HUMMER H3 ALPHA

AMERICA'S ODD OFF-ROADER GOES FROM AN ECCENTRIC FIVE TO AN EVEN EIGHT.

Hummer's slamm-caliber H3 started life in 2005 as a tribute less to military hardware than to the old Daktari-style Land Rover,the one with narrow-gauge body,wee 2287cc engine,and storied off-road abilities.The current H3's reletively weeny 242-hp,3.7-liter five-cylinder,smaller body,voluminous23 galloon fuel tank,and optional wall-crawling 4:1 low range are actually ideal attibutes for slow-speed sojours in wild lands where fuel sparse and big engines just wast it.
Alas,even among H3 buyers,the serious safari types would barely fill a jury box.In the paved world,with its short on-ramps and shorter tempers,the five-cylinder is stressed hauling the H3's 4900-pound curb weight to expressway speed's.So Hummer bulks up for 2008 with the H3 Alpha,featuring a pushrod 5,3 liter V-8 with300 horsepower and,more important,320 pounds-feet of torque.
Alpha is Hummer's step-up brand,formely applied to the original civilian Humvee,the H1.The five-cilynder H3 remains in the lineup,starting at $30,695.The H3 Alpha digs in at $39,260.
The V-8 comes with a four speed automatic and is wrapped in the Alpha equipment package,which includes more deluxe interior decor,a Mansoon stereo witha six-CD changer,various power widgets,chromed wheels and trim,and a lower rear-end ratio.Towing capacity rises to a ski-boat-rated 6000 pounds.Plus,Hummer says the V-8 is better for slogging through deep sand where low-speed torque is vital.
Slogging through deep rush hour,the Alpha accelerates more effortlessly and makes V-8 rumbles,but it will never be called gazzele-like.It should slip under the nine-second mark to 60 mph(the five-cylinder does it in about 10 seconds).The ride is still bouncy,the visibility still sacrificed on the small-window altar of macho styling.
With the Alpha,the H3 becomes less an American Land Rover and more a typical Hummer.
....THE REST OF THE LINEUP
H1: Hummer's original product is now available only on special order.

H2: This behemoth gets a version of the Cadillac Escalade's 6.2-liter V-8 with 393 horsepower and nattier interior,plus frame, suspension,and eletrical-system upgrades inherited from GM's redesigned GMT900 full-size trucks.

Here are the main tehnical specification's:

VEHICLE TYPE:front-engine,4 wheel-drive,5 passenger,5 door wagon
BASE PRICE : $39,260
ENGINE TYPE:pushrod 16-valve,V-8,aluminium block and heads,port fuel injection
Displacement..........................325 cu in,5237cc
Power(SAE net).....................300bhp @ 5200 rpm
Torque(SAE net)...................329 lb-ft @ 400 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 4-speed automatic

DIMENSIONS:
Wheel base 111.9 in Lenght:186.7in
Widht: 85,5in Height 74,5 in
Curbweight:4900 lb

PERFORMANCE(C/DEST)
Zero to 60 mph.....................8,5 seconds
Standing1/4mile...................16,5 seconds
Top speed(governor limited)..99 mph

PROJECTED FUEL ECONOMY(C/DEST)
EPA city driving....................12 mpg
EPA highway driving............18mpg

MERCEDES-BENZ SLR McLAREN ROADSTER

A HALF-MILLION BUCKS WILL ALSO BUY YOU 21 MIATAS.BUT THE EFFECT WOULDN'T BE QUITE THE SAME.

From the perspective of Chris Davies,this car makes no sense.Davies is the Brit who's pushing a European Parlamient initiative to limit the top speed of all cars in Europe to just over 100 mph.Since the Mercedes SLR Mclaren roadster can do about twice that,it has to be near the top of the list of "boy toys" that Davies wants to ban.
There's something to his position,but not for the socioenvoironmental reasons davies cites.traveling at speeds of more than 100 mph in any top-down automobiles gets to be uncomfortable,and that applies to the SLR more than most,thanks to the basso bark of its side pipes,relentlessly reminding occupants of every combustion event in the 5,4 liter SQHC 24-valve V-8 engine.With supercharging and intercooling,these are eye-widening events,and they produce eyeball-flattening resoults:617 horsepower at 6500 rpm,a prodigious 575 pund-feet of torquw,0 to 60 mph in a little under four seconds,the quarter-mile in a little aver 11 seconds at about 125 mph.
The roadster may hit these marks a smidge slower than a hardtop,due to its slightly greater mass.Mercedes reports that the roadster weights about 100 more pounds than the 3858-puond coupe.But that won't matter to the deep-pocketed few.The roadster is about style and exclusivity,high speeds or low.
In fact,Klaus Nesser,head of exclusive products for Mercedes,expects drotop-SLR buyers to be more inclined ti cruising than racing.An open car provides more opportunity to been seen and envied.Just drop the automatic top,which takes about 10 seconds.
Nesser says the convertible conversion was easy:"All we had to di was remove the roof."Herr Nesser was joking,but only a little.The roadster's body uses a stronger carbon-fiber weave than the coupe(triaxial weave versus biaxial),and there are hefty steel beams in the A-pillars.But beyond that,the body shell needed no reinforcement.If there's any compromise in chassis rigididy,it's subliminal.
Chassis rigidity is the corner stone of agility,and the roadster's credentials on this score are hard to fault.Grip is abundant,responsses are mongoose quick,and the carbon ceramic brakes are equal to the power,which is both vast and seductive,
Still,the SLR's dynamics are aslo hard to love at first drive.The steering is overly weighted,a little short on feel,and quick at 2.3turns lock-to- lock: a tricky blend.And the brakes-by-wire system is too eager by half.It's hard to be smoth with this car.
But whaddya want for a half-million bucks?The SLR's capabilities are slightly outrageous,and it's curbside presence even more so.Exclusivity never comes cheap.

Here are tehnical specifications:
vehicle type:front-engine,rear-wheel-drive,2-passenger,2-door roadster

Estimated base price: $500,00

Engine type:supercharged and intercooled SQHC 24-valve0V-8 aluminium block and heads,port fuel injection
Displacement..........332 cu in,5439cc
Power(SAE net).....617 bhp @6500rpm
Torque....................575 lb-ft@3250rpm

Transmission:5-speed automatic with manumatic shifting

Dimensions:
Wheel base:106.3 Lenght:183,4 in
Widht:75,1 in Height:50,4 in
curbweight:3960 lb


Performance(MFR'S EST)
zero to 60 mph.............3,8 sec
top speed(limited)......207 mph

Projected Fuel Economy(C/DEST):
EPA city driving...........12 mpg
EPA highway driving....17mpg