2009 Subaru Exiga Makes Formal Debut

OKYO, Japan The 2009 Subaru Exiga, a minivan-ish seven-passenger crossover wagon, made its formal debut on Tuesday here. The Exiga was unveiled last fall as a concept at the 2007 Tokyo Auto Show.

Prior to the production Exiga's formal presentation, Subaru had only showed off partial images of the vehicle.

The base Exiga gets a 2.0-liter DOHC boxer-4 that delivers 146 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 141 pound-feet of torque. The uplevel Exiga 2.0 GT with all-wheel drive gets a turbocharged version of that engine, boosting horsepower to 222 and torque to 240 pound-feet. A four-speed automatic transmission is standard on 2.0-liter models; a five-speed automatic transmission with Sportshift is standard on the 2.0-liter turbo models.

The Nikkei says the vehicle will be priced between $18,400 and $25,700 in Japan.

The Exiga gets an optional panoramic glass roof that is available on all models except the 2.0i. The cabin gets three rows of seats that are laid out at different heights to allow better exterior visibility for all passengers. The Exiga is sized between the Legacy wagon and the Tribeca MPV.

In late May, a Subaru of America spokesman told Inside Line that there are no immediate plans to sell the Exiga in the U.S.

2009 Hyundai Sonata's Touch-Screen Display Enhances XM Radio

CHICAGO -- XM, the nation's leading provider of satellite radio, announced today that 2009 Hyundai Sonata buyers will experience an enhanced XM radio listening experience through the vehicles available color, touch-screen navigation display. The Sonata's navigation display, unveiled today at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show, will make for a richer XM listening experience.

The brand-new display on the 2009 Hyundai Sonata allows listeners can use the high-resolution touch-screen display to easily scan through XM's more than 170 channels of entertainment.

The display will feature sophisticated graphics, making it easy to glance at the XM channel name, song title, artist name, and category to select music, sports, talk, news, comedy or traffic and weather.

"XM fans will truly appreciate the enhanced user experience through the Hyundai Sonata's new touch-screen display. Now, listening to XM Radio in the vehicle is richer and easier than ever before," said Joe Verbrugge, senior vice president, automotive partnerships and international operations, XM Satellite Radio.

XM has been standard on all Sonata models since 2007. Every Hyundai equipped with XM Satellite Radio also comes with a three-month complimentary subscription.

This is the first time a navigation system has been incorporated into the Sonata.

The 2009 Hyundai Sonata will be on display throughout the 2008 Chicago Auto Show.

Toyota Opens Loans to Seven Years

Toyota Motor Corp. has begun offering customers 84-month loans on new cars in an effort to help dealers ride out the most severe downturn in the U.S. auto industry in the past decade.

The seven-year loans are unusually long. Just a few years ago, 72-month auto loans were rare.

The move reflects the lengths to which auto makers are going to pump up sales without resorting to the hefty cash rebates that they have relied on in the past. Over time, big cash discounts eat into profits and tarnish an auto maker's image. Most are now trying to curtail the practice. Chrysler recently began offering navigation systems and other interior upgrades at no additional costs to tempt buyers.

George Borst, chief executive of Toyota Financial Services, said at a financial-services conference in San Francisco that the company started offering seven-year car loans in late summer. These loans, which carry slightly higher rates than 72-month deals, have risen to represent 4% of all cars Toyota Financial Services lends money on.

A Toyota Financial spokesman said there were too many variables to say what rates are charged on the loans. But rates quoted by Toyota dealers ranged from 6.9% to 7.59% for 84-month loans, compared with 5.85% to 6.84% for 72-month financing.

Mr. Borst said he sees the loans growing to represent 5% of business. He said Toyota's in-house lender, known as a "captive finance arm," started making the loans after realizing it was losing business to other noncaptive lenders offering loans with longer terms.

Toyota Financial Services originates loans for about three-quarters of the cars financed in the U.S. at Toyota dealers, or about 50% of total sales for the auto maker, a spokeswoman said. She said the seven-year loans are given only to customers with top credit.

GMAC Financial Services, the largest auto lender in the world, offers 84-month loans but says they make up a tiny portion of its business. Ford Motor Co.'s credit arm did some pilot programs related to 84-month loans, but isn't aggressively offering them. "We don't like these loans," Ford Motor Credit Chief Executive Michael Bannister said on the sidelines of the conference.

By:- Automotive News