Archive for the 'crossover' Category

0-60 pits Ford Raptor against BMW X6 M

Published on November 1, 2009 in 0-60 mag, 0-60Mag, 2010 bmw, 2010 BMW x6 m, 2010 raptor, 2010BmwX6M, 2010Raptor, BMW, BMW X6, crossover, ford raptor, FordRaptor, luxury, svt raptor, SvtRaptor and video. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , .


The Ford SVT Raptor and the BMW X6 M are alike in that both vehicles represent the most extreme versions of their base forms. The Raptor, with its the triple-bypass Fox shocks and 35-inch tires, is a Baja-ready version of the F-150 right off the showroom floor. Meanwhile, the BMW X6 M is the 550-horsepower speed-demon version of the mild-mannered X6 luxury crossover. The two rides have little in common other than their extreme, top-tier positioning, yet 0-60 Magazine has found a way to put the two together for its Winter 2010 issue.

We don’t know what the gang at 0-60 actually did with the Raptor and the X6 M, but the magazine has managed to slap together a teaser video to whet the palette. Hit the jump to watch 0-60 have a bit of fun with the X6 M and the SVT Raptor. And if you’re not a big fan of the vid, you can simply sit back and enjoy the 1:21-minute excerpt of Motley Crue’s “Kickstart My Heart” that sets the aural backdrop to the onscreen mayhem.

Mini ‘Countryman’ crossover skipping Detroit for Geneva?

Published on October 26, 2009 in BMW, BMW X3, countryman, crossover, manufacturing, MINI, mini countryman, MINI Crossover, MiniCountryman, MiniCrossover and plants. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .



Everyone is getting ready for the Mini Countryman — including, perhaps, the WRC — but everyone is going to have to wait, according to a report by those Mini-mad folks at Motoring File. The holdup is the upcoming BMW X3, which is BMW’s foremost concern right now as the little crossover is practically as important to BMW as a Euro print plate is to the European Central Bank.

The Mini will be produced at Magna’s plant in Austria, but first BMW has to complete the shift in X3 production from that plant to its facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Until that’s done, Countryman production can’t begin. That has observers figuring that the production Mini crossover won’t meet the public until next year’s Geneva show, instead of Detroit.

The other Countryman-related news is that, like SH-AWD and Quattro and Symmetrical AWD, Mini plans on a specific brand for its flavor of all-wheel drive. The name is said to be “All4.” Yes, our minds are already agog at the ways in which Mini will be spinning that little moniker.