apartment that create a veritable forest separating downtown Miami from trendy South Beach and eventually the Atlantic Ocean, Nissan’s new Cube uses the virtue of height to create maximum space in a minimal footprint.

Available in Japan since 1998, the rest of the world is finally getting its chance to buy Nissan’s cubist compact wagon. The original was an innocuously styled box-on-wheels. The slightly larger second-generation model arrived in 2002. Its simple, geometric styling (first seen in Canada at the 2004 Montreal auto show) created great interest outside of its home market. Enough demand, apparently, for Nissan to launch the third-generation Cube as an international model. Read more

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