2010 Chevy Camaro Priced at $22,245, Ordering Open

If you think the economy will rebound around early spring, you might want to place an order for a new 2010 Chevy Camaro today. Chevy dealers are now accepting orders for the muscle car. The base model will start at $22,245, not including $750 in destination charges. That’s for the 300-horsepower, V-6 LS model. Moving up to a V-8 with 400 or 422 hp — depending on the transmission — will cost $30,245, $750 destination charges not included. 

Both prices are relative bargains in the muscle car arena. To find the LS’ hp in a competitor, you’d have to buy a V-8-powered Ford Mustang, which costs $5,000 more. The closest car to the Camaro’s 400-plus-hp V-8 is the 425-hp Dodge Challenger SRT8, which costs $39,280. 

Not only does the Camaro sound like a bargain, it also will get better mileage than its competition. The V-6 will see 27 mpg highway and the V-8 23 mpg highway. That’s compared to 23 mpg and 19 mpg highway for the Mustang and Challenger, respectively. 

What do you think? At this price will the Camaro be a hit?

More Chevy Camaro News (KickingTires)

Mazda's New Start-Stop Engine

We’ve heard about BMW’s non-hybrid start-stop engine used in the European 1 and 3 Series, but Mazda is developing a more efficient version. Mazda’s independently developed system, dubbed Smart Idle Stop System, should improve fuel economy by 10%, according to the company.

What makes Mazda’s system so unique is the way it restarts the powertrain. The system initiates engine restart by using its direct-injection system to squirt fuel and ignite it under the exact conditions needed to create the perfect downward force on the pistons, restarting the engine seamlessly. Mazda says drivers will feel no delay — it will take 0.35 seconds, to be exact — when resuming driving, just like in start-stop hybrid vehicles.

New Car Tracker: 9.8.08

Originally slated for a September release date, Honda's redesigned subcompact Fit jumped the gun and went on sale Aug. 26 to overlap with decreasing 2008 inventory and high demand for the fuel-efficient hatchback. There are already hundreds of 2009 Fits in Cars.com's new-car listings. If we've left off a car you're interested in, please let us know in the comments. As always, we remind our readers that we don't list models that are rumored; we only list confirmed vehicles.

Ch-Ch-Changes: 2009 Honda Ridgeline

As full-size pickups take a hit from high gas prices, a vehicle like Honda’s Ridgeline should be perfectly placed as an alternative for truck buyers. That’s why Honda has given the Ridgeline some subtle updates for 2009, with minor design tweaks to the front end and interior. Most of the changes, however, won’t make or break a buying decision between an ‘08 and an ‘09. In fact, we’re not sure anyone will even notice there were changes made.

There’s a full photo gallery of the 2009 model below, including a few pics of the ‘08 for comparison purposes. The biggest change inside is to the instrument cluster, it seems, and there’s a new steering wheel. Black is a new interior color as well.

On the power front, the 2009 gets three — yes, three — more horsepower than the 2008, up to 250 hp, but towing capacity remains the same at 5,000 pounds, as does its mileage rating, at 15/20 mpg city/highway. Oddly enough, you can buy a GMC Sierra Crew Cab with a 295 hp V-8 engine and get 15/20 mpg and tow 8,000 pounds. But we digress.

The Ridgeline comes in four trims: RT, RTS, RTL and RTL with Navigation.

We’ve picked out the most interesting of the 50 changes Honda provided us with below. Six of those 50 were accessories.

2009 G37 Sedan, Convertible to Debut in L.A.

The 3.7-liter engine that breathes life into Infiniti’s G37 coupe will now power both the existing G sedan and an all-new retractable-hardtop convertible for the 2009 model year. Both will also be called G37 (no more G35 sedan) and debut at this year’s Los Angeles auto show in November.

The engine is rated at 328 hp for the sedan and 330 hp for the coupe and will be mated to a new seven-speed automatic transmission that we recently tested in the new FX35. A six-speed manual transmission will also be available.

The naming change for the sedan was expected, but — while it was rumored — the convertible is much bigger news for Infiniti. Besides the BMW 3 Series and Audi A4 Cabriolet, there aren’t a lot of performance-oriented luxury droptops on the market, and there are certainly none from Acura or Lexus — and no, the SC does not count.

2009 Toyota Yaris Pricing, Pics, Plus New Four-Door Hatch

People who shop economy cars were quite excited when Toyota announced it would bring the four-door hatchback version of its Yaris to the U.S. for 2009. It joins the existing two-door hatch and sedan in the lineup. All three will go on sale later this month.

The base two-door hatch starts at $12,205, $655 more than the 2008 model. New this year across the model lineup are standard side-impact airbags, a very important safety feature for such a small car. Estimated mileage for all three is 29/35 mpg city/highway with the automatic transmission and 29/36 mpg with the manual. Check below for full prices and pictures.

Redesigned 2009 Audi A4 Priced at $32,700

Audi announced pricing today for redesigned versions of its A4 sedan and wagon. The 2009 A4 sedan will start at $32,700, while the Avant wagon lists for $34,500, not including an $825 destination charge. That's nearly $3,000 more than the outgoing 2008 sedan's base price and about $1,500 more than the outgoing wagon's. The cars arrive at Audi dealerships later this summer.

For the extra cash, you get a completely restyled exterior and a new interior that more closely resembles the cabin of the A4's larger sibling, the A6. The A4's standard turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder also makes more horsepower and torque than before; it's rated at 211 hp and 258 pounds-feet of torque. Sedans are offered with front- or all-wheel drive, while the Avant wagon is only available with all-wheel drive.

The A4 line is Audi's best-selling series by far, which makes this launch critical for the automaker. The new A4 looks like a solid contender in the entry-level luxury segment; we'll have more to report when we drive it later this month. If you want to see and drive one for yourself, Audi says some dealers will have A4s available for test drives in a little more than a week.

More Audi A4 News

New Car Tracker: 7.31.08

Since our previous New Car Tracker update, Ford and General Motors have announced release dates for many products, up to the 2011 model year. Lengthy specs are now available on the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, and the 2010 Ford Mustang has an official release date. Both will hit the streets in early 2009 to resume the pony car rivalry that’s been on hiatus since 2002. If we've left off a car you're interested in, please let us know in the comments. As always, we remind our readers that we don't list models that are rumored; we only list confirmed vehicles.

Ch-Ch-Changes: 2009 Subaru Impreza

Subaru has given the redesigned-for-2008 Impreza WRX a healthy boost in power for 2009, up from 224 to 265 hp. Besides the bigger turbocharger, the folks at Subaru also retuned the suspension and made summer performance tires standard, rather than the all-seasons it had for 2008. It only comes with a five-speed manual transmission.   

That’s really all the change you need to know about for the WRX; the car itself was completely redesigned last year. The move is to allow the WRX to better compete with Mitsubishi’s upcoming Lancer Ralliart.

There’s also a new Impreza trim level being added that keeps the outgoing WRX’s power plant. It’s called the Impreza 2.5 GT. It will come only with an automatic transmission.

One major addition to the entire Impreza lineup for 2009 is stability control, which will now be standard. That means the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Top Safety Pick designation for the car will now apply to all models. More photos below.

Update: And yes, a power moonroof is now part of the Premium option package. That package is standard on the new 2.5 GT model. No pricing has been announced yet.

Update 2: The WRX and 2.5GT will go on sale September 1.

More Impreza News (KickingTires)

Ch-Ch-Changes: 2009 Volvo S40, V50

Volvo is having some challenges these days unloading its entry-level sedan and wagon. Heck, its entire lineup — even the well-reviewed and recently redesigned S80, V70 and C30 — is selling slowly.

What’s a safety-minded Swedish company to do? It seems it’s raising prices, consolidating options and introducing an entirely new trim naming convention for its cars, including the S40 and V50. No significant mechanical changes have been made from 2008. 

The 2009 S40 will come in three trim levels: 2.4i, T5 R-Design and T5 AWD R-Design.

The 2009 V50 will come in just two trim levels, deleting the front-wheel-drive T5 option and going with a 2.4i and T5 AWD R-Design only. The new Volvos will go on sale later this summer with the S40 and V50 on sale in early September.

Pricing, photos and content breakdown can be found below, along with an image gallery.