Renault Megane Sport Tourer

Renault just introduced its new Megane Sport Tourer, which is also called “Blackjack,” because there are twenty-one different versions in the range. The new Megane Sport Tourer is priced at £15,485 ($25,553 U.S.) for the Expression 1.6 version, which uses a 1.4-liter engine. Meanwhile, the Privilege model is priced at £22,785 ($37,599). [Renault]

Volkswagen Saveiro

Here are the first official pictures of Volkswagen’s upcoming Saveiro pickup truck for the South American market. For your info, the car will be offered with a 1.6-liter four-cylinder flex-fuel engine capable of running on either gasoline or ethanol blends.

BMW Z4-2009

The 2009 BMW Z4 is completely redesigned, now a roadster only, with a look that is lean, mean and sophisticatedly elegant at the same time. The newest version of the Z4 is slightly larger than previously, and with more storage space. It introduces an aluminum convertible top that does a better job of keeping out the weather and folds into the trunk in 20 seconds, as well as reducing blind spots and greatly increasing the size of the rear window. The Z4 is the direct descendant of the famous Z3 and competes with other foreign sports cars such as the Audi TT, Infiniti G, Mazda MX-5 Miata, Nissan Z, Porsche Boxter and Mercedes-Benz SLK. American competition, if you can call it that, includes such vehicles as the Chrysler Crossfire, Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky. The Z4 comes in two trims: the Z4 sDrive 30i and the Z4 sDrive 35i, both with rear-wheel drive. The 30i has a 3.0 liter, 255 horsepower V6 gasoline engine with a special six-speed manual transmission that has a shorter - thus faster - gearshift than other BMWs. The 35i has a 3.0 liter, 300 horsepower turbocharged V6 gasoline engine. It offers a choice of the same transmission as the 30i or a six-speed automatic. Either transmission can be shifted manually with paddles on the steering wheel. Finally, the 35i offers a seven-speed dual clutch transmission that can reportedly take you from 0 to 60 in five seconds. The 30i has pretty good horsepower for a small sports car, and the 35i is excellent. Mileage figures are not available for the Z4. NHTSA and IIHS ratings are also unavailable for the 2009, and the changes from 2008 make previous ratings less than useful. The Z4 comes standard with antilock brakes with electronic braking assistance, traction control and vehicle stability control system, keyless remote entry and a trunk safety latch. Like other small, luxury sports cars, the Z4 is somewhat hard to classify as the common classes are any one of those - small, luxury or sports. How well it performs and whether it's a bargain depend on how you look at it. The base price for the 2009 BMW Z4 30i is $45,750 which compares well to the similar Audi TTS. The 35i, a bit snazzier little car, is also a little more expensive, coming in with a base price of $51,650. In today's economy those prices might be a little hard to swallow, but even in a downtrend you get what you pay for. And with BMW what you pay for is always first rate.

2009 Volvo

The 2009 Volvo C30 is currently Volvo's smallest model. New in 2008, it remains mostly unchanged for 2009, though the trim names were updated this year. They dropped the rather mundane sounding Version 1.0 and Version 2.0 of the original. The C30 is a compact hatchback competing with the Audi A3, Mazda Mazda3, Toyota Corolla, Saturn Astra, BMW 1-Series, MINI Clubman and Cooper, Volkswagen GTI and R32, Honda Fit and Suzuki SX4 Crossover. The C30 seats four, with bucket seats front and back. The back seats are spaced so they have easy front view around the front seats. Overall, the C30 has several nice features, but nothing that really stands out on a luxury car. Likewise, there is nothing about the looks of the C30 to make one sit up and take notice. While it's not ugly by any stretch of the imagination, the truth is that at a glance it would be hard to distinguish this car from at least half the other cars on the road in its class. The C30 comes in two trims, T5 and the somewhat nicer and more expensive T5 R-Design. Both are equipped with a 2.5 liter, 227 horsepower I5 gasoline engine that comes standard coupled with a six-speed manual transmission with overdrive. An optional five-speed automatic transmission with overdrive is available with either trim. The C30 provides plenty of horsepower for its size, giving it a better than average power to weight ratio. But at 19 miles per gallon in the city and 28 miles per gallon highway, the fuel efficiency lags just a little. Though the turn radius is larger than class average, headroom is a little smaller. NHTSA and IIHS safety ratings are not available; however, being a Volvo, one would expect the safety ratings to be at least average for a small car, possibly better. Among the safety features are an anti-theft device, antilock brakes with electronic braking assistance, traction control and vehicle stability control and keyless entry. Strangely enough for a car clearly built with young families in mind, there are no child safety locks. Base price on the 2009 Volvo C30 is $23,800, with a base of $25,950 on the R-Design. That makes it among the most expensive in its class. Yet, as seems to be the case too often with Volvo, while you get a good car, you don't quite get the great car you expect when you buy a European luxury vehicle.

Youngsters Burn Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder to the Ground

We knew that Lamborghini's Gallardo Spyder is one heck of a scorching hot model, but this is ridiculous... Humor aside, this unfortunate incident took place at a parking lot in the city of Sint-Truiden in Belgium when a couple of youngsters, for no apparent reason, began destroying whatever car they could get their hands on. For the drop-top Gallardo, the "dynamic-duo" chose the "flambé" method, burning the Italian sportscar to the ground. What can we say; we live in crazy world...

Lumma Design's BMW 1-Series Convertible Sport Accessories

The key word with Lumma Design's new BMW 1-Series Convertible sport package is 'subtle' as the German tuner's accessories for the four-seater drop top are limited to a set of headlamp "eyelashes" that cost €55, 19-inch alloy wheels that are priced between €395 and €425 and suede car mats for the interior (€149) and the trunk (€119). And that's about it - honest to God, we're not kidding!