drive it!: The Motor Magazine

Farwell to the soft top - the new BMW Z4. Now with a retractable hardtop!
The Ford Focus RS.present it! BMW Z4BMW has given its Z4 roadster a complete workover. Instead of a fabric top,the new Z4 comes with a rigid folding roof that vanishes behind the seats in 20 seconds. The Z4 has grown 15 centimeters in length,and now compes with a gas-saving 6-cylinder engine that delivers at least 204 hp. In Germany,prices will start at 35,900 Euros.

compare it! Citroen C5 Tourer - Honda Accord TourerThe Citroen C5 and the Honda Accord. Drive it tested top-of-the-line models of these two middle-class station wagons. The C5 came with a 3 liter V6 gasoline engine that produced 211 hp. The Honda had a 2.4 liter 4 cylinder gasoline engine with 201 hp. Both cars were packed with high-tech.

test it! Lada PrioraRussian carmaker Lada saw its sales in Germany go up by 15 percent last year. Evidently many car buyers look for bargains when the economy is suffering. Lada's new Priora is a simple notch-back sedan that looks like it could have been designed in the 1960s or 1970s. drive it! took a closer look at this robust,inexpensive car.

examine it! Car Safety ResearchTraffic accidents are often unavoidable. Nevertheless,automobile makers never stop looking for ways to make cars safer and help drivers avoid crashes. Researchers use laboratory crash tests,computerized simulations,and on-site analysis at real-life accident scenes to better understand how crashes occur. Those efforts often results in new safety equipment and,increasingly,systems that actively intervene to help drivers in dangerous situations.

spot it! Stars & Cars As a photographer in the French Riviera in the 1950s,Edward Quinn shot stars and starlets,celebrities and models -- and their fancy cars.