Aston Martin SUV

Aston Martin SUV

Started in 2003, Project Khan is world renowned for taking some of the finest vehicles on the road and customizing them inside and out. Their repository of bespoked vehicles includes Bentleys, Rolls Royce, Mercedes, Renault, Ferrari, Aston Martin and more. However, it is the Range Rover Vogue where they made their first mark and where the majority of their customization remains today.

The Project Khan treatment begins with the interior of the vehicle and a complete re-working of the guts of the car. Custom, rare woods, specialty leathers and ultra-premium audio components are installed to envelop the owner in one-of-a-kind luxury every time the step into the car. Headrests are outfitted with active TFT screens and flat satellite dishes are affixed to the roof to provide hundreds of channels of entertainment to passengers.

Under the hood, modded upgrade chips are installed that over-clock the engine and increase the horsepower and performance of the vehicle to well beyond their stock settings. Suspensions are often adjusted or replaced with performance components to help the Rover better accommodate more aggressive driving. Simultaneously, cold air intakes, sports exhaust and other minor engine modifications are added to help make the Range Rover Vogue perform more like a high-end sports car than a luxury SUV.

The Project Khan treatment ends with the exterior and giving each Vogue a one of a kind look and feel. Exterior treatment begins with a stripping of the paint down to the primer level. From here, a customized body kit is attached which modifies the trim level, giving the car a unique look which defines the Khan experience. After the exterior hardware is affixed, custom paint jobs are applied in a series of unique colors offered nowhere else.

Despite the exorbitant costs which is often times double that of the actual vehicle being modified, Project Khan remains one of the largest most successful aftermarket modification companies in the world. When the final product is an original, modded-out Range Rover Vogue that you and only you will ever own, can you really put a price on it?

Learn more about Project Khan at http://www.rangerovervogue.com

Maserati SUV

Maserati SUV

What would say if someone would of walked to you 20 years ago and told you that Porsche would eventually have an SUV in their lineup. You would of laughed that person out of existence--would you not. Well, less than 20 years later Porsche created its first SUV, and for those skeptics out there who said this would never work...Guess who is having the last laugh now!...

Well, here it comes again: Porsche's first sedan ever. The Panamera is the hottest/latest thing in town. Porsche's pedigree to Audi and Volkswagen are eminent in this vehicle, even if the frame is not Audi's or Volkswagen's (as is the case with Porsche's Cayenne SUV; the Cayenne is a replica of the Volkswagen Toureg SUV.), but rather to Porsche's iconic vehicle of old: The 928. Although the 928 was not a sedan, the 989 was (a Porsche concept vehicle which never developed into anything), and the sedan will be based on both: the 928 and the 989....

The Panamera is scheduled to debut in the USA soon as a 2010 model. The Panamera will compete with the likes of: Maserati Quattroporte, Audi S8 (one of its siblings), and the Benz CLS class.

The Panamera will be considered an upscale car in the grandest of things. Most people love Porsche; many people who love Porsche don't like the fact that Porsche has never built a reasonable everyday car (except the Cayenne). The car will be the first in its lineup. People love the idea of Porsche cues in a luxury sedan. Let's face it: the British have always cornered the market on Luxury; the Italians have always cornered the market in exoticness; and Germans have always cater to performance--but rarely exotic...Panamera intends to break that tradition 'big-time.'

The interior/exterior are superb. Just what you'd expect from Porsche. Great looks and great performance are what you'd expect in Porsche's world, so expect nothing short of spectacular in those two departments.

Dimensions are really good. For once never before heard of: almost 16 feet of trunk space in a Porsche--wow! The Panamera is long and wide; width and length are trademarks of great performance....

Safety records are excellent as well. Audi, Volkswagen, and Porsche have always had good test crash results, just what you'd expect from a performance automobile like Porsche.

The car has a powerful 4.8 V8 under its hood which produces 500 Horsepower; this exuberant power train reaches 0-60 in a mere 4 seconds...not surprising.

Three models will debut: 4-door Rear wheel Drive Hatchback starting at $89,000; 4-door All Rear wheel Drive Hatchback 4S for $93,800; and 4-door All wheel Drive Hatchback Turbo starting at a mere $132,000.

Bentley SUV

Bentley SUV

Statistical Facts:

• Rollover crashes kill one of every four people who die in automobile accidents (1).

• Rollovers tend to occur when a vehicle runs off a road and turns over at least on its side (1).

• Sport-utility vehicles account for 17 of the 20 vehicles with the greatest risk of rollover (1).

• Three SUVs, the Chevrolet Tracker, the Suzuki Vitara and the Toyota RAV4 are most likely to roll over in more than four of every 10 accidents (1).

• The least likely SUV to roll over is the Ford Excursion (1).

• The vehicles that are least likely to turn over are the Bentley and Rolls-Royce, possessing a 1% chance of rolling over in accidents (1).

• Minivans can be expected to roll over 10% to 17.9% of the time in an accident (1).

• The 2005 Ford Explorer Sport Trac has the greatest chance of roll over out of SUVs in a single vehicle crash at 34%. The 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe 4-DR and the 2005 GMC Yukon 4-DR have a 28% chance of rollover in a single vehicle crash (2).

• The 2005 Chrysler Pacifica 4-DR wSAB and the 2005 Ford Freestyle 5-DR have the smallest chance of rollover out of SUVs in a single vehicle crash at 13% (2).

• The 2005 Ford Ranger 2-Dr, the 2005 Ford Ranger

Extended Cab, the 2005 Mazda B-Series Extended Cab and the 2005 Mazda B-Series 2-DR have the greatest chance of rollover out of pickups in a single vehicle crash at 30% (2).

• The 2005 Chevrolet Silverado 2-DR, the 2005 Chevrolet Silverado 4-DR, the 2005 GMC Sierra 2-DR, and the 2005 GMC Sierra 4-Dr have the smallest chance of rollover out of pickups in a single vehicle crash at 15% (2).

• The 2005 Ford E-150 has the greatest chance of rollover out of vans in a single vehicle crash at 29% (2).

• The 2005 Nissan Quest Van w SAB has the smallest chance of rollover out of vans in a single vehicle crash at 12% (2).

• The 2005 Pontiac Vibe 4-DR, the 2005 Subaru Forester 4-DR wSAB, the 2005 Toyota Matrix 4-DR, and the 2005 Toyota Scion xA 4-DR Hatchback have the greatest chance of rollover out of passenger cars in a single vehicle crash at 15% (2).

• The 2005 Mazda MiataMx-5 Convertible and the 2005 Mazda RX-8 4-DR wSAB have the smallest chance of rollover out of passenger cars in a single vehicle crash at 7% (2).

• There are nearly 2 million injury-causing automobile crashes each year (3).

• The majority of injury-causing automobile crashes are either frontal or side crashes (3).

• More than 10,000 people die each year in rollover crashes (3).

• Safety belts can reduce the chance of being killed in a rollover by 75 percent (3).

• The purpose of safety belts is to keep a person inside of a vehicle and reduce the risk of hitting the steering wheel, dashboard, or windshield (3).

• The Anti-lock Brake System prevents the wheels of a vehicle from locking, enabling the driver to have greater steering control (3).

• Electronic Stability Control (ESC) helps allow drivers to control their vehicles during extreme steering maneuvers (3).

• A tire is severely underinflated if its pressure is 25 percent below the vehicle manufacturer's recommended tire inflation pressure (3).

• Frontal air bags do not eliminate the need for safety belts and typically do not offer protection for rollovers, side-impact, or rear-end crashes (3).

• More than 5,000 people are killed each year in large truck-related crashes (4).

• More than 110,000 people are injured in large truck-related crashes each year (4).

• Fatalities among motorcycle riders have increased by more than 89% since 1997 (5).

• Motorcyclists are about 21 times as likely as passenger car occupants to die in a traffic crash and four times as likely to be injured (5).

• Motorcycle helmets reduce the risk of death by 29% and are 67% effective in preventing brain injuries for motorcycle riders (5).

• Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for all Americans ages two to 33 (6).

• 117 people are killed daily in motor vehicle crashes (6).

• Over 500 children under the age of four, 487 children between the ages of four to seven and more than 1,600 children ages eight to fifteen were killed in motor vehicle crashes (6).

• Occupant rollover deaths accounted for 10,553 fatalities in 2006 (6).

• SUV rollover deaths increased by nearly ten percent between 2005 and 2006 (6).

• Motorcycle deaths have increased by 89% since 1997 and by 8% since 2005 (6).

• More than half of those killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2004 were not protected by a seat belt (6).

• Motor vehicle crashes cost an estimated £230 billion annually in property and productivity loss, medical and emergency bills and other related costs (6).

• Every American effectively pays a crash tax of £792 each year to cover the cost of motor vehicle crashes (6).

• Seat belts are credited with preventing 11,900 deaths and 325,00 serious injuries annually (6).

• 55% of passengers who were killed in automobile accidents were not wearing seat belts (6).

• The use of belt-positioning booster seats lowers the risk of injury to children in crashes by 59% compared to the use of vehicle seat belts (6).

• In over 5,000 child passenger deaths more than 60% of the children who were killed were riding in the car driven by an impaired driver (6).

Cited Sources:

1. Stoller, Gary (2000). Formula Predicts Rollover Risk. Retrieved on May 18, 2006 from http:www.autosafety.orgarticle.php?did=779&scid=175

2. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2005). Model Year 2005 Rollover Ratings. Retrieved May 18, 2006 from http:www.nhtsa.dot.govcarstestingNCAPRollRatings2.cfm

3. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2006). Buying a Safer Car. Retrieved on May 18, 2006 from http:www.nhtsa.dot.govcarstestingNCAPBASC2006index.htm

4. Public Citizen. (February 2006). Trucker Hours-of-Service Rule Creates Hazard, Allows Drivers on Road for Too Many Hours, Safety Groups and Teamsters Tell Court. Retrieved on May 18, 2006 from http:www.saferoads.orgpresspress2006HOSpressrelease022706.pdf

5. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. (2005). Fact Sheet: Motorcycle Helmets. Retrieved on May 18, 2006 from http:www.saferoads.orgissuesfs-helmets.htm

6. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. (2006). 2006 Roadmap to State Highway Safety Laws. Retrieved on May 18, 2006 from http:www.saferoads.orgRoadmap2006.pdf

Audi Q7 SUV

Audi Q7 SUV

Kelly Blue Book recently announced the 2009 brands and vehicles who out-perform others in terms of resale value. These award-winning vehicles are expected to retain their value (the greatest proportion of the original retail price) five years from now, the average time period for ownership of a new car.

Did you know that after five years, the average vehicle only retains 35 percent of its original value? This means that a car costing $50,000 today will be worth around $17,000 and change in 2013.

Ouch!

Kelley Blue Book's Best Resale Value Awards are not designed to make us kick ourselves for the car we should have bought, but to give us the information we need to make better car-buying decisions in the future.

See if your car is among the winners (mine is - yay!), and if it's not, you can cry on my virtual shoulder. Just promise me that next time, you'll shop smarter.

2009 Best Resale Value: Brand

Honda

2009 Best Resale Value: By Vehicle Category


Compact Pickup: Toyota Tacoma

Full-size Pickup: Toyota Tundra

Crossover: Honda CR-V

Luxury Crossover: BMW X5

Hybrid Crossover: Toyota Highlander Hybrid

SUV: Jeep Wrangler

Luxury SUV: Audi Q7 Quattro

Hybrid SUV: Chevrolet Tahoe

High Performance Car: Nissan GT-R

Hybrid Car: Honda Civic Hybrid

Compact Car: MINI Cooper

Mid-Size Car: Lexus IS

Full-Size Car: Cadillac CTS

Luxury Car: Audi A5

Van: Honda Odyssey

2009 Best Resale Value: Top 10 Models

Honda Civic/Civic Hybrid

Honda Fit

MINI Cooper

Scion xB

Scion xD

Scion tC

Toyota Corolla

Toyota Prius

Toyota Yaris

Volkswagen Rabbit

(Note: All values are based on the November/December 2008 Kelley Blue Book Residual Value Guide. Top 10 models appear in alphabetical order).

Source: http://www.kbb.com/brva09

Audi Q5 SUV

Audi Q5 SUV

If the Aughties, or the years after Y2K, are going to be known as anything it will be the era of the SUV what with its soaring rise and calamitous, flaming burnout (notice subtle allusion to the Ford Explorer). Nowadays, however we don't drive traditional body-on-frame, truck based SUVs because we want to save the Earth in our crossovers. Isn't that right?

Okay dummy, the fact that "crossovers" are based on car platforms only means they can't go off road and it sure as heck doesn't mean that they get any better fuel economy. That's right; crossovers are just there to make you feel better about yourself for buying yet another SUV. Think about next time you drive around the mall parking lot with your bitter shrew of a wife and pouty "Goth-Queen" teenage daughter who always sits in back reading "Twilight." You probably could have gotten a nice fun to drive sedan and been just as happy.

But what about the elevated driving position? I say that is all well and good until 75% of all the vehicles out on weekends are SUVs so no one in a regular car can see the stoplights in front of them. Now you must think I am a bumper sticker wearing member of Greenpeace or something to say all these horrible things about SUVs and Crossovers. But you'd be wrong.

I really like SUVs (I even one day dream of owning a pickup truck just because I want one not because I need one) and there are plenty of people such as new mothers who actually do need SUVs (have you seen how much stuff kids carry nowadays? My mom didn't even used to make us wear a seatbelt.)

In essence, the SUV has become the modern day station wagon. Just realize that, just as it happened with the old station wagon, your kids will never think an SUV is cool. Why? Because you drove one.

Range Rover: Is there anything this regal beast can't do? It works perfectly for meeting the Queen for tea as it does riding through the muddy jungles of Borneo. But even if all you use it for is driving back and forth to work, it is how the Range Rover makes you feel that makes it so special. Because sometimes you just want to roll open the windows and sunroof and do a Leonardo DiCaprio in "Titanic." Meaning? Hands outstretched, scream at top of your lungs, "I'm the King of the World!" The Range Rover: Truly the King of the SUV world.

BMW X5: This SUV from the Bavarian sports sedan maker (but built Stateside at BMW's North American Plant) drives so much like a car that you could easily see it ignoring other SUVs in the parking lot and telling them to "talk to the hand." Or maybe "talk to the wheel bearings!" This is easily the best handling SUV on the market, so much so that I think it follows the BMW ride and handling ethos pretty darn perfectly. Now, I get it. The X5 isn't an SUV. BMW reminds me that it is an SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle). Replacing "Utility" with "Activity" is sort of like saying you are "glowing" and not just "sweating like a pig."

Toyota 4Runner: It may not be the fastest or the sexiest but I have owned two of these SUV's and their reliability is borne out by how many 1991 models (the year I got my first one) are still on the road today. I really think the 4-Runner has been Toyota's only real "standout" design year after year during the last decade. And the 2010 model looks even better. Oh yeah, the interiors of 4Runner's might look plain but they are durable and will look exactly the same ten years later even after all that mud, muck, dirt and dog vomit it will have to suffer through.

Toyota RAV4: The RAV4 seems like the little brother that always wants to but can't tag along with big brother 4Runner or Daddy Land Cruiser because he wasn't designed to go off-road. But that doesn't mean they don't share the same DNA and bloodlines. This makes the CR-V a highly capable carry-all with a durable interior that could withstand way more than the slings and arrows of a busy Flower Market parking lot.

Honda CR-V: The CR-V is the go to if you want an inexpensive, durable family runabout. But then again, isn't the VW Golf just about as big, has similar trunk space and also has room for seven? (The 2010 Golf also out powers the CR-V and looks a million times cooler.) Apologies for the pro-car propaganda. I just don't understand buying an SUV with less cargo area than many subcompacts (I am talking to you VW Tijuana and Infiniti EX) (CR-V Base Price: $21,545, VW Golf Base Price: $17,490)

Nissan Murano: It looks like something out of Star Wars, intimidates other drivers and has plenty of room for five and all their stuff. Why would you buy an Explorer over this?

Chevy Trailblazer SS: Although this mad-house of burning rubber went out of production this year that doesn't mean that there aren't still plenty of non-tuner specials out there with warranties that haven't been disqualified due to backyard tinkering by hacks. Apparently people can pull some serious horsepower out of these puppies. This is the last of a dying breed. The last GM SS SUV with 391 horsepower and 395 pound feet of torque. In a few years that kind of fun will be illegal.

Audi Q5: This is easily the best looking of the "new wave" of crazy luxury SUVs. Whereas the first Lexus RX was probably its best design ever, the Q5 manages to express a cohesive whole. When I gaze upon the Q5 I don't see discordant shapes or odd angles. You know what I think? I think it kind of looks like an apple. A really cool apple. (Note: the fruit not the company)

Acura MDX: Do you need seven seats but will in no way sell your soul to a minivan dealer? Well, Honda has a clever answer for you. The MDX is much better looking than its twin at Honda, the Pilot. Swoopy lines, beautiful interior accommodations and the option of Acura's NAV/Audio System/Technogy upgrade. The sound system is so incredible you may go deaf but who cares when it sounds so good?

Ford Escape Hybrid: Although I think the interior of the Escape was possibly assembled by people either inebriated, blind or both, Ford really did a fine job of carving out its own niche with the Escape Hybrid. Able to run in full electric mode (something most other SUVs could not do) the Escape gets about 25-28 miles per gallon. Now if only Ford would work some of its recent Mojo on the interior and exterior styling. Pronto!