Jeep Liberty 2008 Pictures

2008 Jeep Liberty Picture

If you've thought in the past that the Jeep Liberty was a chick car, well, you were pretty much right. The 2008 Jeep Liberty ($TBA) does away with that notion — it's been completely redesigned from the ground up, with a new, boxier, masculine appearance, the all-new Selec-Trac II four-wheel-drive system, a new Sky-Slider full-open canvas roof, and a 210hp V-6 to propel you through the wilderness. Gadget-wise, the new Liberty also packs the MyGIG integrated audio, navigation and entertainment system, which offers real-time traffic updates (available with a Sirius subscription), a 20GB hard drive, and the UConnect Bluetooth system for hands-free calling. Chick car? Not anymore.

Lexus IS F Pictures 2008

Lexus IS F Pictures 2008

The Lexus IS-F reviews keep coming in, this time from Automobile Magazine.

This review is similar in a lot of ways to Edmunds’, in that they loved the on-track performance but were disappointed with its ride harshness off it:

The IS-F rides on nineteen-inch BBS wheels that are forged rather than cast, saving somewhere around ten pounds each, but the result of all these changes is still one stiff-riding IS. The ride is fairly brutal, so your passengers certainly won’t mistake this for a regular Lexus.

More to the point, Automobile Mag doesn’t believe the IS-F is anything for its competitors to worry about:

But is that [the IS-F perfomance] enough to turn the IS-F into the kind of icon that the M3 has become? We don’t think so. The small sport sedan category is less about track prowess than it is street cred. The M3 has that in spades. Like the C63 and the RS4, it shares precious little of its driveline, suspension, and chassis with the more pedestrian car that it’s based on.

For all the speed the IS-F gained on the track, it lost even more of the ordinary IS’s drivability and good looks. And on the streets and in the showrooms, that’s what really counts.

Lotus Elise 2008 Pictures

2008 Lotus Elise SC 2008

In recent years, the term sports car has become diluted from over use. Everything from four-door sedans to visually warmed over econo-boxes have been given the title. Luckily for enthusiasts everywhere, Lotus is still building products that deserve the term sports car. The new Elise SC is basically the definition of the term. Lightweight, the perfect amount of power, responsive and focused. Essentially a supercharged Elise, the SC isn't so much about the extra peak power as it is expanding the powerband. The car never feels like you're in the wrong gear. New wheels, seats and interior trim round out the upgrades. Look for a full driving review in the September 08 issue of european car magazine.